A little while back, the official Marathon Twitter account started the matchmaking discussion up by asking if gamers would want to see the mixture of skill-based and aggression-based matchmaking in the new extraction shooter. The community responded to the question very passionately and even started a lively and split debate on the future of competitive play in Bungie’s newest game which added to the already existing major contradiction in the design of modern online multiplayer games.
Indeed, this is a very important issue for everyone who is eagerly waiting for the release of Marathon to the fact that it was the very first thing that came up. Bungie is trying to find out what the players want before they put their systems in place and wow, what a storm of opinions, on preferences! There are some players who are urging strongly for it while there are others who are saying that the game will be unplayable even before its launch.
User Square Horse Unicorn highlighted a very relevant issue that vanished in the noise. He said it “largely depends on the internal dynamics of the Marathon” and we will not learn anything from the actual experience. He even brought up another extraction shooter, Arc Raiders that its aggression-based matchmaking is compatible because PvP is not the total focus. So maybe it is better to let Marathon find its soul first? On the other hand, there are players like DJ YOURANT who are totally fed up. The person said, “I would prefer normal matchmaking, find me random guys, I do not want to play against top 500 players after a good game or against bots after a bad one.” Good point. That indeed captures the situation. The SBMM tiredness is common in many games and players do not want to be on the back foot, punished for being good.
What has come out is the other side to the story. Puppyqueen was all for it who said, “Definitely, it would be a lot more fun and you would be less concerned about being in the middle of a puzzle and getting shot by a random.” There are people for whom, no structure means no security, which implies no fun. But don’t tell me this is what the extraction shooter is about? Security? Wait, what am I saying? Oh right, the pandemonium. Calm (the name is really ironic) was on the ABMM issue the other day and even had a long discussion going about how the ABMM system just gives you what’s expected, making the game lose its thrill very fast. “If you are handed exactly what you expect, the game becomes boring very quickly.” They even confessed that they quit over this very matter, which is… quite intense?
Comparisons to other games being drastic. LarZen directed Marathon immediately to “Learn from Arc Raiders, do exactly as that game does.” On the other hand, KevsReflection replied, “ARC will gradually kill itself by doing this. Hopefully, the marathon will not adopt that strategy.” So which is it? Is Arc Raiders the model or the warning? Gamers can’t even reach a consensus about it. And as usual, the diehard Bungie skeptics also show up. Kick just told everyone, “If anyone wants to see bungie’s matchmaking at work, destiny 2 is free.” Ouch, that’s quite a damper on the confidence.
There were some comments that were so absurd they became funny. Actrons did not like the LOGO. “Post the correct logo, WTH?!” This man is obviously prioritizing correctly. Justin Harris did not even mention matchmaking; he merely wants a world that is geographically reasonable and is complaining about “neon green inlaid architecture.” And my all-time favorite, Captain Booga Shofferhofer, who is only requesting for “gear score based matchmaking…” Why not? Just toss it in the boiling pot.
What is not being said is that modern matchmaking has created a community of people who are very skeptical and possibly a little traumatized. They are afraid that grossly unfair but thrilling and random moments that characterize the genre will be made extinct by Bungie imposing strict systems that will only be predictable and boring. The argument now is not only about the algorithm but the very nature of the PvP experience. I suppose the players’ dread is that the over-technical-lity of the lobbies will deny Marathon of the random, high-stakes encounters which in the first place make extraction shooters so addicting. The division in the community is a clear message of what Bungie needs to be very careful about now. They must not let new players get confused and at the same time, they must not make the experience boring for the veterans. Finally, the possibility of PvP in Marathon will depend on the capability to find a middle ground that while acknowledging the player’s skills, at the same time preserves the wild, heart-racing chaos that the genre fans love. The debate certainly highlights how gamers are seriously divided over features, much like they are on PlayStation and Xbox platforms.
