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Super long reply
Posted By: Kermit <kermi7@mac.com>Date: 10/18/12 8:32 p.m.

In Response To: Skulls, Terminals, etc.(Long) (Hyokin)

: If the terminals are similar to ODST or Halo CEA, I think they'll be a lot of
: fun and very interesting to find.

Looks like you’re going to get your way, Hyokin, based on the one Halo 4 terminal they’ve already released.

We’re not on the same page when it comes to the CEA terminals. In Halo: CE you didn’t have terminals, but you did have a good example of what I like, which is Jenkin’s helmet cam footage. That gave us a found object that stopped gameplay but drove the narrative using a means that was believable in context.

In Halo 3 we got more of the Forerunnner backstory with the terminals—I admire that they weren’t for the casual fan. I admit that to this day I’ve not myself absorbed them nearly as well as many fans, but I like that they’re oblique. They are exactly what the Master Chief might find in that setting: incomplete remnants of ancient communications. I’ll also put Reach’s datapads in this same category. I’ve posted before about how text activates a different part of our imagination and enriches a game.

I love Sadie’s story. Although the illustrations didn’t match the realism of the art in the game, on the whole the audio and time and manner of delivery were very believable. More on Sadie’s story in a bit.

As for the terminals in Halo CEA, I enjoyed them on their own, but they took me out of the immersion of the game. Artistically, they were better than some of the stand-alone Halo motion comics, of which I’m not a big fan. (Having grown up watching craptastic Filmation and Hanna Barbera cartoons in the 60s and 70s, and then learning about GOOD animation later, I admit I have a bad reaction when I see some of this stuff.)

My criticism springs from this: inside the world of the game, who is creating content that looks like this and is from this perspective, and why would it be there? These questions stop me. The terminals seem to be following a Halo tradition, but they’re really an awkward hybrid of what has been three separate Halo traditions: Easter eggs (extra, fun stuff you find in the game world that intentionally breaks immersion), terminals (extra narrative you find in the game world that deepens immersion), and cutscenes ( [mostly] third-person narrative triggered to serve a necessary dramatic purpose). Before Halo CEA, terminals had been of a piece with the game world (with the exception of the ones in Halsey’s lab, which are really just part of the coolest Easter egg ever!).

I know Sadie’s story has been cited as an inspiration for the new terminals, but that was organically part of the larger story, was presented to you by Vergil, a character in the story, and you never saw anything from a perspective he didn’t have access to. Vergil also had a motive for telling this story to you, which you find out about if you’ve played on legendary, after finding all of the audio logs. It’s masterful the way it’s naturally woven into the game experience.

In Halo CEA, even though most of the clips are ostensibly “from” Guilty Spark, the perspective isn’t his. The terminals trigger cutscenes that don’t provide necessary narrative and therefore don’t justify taking me outside of my imaginary armor. I’m no longer Master Chief in the future standing at a terminal discovering more about this world I’m in, I’m ol’ Kermit, who is essentially opening a video on Waypoint. They’re Easter eggs that break immersion while trying to deepen it. They’re terminals found in the game world, but they take you out of it. Can you tell that they bug me?

All that said, your preferences may better represent the Halo audience. I don’t know.

That’s the most critical I’m going to be about Halo 4 before I actually play the campaign. Honestly, I’m excited. There are many other things about Halo 4 to be excited about.

Message Index



Replies:

Bulletin! (10.17.12)INSANEdrive 10/18/12 12:57 a.m.
     More Super Secret CodeINSANEdrive 10/18/12 1:02 a.m.
           Re: More Super Secret CodeDHalo 10/18/12 1:14 a.m.
                 Re: More Super Secret CodeRice 10/18/12 1:15 a.m.
                       Re: More Super Secret CodeNotTheVacuum 10/18/12 6:32 a.m.
                             Re: More Super Secret CodeMr Daax 10/18/12 12:33 p.m.
                 Re: More Super Secret CodeNotTheVacuum 10/18/12 6:31 a.m.
                       That's exactly what I was thinking.Gravemind 10/18/12 2:32 p.m.
           Re: More Super Secret Codethebruce0 10/18/12 9:40 a.m.
                 Re: More Super Secret CodeBeorn 10/18/12 12:23 p.m.
                       Re: More Super Secret Codethebruce0 10/18/12 1:10 p.m.
                             Re: More Super Secret CodeGeneral Vagueness 10/19/12 2:08 p.m.
     No new Skulls?Rice 10/18/12 1:14 a.m.
           Re: No new Skulls?TDSpiral 10/18/12 1:18 a.m.
                 Re: No new Skulls?davidfuchs 10/18/12 6:38 a.m.
           That's MESSED Up! *NM*Morpheus 10/18/12 1:33 a.m.
           Blind still the same.bluerunner 10/18/12 8:18 a.m.
                 Re: Blind still the same.Postmortem 10/18/12 11:16 a.m.
     No searching for skulls? Aw, man. :(Gravemind 10/18/12 1:21 a.m.
           Nothing like clubbing covies to death with a skull *NM*Rice 10/18/12 1:35 a.m.
     Re: Bulletin! (10.17.12)Phoenix_9286 10/18/12 1:45 a.m.
           Re: Bulletin! (10.17.12)uberfoop 10/18/12 2:24 a.m.
           Re: Bulletin! (10.17.12)Archilen 10/18/12 4:59 a.m.
                 Re: Bulletin! (10.17.12)Bryan Newman 10/18/12 5:06 a.m.
                       Re: Bulletin! (10.17.12)Mid7night 10/18/12 11:07 a.m.
     Re: Bulletin! (10.17.12)Quirel 10/18/12 3:37 a.m.
           Re: Bulletin! (10.17.12)Chewbaccawakka 10/18/12 4:05 a.m.
                 Re: Bulletin! (10.17.12)Rice 10/18/12 5:40 a.m.
                       Re: Bulletin! (10.17.12)Bryan Newman 10/18/12 5:48 a.m.
                             Re: Bulletin! (10.17.12)Quirel 10/18/12 10:36 a.m.
                                   Re: Bulletin! (10.17.12)Louis Wu 10/18/12 11:13 a.m.
                                         Re: Bulletin! (10.17.12)Quirel 10/18/12 12:01 p.m.
                                   Re: Bulletin! (10.17.12)Cody Miller 10/18/12 11:44 a.m.
                                         Re: Bulletin! (10.17.12)Quirel 10/18/12 12:01 p.m.
                                               Re: Bulletin! (10.17.12)Revenant1988 10/18/12 12:30 p.m.
                                                     Re: Bulletin! (10.17.12)Quirel 10/19/12 9:25 a.m.
                                                           Re: Bulletin! (10.17.12)General Vagueness 10/19/12 3:15 p.m.
                                   Negative Opinions are Such a DownerMacGyver10 10/18/12 12:48 p.m.
                                   My high horse's name is Butt-StallionBryan Newman 10/18/12 6:13 p.m.
                                         Re: My high horse's name is Butt-StallionChewbaccawakka 10/18/12 7:34 p.m.
                                         Re: My high horse's name is Butt-StallionGravemind 10/19/12 12:08 a.m.
                                               Excellent post. *NM*NsU Soldier 10/21/12 9:31 a.m.
                                               Well said. *NM*GrimBrother One 10/21/12 10:15 a.m.
                                   Re: Bulletin! (10.17.12)padraig08 10/18/12 6:44 p.m.
                                         Re: Bulletin! (10.17.12)Quirel 10/19/12 9:46 a.m.
                             Re: Bulletin! (10.17.12)Rice 10/18/12 11:41 p.m.
                                   Re: Bulletin! (10.17.12)TDSpiral 10/19/12 4:35 a.m.
                                         Re: Bulletin! (10.17.12)General Vagueness 10/19/12 3:03 p.m.
           Re: Bulletin! (10.17.12)General Vagueness 10/19/12 12:56 a.m.
           Re: Bulletin! (10.17.12)Train Dodger 10/19/12 2:02 a.m.
                 Re: Bulletin! (10.17.12)Quirel 10/19/12 9:44 a.m.
                 Re: Bulletin! (10.17.12)General Vagueness 10/19/12 2:54 p.m.
     Skulls, Terminals, etc.(Long)Hyokin 10/18/12 10:58 a.m.
           Re: Skulls, Terminals, etc.(Long)MacGyver10 10/18/12 12:56 p.m.
           Super long replyKermit 10/18/12 8:32 p.m.
                 Re: Super long replyPhoenix_9286 10/18/12 8:54 p.m.
                 Holy moley.Louis Wu 10/19/12 6:12 a.m.
                       Re: Holy moley.NotTheVacuum 10/19/12 8:32 a.m.
                 Yep. That's it.thebruce0 10/19/12 8:53 a.m.
                 Re: Super long replyBeckx 10/19/12 9:20 a.m.
                       Ugh. *NM*Kermit 10/19/12 11:36 a.m.
                       Re: Super long replyGeneral Vagueness 10/19/12 3:14 p.m.
                             Re: Super long replyBeckx 10/19/12 4:08 p.m.
                                   Maybe it's for the bestscarab 10/19/12 5:33 p.m.
                                   Re: Super long replyGeneral Vagueness 10/20/12 11:24 a.m.
                                         Re: Super long replyLouis Wu 10/20/12 12:01 p.m.
                                               Re: Super long replyHyokin 10/20/12 2:51 p.m.
                                                     Re: Super long replyLouis Wu 10/20/12 5:48 p.m.
                                                           Re: Super long replyGeneral Vagueness 10/20/12 7:50 p.m.
                                                                 Re: Super long replyuberfoop 10/20/12 8:08 p.m.
                                                                       Re: Super long replyHedgemony 10/20/12 8:26 p.m.
                                                           Re: Super long replyCody Miller 10/21/12 12:25 a.m.
                                                                 Re: Super long replyQuirel 10/21/12 1:23 a.m.
                                                                       Re: Super long replyGeneral Vagueness 10/22/12 12:15 p.m.
                                                                 Re: Super long replyGeneral Vagueness 10/22/12 12:12 p.m.
                                                     Re: Super long replymunky-058 10/20/12 5:50 p.m.
                                                           Re: Super long replyLouis Wu 10/20/12 10:01 p.m.
                                                     Re: Super long replyDHalo 10/20/12 6:00 p.m.
                 Kinda long reply (with Covenant speech sidetrack)Hyokin 10/19/12 10:24 a.m.
                 Good articulation.uberfoop 10/19/12 12:29 p.m.
                       Re: Good articulation.Kermit 10/19/12 1:38 p.m.
                             Re: Good articulation.uberfoop 10/19/12 2:25 p.m.
     I'm going to be honest.Jaydee 10/18/12 1:47 p.m.
           Re: I'm going to be honest.thebruce0 10/18/12 3:12 p.m.
                 Re: I'm going to be honest.TDSpiral 10/18/12 3:19 p.m.
                       Re: I'm going to be honest.Jaydee 10/18/12 3:39 p.m.
                             Re: I'm going to be honest.General Vagueness 10/19/12 2:25 p.m.



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