The recent announcement of Battlefield 3 has given me plenty of things to think about for this, my début piece on Gaming Daily. You see I love the Battlefield series, there is one main reason for that, teamwork. Teamwork was an essential component in the success of Battlefield 2, the game had a built in hierarchy of command for players to utilise if they wished, this was tied in with VoIP which gave players the opportunity to communicate within the hierarchy of the team.
I personally maintain fond memories of working within squads and with the commander, or of even being the commander. Of my near 500 hours playing the game I spent over half of my time as a squad member with the rest of my time largely devoted to being a squad leader or commander, being a lone wolf was not my style.
I have yet to find a game which matches Battlefield 2 for teamwork in public servers, games like Counter-Strike, Call of Duty 4 and Team Fortress 2 just don’t have that same sense of camaraderie. Admittedly the story is different when it comes to clan matches in these games, but that is understandable and they don’t have the same structure as Battlefield 2, but even when teamwork is necessary it is so often lacking in those three games.
A game like Left 4 Dead is different, while Battlefield 2 presents you with the choice of getting involved in working with the team, Left 4 Dead revolves around four player working together in order to survive. In some ways it is similar to Battlefield 2, that sense of working as a small unit, though there isn’t that same overarching sense of working to a bigger goal the sense of working as a small group is very reminiscent of the Battlefield games.
It is something that developers should look to bring into the multiplayer component of games more, it is all well and good having deathmatch and team deathmatch, but these don’t promote teamwork, it is only through the right game mode and the chance to communicate easily that teamwork will become a key part of gaming.
Working as part of a team in games is really rewarding, you will often find yourself enjoying the game more and performing better in the game. When you are working as team and communicating effectively you can also build relationships with your teammates and in turn lead to lasting relationships.
If you are playing online why not try using your mic or using any other communication tools present in the game, who knows what it will lead to.
I agree, I used to play BF2 for hours with my online connection at college. You could really get a good game going with some friends or good strangers. Most of the time I’d be struggling to help out the loosing team half the time. There’s nothing better than going behind enemy lines right off the bat and planting that C4. ^^
I love good teambased multiplayer shooters and have spent countless hours playing the likes of Return to Castle Wolfenstein, Natural Selection, Savage and Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory (ETPro). Games that absolutely demand teamplay and offer incredible layers of depth for strategists and tacticians to exploit. Games where you can join a public server and know you’ll be playing in a team, rather than with a group of other random fraggers (e.g.: CS, CoD).
Yet I never really liked the BattleField games much. BF2 didn’t absolutely require teamplay, unlike the aforementioned games. And those BF games were catered more towards the average player than the more hardcore/demanding games that I was used to.
As for Team Deathmatch not promoting teamwork… try Quake Live. ID recently added pro TDM servers for players with a sufficient skill level. I tried them out yesterday and they were a good deal more organised than BF2 pubs and even most RtCW pubs. Players sharing weapons and pickups, grouping, calling out items, covering entrances, etc…
If it’s not with good buddies, I feel too awkward to use my mic or don’t want to for a number of reasons -
1) There’s probably a group of good buddies already playing with their own in-jokes, that are impegnerable to me.
2) I’m greeted with stony silence, where I then wonder if my mic is working or if people just plain don’t like me.
3) The other people using mics I just plain don’t like.
4) I hate my own voice.
However, I’m going to try to use it more over the next week and see what results I get. I do type and use other communication tools ingame, but it often means I’m frozen to the spot so isn’t good in a hectic game. Teamplay for the win.
I think voice comms enhance any multiplayer experience. For me it doesn’t get any better than TF2 – it just promotes funny chat and shouts for spy checking. Also, shouting “om nom nom” at any point will always raise a smile.
@EGTF – dam man, don’t worry so much. *Most* pc gamers are cool so long as your on the right type of server, and they’re generally inviting.
@Droniac Yea CS is usually a one man for himself but if you play with friends or with a gaming group it can be great team gameplay. Everyone shooting guy on the right, flsh bang, move back or shit who threw the flash bang grenade! haha
I’ll admit that using your mic on a random server can be a bit daunting at first, but if you don’t use it, then you won’t know whether anyone else wants to talk.
When I started playing BF2 I didn’t have a mic, certainly wasn’t too easy when playing in the clan without one :D
Well the nice thing about BF2 was the content menu that you could bring up easily to communicate to your other team members without a microphone. Obviously it doesn’t replace a voice like communication but it was the right design feature for a military online shooter.
[...] first piece on Gaming Daily went up last week, I explore the role of teamwork in games. Of course Battlefield 2 gets mentioned a fair bit as does Left 4 Dead. (talking about [...]
[...] first piece on Gaming Daily went up last week, I explore the role of teamwork in games. Of course Battlefield 2 gets mentioned a fair bit as does Left 4 Dead. (talking about [...]
What made the Battlefield series GREAT was the features that other First Person Shooters (FPS) did not and still do not possess. The innovative pillar that elevated Battlefield above the rest was integrated teamwork.
Other video games have taken a large group of people and created an entertaining environment. Battlefield brought together 64 strangers, formed an organized structure to what would otherwise be a chaotic mob, evolved the gaming industry, and created another whole level of FUN.
Now instead of players just looking out for themselves, DICE created the conditions to encourage cooperation. They gave online players the tools and incentives to unite as a functioning team. Players volunteered to be an integral part of a structured group which succeeded with the concept of division of labor. Their specialized role allowed their small groups to unite under of the banner of a cohesive team to experience synergy. That’s right, all of the individuals produced a result that would not have been obtainable by any of them independently.
DICE introduced the lessons learned from centuries of warfare to online gaming. The Roman Legions of ancient times consistently defeated less organized adversaries. They united as a team using the combined arms approach to warfare.
Military organizations need a Leader. Someone must be in-charge. There has to be a unity of command. The commander establishes objectives to be accomplished by the collective group. Ask yourself, “How many professional sports teams do NOT have a coach?”
DICE broke new ground by putting in place systems that created a positive social atmosphere. They changed online gaming behavior. Here is their winning line-up:
Commander – Lead the team, Intelligence, Logistics support
Squad Leader – Lead the squad, mobile spawn, coordinate with team lead
Assault – Primary killer, organic indirect fire
Anti-Tank – Destroy vehicles
Spec Ops – Destroy equipment
Sniper – Long range killing, surveillance
Engineer – Repair, counter vehicular mobility
Medic – Restore health
Support – Ammo resupply, suppressive fire
http://spartanwarfighters.net/2top/3forum/images/BF3/assist/integrated_teamwork2.png
With the following modern military branches represented:
Infantry
Armor
Artillery
Air Defense
Aviation
Special Forces
And on a small scale (or represented function):
Medical
Transportation
Engineer
Ordinance
Signal (Commo Rose & Functioning VoIP)
So, why are Battlefield Veterans up-in-arms about the limited information that has been made public reference Battlefield 3 (BF3)?
First, because they care about the future of the Battlefield series.
Second, because of the disturbing information that has been released by DICE. Here is a brief summary of what was stated by the DICE representative to the GameInformer magazine (FEB 2011) reference the Commander mode:
“… giving the power back to the players so everyone could use it… We lowered the threshold for everyone because we gave it to everyone. We now know where the boundaries are for keeping the strategic depth and complexity while lowering the threshold to get in.”
Battlefield fans want the series to progress and not revert into pandemonium commonly known in other FPS video games.
The remaining portion of this message may come across as a little corny, but none the less,… on target. The 1991 film “Hook” starring Robin Williams and Dustin Hoffman. The main character Peter Banning forgets he is, in fact, Peter Pan and must be forced to remember his past. I order to truly recall his personal history he must discover his “happy thought.”
The leadership at DICE should make their employees play the Battlefield 2 and Battlefield 2142 games. There are many indications that they have forgotten the unprecedented gameplay.
DICE, for the sake of the Battlefield series, you must commit to memory your “happy thought.” DICE remember your “happy thought” is – Integrated Teamwork.