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| Re: Arbiter character development *SP* | |
| Posted By: Hawaiian Pig | Date: 9/23/10 4:05 p.m. |
In Response To: Arbiter character development *SP* (Narcogen) Again, I said this in a post I just replied to, I agree with the notion that Bungie leaned on caricatures as an easy out to give these guys some "character." But I think this is an unfair comparison. To say that I'm reading as much into the Arbiter story arc as people are into a few expository bits of dialogue from Kat sounds like a bit much. I was replaying the game last night, and honestly the most we get out of her is some "second in command" stuff and her tech role. There was something there when she said it was her "first glassing," however. And of course that's borne out of your point that a lot of character development stems from human flaws. Something which the Arbiter had a lot more of. To go from earnest obedience to vengeful, prideful rebellion. You certainly got the vengeful part, but I think you're discounting his interactions with fellow Elites in both Halo 2 and 3 that show his pride in his kind. : Then, after completing his first mission on Delta, he gets betrayed and seeks
: Seen through the lens of the Arbiter wanting revenge first and foremost, his
I urge you to rewatch the cutscenes from all of the games. I did this before posting with regard to the Arbiter. There is far more interesting dialogue with respect to the Arbiter than most other characters in the universe; especially with regard to giving you insight into the Arbiter's sense of pride and brotherhood. His devout willingness to "continue his campaign against the humans" to his straight up alliance with these guys is brought about by the events that shape him, and the emotions that are both explicit and implicit. That the Prophets lied to them about the Great Journey and then turn on his kind was the betrayal; and it seems to weigh heavily on him (as well as Half-Jaw). Heck, the levels with the Heretic underscore this. Here he was, so sure that his Prophet's were right, that he killed a fellow Elite; having changed, having had the lies dispelled by a giant parasite, a sputtering bulb, and his former nemesis, he would probably not do that now. "Were it so easy." That line alone demonstrates his change. The manner and circumstances in which he says this in the opening cutscene of Halo 3, and then the final, underscores his growing respect for the Chief. He could have let you activate the ring on your own you know; Half Jaw even suggests it. Definitely a point of development if I ever saw one. : I think you may be doing a bit of that yourself on behalf of the Arbiter,
The former appeals to me more than the latter because there's a lot more there. Kat is still the tech girl, with some bonus "second in command." Along with the rest of the support cast, the leader guy, the sniper and the token brazen black guy, I didn't see much of interest. As what's technically a support character, it seems to me like the Arbiter had a lot more dimensions than any character we've seen yet. There's room for a lot of interesting characteristics to grow out of his betrayal, the lies he once believed, his alliance with his former enemies and the respect he develops for them, and his sense of brotherhood with his fellow Elites. : Writers use caricatures because they are shortcuts; because they know that it
This is really the root of the issue. Some of us seem to be excusing the lack of characterization due to the constraint of a single game. But a single game has the potential to develop both a compelling story and interesting characters... I mean we theoretically have 7-8 hours of play time. The real problem is that this game is filled with a ton of main characters. Maybe it would have been nice if Noble Six were more strongly characterized; then the rest of these guys would feel a lot more like a competent support cast, rather than a lackluster main cast.
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