Gaming console Xbox 360ÃÂs Halo 3 is one of the most innovating and enjoyable first person shooter video game on the market. It is so vastly huge that there is a professional gaming league, Major League Gaming (MLG), which is dedicated to finding the best Halo 3 team and many other great players in other games as well. It includes an intriguing campaign mode that concludes the storyline of the Halo trilogy, and a map editing mode called Forge that lets one remove, move and add objects and items around the map, enabling one to manipulate objects in ways that the developers of the game may have not intended. However, one of the most compelling features is the Xbox Live Matchmaking multiplayer mode, where one is put into game types such as free for all or team versus team and the objection is to wipe out the others. The team versus team mode called ÃÂTeam Slayer,ÃÂ is made up of two teams of 4, and they are matched according to their ability to play the game, also called skill.
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Video GamesThis game type is the most played playlist in Halo 3, due to the fact that it is teamwork chemistry that wins the game, not individual skill, and is one of my best experiences of playing on a team. Teamwork is critical, as I communicate by talking, listening and respond to my teammates, and plan strategically to catch the enemy off guard, and I believe that if I avoid being overly aggressive, and know my role as part of the group structure, then the success of a team will flourish tremendously.
Communication is vital in team situations, whether it be in a basketball game, group project, or team presentation. The same goes with video games. With Halo 3, talking and listening to others on your team will immensely help and everyone benefits from it. To succeed, the team must work as one cohesively group. Four members for team slayer works just fine in place of the recommended group members of five to seven (Tech 101w: Communication, 2007).It does not matter how skilled the 4 individuals are, the group must form together (forming), get past conflicts (storming), cooperate with one another (norming), accomplish the groupÃÂs goal (performing), and reflect on their effort (adjourning). Going through the stages of group development aided my teammates and I to be successful. For instance, I joined in on a Team Slayer game with 3 random strangers, who I have never known before. We conversed, told one another where we were from, and waited patiently for the game to start. Once started, we headed off to get map control with strong weapons. Two teammates started conflicting with one another of who should get the sniper rifle. They argued back and forth until they distinguished that one was a better sniper than the other. We started communicating with one another, telling each other the location of members of the opposing team, or what weaponsthe opposing team managed to possess. I advised my partners that one of their individuals had a sniper rifle, and was sniping behind a rock. One teammate listened, and replied by assassinating the individual. By communicating, our team was able to eliminate the sniper before he was able to do some serious damage and kill us all. Another example was when the score was deadlocked at 49 to 49, and one more kill was needed for the victory. One teammate uttered that the invisibility cloak has appeared in a cave. Knowing my position was close to the cave, I voiced over to my teammates that I will attain the cloak. I obtained it, causing me to become invisible. I then rush towards one of their men, oblivious of knowing that I was invisible with shotgun in hand, and fire a shell into his chest. We were triumphant due to information we gave each other. Without communicating with my group in these two instances, the results of these would be very different. Conversing with one another aided with the success of me being a team player, and planning more strategic ideas while conversing helps the team more greatly.
Successful teams are in need of strategic planning in Halo 3. MLG professionals such as Str8 Rippin or Final Boss strive off of strategic planning. Going into a game with no game plan usually results in one team getting beaten badly. To avoid this, teams are in need of strategic planning. MLG professionals such as Str8 Rippin strive off of this. For instance, they are other game types then just team slayer, such as capture the flag where the teams go to each otherÃÂs bases and steal their opponentÃÂs flag and try to bring the flag back to their own base to score a point. To be victorious one team has to capture 3 flags. The problem with this is many teams are distracted with killing the enemy instead of accomplishing the objective. When I was playing a capture the flag game, the enemy team was slaughtering us. Anywhere I would turn I would be killed. According to one of my teammates, the enemy team seemed to forget the objective and was focused on slaying us (Ruud19, personal communication, August 24, 2008). We came with the idea of one of us will go possess their flag, while the other 3 will distract the opposing team by sacrificing ourselves if we had to. The idea worked to perfection. The nemesis was fully distracted, and one ally was able to acquire their flag and bring it back for the score. Our group established its motivation for existing, and every group member knew their role, or group goals and group structure, the exact thing a group needs to establish (Tech 101w: Communication, 2007). There is however shortcomings with any game I play, and it is usually due to the fact of me being overly aggressive.
Being overly aggressive in team situation games can definitely have its drawbacks. I may get outnumbered four to one, or I get killed by one foe and yet keep on going back to him over and over to get revenge and still get killed. I even hear my teammates, yet I do not use the model of listening called the HURIER model, which takes the behavioral approach to listening, suggesting thatÃÂs listening is composed of both mental processes and observable behaviors (Tech 101w: Communication, 2007). I may hear them, but I choose to zone them out in the understanding stage because they usually speak too loud or to fast for my understanding. Sometimes I feel IÃÂm invincible, such as I once had double armor and was ready to take on any opponent I face. I went into a room when one of my teammates voiced over that one of the other teamÃÂs men had sought refuge their, but may have a shotgun in hand. Me, thinking of how I powerful I am and with no disregard to what my partner had said, went in charging shooting. And with jus two shotgun shots to the chest, I fall face first to the floor. I would like to improve in this area because if I can avoid being overly aggressive and actually go through the stages of HURIER model, there will be definite improvement to team success and the success of me being a team player. I also feel in future situations when IÃÂm working in a group, I would benefit from this and be able to incorporate it in these group situations. There is however another factor that I would like to improve to help my success of being a team player, and that is to play my role.
Playing a role in team predicaments is essential for a team to be successful. One does not see a hockey goalie going out the crease to score a goal, or a center in basketball shooting a three pointer. The same should go with Halo 3. I however do not play my role every time, and sometimes, that costs us the game. I remember playing a team slayer game, and at the start we assigned each player a role. 2 players would go to get the sniper and the over shield, while my other teammate would go acquire the rocket launcher with me supporting my teammate by killing any opposing player that gets in the way. I although instead opted to go for the invisibility cloak, and this results in my teammate getting killed and the other team gaining possession to the rocket launcher. This in turn sometimes leads to some teammates having a self-serving role of aggression, and causes the whole team to be in disarray. Another instance was when I was in a capture the flag game, and I was supposed to stay back and defend the flag from being taken. But instead I went to kill an opposing team member when another opposing teammate grabbed the flag and captured it for the score. I feel like I can improve by playing the role I was assigned, helping the team to come together and helping me becoming more of a team player.
Group communication is significant in team success. Just hearing will not do the job. One has to take it through the HURIER model to understand what is being said and how to respond to it effectively. Talking and listening will help the group to communicate more freely and takes the group through the group stages. With strategic planning, a group is able to achieve its goal and is able to overcome an obstacle that may come in their way. Of course these are only factors that I have faced with my team, and I have many more to see. Yet one thing is for certain, communication is the most essential item a team must use in order to fully reach their potential. Without it, the team would not function, and therefore be unsuccessful in accomplishing their goal.
Reference ListTech 101w: Communication, Teamwork & Collaborative Process (2007)New York: McGraw-Hill
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