Get yourself a comfortable chair and a hearty snack to pair with your beverage, because it’s time for a near lethal dose of PrdBlackWatch’s cure for what ails us. In a world of Infinite problems, I feel it’s time someone quantifies and condenses them into a cheeki breeki cheat sheet for our fine friends at Three Hundred and Fourty Three Industries so that they can use it as a large, blocklike list of their transgressions. Call it a monument to all their sins, if you will.
Disclaimer: I will be making suggestions for what I feel are realistic, player first alternatives to the current MTX systems in the game. I’m not going to treat myself or you like a child and pretend that we live in a utopia where companies aren’t trying to make as much money from us as possible, but I would like to believe that there is a way of achieving this that leaves the player feeling like their investment was worth it, and not one that is greedy and shallow.
I’ll break it into sections to keep it somewhat ordered, but without further ado:
1. Progression (or lack thereof)
This issue is a simple one, but with many elements that come together to make what was promised to be the answer to the 2nd job dilemma actually turn out to be one of its most valiantly complacent soldiers.
The core issue is that the games only form of tracked progression (a rank is not progression, it’s a skill indicator) is the battle pass, and the battle pass (in its current form) is an unrewarding grind that acts as a psychological grindstone that, I honestly believe, through its inclusion is likely to deter players from the game more than it would if it were not there at all. Here are its biggest issues.
- The battle pass currently restricts its challenges behind the premium paywall (an industry standard, but one that will leave free players feeling inherently undervalued and unlikely to continue to invest time into an unrewarding economy).
- People have argued that you can ignore the pass and play as though it isn’t there. This doesn’t work when the game is made to subconsciously tie in the player’s reward response to the act of gaining BP progression and nothing else outside of medals and victories (which are historically associated with them then contributing to your overarching progression in the game)
- This makes the act of playing the game with only the promise of small amounts of progression that the player cannot actively influence (XP per match, not performance based) feel unrewarding. There is only so long a player’s pre-conditioned expectations can deal with a game that is inherently fun, but also seemingly uninterested in providing its players with that standard drip feed of accomplishment that goes beyond the day 1 Darth Vader unlock style of Infinite’s current progression
- Challenges are implemented with such specificity that it would be possible to play multiple games and literally not have even the opportunity to progress some challenges entirely because of the randomness of different game elements.
- You’ll notice a theme emerging: removing player agency in favour of locking the player into pre-determined gameplay styles (and more to come)
- This is such a simple fix that would make the challenges feel like a seamless addition rather than a harsh and un-interactive grind: Open up the challenges! X Kills with UNSC weapons, X style medals.
- This change would allow players to perhaps experiment with new gameplay elements, without being so specific that they leave the player unable to progress due to variables that are entirely beyond their control.
- I understand that challenge swaps open an avenue for monetisation, and are a way to pad out the battle pass, but as I’ll discuss later in this post, there are a vast number of ways that you can implement monetisation that players would gladly pay for (significantly more players than would currently) that don’t result in a bad taste in our mouths towards a game that has a rare chance to dethrone the current stagnant industry leaders.
- Challenges are issued on an Active + Banked basis which restricts player choice
- Allow us to freely rotate challenges in and out of the bank to earn progress on the ones we want to work on. Don’t force us into BTB just to have our other 3 challenges (which we didn’t choose) be rendered inactive for the duration of the match due to this inflexible system
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Introduce a persistent progression system in the style of the MCC which allows us to earn passive rewards as we play, and gives high tenure players a way to express their commitment. Maybe throw in a few helmets and armour pieces for the lads while you’re at it.
- This is such a core element of good games and it’s one that has to be set as a huge priority
- Allow XP gained in this to be gained in parity with the battle pass, and be based on performance and medals
- Make sure levels in this are scaled appropriately, lower to begin with, higher near the prestige or whatever you wanna call it
- This is the kind of system that keeps people hooked beyond the battle pass, because there’s nothing worse than only having a BP to grind, especially when you will eventually find a BP that just doesn’t have a lot of things in it that you really want
2. Player expression, the store, and Stormtrooper syndrome
I know COP26 just happened, but 343’s approach to keeping it green is a little too strong for my taste. The issue of customisation is a rough one, because I think it’s fair to say that Infinite, more than any Halo game before it, has restricted player expression to a degree that is so chokingly sad that it makes ease with which we obtained armour from Reqs not actually seem like the hellish, exploitative drivel that it was.
Armour coatings are a cool idea, implemented in a horrific, money focused, narrow sighted way. Armour cores are much the same. So here are my issues and solutions.
- Armour coatings artificially inflate the game economy whilst throttling player expression. I suggest we take the good parts of armour coatings (set patterns, textures and placements) then blow them up into this system:
- Allow players to alter the colour of each individual piece of armour (not just equippable pieces), including the currently bizarrely grey armour pieces.
- Make the colours a full RGB palette, but (to allow monetisation) restrict the paint to being the scuffed recruit style paint we currently have available, just in any colour the player wants.
- Add premium texture packs that can be applied to armour pieces, attachments and undersuits (these could be camo patterns that allow us to pick which colours make up that camo, metallic, gloss, brushed, the options are endless) and watch as a huge amount of rightful animosity towards the current coating system melts away because people who have, for years, had a blue and white spartan can finally do that without having to hope that the cosmetics team have produced one that looks just like the one they’ve come to associate with themselves over the years.
- Give us some armour! It doesn’t have to be incredible, but give new players a selection of a few basic armour sets, and add some more into the player level structure to let free players have something to aspire towards (tempting them to invest with the promise of that fancy glossy right hook machine for their spartan that they identify with and worked hard to build)
- This also allows players who are premium/legacy players to hit the ground running with some of the classics, rather than being left to look like just another recruit fresh out of Johnson’s academy
- Defy the industry standard to create a store that lets us get what we want, when we want it
- I have no issue with premium armour if the look is worth it, and the free rewards that run alongside it are reasonable.
- Bundles serve only to dilute the value of the player’s choices when it comes to cosmetics. Most people won’t look at a helmet they want in a bundle and be willing to shell 20 big ones for it just because it comes shackled to some other items. Let them be free of the burden of other unwanted items, and give us an armoury of armour sets/pieces that can be obtained individually for a reasonable price. I can almost guarantee that the volume of sales for this kind of model would not only surpass the current volume, but would annihilate it. People will pay for the things they want (and probably more of it) if they can pick and choose what they want.
- Further to the above point, let us build custom bundles with a scaling discount on items, the goodwill you will achieve through this will pay back dividends in no time.
- Drop the ridiculous 3 part emblem stuff, it doesn’t look good for the game, and it makes an already bloated bundle system feel even less fulfilling than it already does.
- Also, allow full colour customisation of emblems. Why this isn’t already in the game is well beyond me.
- Open up the armour core system. We’ve now seen that this restriction is artificial, and serves only to curb player expression by bottle necking items. We should not be expected to pay for 3 of the same visor colour.
3. The Playlist problem
- In a world where Travis Scott concerts can be limited time events in games, don’t insult us by restricting modes that are long time staples of the franchise to a single week when all these new players who have never had the chance before could be smashing them 24/7 right now!
- Crack open the playlists, give us Team Objective, Team Slayer, give us a choice!
- MCC had a fantastic filter system for game modes.
- I’ve seen some justify this artificial restriction by saying they’re trying to keep populations high. Mate, the game is the hottest thing going right now, surely with this massive population we should be trying to have the playlist options widened a little bit?
- Get the basic classics into the game ASAP
- Infection, Swat etc. really don’t need to and shouldn’t be kept locked away just to tie them into an event. People will play the event playlist regardless of whether or not it’s their first time playing the game mode, because they’ll want to enjoy whatever twist it might offer, and earn the rewards it brings.
- Fix custom games, the current implementation is far too restrictive.
- I can only imagine that this has something to do with forge and that once it arrives, customs will also be improved, but the broken experience of customs RN is still not acceptable.
4. The Communication Conundrum
- Ske7ch, Joe, Unyshek, I’m genuinely appreciative of the tidbits and assurances you’ve given us through your personal Twitter feeds lately. However, I really do believe that this kind of stuff needs to be communicated openly, either through official Halo channels, or through the game itself.
- I’ve worked in marketing and social media management for years, I know that posting brand failings on the main brand account is like asking a politician to talk about the first time they listened to In A Gadda Da Vida with their tie dyed mate, but the community outside of us die hard fans (and even some of us inside it) are largely oblivious to the fact that you guys are not only acknowledging a lot of the faults, but are offering these great updates regarding specific elements like the newly announced increases to XP per match. If the word is out there, the wider perception will improve. This kind of good news and humility coming straight from the mouth of Halo itself would do wonders for people’s opinions. Instantly people will allow themselves to give you that leeway, knowing that they are heard, and that things are being done.
It’s been so long since we have had the chance to point to Halo and say, BLAM! yes I’m a Halo fan. No stipulations, no “Bungie better, dead game, trend chaser” crap. Just all of us standing behind it and being proud to call it our top dog. The gaming world needed Halo more than ever. Please don’t let this incredible opportunity to show the industry how things should be done slip away.
Your commitment to staff wellbeing is something we should all be proud of. Just take this chance to extend that forward thinking out to us, and show these stagnant, stuck in the mud companies what a real, modern, forward thinking player first title should be, and just how -Yoink!- green the grass is over here on Zeta Halo.
Please feel free to share, comment, criticize, etc. I’ll be keeping an eye on this one and updating whenever necessary.
Lots of love,
PrdBlackWatch