343i Please Move Towards a Classic Art Style

Games Halo 5: Guardians
#1

Halo 4’s campaign was alright. Story wise it was great if you read the books. Gameplay wise the AI were fairly good, it was too linear however and pressing buttons really got boring.

However the art style was terrible. Everything looked good definitely, but it didn’t look like Halo. Forerunner’s looked like they got stuck in Tron with all the bright lights, and lens flare everywhere just looked cheesy. It seemed like 343i was trying to make everything look super sci-fi futuristic. Sure it looks cool, but this isn’t the Forerunners we’ve known.

The UNSC was good. I do prefer the Olive Drab colors of old, however this new pseudo-Forerunner look definitely conveys the humans as following in the Forerunner footsteps. For good and bad. Overall (Especially with armor all though you could get rid of the Crysis-esque undersuit) it was very good, very practical, very nice.

The Covenant I fear suffered the worst. Yes, I know they’re aliens. Yes, I know they have subspecies. Yes, I know they slaughtered billions of humans, civilian and soldier, and countless other small races. However they don’t look like they did. The Elites look like some kind of mutant freaks who appear in scary fairy tails, not captains of vast fleets of destruction. Grunts are okay, however removing the exoskeleton was a bad idea. Subspecies do not very that much. Jackals are terrible. They are birds, not reptiles. They just don’t look right.

343i you can keep your Tron buildings. But please revert the Covenant to look more like they did in Reach. This diseased looking monster is not scary. If anything I detect a hint of cute with the beady eyes and scrunched face. Monsters are scary for little children, which evidently might be what you’re targeting. (Eggheads?) Do you know what is scary for adults? This is scary. What do you see in that? I see an intelligent creature (This is important). Intelligence is the real scare factor. Something that knows it is exterminating an entire species and enjoys it. Not a monster. Monsters are born to be monsters. Intelligence is born to choose its own path. They look like a space faring race. They look like a real intelligent alien should.

#2

Couldn’t agree more, 343i should definitely go back to the classic art design. The art design associated with Halo 4’s armour was awful.

#3

Do you mean this sort of classic?

I disagree, I did not like the Marine design at all I think it was better in Reach with 3 a close second.

Halo 4 elites were ok if we accept the fact that they are not actual covenant elites but remnant splinter group of elites which are from a different place. You’d also notice how the older elites have an under armor while the remnant doesn’t. The only other elites that I can think of that didn’t have the under layer was Halo 2 arbiter and maybe heretic elites but I’m not sure. So how can we know that maybe Bungie wanted them to look a little scaly but had to deal with hardware limitations? Maybe the Halo 4 elites were a classic design fully realized?

Edit: Looking at it again the head piece on the Halo 4 elite makes him look like a pinhead lol.

#4

Agree about the covenant (save the grunts whose redesign I love), disagree about everything else. The human race seems futuristic for once, and while all the lens flare was a bit annoying, the new forerunner designs are solid.

#5

All this was done to differentiate the good and the bad guys. I do agree with you, however as the first Elite looks like a grunt ,a common pawn, whereas the latter, looks like he knows what he is doing, “proffesional” if you will. And he’s there to kill youand the entire human race, the faxt that he can very much outsmart is what makes him more than just an enemy

#6

Ill never understand why Bungie and 343 have transformed Elites from looking sophisticated in Halo 1, 2 and 3, and then more like big, bulky, top-heavy, clumsy, goofy looking beasts in Halo Reach and Halo 4. I loved the old look where they were skinny and streamlined. They looked damn cool. I loved the look of the old Zealots. The way that Elites were described by Bungie and even 343i was that they were sophisticated, disciplined, agile, etc. But the new designs look nothing like that. Like I said, they just look too big and “Brutish” now.

Yeah, the new elites might look a little scarier in the concept art and pictures, but the way they look in-game makes them look extremely clumsy and not scary at all.

Just my .02, but google some pictures of the old elites, especially 1 and 2, and tell me they don’t look “cooler”.

#7

Spartan Ops actually did this well enough. Lots of drabness interspersed with colour.

But even so, there was no classic art style. Reach was definitely drab, but try comparing that to Halo 3 with its colourful Epitaphs, Guardians and Standoffs. So asking for a “classic art style” doesn’t really mean anything. I do want a Reach style, though.

#8

Halo 4 was a bit too shiny and clean for me. Like, literally. My eyes would get a bit sore after looking at the game for too long. Dunno if it was the lighting engine, or the objects themselves though.

#9

Alright, let me clarify something here. I agree that the Elites in Halo 1, 2, 3, and Reach were cooler looking. I liked the intelligent and slim look they had. However, anatomically speaking, the Elites made absolutely no sense. They’re predators, yet in the Bungie games, the position of their eyes would only give them 2D vision. They’d essentially see to the side of their heads, but not forward, and in flat planes. 343 Industries redesigned the Elites, which come from a completely different planet, to make more sense. Their faces were flattened to some degree so that their eyes could be facing forward without moving them further up on the head. Their jaw structure was also reworked. They can still form closed mouths like the originals could. Because they’re predatory by nature, their jaws would have to be able to open wider to swallow larger pieces of food. The Bungie Elites couldn’t do that. The 343 Industries Elites on the other hand can because of the way the jaws have been reworked. And Elites are supposed to have more muscle mass. Their planet has a higher gravity than Earth does, so they’d naturally build a lot more muscle when training. So Elites, while stealthy, should also be big.

The Reach Elites kind of addressed the sight issue, however the rest of the issues were not addressed. The Halo 4 Elite addressed the rest.

The Grunts on the other hand are actually very classic. Take a look at the Grunts from Halo: CE and Halo 2:

Halo CE: http://i756.photobucket.com/albums/xx208/Xamikaze330/Halo%20Images/Halo%20Aliens/HaloCE-UnggoyGrunt-2views.jpg

Halo 2: http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120330225229/halo/es/images/b/ba/Ung24.jpg

Now compare them to Halo 4’s:

Halo 4: http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130322003619/halo/images/4/4a/Grunt_wearing_new_rebreather.jpg

Notice that the Halo 1 and 2 Grunts have rough skin, not an exoskeleton, but they do have bone spikes. The Halo 4 Grunts have slightly smoothwe skin, but with chitinous plates on both its arms and legs and still mostly rough. Fun fact: The Halo 2 and 4 Grunts have six packs.

Now compare them to the Reach Grunt which is nearly identical to the Halo 3 Grunt:

Halo Reach: http://www.vgmerchandise.net/images/359_halo_reach_series_2_grunt_minor_action_figure.jpg

The Halo 3/Reach Grunt traded that rough skin of the first two games for a more bony exterior a.k.a. the exoskeleton. Notice that the Halo 4 Grunt is far more classic than the Reach Grunt. To further make the Grunts Halo 4 appearance more necessary, is that its arms look strong enough to climb, its toes as well.

Another issue was the fact that there was no way the Grunts could breath in the Halo 1, 2, 3, and Reach incarnations. Why? Because they breath methane and there was no visible way for them to be breathing the methane they carry on their backs. Halo 4 solved this issue by adding a tube that runs from the back armor to the Unggoy’s left nostril. That tube feeds the methane.

I rest my case on the Grunts. The Jackals on the other hand have a fairly reasonable explanation. The Jackals have three distinct sub-species, each hailing from three distinct places on the Kig-Yar homeworld. The Jackals from Halo 4 come from the isolated continent of Ibie’sh. It can be speculated that Ibie’sh has an environment that necessitated that sub-species unique evolution, which is to say, a blunt bleak and muscular neck that gives it a more reptilian appearance rather than avian.

And if your concerned that you may never see the original versions of the Covenant again, rest easy. Escalation shows that all these variations still exist in some shape or form. For all Covenant species.

As for the Marines, I did prefer the Halo 3 armor, but I didn’t necessarily mind the Reach armor either. Halo 4’s armor just looks… odd to me. And I’ll admit the Elite armor also irks me.

As for Forerunner structures, I like both Bungie and 343 designs, and I chalk the designs up to the different Forerunner rates. The Halo’s were Builders, The Arks were Lifeworker, and the Shield Worlds are Warrior-Servant(Promethean). It helps make sense of the different architecture.

#10

By changing the appearance of the Sangheili, what 343i accomplished was two things:

  1. Making their heads functional. The CE-Reach Elite not only could NOT see in front of them with the position of their eyes, but their mouths, at least in Reach, could NOT close in a functional way. All 343i did was make them more realistic.

  2. By changing the Sangheili’s armor, 343i allowed the player to easily differentiate Jul 'Mdama’s faction from the other 5345438375734523454 Covenant Remnant factions. Escalation shows this really well:

The two Elites on the lower left corner are part of Thel 'Vadam’s faction.

As for the differences in the Forerunner’s structures, Forerunners, like humans, don’t have the same kind of architecture throughout their entire species. Shocker, right?

#11

> By changing the appearance of the Sangheili, what 343i accomplished was two things:
>
> 1. Making their heads functional. The CE-Reach Elite not only could NOT see in front of them with the position of their eyes, but their mouths, at least in Reach, could NOT close in a functional way. All 343i did was make them more realistic.

Considering how the ELites’ top mandibles are now right below their eyes, I don’t see how they could close their mouths either.

#12

> > By changing the appearance of the Sangheili, what 343i accomplished was two things:
> >
> > 1. Making their heads functional. The CE-Reach Elite not only could NOT see in front of them with the position of their eyes, but their mouths, at least in Reach, could NOT close in a functional way. All 343i did was make them more realistic.
>
> Considering how the ELites’ top mandibles are now right below their eyes, I don’t see how they could close their mouths either.

The new mandible structure is adjustable. The only Elite in Halo 4 that we see without a helmet is Gek. The rest are wearing helmets, so it’s hard to tell. From what I’ve read or heard, the new mandible structure can adjust to look like the mouths of the previous incarnations, and also fully close.

#13

> > > By changing the appearance of the Sangheili, what 343i accomplished was two things:
> > >
> > > 1. Making their heads functional. The CE-Reach Elite not only could NOT see in front of them with the position of their eyes, but their mouths, at least in Reach, could NOT close in a functional way. All 343i did was make them more realistic.
> >
> > Considering how the ELites’ top mandibles are now right below their eyes, I don’t see how they could close their mouths either.
>
> The new mandible structure is adjustable. The only Elite in Halo 4 that we see without a helmet is Gek. The rest are wearing helmets, so it’s hard to tell. From what I’ve read or heard, the new mandible structure can adjust to look like the mouths of the previous incarnations, and also fully close.

That would be a pretty big adjustment. And if they can adjust it there is a massive amount of space between the two fount mandibles. And the only other Elites who’s helmets obstruct how their mandibles look is the Zealot and Ranger. But as of Halo 4 from the look of the top mandible the Elites would be biting their own faces.

Also Andy you’re wrong about the Reach Elites, they have forward facing eyes.

#14

> > > > By changing the appearance of the Sangheili, what 343i accomplished was two things:
> > > >
> > > > 1. Making their heads functional. The CE-Reach Elite not only could NOT see in front of them with the position of their eyes, but their mouths, at least in Reach, could NOT close in a functional way. All 343i did was make them more realistic.
> > >
> > > Considering how the ELites’ top mandibles are now right below their eyes, I don’t see how they could close their mouths either.
> >
> > The new mandible structure is adjustable. The only Elite in Halo 4 that we see without a helmet is Gek. The rest are wearing helmets, so it’s hard to tell. From what I’ve read or heard, the new mandible structure can adjust to look like the mouths of the previous incarnations, and also fully close.
>
> That would be a pretty big adjustment. And if they can adjust it there is a massive amount of space between the two fount mandibles. And the only other Elites who’s helmets obstruct how their mandibles look is the Zealot and Ranger. But as of Halo 4 from the look of the top mandible the Elites would be biting their own faces.
>
> Also Andy you’re wrong about the Reach Elites, they have forward facing eyes.

I can see your point, and I never noticed that Reach’s Elites had forward facing eyes. However, again, it may just be Gek. All the other Elites in the game have, at least, the back of their mandibles obscured by the helmet.

#15

> That would be a pretty big adjustment. And if they can adjust it there is a massive amount of space between the two fount mandibles. And the only other Elites who’s helmets obstruct how their mandibles look is the Zealot and Ranger. But as of Halo 4 from the look of the top mandible the Elites would be biting their own faces.
>
> Also Andy you’re wrong about the Reach Elites, they have forward facing eyes.

According to your posted image, the Halo Reach Elites have the same mandible problem as those in Halo 4.

#16

Halo Reach did it right, especially with the UNSC. Marines looked serious, Spartans looked like Spartans, and Odst was PERFECT.

Halp 4 though, Marines wearing a white puffy eggshell on their heads,

Go Go Spartan Rangers!!

And the ODST was cartoony and bubbly

#17

> > > > > By changing the appearance of the Sangheili, what 343i accomplished was two things:
> > > > >
> > > > > 1. Making their heads functional. The CE-Reach Elite not only could NOT see in front of them with the position of their eyes, but their mouths, at least in Reach, could NOT close in a functional way. All 343i did was make them more realistic.
> > > >
> > > > Considering how the ELites’ top mandibles are now right below their eyes, I don’t see how they could close their mouths either.
> > >
> > > The new mandible structure is adjustable. The only Elite in Halo 4 that we see without a helmet is Gek. The rest are wearing helmets, so it’s hard to tell. From what I’ve read or heard, the new mandible structure can adjust to look like the mouths of the previous incarnations, and also fully close.
> >
> > That would be a pretty big adjustment. And if they can adjust it there is a massive amount of space between the two fount mandibles. And the only other Elites who’s helmets obstruct how their mandibles look is the Zealot and Ranger. But as of Halo 4 from the look of the top mandible the Elites would be biting their own faces.
> >
> > Also Andy you’re wrong about the Reach Elites, they have forward facing eyes.
>
> I can see your point, and I never noticed that Reach’s Elites had forward facing eyes. However, again, it may just be Gek. All the other Elites in the game have, at least, the back of their mandibles obscured by the helmet.

It still looks really high on this guy.

> > That would be a pretty big adjustment. And if they can adjust it there is a massive amount of space between the two fount mandibles. And the only other Elites who’s helmets obstruct how their mandibles look is the Zealot and Ranger. But as of Halo 4 from the look of the top mandible the Elites would be biting their own faces.
> >
> > Also Andy you’re wrong about the Reach Elites, they have forward facing eyes.
>
> According to your posted image, the Halo Reach Elites have the same mandible problem as those in Halo 4.

Are the mandibles a little to high on Reach’s Elites? Yes. A little. But not even close to the problems the Halo 4 Elites have. Move the mandibles down a touch and it’s perfect. The Halo 4 Elites would have to move them down 2 or 3 inches to get them in their mouth. Their teeth are literally above their top lip.

#18

the original art style wasn’t really all that original or interesting. I’m glad that 343 isn’t being so ridiculously bound by tradition. Many of the things about the UNSC that I felt didn’t look advanced enough given the time period have been suitably updated, the covenant look less like weird costumes and more like actual alien races, forerunner tech looks more impossibly ornate and powerful.

Not saying they shouldn’t change anything, I think the Jackals could look a little more birdlike. But on the whole I’d just love to see their takes on a greater variety of settings and characters, all in greater fidelity at 60fps. gon be rad.

#19

> > That would be a pretty big adjustment. And if they can adjust it there is a massive amount of space between the two fount mandibles. And the only other Elites who’s helmets obstruct how their mandibles look is the Zealot and Ranger. But as of Halo 4 from the look of the top mandible the Elites would be biting their own faces.
> >
> > Also Andy you’re wrong about the Reach Elites, they have forward facing eyes.
>
> According to your posted image, the Halo Reach Elites have the same mandible problem as those in Halo 4.

To be fair, the Elite head in Reach looks really rushed.

If only we had something like this

#20

> > > > > > By changing the appearance of the Sangheili, what 343i accomplished was two things:
> > > > > >
> > > > > > 1. Making their heads functional. The CE-Reach Elite not only could NOT see in front of them with the position of their eyes, but their mouths, at least in Reach, could NOT close in a functional way. All 343i did was make them more realistic.
> > > > >
> > > > > Considering how the ELites’ top mandibles are now right below their eyes, I don’t see how they could close their mouths either.
> > > >
> > > > The new mandible structure is adjustable. The only Elite in Halo 4 that we see without a helmet is Gek. The rest are wearing helmets, so it’s hard to tell. From what I’ve read or heard, the new mandible structure can adjust to look like the mouths of the previous incarnations, and also fully close.
> > >
> > > That would be a pretty big adjustment. And if they can adjust it there is a massive amount of space between the two fount mandibles. And the only other Elites who’s helmets obstruct how their mandibles look is the Zealot and Ranger. But as of Halo 4 from the look of the top mandible the Elites would be biting their own faces.
> > >
> > > Also Andy you’re wrong about the Reach Elites, they have forward facing eyes.
> >
> > I can see your point, and I never noticed that Reach’s Elites had forward facing eyes. However, again, it may just be Gek. All the other Elites in the game have, at least, the back of their mandibles obscured by the helmet.
>
> It still looks really high on this guy.
>
>
>
> > > That would be a pretty big adjustment. And if they can adjust it there is a massive amount of space between the two fount mandibles. And the only other Elites who’s helmets obstruct how their mandibles look is the Zealot and Ranger. But as of Halo 4 from the look of the top mandible the Elites would be biting their own faces.
> > >
> > > Also Andy you’re wrong about the Reach Elites, they have forward facing eyes.
> >
> > According to your posted image, the Halo Reach Elites have the same mandible problem as those in Halo 4.
>
> Are the mandibles a little to high on Reach’s Elites? Yes. A little. But not even close to the problems the Halo 4 Elites have. Move the mandibles down a touch and it’s perfect. The Halo 4 Elites would have to move them down 2 or 3 inches to get them in their mouth. Their teeth are literally above their top lip.

Ok, I concede.