So I have introduced my friend to quake (with quakelive and all). We discuss randomness, control etc. and I find that I cannot answer some of his questions. I am merely a lurker with no life who can barely strafe-jump (tier 4 wut).

So I plead you, esr, to help my buddy find answers to his burning questions.

Basically I am trying to argue that quake is 'better' than Halo, for example. Not halo or quake specifically, but rather a 'deathmatch' oriented shooter versus a more modern-style shooter. The idea being, quake is less random and so the person with better skill wins more often. What makes quake more favorable to the person of better skill?

We have talked about map control, headshots etc. He is looking for some objectived measurement that can prove quake is less random. We have discussed how aim can be somewhat random and random = bad. quake focuses more on armour so it is less random.

Then we started talking about wsw. (recent versions) This threw me, my friend argues that wsw's lower amount of conversion kills implies that wsw is more random but relys less on aiming.

I dunno something doesnt quite click but i cannot convince my friend here. I dont want to discuss wsw too much either, this isnt about wsw but it is about randomness and the importance of nonrandom factors.