I spoke about using plot pressure rather than actual pressure to create compelling gameplay in a previous post, and Halo 3 provides a perfect example of such a device.

[Spoiler Warning: Details on the end of Halo 3 follow.]

The finale of Halo 3 is at first strikingly similar to the end of Halo 1: You initiate the destruction of a Halo and have to escape before it’s too late. However, Halo 3 makes one important change: It’s never too late.

The first Halo game gave us six minutes to escape, and a challenging race to the finish ensued. This is an ending familiar to anyone who has played Metroid or even Ocarina of Time and a sure cause of intense gameplay.

In Halo 3, as I drove my Warthog through the familiar battleground of Flood and Sentinels, I realized that there was no timer to judge my progress. However, Cortana regularly piped in with an update on the Halo’s progression to destruction, giving it as a percentage. As I neared my ship, she yelled 99% and demanded that I jump into the hanger, and, hands sweating and knees shaking, I did.

Then it all came together and I realized I’d been tricked, fooled into driving as hard as I would with a time limit when I was in fact free to cruise at my leisure. Cortana’s announcements create a false sense of urgency. Rather than forcing you to race through a level with a time limit, Halo 3 compels you to speed through with a plot device, just like an intriguing book incites you turn to the next page.

This ending is a perfect and effective example of using the plot to create good gameplay. While, unlike the traditional timer, it is possible to ignore or exploit, why would you want to?