Hey all. I wrote a thing about my thought that Halo could have a great series starring a female lead. Doesn’t HAVE to be Sarah Palmer, but I used her as an example. I want to know what you guys imagine a female lead in a main Halo game/series being.
You do make a good point: It does seem like 343 has something in store for Palmer.
And the idea of having a dual campaign with some female who isn’t Palmer (I’ll explain later) and Chief sounds cool. However, the thing about Chief and Arbiter in Halo 2 is the fact they were so different that playing as each of them was a noticeable difference. Chief and this new character would have to be different enough to notice, but not too different.
And even though Chief and Arbiter should have done something together, I can see why they didn’t. Bungie wanted you to feel like both characters are you, in a sense. If you were Arby hunting the Chief, and you do get into a fight, could you imagine how people would react to having to kill the series’ protagonist? This conflict of interests would also cause people to choose sides. If I agreed with Palmers decision to kill Halsey, that’d mean I’d have to disagree with the Chief, and I might not be eager to play as him. Arby and Chief, while different, had similar motivation that wouldn’t stop a player from completing their objective. That’s why we never kill humans as Arbiter: Bungie didn’t want us to feel conflicted. This is what I mean by “not too different”, so players an jump into new shoes without changing their outlook.
Back to Palmer, the problem with her is, from the start, people didn’t like her. Not because she was a girl, but just because in Spartan Ops and everything, she was just so dislikeable: Putting down any non-Spartans, hating scientists for no reason, using the same bland labels such as “Bad-guys” and “eggheads”, and so forth. Escalation is certainly doing everything they can to get us to like Palmer, but until she has a major change to her character, I’m not sure the community will be chomping at the bit to play as her. Anyone else, maybe. It depends on her characterization.
Now, I’m not saying we shouldn’t be able to play a female protagonist at one point. It would definitely be interesting, and would add diversity. What I do think is we should either wait for Palmer to have a bit of a positive reception, or bring in a new female character who people can identify with and overall enjoy more.
They have already done that. In Halo: Reach, you could play as a female Spartan in the campaign. Even the cut scenes reflect it.
Granted, Noble 6 isn’t as fleshed out as John or Palmer’s characters, but it is possible.
I wouldn’t mind a female lead. As long as it isn’t Palmer. As long as its a intressting her charater isn’t a wanna be tough guy, then it would be fine.
I’ll take a Halsey or Cortana strategy game any day. As for an FPS I’d say it’s a question of when more than if, one would think at some point that’s going to happen.
All of a sudden, Professor Anders is back in the game as a lead character alongside captain cutter. Halo Wars 2 come on!
So, tbh, I envisioned the dual-campaign thing with Chief/Palmer not really resulting in something crazy like killing one or the other, but winding up with them resolving at the end and “teaming up” so-to-speak leading into Halo 6 which would see Palmer as a supporting character (playable in co-op) with Chief reunited with Cortana, tracking down and finishing off Didact (who’s more than likely still around).
Just as a concept, it’s not the most solid 100% idea, but I thought it’d be interesting. 
Yeah, I know it’s not a stretch to have a female playable character, but exactly like you said - Noble 6 was an empty shell. I’d like to see them flesh out an interesting new female lead to have that as a face for a series in the Halo Universe.
343 Would be worried about males not wanting to play it because they are a female. Technically Reach was BOTH lead. Therefore making it both male and female lead. “Noble 6” had a Classified gender making it both rolls. Palmer is one that is strictly Female. She is a good spartan, and even tho her name is been stained from spartan ops, she was following orders, the UNSC ordered it, if she wasn’t to follow them orders, she would be executed, same with Tom. Even tho Halsey is innocent, it still looks bad when she is talking to the enemy. They should have more Halo Games where you could play ether or.
Anders could be a cool character to play as, instead of relying on combat skills, she’s crafty and smart!
Don’t forget that there’s already a male/female dual Halo campaign. In Spartan Assault, you play as Spartan Davis and Sarah Palmer.
Male or Female, so long as there is a solid story to support the character I’m beyond sure it can work, just look at Chief’s legacy.