This video by Favyn is a gold mine for me as a Halo player. It rings true on so many levels, about the importance of community engagement with one another, and about the role of earned cosmetics in that. I never realized how good we had it back in 2008, but as I look back on it, this is incredibly important to hear for those at 343 who can take the time to hear him out. It basically says that earned cosmetics promote community engagement with one another in healthy ways. I can attest to this. I lived through the golden age of Halo, and I know that what Bungie did with cosmetics works. It really knit the community together and promoted a healthy sense of competition trying to earn these pieces of armor, emblems, whatever. Each of those were much more meaningful for the players because they had to work hard to get them. Many times, we had to work together. This was really healthy, not only because those achievements were meaningful, but because they implemented skills that translate into the real world. Teamwork is a vital skill in real world accomplishments. Critical thinking to accomplish these achievements will translate into better thinking in the workplace, especially if that critical thinking took place under pressure. The loot box thing really just put a focus on who had more money or time to grind for the credits. It wasn’t very satisfying to have achieved a bunch of random stuff. With every other game developer under the sun having tried that system, I think it would make 343, who this Halo veteran is actually a huge fan of, stand out from the crowd by implementing the tried and true system that Bungie implemented in how they built their community, and that is explained very well in this video. Thank you so much. Hope everybody at 343 is well during this time
Yeah, earned stuff is a better feeling than randomized drops (I personally don’t care either way. a grind is a grind no matter what), but the one thing that draws my attention the most in everything you just typed is the teamwork bit. I would like to believe that most people figured out teamwork is a pretty important concept in life long before they picked up Halo, or any video game for that matter lol.
Yeah, but it’s also about practicing that you know? Kids growing up with Halo gain a lot from the teamwork aspect of things. The video goes into a lot more depth surrounding the system Bungie had in place to promote player interaction with one another, and I think the social factor in this is something so taken for granted and underappreciated. I didn’t realize how good we had it back in 2008 until Favyn started explaining how earned cosmetics and achievements in general knitted the community together in a way that we just don’t see with loot box systems, or bought unlockables. I just hope 343 can appreciate that aspect of gaming, the EARNED experience, and include that in their future games
The Halo community is one of the best things about the franchise, and I am very eager to see the major resurgence of OG Halo gamers returning to don the Spartan armor once more when Halo Infinite arrives.
Speaking of the OGs, it’s fascinated me how the different generations of Halo players are brought together via various forms of media. I recall sitting in a Halo 5 stream one time, chatting with people who said that Halo 4/5 was their first Halo game, and then introducing them to my Xbox friends who I used to play Halo CE with on an old laptop computer back in the day. Both generations of Spartans met up for a Halo night of MCC, Halo 5, and Reach (which was still separate at the time.) and each brought their favorite custom games/maps and memories to share.
I totally agree with the idea of the Devs generating more community buzz by introducing items to chase and to earn, instead of spinning a wheel in a loot box. Looking forward to what the future has in store!