343i developing historical fiction

Community Halo Universe
1

Ok, so food for thought. 343i and Microsoft want to continue Halo for approximately another 30 years. Regardless if they’re successful in doing this or not, the Halo franchise is going to discontinue at some point in history. All good things must come to an end right? *cough even Star Wars. Haha I digress.

Anyways, because of this eventuality, 343i won’t exist after that. Their sole purpose is to develop the Halo games and manage and direct the Halo franchise. They are the story writers. That is the purpose of their studio in the Microsoft corporation in a nutshell. As such, they won’t be able to create a new IP after Halo and will practically shut down.

But, there is a way around their “inevitable demise.” What if after the Halo franchise discontinues, they start creating historical fiction? Whether it be games, novels, animations, comics, etc. Primarily games though. Remember, our real world history is canon to Halo canon as well. What if they create their own historical fiction games that take place during crucial eras in history, depicting wars and battles in never before seen ways. They can do this because they’d still technically be making Halo content.

And because its historical fiction, and the Halo franchise is fictional, they can twist history to a degree if they so wish because its set in a fictional universe. Like Assassin’s Creed for example. Or they could not do this at all and leave history alone as it is in the Halo canon, or create games/novels/any historical fiction medium that follows history to the absolute Tee.

I bring this up not as a what if scenario like I am trying to predict the future, but more of a what would you think of this course of action and how would you feel about it if it came into fruition/a possibility of extending 343i’s lifespan and expansion into other fictional genres. Also, this thought came up when I was playing Assassin’s Creed and was thinking to myself “how cool would it be if we could play a historically based game that is simply historical fiction rather than something like AC that’s based in our reality, but is its own original universe.” Imagine playing a third person action game set in the Hundred Years War between the Medieval English and French that’s historically accurate and realistic. That’s a game 343i could make if they so wished and if Microsoft allowed it.

I mean, heck, 343i could do it now if Microsoft allotted them the resources and as said previously, allows it to happen.

What’s your take on this idea?

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I stopped reading when you said 343i wouldn’t be able to create a new IP. That itself is stupid.

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There is 4 or 5 hundred years of intervening history that you could do plenty with , that wouldn’t have the effect of confusing actual history. Sorry but many people seem to get there “facts” from very questionable sources (cartoons, fiction novels, games, Major Media outlets, etc…) , and inject them into reality. Last thing we need is the next generation learning “History” from Microsoft.

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> 2533274847627340;3:
> There is 4 or 5 hundred years of intervening history that you could do plenty with , that wouldn’t have the effect of confusing actual history. Sorry but many people seem to get there “facts” from very questionable sources (cartoons, fiction novels, games, Major Media outlets, etc…) , and inject them into reality. Last thing we need is the next generation learning “History” from Microsoft.

That’s the last thing we would want, but think about it from MS’ POV.
Don’t give them any ideas.

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They’ve already made historical fiction. E.g. Human-Forerunner War, Forerunner-Flood war, Sangheili-San’Shyuum war, Ancient Humanity, and plenty more.

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> They’ve already made historical fiction. E.g. Human-Forerunner War, Forerunner-Flood war, Sangheili-San’Shyuum war, Ancient Humanity, and plenty more.

Yes they’ve done that. And it was all very well written and constructed, without any conflicts to natural recorded history. But I was referring to legitimate history. Historical fiction would be something akin to Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield, a very acurrate fictional novelization of the Battle of Thermopylae that’s critically praised. And for good reason too. It’s an amazing read.

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I feel like some are misinterpreting what I’m saying.

Imagine if 343i made a video game set during the Greco Persian Wars. Or the Seven Years War. Or whatever war in history they so desired. They could do that considering it would still technically be Halo related because they’re set in canonical settings and events. And it was historically accurate and all. That’s what I’m getting at here. Would you, as part of the community, support that idea?

For instance, while it has its historical flaws, Battlefield 1 is a very well put together historical fiction video game set in World War 1.

8

Okay, so here’s my idea for the next Harry Potter book. It’s called William of Orange and the Glorious Revolution, and it focuses on how parliament invited King William of Orange to remove James II of England from power due to the latter’s Catholic sympathies. Along the way we meet characters such as Finbar Bankhead, the Black Cat of Brixham; Eleanor Holloway, the bloody maid; and Increase Mather, governor of Massachusetts. There’s absolutely no connection or reference to Harry Potter whatsoever, except for the fact I just said it’s the eighth Harry Potter book.

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> 2533274829152751;2:
> I stopped reading when you said 343i wouldn’t be able to create a new IP. That itself is stupid.

They couldn’t, technically. The name itself is dedicated to Halo.

They could disband and form a new company, though.

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> 2533274974033696;9:
> > 2533274829152751;2:
> > I stopped reading when you said 343i wouldn’t be able to create a new IP. That itself is stupid.
>
> They couldn’t, technically. The name itself is dedicated to Halo.
>
> They could disband and form a new company, though.

Just because their name is one thing does not mean they can’t make a new IP.

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> 2533274829152751;10:
> > 2533274974033696;9:
> > > 2533274829152751;2:
> > > I stopped reading when you said 343i wouldn’t be able to create a new IP. That itself is stupid.
> >
> > They couldn’t, technically. The name itself is dedicated to Halo.
> >
> > They could disband and form a new company, though.
>
> Just because their name is one thing does not mean they can’t make a new IP.

Imagine if the Pokemon Company made a brand new IP. Wouldn’t make any sense.

Imagine if Roosterteeth was still called RedvsBlue, and they made a new show.

It simply wouldn’t make sense. Need to have brand recognition that people can make sense of.

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> 2533274974033696;11:
> > 2533274829152751;10:
> > > 2533274974033696;9:
> > > > 2533274829152751;2:
> > > > I stopped reading when you said 343i wouldn’t be able to create a new IP. That itself is stupid.
> > >
> > > They couldn’t, technically. The name itself is dedicated to Halo.
> > >
> > > They could disband and form a new company, though.
> >
> > Just because their name is one thing does not mean they can’t make a new IP.
>
> Imagine if the Pokemon Company made a brand new IP. Wouldn’t make any sense.
>
> Imagine if Roosterteeth was still called RedvsBlue, and they made a new show.
>
> It simply wouldn’t make sense. Need to have brand recognition that people can make sense of.

“Respawn entertainment” doesn’t have any brand recognition to Titanfall. You don’t need to change your company’s name to make a new IP

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> > 2533274974033696;11:
> > > 2533274829152751;10:
> > > > 2533274974033696;9:
> > > > > 2533274829152751;2:
> > > > > I stopped reading when you said 343i wouldn’t be able to create a new IP. That itself is stupid.
> > > >
> > > > They couldn’t, technically. The name itself is dedicated to Halo.
> > > > They could disband and form a new company, though.
> > >
> > > Just because their name is one thing does not mean they can’t make a new IP.
> >
> > Imagine if the Pokemon Company made a brand new IP. Wouldn’t make any sense.
> > Imagine if Roosterteeth was still called RedvsBlue, and they made a new show.
> > It simply wouldn’t make sense. Need to have brand recognition that people can make sense of.
>
> “Respawn entertainment” doesn’t have any brand recognition to Titanfall. You don’t need to change your company’s name to make a new IP

He is saying 343i , is directly linked to Halo by name. 343 is a Halo reference. It wouldn’t make sense for 343i to make Gears. The names together would create confusion is Bricks point.
A better example would be , lets say 343 makes a Halo wars style game outside of the Halo universe. 343 would have to go out of its way to let every one know it is not a Halo game , and I bet there would still be confusion and angry customers when they got the game home and it’s not Halo.

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> 2533274904397463;12:
> > 2533274974033696;11:
> > > 2533274829152751;10:
> > > > 2533274974033696;9:
> > > > > 2533274829152751;2:
> > > > > I stopped reading when you said 343i wouldn’t be able to create a new IP. That itself is stupid.
> > > >
> > > > They couldn’t, technically. The name itself is dedicated to Halo.
> > > >
> > > > They could disband and form a new company, though.
> > >
> > > Just because their name is one thing does not mean they can’t make a new IP.
> >
> > Imagine if the Pokemon Company made a brand new IP. Wouldn’t make any sense.
> >
> > Imagine if Roosterteeth was still called RedvsBlue, and they made a new show.
> >
> > It simply wouldn’t make sense. Need to have brand recognition that people can make sense of.
>
> “Respawn entertainment” doesn’t have any brand recognition to Titanfall. You don’t need to change your company’s name to make a new IP

You do when it corresponds to a specific franchise.

You know what you can do in Titanfall? Respawn.

15

I’m not sure how creating historical games would help keep the Halo Franchise alive, or even how putting this fiction in the Haloverse would do much. If you are going to make a game set in the past then why not just make it a new IP?

Also, I need you to look at some classical shooters specifically ID ones. Doom released in the mid 90s and kinda died out after the release of Doom 3 in the early 2000s. Now it has gotten a reboot almost 15 years later and it worked.
What about Wolfenstein? It’s a old game, and I think it’s on it’s second successful reboot now.
Quake is coming back this year after its famous success in Quake 3 two decades ago.

What I’m saying here is that after Halo inevitably dies, it will inevitably be rebooted.

16

Well, I disagree with 343 making historical games. I do agree with “all things must come to an end”. So, what Microsoft can do is have a competition every few years where other independent devs make their own Halo game, compete with each other, and the winner’s game becomes canon ( if it conflicts with the current canon it would be altered to fit), Microsoft publishes it and the dev gets 3/4 profit.

Another way is for 343 to make more games based on other, more unexplored parts of the Halo Universe. Things like the Forerunner-Flood war, Insurrection, or the initial contact on Harvest, with the player playing as Johnson. This could keep Halo going for a long time.

17

Who says they will only do Halo games. They might start their own series, or die, or split. Maybe they’ll make a series called Olah.

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> 2535435616191030;16:
> Well, I disagree with 343 making historical games. I do agree with “all things must come to an end”. So, what Microsoft can do is have a competition every few years where other independent devs make their own Halo game, compete with each other, and the winner’s game becomes canon ( if it conflicts with the current canon it would be altered to fit), Microsoft publishes it and the dev gets 3/4 profit.
>
> Another way is for 343 to make more games based on other, more unexplored parts of the Halo Universe. Things like the Forerunner-Flood war, Insurrection, or the initial contact on Harvest, with the player playing as Johnson. This could keep Halo going for a long time.

Yes. the past of the halo universe is very much unexplored though the only problem I could see with any halo game where your fighting the insurrection is that it would either be too cod of battlefield like or that it doesn’t some how feel halo cause with all the halo save for odst and wars 1&2 your playing as a spartan but even with odst you still felt like a spartan.

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> 2533274829152751;2:
> I stopped reading when you said 343i wouldn’t be able to create a new IP. That itself is stupid.

I won’t go so far as to say stupid, just a faulty premise that leads to a flawed conclusion.

Halo doesn’t have to end, and neither does Star Wars, and that’s something Disney is starting to explore. There is an entire galaxy’s worth of history and stories to explore. Our little glimpse thus far has been but one tiny story. What of the Grunt Rebellion? That would be a sure sell for anyone who enjoys their one-liners. What of the taming of the Hunters? How about the Insurrection? That would be a good way to bring Johnson back and not have it feel like a rip-off.
We have millions of years from which to pluck stories from, including that of different species?

There are tons of people that love playing as Elites, so they get a game by which the Elites are brought into the Covenant, a Reach style game for them.
Lots of people love Johnson, so they get the Insurrection and Contact Harvest.

That’s no less than 3 possible games and none of them involve 117 or Cortana.

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> 2533274815339824;18:
> > 2535435616191030;16:
> > Well, I disagree with 343 making historical games. I do agree with “all things must come to an end”. So, what Microsoft can do is have a competition every few years where other independent devs make their own Halo game, compete with each other, and the winner’s game becomes canon ( if it conflicts with the current canon it would be altered to fit), Microsoft publishes it and the dev gets 3/4 profit.
> >
> > Another way is for 343 to make more games based on other, more unexplored parts of the Halo Universe. Things like the Forerunner-Flood war, Insurrection, or the initial contact on Harvest, with the player playing as Johnson. This could keep Halo going for a long time.
>
> Yes. the past of the halo universe is very much unexplored though the only problem I could see with any halo game where your fighting the insurrection is that it would either be too cod of battlefield like or that it doesn’t some how feel halo cause with all the halo save for odst and wars 1&2 your playing as a spartan but even with odst you still felt like a spartan.

It would be a challenge to differentiate an Insurrection game from that of the future warfare games that are out now, but it could be done, and well, if it’s told right.