My Theory.

Games Other Halo
1

People complain way too much nowadays. I’m taking a Marketing course in university and I’ve discovered that the reason people are snotty, demanding, and selfish is because organizations bend backwards to cater to customers so they can compete effectively against other companies. As a result, we’ve got a culture that feels entitled and deserving of being treated like the Queen simply because they made a purchase decision.

This hasn’t always been the case. Once upon a time, there was a generation that accepted a video game for what it was, appreciating it despite having a few flaws, and didn’t expect the developers to bend at their will.

That being said, I think this spoiled brat of a generation needs to come to terms with how disgustingly immature they are. When that happens, progress can begin being made.

Halo 2 had “flaws”. There were glitches that were easy to exploit (ie. BXR, BXB, double and quad-shotting, super-bouncing, etc.), there were easy ways of getting an unfair advantage (ie. standbying and modding), and there were occasional connection hiccups in matchmaking. However, Halo 2 had an extremely active and dedicated community, and in the end, everyone made the best of the flaws. There was practically no whining–especially compared to nowadays–and people accepted that everything doesn’t go their way. Instead, we made the best of what we had, and let me tell you, it was a blast.

I know you’re mad because the BR takes 12 milliseconds longer to kill than the DMR, you hate ordinance drops, instant spawns, armor styles, playlists, loadouts, etc. But try to take a step back and accept change. I mean, they could release a carbon copy of Halo 2 or 3 or shudder Reach with all the same elements, but we already have games for that. Change isn’t always a bad thing. What I’m trying to say is make the best of what you have rather than whining, because whining makes this whole community look bad.

If this game really isn’t for you, I heard Call of Duty Black Ops 2 just came out.

2

Or putting it in the simple words of my generation, if you don’t like it don’t play, if you don’t have what you want then use what you have, and just because you don’t like it doesnt mean its wrong it just means you don’t like it.

3

I think the issue is more of the way the community comes across nowadays. The tone is snotty and spoiled, but I do believe the community is entitled to voice their opinion. Does the community voice themselves the best way? Of course not. But with Halo 4, there are some valid concerns that should be noted to 343i and while they may appear whiny, the concern isn’t necessarily bad.

Whether or not the person who is concerned states their opinion in the most mature way is different. The community can come off as spoiled, I agree, but there are legitimate reasons still for people to complain.

Take the whole custom games scenario, for example. Yes, Halo 2 did survive without custom games, but now that Custom games have existed in both Halo 3 and Halo Reach, you have to see the community’s perspective: Why take out the elements that made Halo even better? Without gametypes like Race and the classic Infection, many game types that allowed for the game’s replayability is lost and this is a valid concern.

Another example is Join in Progress. Yesterday, I almost could not get into one game that hadn’t started and I was always put on the losing team as the game was only a minute away. These kind of flaws should be mentioned to 343i because the community is what will make the game so much more than it already is.

To continue, Halo 2 had different circumstances. Keep in mind the game took place during 2004-2007, and from what I’ve seen, forums like these weren’t nearly as big or apparent to casual gamers. If a “2012” version of Halo 2 came out today (everything the same as the original but graphically enhanced and everything), I’m sure people would be complaining about that as well. The circumstances for this game are just bad and I agree, a lot of people do think that is it a right to have things fixed.

Your claim is valid, but I don’t think it’s as extreme as you think. The majority of users on this forum are only present to complain and voice their concerns. Some are more mature than others, and I think it’s just more memorable for us to remember all the immature brats. Some people look at these flaws as a disgrace to the community and that they need to be fixed. This is where one may see the spoiled brats, but I don’t see the harm in trying to address these flaws to 343i to try and make the game better (assuming they’re mature about it). It’s not that the community is necessarily spoiled, though; it’s more that people just have trouble differentiating between what they want and what they think they deserve as a right.

Interesting theory, but I think it’s too cynical of an observation, in my opinion, and the circumstances are too different to compare the Halo 4 community with the Halo 2 community.

4

If you buy a faulty product you would like compensation. Custom games in Halo 4 have been butchered and broken.

5

People generally feel entitled. “Oh, I spent my money on this, it needs to be perfect!” The advent of online gaming hasn’t helped this at all. I remember days of playing Goldeneye with friends and that game is buggy and unbalanced as they get, but we learned to live with it and still had fun doing so. Now that just about everything in-game can be patched, everyone expects it to be.

Simply because they “deserve it.”

Yes, JIP is flawed as is the general post-game lobby search. I’ve had games start at 4v0 simply because some people quit and the game decided it didn’t want to do any work. Yes, there are bugs. But not everything has to be nerfed or buffed simply because you die at the hands of a better player, who may or may not be the host.

I’ll use the DMR and get killed by BR wielders because they end up being a better shot, and vice versa.

We are absolutely a spoiled bunch, but we can also have high expectations without sounding like 5 year olds who want to change the rules simply because we aren’t winning.

6

Theres value in complaints (constructive criticism) that businesses look into to further improve their product. If I had produced and distributed a product and people had issues with it that I didn’t currently know, I would find that information pretty valuable when considering updating or providing fixes for the product.

7

I appreciate your detailed response. Allow me to share my thoughts.

> I think the issue is more of the way the community comes across nowadays. The tone is snotty and spoiled, but I do believe the community is entitled to voice their opinion.

I’m all for constructive criticism with the purpose of potentially serving to be productive, but when browsing through these forums, that certainly isn’t what I see. Instead, the forums are littered with newgen gamers who vent and talk about how they miss X, Y, and Z, and that they hate all the new features and can’t stand change. If you can justify how that is productive, you can have my vote, president.

> Take the whole custom games scenario, for example. Yes, Halo 2 did survive without custom games, but now that Custom games have existed in both Halo 3 and Halo Reach, you have to see the community’s perspective: Why take out the elements that made Halo even better? Without gametypes like Race and the classic Infection, many game types that allowed for the game’s replayability is lost and this is a valid concern.

Now I’m having trouble judging whether or not your opinion in credible. Halo 2’s custom games, not only existed, but were the absolute biggest part of the game, bringing every person and his brother into vast games of Tower of Power, or Get Out of the Map, or straight up war. Did you know, without even having the game type called “Infection”, Halo 2 players invented it by their own means and it caught on, eventually catching Bungie’s attention and becoming an official playlist in Halo 3 because of its popularity?

Just because they decided to discontinue a few playlists doesn’t mean you’re not allowed to have fun. And on top of that, it’s highly unlikely they’ll keep EVERYTHING from Reach and Halo 3. Personally, I loved exploiting glitches in Halo 2, but they’ve since fixed that and I can no longer double-shot. Now, I just find something else exciting like jump tactics. Boom, done. No need to whine and demand they bring back exploitable glitches.

> Another example is Join in Progress. Yesterday, I almost could not get into one game that hadn’t started and I was always put on the losing team as the game was only a minute away. These kind of flaws should be mentioned to 343i because the community is what will make the game so much more than it already is.

So you had a bad experience with the join in progress option? That’s interesting, because I was recently matched up in a team of 5, when suddenly all my teammates left. I was about to leave as well, but I was joined by another teammate, followed by several more over the course of a few minutes and we ended up winning. That being said, I don’t necessarily mind the join in progress feature, I mean, it works both ways, but I think it’s a fair implementation.

> To continue, Halo 2 had different circumstances. Keep in mind the game took place during 2004-2007, and from what I’ve seen, forums like these weren’t nearly as big or apparent to casual gamers. If a “2012” version of Halo 2 came out today (everything the same as the original but graphically enhanced and everything), I’m sure people would be complaining about that as well. The circumstances for this game are just bad and I agree, a lot of people do think that is it a right to have things fixed.

I agree, but for different reasons. People would complain today because there is a different level of entitlement. Newgen gamers are more demanding and vocal. When I played Halo 2, people knew there were things wrong but they didn’t kick and scream, saying they weren’t going to buy any more Halo games (well, there were a select few, but they were small in numbers and easily ignored).

> Your claim is valid, but I don’t think it’s as extreme as you think. The majority of users on this forum are only present to complain and voice their concerns. Some are more mature than others, and I think it’s just more memorable for us to remember all the immature brats. Some people look at these flaws as a disgrace to the community and that they need to be fixed. This is where one may see the spoiled brats, but I don’t see the harm in trying to address these flaws to 343i to try and make the game better (assuming they’re mature about it). It’s not that the community is necessarily spoiled, though; it’s more that people just have trouble differentiating between what they want and what they think they deserve as a right.

I think you do a great job at downplaying the collective immaturity on this forum. Yes, people voice their opinion. Yes, some (very few) have points that are realistic and valid. Yes, people, no matter how idiotic, are entitled to their opinion. But that doesn’t justify the spoiled, whiny behaviour, nor does it make it productive. It makes this community–a community I’ve been a part of since 2001–look awful. That’s why I made this thread.

8

> Now I’m having trouble judging whether or not your opinion in credible. Halo 2’s custom games, not only existed, but were the absolute biggest part of the game, bringing every person and his brother into vast games of Tower of Power, or Get Out of the Map, or straight up war. Did you know, without even having the game type called “Infection”, Halo 2 players invented it by their own means and it caught on, eventually catching Bungie’s attention and becoming an official playlist in Halo 3 because of its popularity?
>
> Just because they decided to discontinue a few playlists doesn’t mean you’re not allowed to have fun. And on top of that, it’s highly unlikely they’ll keep EVERYTHING from Reach and Halo 3. Personally, I loved exploiting glitches in Halo 2, but they’ve since fixed that and I can no longer double-shot. Now, I just find something else exciting like jump tactics. Boom, done. No need to whine and demand they bring back exploitable glitches.

I admit, I hadn’t played Halo 2 a whole lot before Halo 3 and was unaware of the vast custom games in Halo 2 (I know, that sounds noobish but it’s true). So, in a way, my claim isn’t very credible, but in the end 343i still stepped backwards with custom games. Like you said, infection was so popular that they had to add it in Halo 3 as an official gametype. So, although Halo 4 does have an infection variant, they dumbed it down in a way that limits creativity with the gametype. That’s disappointing and should be addressed.

> So you had a bad experience with the join in progress option? That’s interesting, because I was recently matched up in a team of 5, when suddenly all my teammates left. I was about to leave as well, but I was joined by another teammate, followed by several more over the course of a few minutes and we ended up winning. That being said, I don’t necessarily mind the join in progress feature, I mean, it works both ways, but I think it’s a fair implementation.

It’s difficult, I guess. Because you’re right, it is good that teammates can join so you don’t feel forced to leave the game early. However, I think this is less of a benefit (or at least for me, given my awful luck) than it hopes to be. Personally, I’d rather just be placed in a game that is at a fair start, with an even amount of players. If someone leaves, oh well. It’s just annoying that I frequently get placed into games and placed onto a team that is about to lose. It’s a waste of time. But, this is just me complaining, and this is something I can still live with but hope 343i acknowledges as a legitimate concern.

> I agree, but for different reasons. People would complain today because there is a different level of entitlement. Newgen gamers are more demanding and vocal. When I played Halo 2, people knew there were things wrong but they didn’t kick and scream, saying they weren’t going to buy any more Halo games (well, there were a select few, but they were small in numbers and easily ignored).

You’re probably right, but again I’m just not sure if that’s because the community didn’t know how to voice their opinions. Well, let me rephrase: I think it’s easier and more apparent today to post on a forum and complain about something than it was back then. Also considering Halo 2 had minor competition with other Xbox Live titles at the time (not positive on that, I’m assuming), there were less games to compare the game to and people were satisfied with what they got because that’s all they knew existed. (Not really my best argument, but hope you kind of get what I’m saying)

> I think you do a great job at downplaying the collective immaturity on this forum. Yes, people voice their opinion. Yes, some (very few) have points that are realistic and valid. Yes, people, no matter how idiotic, are entitled to their opinion. But that doesn’t justify the spoiled, whiny behaviour, nor does it make it productive. It makes this community–a community I’ve been a part of since 2001–look awful. That’s why I made this thread.

That’s fair and I think you’re right, it isn’t productive at all. Maybe I’m being too complimentary toward the community, but to me the immaturity isn’t extreme to me, and that may be just because I’m use to it.