On content and why we're drowning in it. (Destiny)

by uberfoop , Seattle-ish, Monday, March 23, 2015, 20:59 (3780 days ago) @ narcogen

As someone who played very little competitive multiplayer post Halo 2, I'd admit it is true that Halo's campaign material was very replayable. Even then, however, you come to its end. Even if you play slowly, even if you replay the entire game or isolated levels, even if you intentionally vary your own style of play, you come to a point of diminishing returns.

I tended to play a campaign on Heroic, then replay it on Legendary, then go back and perhaps noodle around on Normal looking for things I'd missed, or things to do differently, and then replay favorite levels on Heroic for fun. All in all that's probably fewer hours played than I'd get from RPGs like Mass Effect that I've replayed each campaign multiple times and each pass takes 30 hours or so.

Then you wait three years for new content.

I can't say I've particularly felt that way with Halo ever. I replay all of Bungie's Halo games on occasion, and the 3-year release schedule always felt just about right; enough time for the earlier game to get a proper run of life and sink in, and enough time for Bungie to develop a new game.

That is not a criticism. That is the ultimate confirmation that Bungie has made the right decisions, not the wrong ones, and that the investment hooks work so well that people keep playing beyond the point where they should but are unable or unwilling to stop.

How is it the right decision if it keeps people playing beyond the point when they should stop?

It seems like you're arguing that it's the right call because it's impressive, which doesn't really make any sense.