J. Dickinson Este invented the first Skee Ball machine in 1909, and just over a century later, the game has finally made its way into Halo 5.
Reddit user AllAboutPenguins tried to recreate the classic arcade variation on bowling using Halo’s now robust level editing tools, and said “I started building a skeeball map before this new update came out and I didn’t know how to keep score. Thanks to the update I was able to get the balls to score whenever necessary.”
The update he’s referring to is called Monitor’s Bounty, and was released by 343 Industries earlier this week. In addition to adding more objects and better scripting tools to Halo 5's Forge mode, the free DLC makes it easier to create mini games. As Tom French, 343 Industry’s Director of User-Generated Content, said about the recent update,
“We added a handful of new conditions and over a dozen new script actions which are new things to think about. Building modes with the scripting added some other useful tools like the ability to disable scripting on the map, an object, and even on a per script level because the way we built some of the scripted modes like King of the Hill; by enabling/disabling specific objects in the custom game settings, you can completely change the behavior of the mode. So for now if you’re comfortable with what was already there, you’ll be really excited to see these new enhancements. If it’s intimidating already, it’s likely still not for you but we’re looking to help lower that barrier of entry at some point or another.”
AllAboutPenguins’ version of Halo Skee Ball is only the latest attempt to bring the game to Halo 5, but it’s one that will no doubt benefit from recent update. There are already a ton of of mini games recreated within the sci-fi shooter, and more are likely to come as 343 continues to improve the tools players have at their disposal to make them.
Some have already begun experimenting with trying to bring Halo Reach’s Invasion, teleporters, and vehicle domination to the game.