ParanoidAltoid
Spectator
- Joined
- Apr 23, 2012
- Messages
- 10
- Reaction score
- 4
Yesterday I played a game. It began as they always do: I made it to the cornucopia too late to get anything. I ran north as fast as I could, not looking back.
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Night time. My companion for most of the game had been killed by the other three tributes, working as a group. That left 4 of us: me vs them. A cannonball shortly after signified one of the three had been killed. This was good news -- betrayal among the remaining tributes was my only hope of winning. My stone sword and half iron/half chainmail armour would leave me no hope to win in a 1 on 1 with the remaining tributes.
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The deathmatch was about to begin. Being the smallest threat, I could trust them to attack each other first. If their fight was close enough, and I attacked the victor before he could heal, I just might have a chance of winning. The countdown ended, the fight began and...
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You probably know how it ended. They both immediately slaughtered me. I watched from above in disgust as they proceeded to hang around for a few minutes and play with their inventories, completely trusting one another. At their leisure, they began a gentleman's duel to determine the winner.
If they truly wanted to win, then dispatching of me before fighting each other would not happen. The temptation for the stronger of the two to turn his sword on his ally while his back is turned is too great. By the time he realizes he's been betrayed it would be too late, and then I could be taken out for the victory.
If they truly wanted to win, then dispatching of me before having a fair fight amongst themselves would not happen. If your ally planned on doing this, you could attain almost certain victory by killing him while his back is turned. By the time your ally realizes he's been betrayed, it would be too late. You would defeat him and then dispatch of me.
Besides the fact that betrayal is the strategically superior move, it makes the game much more exciting for all parties. For the "career tributes" who fight in powerful groups, it's not simply a matter of slaughtering your enemies, it's also a matter of knowing when to stop trusting your allies. Each time a cannonball is fired, the tension would increase, no one wanting to be the last to realize their alliance has overstayed its welcome. For weaker people like me, the fact that the career tributes must inevitably turn on one another means there is always a sliver of hope for survival.
I was around in 2012 when Hunger Games first hit the theatres and this game was created to let us live out our Katniss Everdeen fantasies. Immediately people started forming groups to win games. But people didn't form tenuous alliances that would break apart as the game went on. People formed dull, solid, teams. They held down the cornocopia, got all the best equipment, slaughtered all the randoms, and then took turns letting each other claim the actual victory. I thought this game could be something different, a game where you don't just kill your enemies, but also have to figure out whom your enemies are. I tried to change the culture and get people to play the game like they did in the movie. But obviously this was futile.
I returned a few days ago to play a few games and see how the meta had developed, but as you can see from my above story, nothing has changed. This game could have been cool, guys.
------
Night time. My companion for most of the game had been killed by the other three tributes, working as a group. That left 4 of us: me vs them. A cannonball shortly after signified one of the three had been killed. This was good news -- betrayal among the remaining tributes was my only hope of winning. My stone sword and half iron/half chainmail armour would leave me no hope to win in a 1 on 1 with the remaining tributes.
------
The deathmatch was about to begin. Being the smallest threat, I could trust them to attack each other first. If their fight was close enough, and I attacked the victor before he could heal, I just might have a chance of winning. The countdown ended, the fight began and...
------
You probably know how it ended. They both immediately slaughtered me. I watched from above in disgust as they proceeded to hang around for a few minutes and play with their inventories, completely trusting one another. At their leisure, they began a gentleman's duel to determine the winner.
If they truly wanted to win, then dispatching of me before fighting each other would not happen. The temptation for the stronger of the two to turn his sword on his ally while his back is turned is too great. By the time he realizes he's been betrayed it would be too late, and then I could be taken out for the victory.
If they truly wanted to win, then dispatching of me before having a fair fight amongst themselves would not happen. If your ally planned on doing this, you could attain almost certain victory by killing him while his back is turned. By the time your ally realizes he's been betrayed, it would be too late. You would defeat him and then dispatch of me.
Besides the fact that betrayal is the strategically superior move, it makes the game much more exciting for all parties. For the "career tributes" who fight in powerful groups, it's not simply a matter of slaughtering your enemies, it's also a matter of knowing when to stop trusting your allies. Each time a cannonball is fired, the tension would increase, no one wanting to be the last to realize their alliance has overstayed its welcome. For weaker people like me, the fact that the career tributes must inevitably turn on one another means there is always a sliver of hope for survival.
I was around in 2012 when Hunger Games first hit the theatres and this game was created to let us live out our Katniss Everdeen fantasies. Immediately people started forming groups to win games. But people didn't form tenuous alliances that would break apart as the game went on. People formed dull, solid, teams. They held down the cornocopia, got all the best equipment, slaughtered all the randoms, and then took turns letting each other claim the actual victory. I thought this game could be something different, a game where you don't just kill your enemies, but also have to figure out whom your enemies are. I tried to change the culture and get people to play the game like they did in the movie. But obviously this was futile.
I returned a few days ago to play a few games and see how the meta had developed, but as you can see from my above story, nothing has changed. This game could have been cool, guys.
