> 2590239964269681;1:
> I understand how big Forge is to a portion of the Halo community but I feel as if 343 is pushing Forge down the throats of everybody who plays Halo.
Excuse me, what?
> 2590239964269681;1:
> For example, my cousin, age 24, got to play Halo 5 on my XB1 recently. He hopped into Arena and played on the Rig and the Midship remake, which name eludes me right now. Next he went into BTB. Within 60 seconds of playing he started asking what happened to all of the detail in the game, wondering if he had started a game of a older Halo. I told him that this wasn’t the Chief collection and it was the stand alone Halo 5, the newest in the line. After scanning the map closely, he started to realize that the map had been made in modular pieces and immediately recalled Forge from Halo Reach, the last he had seen.
Okay one second. That’s 343i’s fault for not only asking forgers to make maps for them instead of making maps themselves, but then also messing with those maps instead of accepting the designs submitted to them.
Furthermore, if he had to assess the map closely in order to realize they were forge, the forgers did a pretty -Yoink!- good job.
> 2590239964269681;1:
> He and I both agree that the idea of making maps is great, even with console limitations but, we don’t enjoy the transition from a BEAUTIFULLY crafted 343 map to a fan made collage of blocks. Regardless of balance and play testing etc, the Forge maps don’t deliver on the experience like the other ones do.
>
> My question to all of you is, would Halo 5 benefit from no longer focusing on Forge and making quality maps themselves? We have already gone this far without Forge and our population isn’t going to jump with the addition of Forge like it would with the addition of classic maps remade in AAA quality. If anything at all, seclude Forge maps to their own playlist so everyone isn’t forced to play them…
>
> Thanks for reading, feel free to flame, this is just my honest opinion as a gamer and designer. Peace!
I understand the complaint and criticism, it’s perfectly logical to criticize 343i for the use of forge maps. In fact it’s fine to complain about their inclusion in certain gamemodes to. But your suggestion with which to resolve that problem… is to not have forge?
You, as a self proclaimed designer, should be one of the few who understands just how important Forge is for maintaining and sustaining a population. Giving the community tools with which to generate content for themselves and for the rest of the community as a whole, will keep them coming back long after 343i have given up developing maps for the game. Furthermore, the level of importance a map editor has for Custom games and Machinima (two aspects of the community that have already been royally and repeatedly screwed over by 343i’s consistent negligence) is astronomical.
I think you are severely undervaluing just how big a deal custom games are. I would argue much of Halo 3’s popularity can be attributed to Forge, Theatre, and the versatility of customs. It certainly gave people far more options than the standard experience that was provided for them, and a way to give back to the community of which they were apart.
343i’s games are already suffering a dire lack of content. You would further withold content from the community and doom it further because you (or your cousin) don’t like seeing forge maps in Matchmaking?
Forgive me if I think that’s selfish and ridiculous.
> 2590239964269681;16:
> Alot of people care. People who never have used forge especially. Which, unfortunately is the majority of the pop.
Yes, but you don’t have to use forge yourself to benefit from it. I understand that some people will be turned away from a game because user generated content doesn’t look as nice as the official maps, but if I may be blunt: Someone who only partakes in one aspect of the game, and is so easily swayed away from it, is never the type of person you should design for (unless that’s the outset of your design in the first place). Designing for the people who will stick around and appreciate the game for what it is, is far more rewarding in the long run both in terms of community engagement and popularity.
Case and point, pretty much every long standing game available.
Quake? User generated content. Elder Scrolls? User Generated content. Fallout? User generated content. Team Fortress 2? User generated content. Counter-Strike? User generated content. GTAV, Minecraft, Left 4 Dead, Portal, take your pick.
Most games that maintain a strong fanbase or following years after launch, and are generally well rated and received, have a way for the user to create their own content.