Why are some focused on SP in a PvP game?

Games Other Halo
1

What I don’t understand is how some people are so focused on the single-player aspect of Halo? It’s not that I’m not a big fan of the story aspect—because I really do appreciate the lore and the PvE campaign—but it’s just that I don’t get this mentality of playing Halo. An FPS. A First-Person Shooter. Halo is obviously a PvP-centric game.

It’s good for them to make innovative and compelling PvE features, like the Campaign, but I don’t think they should put more focus on the PvE aspects than the PvP, or at least put more that’ll take away some from the PvP. I’m sure that the majority plays Halo for the multiplayer, and with more multiplayer features like Custom Games and Forge now, I just don’t see why it would be a smart move for 343i to transition Halo to a more of a single-player game.

The day Halo turns into more of a single-player game is the day I stop playing it in total. As a PvP’er, I come here for the multiplayer and other PvP components that’s just plain addicting. The reason why I don’t play PvE all that much is because it’s just scripted mobs that I’d rather do once on a Normal difficult, and then once on the hardest in Co-op with friends. The PvE and its components won’t keep me playing for years though, and I’m sure it’s the same with many others who play Halo.

What do you guys think? Personally, I think if anyone is more worried about the PvE components in a PvP-based game, they are playing the wrong game.

2

I like playing a lot of MP, but I will never play MP before playing the story of a game.
So saying something similar to what you said. The day Halo becomes very MP based and the Single player is horrible or unexistant, then I will stop playing.
To each their own. I like both Single-player and Multiplayer a lot, and I wouldn’t like any of the two to go away. I also think I heard Frank or somebody else say that half of the fans only care about the story. Both modes are very important.

3

Everyone has there own opinions on what makes a good game. for me Halo as a franchise has a great overarching story which drives me to play the games. I also like to play the multiplayer but more for social reasons than competitive.

I buy halo for both the single player on the multiplayer but I would buy a single player only halo game just because the universe that the franchise has created is one of the greatest from any video game (except mass effect).

I would also like to point out that I read the books and watch all the video stories such as halo legends, halo forward unto dawn and the mini animations made from the stories from halo evolutions.

Again I would put it down to opinion but I would also say that saying the fps games are made solely for mulitplayer gameplay is kinda one sided as my first experience of halo was playing the single player of halo CE as I am sure was many peoples.

4

I’ve always seen Halo as a released single-player game with a multiplayer attachment, then all further development (updates and DLC) is aimed at making the multiplayer better.

Halo is the lore, not the multiplayer which gives games like Call of Duty and Battlefield their selling point. They make a multiplayer game with a Campaign slapped onto it.

Don’t get me wrong, I totally understand your point because it’s the multiplayer that keeps the game alive, but I buy the game for the Campaign. Just look at how Halo started.

I think you’re looking at Halo with just a “PvP & PvE” mindset rather than a “story and multiplayer” mindset.

And I have to say that this is my opinion, I take a lot of notice into the universe of Halo and play the multiplayer on the side, I’m not trying to say you’re wrong. (:

5

I never had liked fps until I played halo ce 3 years ago, and that all change thanks to the campaign of halo. Halo is a complete different fps from the others in the market cause the campaign is great, that’s what really makes it differente. However on this day and age, I can understand your point of view, a game to survive has to have a great multiplayer experience. However, I would definitely not buy a game, halo or not, just for the multiplayer, has I have never bought a single CoD

6

The one thing that sets Halo apart from every other shooter out there is the single player story. No FPS has even come close to touching the bar Halo has set IMO. That said, i love multiplayer. Im not going to pretend i dont have more War Games hours logged in than i do Campaign and Spartan Ops combined. But without the Campaign to complement the Multiplayer all you have is a generic shooter with no sense of purpose, no lore, and no means to submerge yourself into a bigger overall experience.

7

> I’m sure that the majority plays Halo for the multiplayer

Not according to Frank O’Connor.

“Most people actually play campaign and don’t play competitive.”

8

halo is all about the campaign. look at how it started with ce. it was all campaign and story and bungie almost cut the multiplayer when they had trouble with it. it was not their focus at all it was just a fun extra mode that ended up being popular.

i typically play campaign much more than MM. ill put a day or two or three into MM but ill put weeks into campaign. i usually play at least a few campaign missions a day in any of the prior halos, ce - reach.

if they cut out the MM i would be fine with it. i buy halo for the campaign and campaign only. it just worked out that the multiplayer wasnt too bad as well.

9

Fact: Multiplayer was a last-minute addition for Halo: C.E. Bungie never intended for it to blow up like it did.
Halo should always be focused on the campaign first, multiplayer second. Without the story, Halo loses it’s identity and would become a generic “space marine” shooter. The fiction is what makes Halo “Halo”.
Multiplayer is only there to provide longevity and replayability. The story is the main focus and the heart of the franchise.

10

> Halo is all about the multiplayer.

I used to play Halo mainly for the multiplayer. I can’t even begin to imagine how much I’ve played Halo PC or Halo 2 split-screen.

Regardless, I find this statement ludicrous. Halo has never been a PvP or PvE game. The focus might lean one way or the other on a title by title basis, but overall both have their own large following, both are important.

And let’s be frank, Halo CE’s multiplayer was a last minute addition. I’m not saying it was bad (far from it), but it was clearly not the main focus of the game.

> Halo is all about the campaign.

Halo Ce’s multiplayer was an afterthought. But it also had a cult following and was praised all around.

This lead to Halo 2 expanding vastly on multiplayer. And that again had even more praise and even bigger of a following. A MASSIVE following, nearly one million players played Halo 2. Halo 2 put Xbox Live on the map, so to speak.

So great of a success was the multiplayer that it encouraged Bungie to keep expanding, bringing us many more custom games options and a map editor.

> Without the story, Halo loses it’s identity and would become a generic “space marine” shooter.

There were several things that set Halo 3’s multiplayer apart from other games on the market. One of the most significant being the player’s ability to create their own experience via custom games and forge. Not many other games had that at the time. One of the other most significant things being the gameplay itself.

Having a story isn’t a necessity for having an identity. Nor do stories automatically set games apart. It is possible to have stories that are cliche and uninspired, just as it is possible to have gameplay that is cliche and uninspired. It is possible for a story to set a game apart, just as much as it is possible for gameplay to set a game apart.

To say otherwise is simply being biased.

11

There is no such thing as “true Halo” OP. The Campaign is just as important as the Multiplayer.

To be honest, I’m baffled over why you even posted this. Seems to just be picking fights.

12

> > I’m sure that the majority plays Halo for the multiplayer
>
> Not according to Frank O’Connor.
>
> “Most people actually play campaign and don’t play competitive.”

Well competitive play does not necessarily equate to multiplayer matchmaking. Halo 3 had a matchmaking, and moreover just a multiplayer system itself, that supported all types of multiplayer styles of play, for the casuals and for both the hardcore and competitive players (even hardcore doesn’t necessarily mean competitive :P).

> There is no such thing as “true Halo” OP. The Campaign is just as important as the Multiplayer.
>
> To be honest, I’m baffled over why you even posted this. <mark>Seems to just be picking fights.</mark>

That was an unnecessary comment. I’m just wondering why others want more focus on the Campaign rather than the multiplayer. Halo’s lore and story is amazing, I won’t deny that, and it’s that that also lets machinima directors make some great Halo machinima projects. Keep in mind that Halo 3 revolutionized machinimas.

TBH, I just think that Halo wouldn’t have much longevity or much of a great audience that it boasts now if it had less focus on the multiplayer. I know I’m more of a PvP kind of player, but the multiplayer Halo had pre-Halo 4 (and pre-Reach in some cases) really revolutionized the FPS industry.

—————

As for everyone else, thank you so much for your feedback. I guess like some of you said, it all comes down to opinions and what others prefer to play. I won’t deny I threw in some assumptions, but I made this because I kind of disagree with what some SP-type of players are saying.

Look, Halo 4 really changed big time multiplayer-wise and that led to a mass exodus of players leaving. If Halo deviates even further to a focus on just the Story itself, no matter how great it is (I’ve even said before that I absolutely do enjoy the lore), I just don’t think many people will stay and support Halo. This game evolved in many ways from what I can tell reading this thread, but this game shouldn’t deviate off the successful path that Halo 2 and Halo 3 made. 343i did it with Halo 4. It failed.

So again, thanks for the responses. As you can see, my preference for playing games is for some hardcore pew pew, but I also love me lots of Custom Games and anything that has to do with Halo machinima. Additionally, I don’t play CoD. Have once with a friend in MW1 with all those -Yoinking!- glitches and all that camping… NEVER AGAIN WILL I PLAY A COD TITLE.

13

> That was an unnecessary comment.

And I’m arguing that acting as if one half of the game isn’t as important or “right” as the other, and that the dedicated fans of that part aren’t “true” Halo fans, is unnecessary.

Especially when this particular part is what the franchise was founded on in the first place.

14

Halo isn’t PVP only. Games like call of duty and battlefield should likely abandon the campaign, but halo? No. Halo’s core has story.

15

> > That was an unnecessary comment.
>
> And I’m arguing that acting as if one half of the game isn’t as important or “right” as the other, and that the dedicated fans of that part aren’t “true” Halo fans, is unnecessary.
>
> Especially when this particular part is what the franchise was founded on in the first place.

Doesn’t give you the right to flame me for my topic. If you think I’m trying to cause any fights, please use the “Report” function. That’s what it’s there for, but it’s really you who is trying to instigate. I just decided to post something I felt would be worthwhile for others of different play styles to give their 2 credits on, but that doesn’t give you the right to call me out on that type of behavior just because you don’t like the topic. Are you a moderator? Doesn’t look like it to me…

Yes, this franchise was mainly founded on its story and lore, but Bungie did expand, improve and innovate. That’s why Halo is as big as it is today… or was, I should say. That part of Halo’s model that was acceptable back during the early days of Halo: CE wouldn’t really be appropriate for this day and age. If 343i decided to do this, it would be taking an even further step back from what they did with Halo 4. You may not agree with me, but statistics will show it again in the future (if that type of deviation ever occurs). There’s hundreds of thousands of players who can only play SP features for so long and then move on to bigger and better games.

So unless you actually have anything mature to say, please do so or I will put you on ignore. I don’t appreciate being flame-baited, and I’m pretty sure the mods don’t condone that type of behavior either.

> Halo isn’t PVP only. Games like call of duty and battlefield should likely abandon the campaign, but halo? No. Halo’s core has story.

I agree. I never said they should abandon it, but I wouldn’t like for Halo’s SP aspects to be focused on only to further ruin its multiplayer. If 343i did that, it’d just be fueling the fire we already have now.

16

> snip

I really don’t understand why you’re getting so offended over me questioning the intent of a comment like-

> Personally, I think if anyone is more worried about the PvE components in a PvP-based game, they are playing the wrong game.

Asking someone why they posted an offensive comment is hardly flaming, unless we want to relabel the definition of “criticism” as “flaming”. I just dislike it when people try to brand Halo as one thing or another, that’s all. (BTW, note the use of “seems”. by not reporting I was giving you the benefit of the doubt, and in my comment I expressed my confusion. No need to get angry.)

Here, let’s change the wording of that comment of yours a little-

> Personally, I think if anyone is more worried about the PvP components in a PvE-based game, they are playing the wrong game.

Doesn’t that sound disagreeable to am MM player such as yourself? Do you see how comments like it could be controversial?

This is what I’m interpreting the OP as-

“So fellow Waypointer (lesser Halo fan), would like to discuss your insistence on focusing on an (inferior) part of the game? :)”

Based on your recent comments I can see you weren’t intentionally pushing buttons, but that’s what you’ve done. Unfortunate wording I guess. Maybe I’m being too sensitive.

17

OP clearly never played Halo: CE - dev commentaries state that MP was added on later. The games have always been based around the SP campaign, hence the books and why the MP maps are tied into locations from the lore. The SP aspect requires a bigger budget as well so they wouldn’t be producing a hollywood grade campaign if no one played it. In fact, it always pisses me off when a new game comes out and everyone jumps on MP first without playing SP. I’ll always be an SP first kinda guy because that’s what Halo was to be from the start.

18

> OP clearly never played Halo: CE - dev commentaries state that MP was added on later. The games have always been based around the SP campaign, hence the books and why the MP maps are tied into locations from the lore. The SP aspect requires a bigger budget as well so they wouldn’t be producing a hollywood grade campaign if no one played it. In fact, it always pisses me off when a new game comes out and everyone jumps on MP first without playing SP. I’ll always be an SP first kinda guy because that’s what Halo was to be from the start.

Halo: CE was my first game, although I had the PC version. Got it somewhere in the mid-2000s.

Well that style of play may piss you off, but everyone has their own choice on how to start off playing the game. I just don’t believe Halo should suffer anymore than it has already by deviating even further with the future releases. Many people will be expecting for the future Halo titles to expand, improve and innovate—not go backwards too much or change the core into another class-based FPS.

19

> Well that style of play may piss you off, but everyone has their own choice on how to start off playing the game. I just don’t believe Halo should suffer anymore than it has already by deviating even further with the future releases. Many people will be expecting for the future Halo titles to expand, improve and innovate—not go backwards too much or change the core into another class-based FPS.

But what does that have to do with the single player aspect?

20

I disagree. The campaign is what makes halo halo to me. You run around blasting aliens. There are fun Easter eggs, and playing with the AI is fun. The single player campaign should get more focus than the multiplayer because people may stop playing or there could be a server error or whatever. Heck you can’t play halo 2 online any more, but you can still pop it in and get that campaign experience. The campaign is the thing that lasts, and the thing you can come back to anytime. Multiplayer is a constantly changing beast and can be unreliable.