Interesting article in Forbes about matchmaking (Destiny)

by CruelLEGACEY , Toronto, Monday, June 01, 2015, 19:13 (3461 days ago) @ Kermit

http://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2015/06/01/if-bungie-built-destiny-around-groups-they-need-to-help-players-fin...

Some interesting stuff in here. There's a quote from Deej addressing the many requests for in-game matchmaking for high-level activities:

"At current, our philosophy about endgame content is that part of the challenge includes forming up a team."

To which the article counters:

"If you’ve designed a game around group-based endgame activities, part of your challenge as a developer is figuring out how to get players together in case not everyone has five spare friends with the same console and unlimited free time lying around. It’s not the player’s responsibility to combat this glaring issue on your behalf."

Anyway, some good thoughts and good suggestions in here. I think we've all seen these suggestions before, but it's well presented.

I can't read the article right now but I strongly disagree with the premise that finding a team to tackle challenging activities should be push-button easy. No one thinks this way about any other team activities. You don't walk down to the park and expect two full basketball teams to be there waiting for you, minus a slot just for you. If you can't make the effort to find players, it's a good predictor of your effort once the game starts. The ease of finding players should be commensurate with the stakes. It's like the 20% down rule that used to exist for mortgages. It used to be that if you couldn't save 20% for a house downpayment, you couldn't buy a house because you not having the 20% was a strong predictor of your ability to afford a house payment. Sure, everyone wants a house, but if everyone gets one and they're not ready for it, it's a disaster (cf. 2008). My workmates complain about this all the time, but they never think about how bad the experience will be when people routinely quit after a wipe or two.

Totally agree. I've actually made that same basketball comparison myself (great minds ;p).

I do like some of the suggestions made in the article, however. Rather than a simple matchmaking feature, some form of designated meeting place for various activities, or the ability to broadcast your desire to join a group for a specific activity. Again, we've seen all these suggestions before. I just thought the article made some good points regarding Bungie's involvement (or lack of) on this side of things.