Jaime Griesemer's design blog, Tip of the Sphere, is excellent.
One of my favorite posts of his was about ensuring elements that are fun in a game retain them, rather than getting tweaked to death.
I'm going to post some of those excerpts, and then contrast them with the Halo 4 perks.
A side note, I can't load the Halo Waypoint Halo 4 page on my work computer - it flashes up for a second, then disappears, leaving the page black. So I'm going off of
descriptions posted in the thread.
Jaime in bullets, Halo 4 not.
- Creating a Counter – Another common way to address an overpowered element is to design a second element whose sole role is to counter the first. Not only is this second element probably not fun on its own merits, but everyone will be saddled with choosing an option that they secretly hope they don’t have to employ, just to prevent everyone else from choosing the fun option they desperately want. I will choose the unenjoyable anti-tank mine so that nobody else can have fun using a tank.
Stealth: Decreased visibilty vs PromVision
Wheelman: Lessend EMP effect, Vehicle Health buff
These perks have features that do nothing but counter other perks or features. In the case of the EMP, players can now spawn with Plasma Pistols. So, drivers had better pick the Wheelman, so as to counter it; likewise with Promethean Vision and the Stealth perk.
- The Old Switch and Bait - Many games, especially those looking for a sense of progression, will initially introduce the player to a hobbled version of an element, and then unlock the truly fun version as a reward. Of course, this ignores the fact that players usually won’t invest in a game that isn’t fun, and even if they do eventually earn the right to have fun, a vast majority of their experience will have been struggling through a crippled, unenjoyable game. If I kill 300 more rats with this blunted shovel maybe I’ll get to use a real sword!… in this game that is ostensibly about swords.
Having to progress to unlock the contents of the combat sandbox (guns, abilities) in a game that is about a rich combat sandbox. No longer letting us pick up grenades off fallen enemies unless we have that perk picked.
- Death of a Thousand Tweaks – Perhaps the most outwardly reasonable (and therefore the most nefarious) way of shorting fun is to make an endless series of minor changes, each one leaving the element a little less fun than it was. Slightly less accurate, a touch less damage, a little longer reload, a smidge more recoil, a fraction less range, etc. In this parody of the tuning process, the element gets gradually less fun until it is “unfun enough” to be included. The problem is that tuning is more delicate than balance, so the element will lose the qualities that made it fun long before it becomes fair. It will also leave players frustrated; if only this gun had been tuned better it would be really fun!
This describes the entire perk suite, but in particular, things like:
Shielding: Shield Recharge Rate buff
AA Efficiency: AA Recharge Rate buff
Stability: Lessened knock out of scope
Sensor Upgrade: Increased Motion Tracker Range
Awareness: Use radar while scoped
Looking back, Jaime's article there is describing many of the design principles that made Halo fun for me. Beyond things like the two weapon limit, recharging health, etc. was a design philosphy that dictated decisions that kept the combat deep, fun and clear.
343 is of course wanting to make a fun game, but it's clear to me they are not adhering to the same design principles that Bungie was when they made the game. This is not evolving the game forward, it's removing some of the key, defining design elements from the series.
This is why I am so worried. More than any bullet list like this, fear Halo 4 has turned into a game that is fundamentally different from the series I've loved for over a decade.