Hey everyone, Some of you may know me better than most and you'll understand why I felt compelled to writing this post. This past year I went to a military school (6 weeks) to learn more about becoming a better leader. One of the first things that struck the nail on the head for me was, setting yourself to neutral and seeing the situation from a third perspective view. I've always seen myself for the most part as neutral, positive motivator, so magnetically I will lean more towards the positives of every situation. I'm not comment on all of the CC drama that has been happening over the past few days, since I wasn't here for the H2A days and that is where it seems where things got sour for some, so most of my argument may be invalid on that point. I will say that I come to know several CC's on more friendship type of level, so being biased could be seen as well. I see the position that most of the community wouldn't touch with a 10 ft pole, then there are others that want to make this community better for everyone. The youtuber's, CC's, community websites, etc. You get my point, the Halo community is growing and thriving right now, especially from everyone's hard work they put into their content. This leads me into what originally brought here to ask everyone. What can you do to better the community? I not asking make better maps. I am not asking becoming a CC that everyone will love. I am not asking to change who you are, because that's what makes this community great. Sure the guys who are strong willed and argumentative, those guys are sometimes sought out to be the bad guys. I don't see it that way, sometimes (being rude / hateful towards others draws the lines). Seriously, what can you do? I don't want to see another fall of the community like from H3 > HR > H4 >... H5 has been awesome so far and I want to see it grow even stronger than it was before. Thanks everyone, Nitro EDIT: Something preferably positive. EDIT 2: Mixing up John F. Kennedy's famous quote "My fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." with this "My fellow Forgers, ask not what your community can do for you, ask what you can do for your community." -Nitro
I think one thing that is kind of automatic for most people, including myself sometimes, is to focus too much on what you are working on. Taking the time to look deeply at things others have made and leave feedback is really why this site exists. I feel like when I had no friends on Halo 4, I had an easier time getting customs together and recieving feedback. I'm not sure if it's because I needed so much improvement, or if the community was that much bigger back then, but it felt good that people cared to help. I don't think too many of us have any actual background in level design or any credentials of any kind, but many have plenty of level design experience in game which is valuable. We all need to make more of an effort to play on others maps more often and offer constructive criticism. When you spend 95% of your time in the game working on your own maps, you aren't going to learn anything new. I think just making a small effort at accepting more invites or leaving feedback could go a long way.
Honestly, I could find a better way to balance Creative Force work and CC duties. Since Creative Force has been a huge effort to come together, I wasn't able to really test and integrate into the community as much as I should have since H5 came out. So this next coming Sprint I'm looking to branch out a little more. With people like @N1TRO @Captain Punch and @Sn1p3r C watching over the group. I'm more able to take a step back and manage on a higher level and re-integrate back into the community. 2v2 and Forgehub participation is just kind of a warm up for me. After this next week I'll be reaching out to more individuals and helping to build friendships and relationships across the community as a whole. Also I need to finish the prototype for that project that @N1TRO knows I'm working on. lol...
I totally agree with this. Helping someone who is willing to receive feedback both positive and negative points, that right there is probably the most important aspect to becoming a level designer.
Review 3 maps a week, preferably from new forgers. I was doing this for a while, but I usually write 800-1200 word posts and it dropped off =/ Still, it only takes about a half hour to an hour for a map, and it means so much to new Forgers. Xandrith's post highlights it - many current forgers remember the first time some established member came in and gave them some detailed feedback. If we can adopt a "seeder" mentality, I think we'll see a lot of growth in this community.
For every problem there exists an equal and opposite solution; I enjoy looking at life through the eyes of philosophers and psychologists and am constantly analyzing why people do what they do. That being said, I've always had a knack for being a mediator between opposite parties or just an extra ear in general. Last little horn toot before I move on: I can't tell you how many times total strangers have confided secrets that they've never told anyone else in their life. And omg if every 9/10 issues people have with each other isn't miscommunication. One person assumes one thing which leads the other to assume another, and the speed of degradation increases exponentially with each assumption. Point is, I'm here for the community on an emotional level. I know that everyone here signs up for the same reason: we love halo, but we love Forge even more. Even if no one person has ever liked a map you built, during that building process there's a point where you feel accomplished. That feeling you get when you finally find the last Lego piece in that giant tub sitting in front of you, and all of a sudden everything makes sense. And I want to stand as a reminder that all of what everyone does here is supposed to be fun (rotation glitch cough cough), and if you think anyone or anything is keeping you from that, my ears are open.
I am similar to you some ways that it almost feels natural for me to be in middle as both as a listener and a resolutionist (bad word, but that's how I feel). And you're assumptions kill communities. But people take pride in their work and feel like they lost all motivation when their map isn't chosen, which leads to hate and discontent, which starts that endless cycle of 'CC corruption' to flawed system. But we're not here to discuss all of that. I love this community as much as the next guy. So I thank you for being an open listener. Your actions mean a lot to this community, so keep it up.