Why you should ignore Edge's opinions from now on

[Madame Adequate]

We hand out this accolade to the title released in the last 12 months that does most to further the creative culture of gaming

Yeah tbqh it seems pretty clear that what they're getting at here is the way Halo 3 allows players to create all sorts of content of their own, in various forms, and share it effortlessly with probably millions of others, who themselves require no effort to experience it. Pretty important. Yes, the Wii has changed what gets bought, but it's not done jack for fostering the creation of games content by gamers. Yes, Portal came up with a fantastic premise and mechanic and executed it damned near flawlessly, and is easily one of the best games in years, but it's not fostered a massive community of creation and interaction. Sorry, but DK and Azar know what's up here.

[Roto13]

Halo did NOT invent user created content and sharing user created content is only marginally easier than doing it in games like The Sims.

[DK]

It saves up to the last 30 games you play in campaign and in co-op, online, offline, anything in game data, which you can then edit, manipulate, and record and do whatever you want to. The video clips made from it are also extremely compact filesizes because of the system used. You can then share all of this crap with the entire userbase of the game. But apparently, this isn't innovative.

You're given regular updates of content for creation to build your own maps, gametypes or whatever you can think up right there on your own console with a creation system that takes about 3 seconds to figure out what you're doing, yet can lead up to making gametypes good enough for the game designers to add them to their matchmaking lists. But apparently, this also isn't innovative for console games.

These are two things I could be arsed to pick up on because they are the most obvious things for people who haven't played the game to understand. But there is plenty of crap that's already been gone over in the thread for people to make up their own minds if it's Edge or Roto talking out of their arse here. From what i've seen so far your problem isn't with Halo but that you don't like they way they've used the word "Innovation", but that is, as with most of the fail in this thread, your problem. I have faith that most people will be able to understand things this simple with relative ease.

[Roto13]

console games.

Well there's your problem. You think gaming is isolated to consoles, apparently. Just because you haven't seen it on a console before, that doesn't mean it's actually new.

[DK]

I don't know if anyone has told you this but PC games and Console games are different. The freedom and ability to do things in both games are different. Just because something has already been done on a PC doesn't mean anything. Being able to do things on a console that could only previously be done on a PC is innovation.

[Mirage]

hay guyz halo is just wolfenstein 3d with better graphics

[Roto13]

The fact that these things were already done on PCs means a lot. It means that Bungie took someone else's ideas, someone else's innovations, and implemented them slightly differently. It's no more innovative than the first PC game controller with an analog stick.

[Madame Adequate]

Halo did NOT invent user created content and sharing user created content is only marginally easier than doing it in games like The Sims.

Bullhockey. First, I never said they INVENTED it. Christ, talk about a really valid point and i'm impressed by your thinking.. Second, until Spore, I can't think of a single PC game that even approaches Halo's functionality and ease of use. If I want Sims content I have to go trawling through websites until I find something I want. If I want some game-changing mod for Civilization, I can't just click two buttons from the main menu and find a reliable, fast database.

So I'm actually going to take what DK said a step further and say not only does Halo 3 do something consoles haven't done before, but that it does it better than even PCs have ever done it.

Edit: To rant further. The way I find Sims 2 content is this: I see something cool mentioned or used on a Sims LJ legacy. I look through the post or comments, or ask myself, about it. Then, I go find it on a website. Then, I make sure it's the right thing, free of viruses, etc. Then, I download it. Then, I follow the installation instructions. Then, I can use it. Assuming it doesn't conflict with existing mods, that it's well-programmed, and it doesn't have some weird issue with my machine. Edit2: And assuming that the mod patch and game patch match up.

[Rye]

I can honestly say that I've never seen a game like Halo 3 where you are connected with every player in a way that you can share and create so much of the game with everyone who plays. It's absolutely the most interactive innovative game I've ever played. I've only played not even 20% of all the online features, and it's more satisfying than any other online game I've ever played, when it comes to interactivity.

And I'm not a FPS fangirl. I'm not even huge into the 360, I have like, 4 games for it. It's my unbiased opinion. ;o

[Slothy]

We hand out this accolade to the title released in the last 12 months that does most to further the creative culture of gaming

Yeah tbqh it seems pretty clear that what they're getting at here is the way Halo 3 allows players to create all sorts of content of their own, in various forms, and share it effortlessly with probably millions of others, who themselves require no effort to experience it.

If you interpret what they said that way then Halo is the only game meeting those criteria that was even in contention which makes absolutely no sense.

I read absolutely nothing in that article that makes me think that's how they meant it or that DK and others interpretations are correct. They worded the description poorly, yes, but they specifically say that the award is for those who "mark out new directions for the form." The form can also mean nothing but gameplay and game design or there would be no other games listed as in contention like I said before.

So basically, Edge feels that decent match making and Garry's Mod lite make for an innovative experience. I'd say they're wrong since the very idea that taking other peoples ideas and adapting them in an only slightly different medium is innovative is a complete joke. And anyone who actually believes that it's innovative is fooling themselves. It takes a lot less creative effort to take someone elses ideas and adapt them than to come up with something original. Something the Halo series hasn't been great at from the get go.

Now for my opinion on the award; it should have gone to Portal; a game that broke from FPS and puzzle game conventions to challenge gamers in new and creative ways like no one had done before. It was a triumph of concept, level and puzzle design the likes of which Bungie could only wish they had the talent to pull off. I'm not saying we should see a Portal gun in every game for the next 10 years by any stretch, but it would certainly be nice if more developers would get off their asses and try designing new and unique gameplay ideas for a change.

[Bolivar]

On one hand I want to say that this is vintage Roto stubbornly "going down with the ship" on an argument he already lost.

But I have to agree with him. DK, Azar, and others, have well formed and credible opinions, but I believe the masses, along with Edge, for many years now, have become way too over-excited about the HALO franchise as a whole (obviously).

All of these elements that have been listed, have all been apart of gaming for years now, PC and console. Reliable servers for multiplayer gaming on a large scale, obviously. Easy mapbuilding, obviously, has existed in simulation games even on consoles for probably decades now. Video saving and editing has been a huge part of PC gaming for quite some time.

All of this is common knowledge. The problem is that HALO didn't actually invent any of it. Incorporating ideas that have been around for over a decade into one supreme package is great for the consumer, but it isn't innovative. Neither is making it all accessible to casual gamers.

To put it bluntly, all HALO is, is an open-source FPS. If you think any of this is new, you have a lot of history to learn. To keep this short, all I'm going to say is this:

Half-Life.

[Madame Adequate]

1) Innovation =/= originality. Might as well say Casablanca's because it ripped off the first film with a narrative.
2) HL is a PC game, and we've already established our rationale for why this is special for consoles.

What Halo 3 did was never done before and has changed videogames, at least on consoles, more than any of the other games have changed anything. Is innovative necessarily the EXACT perfect word to use? Maybe not. As Azar said, we're not going to think games are lacking if they're not Portal. And we're not going to think games are lacking if they don't have Euphoria to the same extent that bad matchmaking etc. will be inexcusable. In fact many's a time I've lamented the absence of theater in GTA. I've not lamented the absence of anything about GTA in Halo, really. And yeah, Wii Fit, I'm pretty sure the day will never come when I lament anything about that gimmick except it's popularity.

[DK]

but I believe the masses, along with Edge, for many years now, have become way too over-excited about the HALO franchise as a whole (obviously).

I used to be the most staunchly anti-Halo man around. Even though I have been converted to the Halo 3 matchmaking because it is great, I still think the campaign mode is pointless unless you're playing it with a friend/friends. The whole fun of Halo is doing it with friends, without them it's a mediocre FPS with a crap story and characters that I don't care about. But that doesn't take anything away from the complete package that it presents with regards to content, creation potential and service provided to a console audience. And yes the console distinction is very important. I don't see why that should be dismissed. There wasn't even a PC game up for the award so why should they even come into the discussion?

[Magixion]

To put this simply, everyone who is arguing against this obviously has not spent very much time with Halo 3. Even spending just a little bit of time in Forge, the theater, or even just checking out your stats on the Bungie website will see that Halo 3 definitely deserves this. To break this down, I will put out some questions and see if you can answer them.

In what other game can you modify maps with a group of friends and create an almost infinite amount of possibilities because you can change spawn rates, amount of items on each map, spawn areas, etc (remember, you and all your friends can be doing this at the same time, in the exact same session)?

In what other game is every kill, every achievement ever won, every type of weapon used for a kill, every death kept and maintained on a website that you can view at your leisure?

In what other game can you take a screenshot from any of your 30 previously played games and download a high-res version to use to do whatever on your computer?

In what other games is there a seemingly perfect party system that allows you to be matched up with others at your same skill level? (I am not saying the matchmaking is perfect, but the party system is spot on)

So, in conclusion, some aspects of Halo 3's systems might have been in other games, but in how many games have they been so spot on and polished almost to the point of perfection? Halo 3 has no doubt stepped up the bar in online console gaming and I can guarantee you, after spending some time with Halo 3, you -will- expect some of the innovations to make it into other games in the future.

[Roto13]

To put this simply, everyone who is arguing against this obviously has not spent very much time with Halo 3. Even spending just a little bit of time in Forge, the theater, or even just checking out your stats on the Bungie website will see that Halo 3 definitely deserves this. To break this down, I will put out some questions and see if you can answer them.

It was my JOB to know Halo 3. When I worked for Xbox, Halo 3 was the reason I was hired in the first place. Before the game came out, I had to do a training course specifically on Halo 3.

So, in conclusion, some aspects of Halo 3's systems might have been in other games, but in how many games have they been so spot on and polished almost to the point of perfection?

Again, polish is not innovation. Nobody's arguing that it doesn't do these things well.