We are all Chefs

Yesterday I was eating dinner with my multi-cultured family, when it dawned on me, multiplayer design is incredibly similar to cooking. We were eating traditional Middle-Eastern foods (Half of my family is from Syria and has been living with us for the past six months) I don't like the Middle Eastern foods as much as they do, but I'll enjoy it nonetheless. We switch off cooking so every other day so American food one day, and Syrian the next. Anyways, back to how this is related to multiplayer design. I noticed that regardless of who was cooking, there was always a hierarchy to it, there was a main course, and a few side dishes, the side dishes aren't as tasty, but they're usually a healthy part of the balanced diet, e.i. Grain, veggies, fruits. I started thinking about the hierarchy, and how multiplayer design (at least, Halo level design) has a similar hierarchy to it. There's usually a Central focus of the map, but other sections of the map are necessary to the balance of the map i.e. spawns, flanks, routes.

Foods have to coincide with each other just like how level design has to support the weapons to be used. Similar to having a Cheeseburger with rice as a side dish to it, you cannot have a rocket launcher on a close quarters map. But that's not to say that nobody likes a certain combination, It just appeals to a much smaller crowd.

There are also certain Aesthetics involved in both, If food looks like garbage, who wants to eat it? If a game looks bad, who wants to play it. But in a less general sense of aesthetics, the center of the map should be the most exciting part of it to focus some attention there, and the same for main courses, the chef wants it to be and look the best out of all of the foods.

Where do minigames like Labyrinth of the Destructaur and HaloBall fit in? Well, they can be compared to dessert, they are exciting because we never have them. Just think about it, when you eat a lot of pie, the pie is much less exciting in the end than the first bite of it. And comparatively when you play HaloBall for 5 hours straight, its usually no fun at the end. It's that gleam of the difference that makes it exciting.

This entire Thread is one big observation than a thread, so now, I'm going to attempt to give it a meaning to it, so that it doesn't get locked. So, when you're making a map, or a game, adding a little bit of salt wont kill or make the game, it will only move the appeal to a different type of person, so when you change the rocket spawn into a sniper spawn, you appeal to a different crowd, but the goal is to appeal to the largest crowd possible, I.E. cheeseburgers.

And one last note, Call of Duty is a Buffet, you can choose whatever the hell you want.

 

I just had white castle.
Make one, and I will remember that trip forever.

We luckily have 3 bathrooms, but saying that makes me sound rich, it's just one for every floor, and Middle Eastern food isn't that hellish in the toilet... Or maybe Im just used to it...

I knew it was pretty pointless writing it up, but I had to share it, it also might put a different spin on balance for some newer forgers, because that's something I think they're missing, that balance is unique to each map.

 

Tabouli, These tea leave wrap thingys, Gyro, and all of the other foods we love but with lemons on them.