Halo eSports for "Casuals"

Community General Discussion
1

Hey everyone! Note that I know this isn’t the HCS forum and I’m specifically not posting there because I’m interested in hearing from people who don’t already consider themselves big fans/followers of the Halo eSports scene. I’m admittedly still pretty new to the world of Halo eSports and while I’m quickly getting up to speed I know it’s a topic that seems pretty divided amongst the overall Halo community. I consider myself more of a casual vs. competitive Halo player but I’m definitely curious about Halo eSports and my interest continues to grow. Next weekend I’ll be joining the team at HCS Las Vegas where I hope to help cover the event from a more ‘casual’ point of view.

If you’re on the fence about Halo eSports or perhaps haven’t really even been interested at all thus far, I’d love to better understand why. What don’t you like? What would make it more interesting and appealing to you? What about the current program do you like?

As a first timer on the ground in Vegas, do you have any suggestions or ideas on what you’d like to see/hear/read more about from someone who has a similar perspective as you? Ultimately I want to make the most of my time there and one of my biggest goals, aside from generally getting more acclimated with the HCS program and people, is to help broaden appeal and amplify the stories to those who thus far haven’t really cared.

Let’s please keep this conversation constructive and focused.

Thanks for your input!

2

I followed the HCS pretty well, but the summer league and fall league I’ve fallen behind. My biggest problem, is that I would prefer to read the results and highlights as opposed to watch the full length matches. I know during the streams they show graphics of last week’s results I just wish that those graphics were more accessible and with a detailed readable report of the match. (Maybe they are, but its not too clear where they are from the forum side of things.)

I used to listen to th HCS podcast, but sometimes it’s tough to find time in the day to listen to the whole thing.

3

I watched the championships a couple times for HCS, but I mainly don’t like it because it’s pretty much torn some of my friends away to the point where they barely play casual anymore. I can be competitive but they take it way too seriously to the point of annoyance. I still like them but I don’t think I’ll play with some of them again. Halo 5 is just too competitive in my tastes, but I’ll still play it occasionally. I’m redownloading it now, because I may be helping a community member get some achievements on there. I still support the HCS and good on them for what they’ve done, But I lost some good friends because of it. Maybe I’ll play with them when that classic playlist may come out.

4

For me, its simple. I’d rather play sports than watch them. The same goes for e-sports. I don’t have a lot of spare time on my hands, so playing takes the priority.

5

> 2780570662795584;1:
> If you’re on the fence about Halo eSports or perhaps haven’t really even been interested at all thus far, I’d love to better understand why. What don’t you like?

You know, Skesevench, sometimes I feel like competitive Halo and casual Halo are two different games. To answer your question, I guess I’m not interested in Halo eSports because I never found it fun to play 4v4 slayer on tiny maps with no motion tracker.

Ever since I started playing Halo, I’ve always gravitated towards modes like BTB, heavies, action sack and firefight. I think it’s important for Halo to offer that kind of experience, in addition to the competitive stuff that so many people seem to like. Sorry if that’s not a helpful answer, but I’d be far more interested in Halo eSports if they had big tournaments for Mongoose Sumo or something.

> 2780570662795584;1:
> What would make it more interesting and appealing to you?

Aside from my above suggestion, I think UnheardCARNAGE’s idea of easily accessible highlights and results would be nice. I don’t know how much control you have over the event and its coverage, but just do what you can :smile_cat:

6

Im loving the HSC - didn’t watch the summer season and im regretting it now coz the fall season is so great.
It’s hard not to get excited watching those guys play - some truly impressive stuff.

7

I think it’s just really hard to get into Esports, unless it’s kind of like your specific thing. I’m a casual gamer who plays a variety of games, and just watching someone else play a game that I could be playing is just really hard to get into.

It also bothers me about how much it seems like it’s being shoved down my throat - like “here, an Esports specific REQ pack!” or “let’s talk specifically about the HCS” or “there’s a million dollar prize for the HCS!”. I’m sure there are a lot of people that do care, but then again, I’m also sure that there are a lot of people like me who do not care, and I always thought that the people that do care are going to find out about what’s going on regardless. You’re also right in that I can choose to ignore it, but the only other time I saw anything like this in my Halo career was with Halo 4 in the 1v1 tournament, which was one of the silliest things in recent memory.

In summation - I honestly just want to see less about it. The people that care are going to hunt that information out regardless, just like they did in every other year Halo was featured in MLG.

8

Make it a MOBA, that’ll draw a crowd.

IDK honestly, I hear about the grand prize, and i’ll watch one match. Think these guys are REALLY GOOD, and not feel a need to watch anymore. I think the spectacle of the event is more exciting than the matches.

A neighboring highschool back in 2003 had a Halo Tournament, on 2 big projectors in the Gym. That was probably the coolest halo event I’ve attended.

9

I am not a competitive player. I would like to be, and I have recently found a renewed interest in HCS - I’m just not a spectacular player by any means and it’s extremely difficult to find a consistent team willing to dedicate time and effort to teaching the less talented players to be better. I was fortunate to have found a small group of Champion ranked players that did help me for a little while, but that quickly fades when they want to play seriously and suddenly you’re not invited to the “cool kids club”…

I agree with UnheardCARNAGE,

> 2717573882290912;2:
> I would prefer to read the results and highlights as opposed to watch the full length matches. I know during the streams they show graphics of last week’s results I just wish that those graphics were more accessible and with a detailed readable report of the match. (Maybe they are, but its not too clear where they are from the forum side of things.)

I think detailed statistics are a must moving forward. Currently, there is not an easy to find visual or spreadsheet of each game in a series, individual player stats, breakdowns of games, analysis, etc. We only get some of those things when it’s a live event, and even then - when the event is over good luck finding those stats. There should be video highlights of amazing plays, similar to that of football, that we can look back at after an event (this should include the online/legendary cups that aren’t recorded as well). Halo could even do a version of Fantasy Football where spectators can build a custom team and put together their favorite players stats. Not sure how that would work exactly, but I’m just thinking out loud. Also, why does competitive mean restricted to Slayer/Objective/FFA? One of the best things about Halo Multiplayer is the diversity of playlists. There should be a competitive outlet for each playlist like SWAT, Snipers, BTB, maybe even dedicated objective playlists like CTF… And Grifball! Can you imagine the amazing Grifball teams and highlight plays?

Overall, I think there are two reasons that Halo eSports might not be popular with everyone:
1) Lack of diversity in competitive playlists - not everyone is interested in FFA or Slayer/Objective. (Addressed above ^^^).
2) Social players don’t want to constantly watch competitive teams that are better than they are. That doesn’t help them get better. (Addressed below vvv).

Social players don’t want to be bad. They want to have fun playing a game they love, but if they are terrible at the game it is difficult to have fun when you constantly lose. Eventually you lose interest and walk away from the game all together. So they want to have fun, but they also want to be better. I think there is a huge untapped potential in what Luke TheNotable does on his YouTube channel. He covers a ton of topics and breaks them down to help other players learn to play Halo on a more competitive level. If a not-so-good player is able to learn a thing or two from those videos and put them into practice online and hit that sweet ever-so-elusive triple, overkill, etc. - suddenly Halo multiplayer just got more fun and Halo eSports just became more interesting. The lower skilled players of Halo need support - I don’t understand why 343i doesn’t produce these tutorial/support videos like Luke TheNotable does. Or don’t reinvent the wheel - have Luke produce help videos and post them on HaloWaypoint.com. 343i is doing a great service for their competitive multiplayer talent, but don’t leave out the social players. Help them, give them the support they need to keep up with the larger skill curve of Halo instead of handing them this competitive masterpiece without giving them the tools to enjoy it. This isn’t COD; the skill gap is quite a bit larger. I’m not saying be like COD. Absolutely do NOT turn into COD… Halo is unique and it needs to stay that way.

Don’t bring the level of gameplay down to the players - bring the players up to the level of gameplay.

And I have to disagree with thetimewarptrio,

> 2533274850493408;7:
> I’m sure there are a lot of people that do care, but then again, I’m also sure that there are a lot of people like me who do not care, and I always thought that the people that do care are going to find out about what’s going on regardless. You’re also right in that I can choose to ignore it, but the only other time I saw anything like this in my Halo career was with Halo 4 in the 1v1 tournament, which was one of the silliest things in recent memory.
>
> In summation - I honestly just want to see less about it. The people that care are going to hunt that information out regardless, just like they did in every other year Halo was featured in MLG.

It’s not about keeping eSports less visible or hiding it in the background, it’s about keeping it interesting so that any spectator can find something enjoyable in it regardless of being social or competitive. And the people that care about eSports aren’t going to “hunt” that information out if it’s not easily accessible or if it doesn’t exist. The question isn’t how do we hide eSports from the players who don’t care… - it’s how do we get players who don’t care, like thetimewarptrio*, interested in Halo eSports*, - and I think this goes back to the two points I mentioned above: Create a more diverse competitive playlist environment and Help support the social players to become better while still keeping the focus on having fun and not being competitive. (to some players the words “fun” and “competitive” are not interchangeable…)

I hope this long post will hold some value to ske7ch and the other participants of this thread.

Thanks, 343i for taking Halo eSports seriously again!

10

> 2533274835379871;9:
> And I have to disagree with thetimewarptrio,
>
>
> > 2533274850493408;7:
> > I’m sure there are a lot of people that do care, but then again, I’m also sure that there are a lot of people like me who do not care, and I always thought that the people that do care are going to find out about what’s going on regardless. You’re also right in that I can choose to ignore it, but the only other time I saw anything like this in my Halo career was with Halo 4 in the 1v1 tournament, which was one of the silliest things in recent memory.
> >
> > In summation - I honestly just want to see less about it. The people that care are going to hunt that information out regardless, just like they did in every other year Halo was featured in MLG.
>
>
> It’s not about keeping eSports less visible or hiding it in the background, it’s about keeping it interesting so that any spectator can find something enjoyable in it regardless of being social or competitive. And the people that care about eSports aren’t going to “hunt” that information out if it’s not easily accessible or if it doesn’t exist. The question isn’t how do we hide eSports from the players who don’t care… - it’s how do we get players who don’t care, like thetimewarptrio*, interested in Halo eSports*, - and I think this goes back to the two points I mentioned above: Create a more diverse competitive playlist environment and Help support the social players to become better while still keeping the focus on having fun and not being competitive. (to some players the words “fun” and “competitive” are not interchangeable…)
>
> I hope this long post will hold some value to ske7ch and the other participants of this thread.
>
> Thanks, 343i for taking Halo eSports seriously again!

That’s the thing though - I really don’t think eSports is something that is going to be enjoyable for everyone. It’s like watching Ultimate Frisbee or the WNBA, or quite frankly anything, you can’t appeal to everyone. You need to play to your strengths in a niche environment, which I think eSports is.

11

I am only recently trying to get invested into eSports and I would like it a lot if the commentator gave a little back round on a lot of the players, e.g. rivalries, players’ back round, past wins. It might make it easier for new viewers to get involved. Hope this helps.

12

> 2717573882290912;2:
> I followed the HCS pretty well, but the summer league and fall league I’ve fallen behind. My biggest problem, is that I would prefer to read the results and highlights as opposed to watch the full length matches. I know during the streams they show graphics of last week’s results I just wish that those graphics were more accessible and with a detailed readable report of the match. (Maybe they are, but its not too clear where they are from the forum side of things.)
>
> I used to listen to th HCS podcast, but sometimes it’s tough to find time in the day to listen to the whole thing.

Great feedback and suggestions! thank you

13

> 2533274904158628;5:
> > 2780570662795584;1:
> > If you’re on the fence about Halo eSports or perhaps haven’t really even been interested at all thus far, I’d love to better understand why. What don’t you like?
>
>
> You know, Skesevench, sometimes I feel like competitive Halo and casual Halo are two different games. To answer your question, I guess I’m not interested in Halo eSports because I never found it fun to play 4v4 slayer on tiny maps with no motion tracker.
>
> Ever since I started playing Halo, I’ve always gravitated towards modes like BTB, heavies, action sack and firefight. I think it’s important for Halo to offer that kind of experience, in addition to the competitive stuff that so many people seem to like. Sorry if that’s not a helpful answer, but I’d be far more interested in Halo eSports if they had big tournaments for Mongoose Sumo or something.
>
>
>
>
> > 2780570662795584;1:
> > What would make it more interesting and appealing to you?
>
>
> Aside from my above suggestion, I think UnheardCARNAGE’s idea of easily accessible highlights and results would be nice. I don’t know how much control you have over the event and its coverage, but just do what you can :smile_cat:

Thanks for the feedback! I definitely hear you and agree, one of Halo’s greatest strengths is the variety of gameplay experiences it offers to different types of audiences but as a result we also face the challenge of looking to satisfy a fragmented audience.

14

> 2533274850493408;7:
> I think it’s just really hard to get into Esports, unless it’s kind of like your specific thing. I’m a casual gamer who plays a variety of games, and just watching someone else play a game that I could be playing is just really hard to get into.
>
> It also bothers me about how much it seems like it’s being shoved down my throat - like “here, an Esports specific REQ pack!” or “let’s talk specifically about the HCS” or “there’s a million dollar prize for the HCS!”. I’m sure there are a lot of people that do care, but then again, I’m also sure that there are a lot of people like me who do not care, and I always thought that the people that do care are going to find out about what’s going on regardless. You’re also right in that I can choose to ignore it, but the only other time I saw anything like this in my Halo career was with Halo 4 in the 1v1 tournament, which was one of the silliest things in recent memory.
>
> In summation - I honestly just want to see less about it. The people that care are going to hunt that information out regardless, just like they did in every other year Halo was featured in MLG.

Fair enough, you’re not alone in this view. That said, you can easily not read about it. I don’t think the eSports content and coverage is coming at the expense of other non-esports material so it’s not like you’re actively being denied other content you’re more interested in. That said we do want to increase the range and types of content being covered and continue to be mindful of fans who prefer other types of Halo than hardcore competitive.

15

> 2533274835379871;9:
> I am not a competitive player. I would like to be, and I have recently found a renewed interest in HCS - I’m just not a spectacular player by any means and it’s extremely difficult to find a consistent team willing to dedicate time and effort to teaching the less talented players to be better. I was fortunate to have found a small group of Champion ranked players that did help me for a little while, but that quickly fades when they want to play seriously and suddenly you’re not invited to the “cool kids club”…
>
> I agree with UnheardCARNAGE,
>
>
> > 2717573882290912;2:
> > I would prefer to read the results and highlights as opposed to watch the full length matches. I know during the streams they show graphics of last week’s results I just wish that those graphics were more accessible and with a detailed readable report of the match. (Maybe they are, but its not too clear where they are from the forum side of things.)
>
>
> I think detailed statistics are a must moving forward. Currently, there is not an easy to find visual or spreadsheet of each game in a series, individual player stats, breakdowns of games, analysis, etc. We only get some of those things when it’s a live event, and even then - when the event is over good luck finding those stats. There should be video highlights of amazing plays, similar to that of football, that we can look back at after an event (this should include the online/legendary cups that aren’t recorded as well). Halo could even do a version of Fantasy Football where spectators can build a custom team and put together their favorite players stats. Not sure how that would work exactly, but I’m just thinking out loud. Also, why does competitive mean restricted to Slayer/Objective/FFA? One of the best things about Halo Multiplayer is the diversity of playlists. There should be a competitive outlet for each playlist like SWAT, Snipers, BTB, maybe even dedicated objective playlists like CTF… And Grifball! Can you imagine the amazing Grifball teams and highlight plays?
>
> Overall, I think there are two reasons that Halo eSports might not be popular with everyone:
> 1) Lack of diversity in competitive playlists - not everyone is interested in FFA or Slayer/Objective. (Addressed above ^^^).
> 2) Social players don’t want to constantly watch competitive teams that are better than they are. That doesn’t help them get better. (Addressed below vvv).
>
> Social players don’t want to be bad. They want to have fun playing a game they love, but if they are terrible at the game it is difficult to have fun when you constantly lose. Eventually you lose interest and walk away from the game all together. So they want to have fun, but they also want to be better. I think there is a huge untapped potential in what Luke TheNotable does on his YouTube channel. He covers a ton of topics and breaks them down to help other players learn to play Halo on a more competitive level. If a not-so-good player is able to learn a thing or two from those videos and put them into practice online and hit that sweet ever-so-elusive triple, overkill, etc. - suddenly Halo multiplayer just got more fun and Halo eSports just became more interesting. The lower skilled players of Halo need support - I don’t understand why 343i doesn’t produce these tutorial/support videos like Luke TheNotable does. Or don’t reinvent the wheel - have Luke produce help videos and post them on HaloWaypoint.com. 343i is doing a great service for their competitive multiplayer talent, but don’t leave out the social players. Help them, give them the support they need to keep up with the larger skill curve of Halo instead of handing them this competitive masterpiece without giving them the tools to enjoy it. This isn’t COD; the skill gap is quite a bit larger. I’m not saying be like COD. Absolutely do NOT turn into COD… Halo is unique and it needs to stay that way.
>
> Don’t bring the level of gameplay down to the players - bring the players up to the level of gameplay.
>
> And I have to disagree with thetimewarptrio,
>
>
> > 2533274850493408;7:
> > I’m sure there are a lot of people that do care, but then again, I’m also sure that there are a lot of people like me who do not care, and I always thought that the people that do care are going to find out about what’s going on regardless. You’re also right in that I can choose to ignore it, but the only other time I saw anything like this in my Halo career was with Halo 4 in the 1v1 tournament, which was one of the silliest things in recent memory.
> >
> > In summation - I honestly just want to see less about it. The people that care are going to hunt that information out regardless, just like they did in every other year Halo was featured in MLG.
>
>
> It’s not about keeping eSports less visible or hiding it in the background, it’s about keeping it interesting so that any spectator can find something enjoyable in it regardless of being social or competitive. And the people that care about eSports aren’t going to “hunt” that information out if it’s not easily accessible or if it doesn’t exist. The question isn’t how do we hide eSports from the players who don’t care… - it’s how do we get players who don’t care, like thetimewarptrio*, interested in Halo eSports*, - and I think this goes back to the two points I mentioned above: Create a more diverse competitive playlist environment and Help support the social players to become better while still keeping the focus on having fun and not being competitive. (to some players the words “fun” and “competitive” are not interchangeable…)
>
> I hope this long post will hold some value to ske7ch and the other participants of this thread.
>
> Thanks, 343i for taking Halo eSports seriously again!

thanks for sharing your thoughts and feedback! Very well articulated and constructive.

16

> 2780570662795584;14:
> > 2533274850493408;7:
> > I think it’s just really hard to get into Esports, unless it’s kind of like your specific thing. I’m a casual gamer who plays a variety of games, and just watching someone else play a game that I could be playing is just really hard to get into.
> >
> > It also bothers me about how much it seems like it’s being shoved down my throat - like “here, an Esports specific REQ pack!” or “let’s talk specifically about the HCS” or “there’s a million dollar prize for the HCS!”. I’m sure there are a lot of people that do care, but then again, I’m also sure that there are a lot of people like me who do not care, and I always thought that the people that do care are going to find out about what’s going on regardless. You’re also right in that I can choose to ignore it, but the only other time I saw anything like this in my Halo career was with Halo 4 in the 1v1 tournament, which was one of the silliest things in recent memory.
> >
> > In summation - I honestly just want to see less about it. The people that care are going to hunt that information out regardless, just like they did in every other year Halo was featured in MLG.
>
>
> Fair enough, you’re not alone in this view. That said, you can easily not read about it. I don’t think the eSports content and coverage is coming at the expense of other non-esports material so it’s not like you’re actively being denied other content you’re more interested in. That said we do want to increase the range and types of content being covered and continue to be mindful of fans who prefer other types of Halo than hardcore competitive.

Right! That’s what I meant by I can choose to ignore it, and you would be correct in saying it’s supplemental content instead of substitute content, which is definitely nice.

You know what might be fun though? Community challenges with objective gametypes. Take a few HCS teams, or a 343 team, or a Waypoint Monitor team and pit them against a few teams from the community in oddball (not the gametype) game modes. Something from Action Sack, or a re-make of Tower of Power - you get my drift. That, I would watch.

I also, upon thinking about it more, really loved the “Fails of the Weak” done by RT during Halo Reach. An iteration of that next to play of the week would go a long way.

As always, I appreciate what you’re doing in your first few weeks man. Keep your foot on the gas!

17

thetimewarptrio wrote:
That’s the thing though - I really don’t think eSports is something that is going to be enjoyable for everyone. It’s like watching Ultimate Frisbee or the WNBA, or quite frankly anything, you can’t appeal to everyone. You need to play to your strengths in a niche environment, which I think eSports is.

–

Okay, I get that.
And you’re right, you can’t appeal to everyone and not everyone is going to enjoy eSports… But that’s not what ske7ch is asking. Specifically, for the players that aren’t currently interested in eSports - not because they might absolutely hate eSports, but because 343i hasn’t appealed to them in the right ways - What can 343i do differently to remedy that for players who might enjoy eSports but just haven’t found the right outlet to be intrigued yet?

That’s the real question being asked. If you genuinely do not like eSports, that’s fine. Play social playlists, stick to Warzone, create a “have fun only” Spartan company, etc. But don’t vilify 343 for reinvigorating the competitive scene. I find it unreasonable to ask that 343i stop advertising their eSports investment because some percentage of multiplayer wants to bury their heads in the sand and pretend that eSports don’t exist. Their goal is to build a game that FPS players love, regardless of them being social or competitive. Obviously, it’s pretty difficult to balance what both sides of the fan base want. Just look at the back and forth struggle since Halo 3…

Halo: CE - New game on the block that revolutionized console FPS. Everybody loved it. No Xbox Live (i.e., no competitive Halo outside of in-person friendly LANs)
Halo 2 - Xbox Live begins, online multiplayer sparks another revolution. Multiplayer competition becomes part of the FPS landscape forever.
Halo 3 - Competitive fans love multiplayer (50 rank/eSports), social fans hate it. Websites begin offering to get 50’s for social players in exchange for money $$$.
Halo Reach - Bungie ignores competitive ranks all together to please the social fans. As long as you play, you gain XP based rank. Competitive fans hate it. No skill involved.
- 343i takes over -
Halo 4 - 343 introduces Arena for competitive fans while also introducing Spartan Ops for social fans. Tries to balance the ever-at-odds play styles. Brings back eSports.
Halo 5 - Introduces Warzone for social fans, invests heavily into eSports for competitive fans. Continues to try and balance the different play styles.

We’ll leave Halo 3: ODST and Halo: MCC out of it since they were both prequels to bigger ideas in Halo Reach and Halo 5

With that brief Halo multiplayer history lesson, I’d say 343i is moving in the right direction and obviously trying very hard to keep everyone as happy as possible. I think it’s kind of important to make an attempt to mesh the two different play styles instead of keeping them so strictly separate. Not to make the players feel segregated from each other. I also think it is definitely a step in the right direction that ske7ch is here as a community ambassador to hear us out.

They are asking the community questions to make the overall experience better for us, the least we can do give them semi-productive answers.

Thanks for making me think about this abstractly, thetimewarptrio

18

There needs to be options for people to play in lower rank tournaments. I would love to shine and show what I can do personally, but problem is all the ways to get into tournaments such as “HCS” are way to complicated

19

I like watching Halo Esports, not so much as play it. Would rather most of the playlists in future Halos be more geared to social games. At least remove the hidden ranking system in all the playlists.

20

> 2533274835379871;9:
> I am not a competitive player. I would like to be, and I have recently found a renewed interest in HCS - I’m just not a spectacular player by any means and it’s extremely difficult to find a consistent team willing to dedicate time and effort to teaching the less talented players to be better. I was fortunate to have found a small group of Champion ranked players that did help me for a little while, but that quickly fades when they want to play seriously and suddenly you’re not invited to the “cool kids club”…
>
> I agree with UnheardCARNAGE,
>
>
> > 2717573882290912;2:
> > I would prefer to read the results and highlights as opposed to watch the full length matches. I know during the streams they show graphics of last week’s results I just wish that those graphics were more accessible and with a detailed readable report of the match. (Maybe they are, but its not too clear where they are from the forum side of things.)
>
>
> I think detailed statistics are a must moving forward. Currently, there is not an easy to find visual or spreadsheet of each game in a series, individual player stats, breakdowns of games, analysis, etc. We only get some of those things when it’s a live event, and even then - when the event is over good luck finding those stats. There should be video highlights of amazing plays, similar to that of football, that we can look back at after an event (this should include the online/legendary cups that aren’t recorded as well). Halo could even do a version of Fantasy Football where spectators can build a custom team and put together their favorite players stats. Not sure how that would work exactly, but I’m just thinking out loud. Also, why does competitive mean restricted to Slayer/Objective/FFA? One of the best things about Halo Multiplayer is the diversity of playlists. There should be a competitive outlet for each playlist like SWAT, Snipers, BTB, maybe even dedicated objective playlists like CTF… And Grifball! Can you imagine the amazing Grifball teams and highlight plays?
>
> Overall, I think there are two reasons that Halo eSports might not be popular with everyone:
> 1) Lack of diversity in competitive playlists - not everyone is interested in FFA or Slayer/Objective. (Addressed above ^^^).
> 2) Social players don’t want to constantly watch competitive teams that are better than they are. That doesn’t help them get better. (Addressed below vvv).
>
> Social players don’t want to be bad. They want to have fun playing a game they love, but if they are terrible at the game it is difficult to have fun when you constantly lose. Eventually you lose interest and walk away from the game all together. So they want to have fun, but they also want to be better. I think there is a huge untapped potential in what Luke TheNotable does on his YouTube channel. He covers a ton of topics and breaks them down to help other players learn to play Halo on a more competitive level. If a not-so-good player is able to learn a thing or two from those videos and put them into practice online and hit that sweet ever-so-elusive triple, overkill, etc. - suddenly Halo multiplayer just got more fun and Halo eSports just became more interesting. The lower skilled players of Halo need support - I don’t understand why 343i doesn’t produce these tutorial/support videos like Luke TheNotable does. Or don’t reinvent the wheel - have Luke produce help videos and post them on HaloWaypoint.com. 343i is doing a great service for their competitive multiplayer talent, but don’t leave out the social players. Help them, give them the support they need to keep up with the larger skill curve of Halo instead of handing them this competitive masterpiece without giving them the tools to enjoy it. This isn’t COD; the skill gap is quite a bit larger. I’m not saying be like COD. Absolutely do NOT turn into COD… Halo is unique and it needs to stay that way.
>
> Don’t bring the level of gameplay down to the players - bring the players up to the level of gameplay.
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> And I have to disagree with thetimewarptrio,
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> > 2533274850493408;7:
> > I’m sure there are a lot of people that do care, but then again, I’m also sure that there are a lot of people like me who do not care, and I always thought that the people that do care are going to find out about what’s going on regardless. You’re also right in that I can choose to ignore it, but the only other time I saw anything like this in my Halo career was with Halo 4 in the 1v1 tournament, which was one of the silliest things in recent memory.
> >
> > In summation - I honestly just want to see less about it. The people that care are going to hunt that information out regardless, just like they did in every other year Halo was featured in MLG.
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> It’s not about keeping eSports less visible or hiding it in the background, it’s about keeping it interesting so that any spectator can find something enjoyable in it regardless of being social or competitive. And the people that care about eSports aren’t going to “hunt” that information out if it’s not easily accessible or if it doesn’t exist. The question isn’t how do we hide eSports from the players who don’t care… - it’s how do we get players who don’t care, like thetimewarptrio*, interested in Halo eSports*, - and I think this goes back to the two points I mentioned above: Create a more diverse competitive playlist environment and Help support the social players to become better while still keeping the focus on having fun and not being competitive. (to some players the words “fun” and “competitive” are not interchangeable…)
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> I hope this long post will hold some value to ske7ch and the other participants of this thread.
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> Thanks, 343i for taking Halo eSports seriously again!

Fantasy HCS does exist here