We become motivated less by the enjoyment of the game itself, and more by the pleasure of watching a bar fill up after each match. But the introduction of extrinsic rewards often saps the intrinsic value of play. 8 Things I Miss About Video Game Instruction ManualsĪt their best, battle passes can provide a sense of advancement to players who might otherwise feel discouraged by losses, or provide a reward to skilled players for wins.‘Exo One’ is Sonic the Hedgehog Meets 2001: A Space Odyssey.Towards a New Theory of Video Game Genre.If Halo: Infinite had launched with no promise of unlocking accessories to dress up your little man, no cash shop to buy them, it would have been a shock to many. But at this point, many - myself included - expect them. Some players grudgingly accept these kinds of microtransactions as a way for developers to bring in funds they can use to develop other aspects of the game.
And hey - if you don’t want to sink hundreds of hours into unlocking a new glider or gun skin, you can buy it for cash in the shop. Games like Fortnite have mastered the slow drip of unlocks via continual play, carefully calibrating their reward frequencies for maximum investment by players. What is the purpose of implementing grinding in games like Halo? To keep you playing. And that’s a shame, because I can’t help but feel that battle passes and the RPGification of multiplayer games have transformed them from play into work. Playing Halo: Infinite today, I’m struck by how absurd the idea of a game like this without any kind of progression mechanic would seem today. Sure, we were climbing the ranks online, but there was no expectation that if we played enough, we’d unlock a new color of paint or gun charm for our Spartans. It seems almost quaint to me, now, the idea that I played hundreds of hours of Halo 2 with my friends over a decade ago simply because we enjoyed it.
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