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Re: Criticism of Bungie storytelling | |
Posted By: Narcogen <narcogen@rampancy.net> | Date: 1/26/08 12:18 a.m. |
In Response To: Re: Criticism of Bungie storytelling (reprobate) : I've always thought it strange how Bungie has the philosophy of very clearly : not wanting to make the books mandatory to understand what's going on in : the story, but with Halo 2 and especially 3, you need to be pretty : hardcore about the single player to get it beyond the surface shoot 'em : up. : For example in Halo 1, the first thing you see is the Pillar of Autumn
If you mean the specifics of why, then yes. However I think the opening cutscene makes it clear that Humanity is at war with the Covenant, has been for quite some time, and is generally on the losing side. It does this subtly. The specifics that are not imparted relate to the attack at Reach, the PoA's glassing, the Covenant artifact found there, and the action that leads Cortana to take. However that opening cutscene works in any case. It's just a question of another layer of meaning. As for objectives-- well, soldiers often don't know the "big picture" when they go into battle. And within the context of the story, humanity in general is unfamiliar with the Flood, so it should be of no surprise that the player doesn't understand them fully. That's a pretty
Like many characters in shooters, the Chief is a foot soldier. Marines say "look, a Mark V" and several other variations of such throughout the game. The visual appearance (big green metal suit) as well as some of the chapter titles ("Cyborgs And AI Constructs First") give clues. Compare to Marathon, where you can finish all three games and not know whether or not the protagonist is human, or if he has a name, or where he came from prior to the opening of the first game! Subtlety rewards those who engage the experience mentally and pay attention to details. The others are only interested in shooting things-- is it really necessary to connect the dots for them? : I love the story, but probably a big reason for me loving it stems from the
I guess I'm too much of a Halo nut to really see that. It's not a question of being lost in Halo's story if you're not an enthusiast. It's a question of not being an enthusiast for a deep, yet subtly told tale. There are plenty of shooters that have practically no story. There are shooters that have story, but everything is told flat out in excruciating detail and unnecessary exposition. Painful to listen to. (Think "Black" for instance.)
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