- last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT
Dear Bungie,
It’s been a long while since I last wrote to you with one of my crazy rants. This has been due to many ligament excuses, mostly being lazy and sick. This week I am writing to you because as a fan, I want to help you out as much as possible. It is my dream as well as yours to have Halo 3 be the best it can be as a FPS game on the Xbox 360. It’s also both of our dreams for me to cut to the chase a little more, and that’s I am working on….
As I have mentioned in my previous letters to you Bunge, map editing is perhaps one of the best things for any game, because simply put, we as humans love to illustrate our imagination, and have the power to change or morph it as we see fit. It gives us a scene of worth and pride, and it separates us from the rest of society in a positive way. In a Capitalist world, individualism is celebrated heavily as you know. To prove such a statement that the map editor could have such a huge impact on a classic and almost cretin successful game *Aka: Halo 3*, lets head to the history books itself, and find out what many (and I am not joking on this) see about a game with a map editor, and also how these M.E (map editor) can change the hole scale of the game into a mind boggling game.
Let’s start out with the Famous Tony Hawk. Tony’s game had a very detailed yet simple editor to use, and along with excellent game play, his skate boarding game rose to the top. From even reading the forums from that community, they say that half the fun comes from making new maps and testing them. Even long after a game becomes “boring,” the game itself keeps regenerating the Fun Factor, and thus that 30 seconds of fun is stretched out for a while, till the users find that map gets old. Then he/she makes a new one, and again the fun builds up again.
Moving to a more popular game in the same field as Halo, Far Cry is a great example of how much a map editor can really bring in extra revenue that might have been lost without it. With its simple down to earth editor, Far Cry enabled users to create an environment with endless possibilities, despite such a limited source of tools. The game play itself is nothing new besides the predator power up; and duel wielding was already a “norm” for FPS, thanks largely part to Halo 2. Even on there forums, many folks believe that Far Cry’s game play was not the greatest of the FPS. What you will hear a lot is the Map editor, and how much better it made the game.
Moving to my final Example, Half Life 2. This I do not need to explain, as for it is so well known, and because of its mod Counter Strike, it is the largest game played in the world. CC is just like any other FPS really. Its game play is now common in many FPS games. So what makes it stand out? Well besides a fan base, the map editor and the mods is what makes HL2 separate from everyone else. You can do almost anything in that game, simply because it’s always changing and staying fresh.
Now, after looking over some of the most successful games, its safe to conclude that map editing (modding helps but as xbl shows, it hurts more then it helps) can have a tremendous impact on a game, especially if it is crafted in a way *cough*HL2*cough* that stands out amongst all others, even without a map editor alone. Bungie, if you can, take a step back and look at your environment. Why is this place you work at fun? Do you like creating stuff? Does it feel good to brain storm cool maps to make up, and draw them? How about play them? Is it not safe to assume then that many people feel the same way to about making maps? Don’t get me wrong, I think that halo 3 will easily beat sales from halo 2, regardless of a map editor or not, but with that extra kick, (and your final HALO) why not give the community a chance to show off what they can do in the world you created them. Just think how many more people will be swept away by the halo phenomenon with a M.E.
The nicest part of a M.E is that people will pay for it. Bungie, if you don’t believe me, just do a poll on “If we had a choice between paying for a M.E on another disk or not having no M.E at all, what would you choose?” I guarantee you at least 80% would say yes they would get it. Sales would boost so much simply because if you sold 4 million halo 3 disks on the first day, (Lets see if this can happen :P) at 69.99, then the revenue for that would be 279,960,000 US dollars. Now let’s say 80% of that 4 million bought the M.E Disk, that’s 3,200,000 people willing to dish out, oh say 20 bucks extra. That’s 64,000,000 extra in revenue that would have never come to you unless you sold it on a CD (or online). Now one would think a smarter way to do is to release the map editor 1 month after the release date or later, that way people will get new pay checks in and they be able to easily by the “just 20 bucks that’s it” M.E, without thinking “wait, I am paying 90 for halo 3!” Now Bungie, can you tell me it’s not worth 64,000,000 extra in revenue to make a M.E that may be a little challenging for your talented crew? *lol challenging?* Any marketer would jump on this I would think. Then if you were to release another expansion pack like you did for halo 2, you could look at over 100 dollars dished out for 80% of the halo 3 community, plus I am betting a 30% spike in people buying the game, because the map editor alone will lure many non halo fans in. (Most games with M.E’s I buy :P)
This is my last point Bungie, don’t worry ;). For map editing, you could be as limited as Far Cry, or as detailed as HL2. As long as the UI does not get in the way, the M.E is easy to use, and is eye appealing, it will be fine. Rotation of units, the level that there in the air or ground, merging, ground editing, map performance bar, weapons, scenery, buildings (or metal planks for owners to make, which can be easier on the engineers.) player spawn points, extra, all should be in a normal M.E. *Geese, something Bungie seems to be really good at…* But surprisingly, nothing else needs to be added without the owner already being happy.
Well that sums up my 2 page letter to you Bungie, Just remember this, Halo fans, or any other game fan, is like a noob game developer. We all want to show off what we can do, and we all want to share our imagination with everyone so that we all can enjoy it together. Isn’t that what makes Halo so big? Is the ability to come together? I hope that my persuasive letter had some effect on Bungie’s direction, if it did not, then Oh well. It’s your game, and as long as you read this, I am happy. Oh, and what do you know, I never broke 2 pages this time!
-Aktins Diet
And now back on topic!
Ok frankie, i am so concerned about your wellbeing, that i donate this hole section that i norm write tons about what you right, to saying PLEASE GET WELL SOON PAL. Really, i am still sick, so i know how it feels. Take it easy and drink lots of water.
-Aktins Diet