This week, almost 30 members of the TTL Gunslingers clan assembled at one instance online via Xbox Live. After much preparation and planning, we had arrived to face-off against a rival clan for a marathon-series of Halo2 matches as part of a Custom Challenge. In the hours prior to the event, Friends Lists bristled with message and party invites. Custom games and warm-ups in Matchmaking brought clanmates together to hone reflexes and practice blitzes. The Gunslingers had come to play.
In keeping with a newfound tradition, the playlists for the challenge had been agreed to in advance by each clan. From there, the Mid-World forum was set ablaze with recruitment and planning. A roster of over 2 dozen gamers gathered. Squads were selected, tailored to each match. Maps were discussed – objectives debated. Strategies were concocted for each.
Then, game time arrived…
A funny thing happened at game time. Our battalion of Gunslingers was met by 3 members of the opposing clan, a group known as the Winged Warriors. It would turn out that their clan boasted an active membership of 5 gamers – with several others on probation for inactivity. Life, it would seem, had interfered with their ability to field enough troops for the challenge. This was not the first time that such a forfeit had occured in the short history of challenges brough to the Gunslingers. In a similar occurence, another clan known as the Halo Forefathers broke their ranks between the conflicting interests of modding their boxes or picking up Ghost Recon for a change.
It took very little deliberations to decide that three Winged Warriors had little to offer in the way of healthy competition to thirty Gunslingers. After a warm-up match of Slayer, the two clans parted ways and found their own action. Some Gunslingers formed up 5-Man squads for ranked Clanmatches, in search of medals and records. Others rehearsed circuits for the hotly anticipated private tournament, Le Tour de Halo. Yet others piled into custom games to blow off some steam.
Through its many phases and iterations, the Overlords and architects of the Tied the Leader community have debated the ideal size for a team of online gamers. Was our all-inclusive sportsmens’ charter dilluting our quality? Could we possibly maintain cohesion and cooperation among scores of gamers? Would our identity become lost with so many voices contributing to the dialogue?
Our most recent challenge [or lack there of] evidenced the fact that there is, indeed, strength in numbers. Our clan represents a cadre of the highest-quality gamer. Committed. Reliable. Honorable. And flexible. When faced with a no-show by their opponents, the Gunslingers struck out in search of others.
The Clan Challenge agenda will find its momentum again. For the time being, we have a race. We have five of them, in fact. Once our circuits have been run and the fastest drivers have been shirted, we will look to the Halo Community for fresh challenges – and rematches. Perhaps we will yet encounter the full compliment of Winged Warriors. Perhaps the Forefathers will remember their faces, and come looking for opponents in Halo again.
For the time being, Gentlemen, start your engines!