Breaking the Lock: Why All Game Content Should Be Unlocked From the Outset
s Sam Machkovech pointed out in his review, “all four full campaigns are unlocked the moment you boot HTMCC, meaning you can skip ahead to a favorite part of Halo 3, then find a friend and pound out a beloved Halo: CE mission in online co-op.” It’s a design decision that makes us wonder: why wasn’t this the case when the Halo games were originally released? For that matter, why do developers “lock” game content in the first place?
The idea of locked content, which has to be “unlocked” through some sort of in-game achievement, is a peculiarity that games share with no other mass consumer art form. Books don’t require you to read the prologue and author’s note before diving in to Chapter 1. DVDs don’t confirm that you fully comprehended the first act before letting you jump to your favorite scene in Act 2 (or make you suffer through the bad episodes of a TV show just to watch the good ones). Music albums don’t require that you listen to songs in a certain order without the ability to skip around at will.
In games, though, we accept these kinds of restrictions without complaint. It’s just accepted that you shouldn’t be allowed to play level four until you’ve completed the first three levels. If you’re not good enough or smart enough to beat level three? Oh well, I guess you won’t get to experience the rest of the game you purchased. Maybe a friend can help you out?
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