Frequently Asked Forum Questions | ||||
Search Older Posts on This Forum: Posts on Current Forum | Archived Posts | ||||
Re: Halo Wars & Halo 4: That "Halo" feeling *vids* | |
Posted By: DarkReign2021 <DarkReign2021@yahoo.com> | Date: 3/1/13 1:29 a.m. |
In Response To: Halo Wars & Halo 4: That "Halo" feeling *vids* (Revenant1988) : I don't have a blog like pete so I have only here to vent. It is pretty long : but it was a slow day at work so my mind wandered. There is a TL;DR at the : bottom if you like. : : Spartan Ops and the story's ending : 343's 2/27 Halo Bulletin really struck a chord with me today. With
: Personally I don't know, and the fact is that none us of do. That can be
: Is it possible that the Halo that Bungie conceived 10 years ago stayed true
: Maybe I should have seen some of this coming, the "this" being that
: Is that an apt description? Do any of you feel similar? : This "critical mass" is not necessarily a bad thing, and I mean
: Maybe it should be expected- there is a new studio at the helm after all. It
: It can be hard moving to a new place.
: Why didn't I see more of this coming with 343? I sort of did back when the
: : Back to the bulletin, and the part that sparked this, was the insight into
: Firstly, struggling to come up with a great ending for anything is
: Secondly, why are you telling me that you've got a room full of writers with
: Yeah, that is kinda dumb. I'm glad you guys were able to joke around so-
: "A half hour later we still didn’t have an idea of how the Requiem
: Really? First: "A half hour later"? - I hope you are just joking
: Here's the thing, 343, if that was how it all went down, fine- but my advice
: If you've read this far, you might be asking "Rev, why are you fixating
: That "Halo" feeling : After all this I started wracking my brain trying to put a finger on why
: But I didn't feel any attachment to the other characters... : Well that's unfortunate. Maybe it was because a new and different studio had
: Actually that can't be right because I loved the majority of characters in
: Maybe the writing team lacked "Halo writing" experience? : No, that's not it because Frankie was a writer during Halo 3 and Halo 2 if I
: Maybe it was all the new things that 343 introduced that Bungie never did? : No, that isn't it either because again, Halo Wars introduced all kinds of
: As I thought about these things I decided to look up some Halo Wars videos I
: All the developers in those videos showed that they not only cared about
: Halo Universe Expanded #1
: Halo Universe Expanded #2
: Halo Universe Expanded #3
: Watching these 3 videos gave me goosbumps. I felt like throwing Halo in and
: -The dialogue was good
: : It was weird seeing Frankie in these videos saying things that I wish he had
: In fact, Halo 4 to me felt like it had bitten off more than it could chew,
: It was like going to a buffet and getting to sample a bunch of different
: Halo Wars didn't have that and it was written by a different studio. The
: The other thing they did really well was making the cut scenes and in-game
: Watching these videos was therapeutic in a sense for me because maybe
: If you've never played Halo Wars, I really, really advocate that you give it
: Maybe I'm being a bit harsh towards 343. If I am, then I am sorry, its only
: I don't know if we'll ever see a Halo Wars 2 but at least when Halo Wars blew
: TL;DR : 343 seems all over the place and the bulletin from yesterday only made that
: It showed a lack of enthusiasm and taking the easy way out, even if it didn't
: Ensemble, the studio behind Halo Wars was also new to the Halo franchise and
: Watching the 3 "behind the scene" clips only reinforced that
: A great Halo game doesn't have to always come from Bungie, it just needs to
: -Rev : Not trying to ruffle any feathers I swear This is an argument I feel can go both ways. 343 is definitely playing fastball. That much is made apparent with the weekly bulletin. Unfortunately these kinds of things happen and maybe they felt it was a more effective means of telling this type of story. They played this game with Spartan Ops, but that's not necessarily suggesting this is how they work with the Campaigns, live-action web series, etc... Even so, it's still no excuse to not put as much care and effort into one playmode as you would any other. They are experienced developers in their respective fields, but they're helming a completely new team and the work ethic seemingly hasn't settled itself in. It feels almost like 343 is trying to be too much like the publicized Bungie that the community adores. The crazy team of goofy people joking around, pulling pranks, and presenting a generally more relaxed environment than you see in most other development studios. They go to meetings and throw out last minute ideas to write about and while things like Frankie having a cameo in FUD is cool, it's obvious there are things that his time would've been better spent on. Not to say having fun is a bad thing and I invite any and all developers to take a more Bungie-cized approach to the gaming industry, but you have to know how an element like that works and you have to know when there's time to goof around and when it's time to work (and obviously, goofing around brainstorming ideas when the finale is due out in less than a month is not a good idea.) When they announced Spartan Ops months ago, they should've had a general idea of their plot, which I imagine they did. Than when Halo 4 hit shelves and Episode 1 was available from the start, they should've already had the plot and details mapped out for the entire season and at LEAST a rough draft of where they're going to take Season 2. Particularly in a field where sequels are present, planning ahead is an absolute necessity. One thing I've always been left to wonder in regards to Bungie is just how extensive the Halo Bible really is. I remember years ago (I'm talking Halo 2 still in development) Staten commenting about the Halo Bible having years and years of content mapped out. If that's the case, does that mean Bungie planned as far ahead as the general events of Halo 4, 5 , & 6? or is 343 left to flesh out the details on their own? I know elements of current lore can be traced back to past games in the series (The Forerunner Terminals in H3 and even dialog stated in Halo: Combat Evolved and stated in Dietz's 'Halo: The Flood' alluded to elements that are only now coming into play in the series, but I have to wonder if Bungie ever intended for Dr. Halsey to become a "monster" or if Humanity would ever be endangered by a rogue Forerunner. Fortunately for Ensemble with Halo Wars, the development of this games storyline was very basic. Unlike the above question regarding the Bible, we know for certain a lot of base details involved in HW pre-existed. The fall and retaking of Harvest, the existence of Shield Worlds, the use of the Prophet of Regret on the field, the existence of an Arbiter, etc... The only thing thing they really had to worry about regarding story were the small details in-between. Fleshing out characters, creating small details to bring the worlds to life, and designing vehicles and units that would fit the Halo tradition. Gameplay was solid, objectives were simple and concise, and they got done what needed to be done. Getting back to 343 and Halo 4, Frankie did comment a few weeks ago that they had learned a lot from publishing their first actual game and they know what they did well and where they still need to work on improving, I hope this includes their storyboard designing among other things. I really hope to see Spartan Ops Episode 2 and really look forward playing Halo 5 and Halo 6 when the time comes. I don't want to see the series end on a bad note. I would love to see Staten come over for the Halo series again, but he's Bungie to the core. If they're really so concerned with writing, though, perhaps hiring a professional author to head the team would be in order. Nylund has extensive experience with the Industry and even Bear is becoming pretty well versed with the type of lore we expect from the current Halo games (I don't think Traviss would have the chops for it.) Hell, even picking from the fanbase might bode well. I've read many amazing fanfictions, mock movie scripts, and essays on various elements regarding the universe. Any number of us more inovlved would be a viable opportunity for them to strengthen the story and give the fans what they want at the same time (and please 343, don't pull a Casey Hudson. As much as you claim that you're happy with the ending to ME3, when the entire community hates it, you have to at least admit that something needs to be fixed.)
|
|
Replies: |
Halo Wars & Halo 4: That "Halo" feeling *vids* | Revenant1988 | 2/28/13 9:26 p.m. |
Re: Halo Wars & Halo 4: That "Halo" feeling *vids* | Dielectric | 2/28/13 10:30 p.m. |
Re: Halo Wars & Halo 4: That "Halo" feeling *vids* | Azo 'Galvat | 2/28/13 10:31 p.m. |
I think what Halo Wars did best | TDSpiral | 3/1/13 1:06 a.m. |
Re: Halo Wars & Halo 4: That "Halo" feeling *vids* | DarkReign2021 | 3/1/13 1:29 a.m. |
A happy, positive post. | Quirel | 3/1/13 4:08 a.m. |
The HBO Forum Archive is maintained with WebBBS 4.33. |