About Frankie's new comments on John

Community Halo Universe
1

When talking about Halo 6, Frankie said this about our beloved John

> And that has been a big learning. Chief we tend to think of as kind of a vessel for your adventure rather than necessarily this major character in the universe. He’s really just your entry into the universe.

This seems to go against what he, and the rest of the team had in mind when they were developing Halo 4

> Most of the exploration that we’ve done of the Master Chief has been through other media outside the game; through comic books, through novels. We wanted to put it squarely in the video game this time.

I wonder if Frankie actually believes the 1st quote, or is saying to that to appease some of the fans. What’s weird, is after Halo 5 came out, he said this about Halo 6

> Without giving away too much, at the end of Halo 5, as you well know, the universe has changed so fundamentally that we have no choice but to tell what I would call a much more human story in the next game.

Which do you think we will get with John in Halo 6, an actual main character like in the novels/comics and Halo 4, or the blank slate suit of armor like in CE-3?

2

This is ridiculous. I started to wonder, wherter these people knows what they’re saying/doing or not.
Reading your post, this is what i had in my thought.
LINK
To answer you question, I don’t know what we should waiting for. I think we all agree that a more “human” Chief would be good, like what we had in the books and in Halo 4. But since 343 like to screw up the good things they do, I would not be surprised if Chief would have a few lines through the game.

3

I hope he is going to be the main character again. Im just hoping that when he is the main character the focus is not on how Chief is feeling as a human being like in H4. Im thinking there is more pressing matters to focus than feelings. Maybe, you know, the survival and preservation of free will of humanity and other species in the Halo universe.
no more that -Yoink- that Chief is only playable on few missions like in H5g. Locke can become side character or optionally co-op playable character like the Arbiter was in Halo 3. As long as there wont be fireteams on every mission. It limits the mission types and can ruin atmosphere and immersion. Atmosphere in missions where it fits to be alone sometimes and immersion in that supersoldiers die constantly and appear again after their deaths. And before i sidetrack more ill just leave it here.

4

It’s difficult for me to say personally, because while I adore Halo 4’s Chief/Cortana narrative, Halo 5 grabbed it’s potential by the throat, snapped it’s neck and threw it off a cliff.
I despise Halo 5. I hate that they’ve taken what was the most emotionally gratifying plotline in the entire franchise and ground it down into generic A.I. super-villain paste. It’s a spit in the face not only to fans of the original trilogy, but also to people who liked Halo 4.
Chief being the only playable character in Halo 6 is a good start, but a more ‘human’ story is nearly impossible when you’ve basically set up Halo’s equivalent to Age of Ultron on a galaxy wide scale.

I mean, you could get great character moments like, if the Reach theory is true, Chief and Blue Team’s nostalgia conflicting with Arbiter’s guilt as he is forced to confront the consequences of his actions in service of the Covenant, first hand.
If the Maethrillian theory is true then the mystery and wonder of Halo CE could return, as we explore the heart of Forerunner society; and it could conclude with Halo 3 levels of epic, the UNSC, Elite and Banished forces in a desperate free for all with the Created over the Ark, the Spirit of Fire and the Infinity flying side by side, Chief reuniting with Red Team, Rtas’ could make a cameo, god it could be so damn good, but I highly doubt even half of that potential will be capitalized upon.

tl;dr; I hope for the best, but expect the worst. Then there’s a small chance I could be surprised.

5

Honestly, everything Frankie says at this point is complete BS to me. He’s directly insulted people for not liking Halo 5’s story, and so much of what he said prior to Halo 5 turned out to be lies. I don’t trust a word coming out of his mouth, and I’ll wait and see how Halo 6 turns out (through reviews or Youtube videos) before making up my mind about all the stuff they say.

You want to protect your game and company? Sure, I get that. But the moment you turn your mistakes onto the fans is the moment I lose all respect for you. So no, I don’t believe that Frankie believes a single thing he says there, especially since it conflicts so much with what he’s said before. Plus, so many people really enjoyed the Chief’s development in Halo 4. The issue wasn’t that he was a “major character” or whatever in Halo 5, he was more empty than he ever had been even in Bungie’s Halo games, alongside the plethora of other issues in Halo 5.

6

We won’t know until Halo 6 I reckon. Anything said from now until then is going to be suspect. I hope they get Chief back on track the way Halo 4 left him, but it’s hard to say why 343 is going to do.

7

> 2533274989165227;2:
> This is ridiculous. I started to wonder, wherter these people knows what they’re saying/doing or not.
> Reading your post, this is what i had in my thought.
> LINKTo answer you question, I don’t know what we should waiting for. I think we all agree that a more “human” Chief would be good, like what we had in the books and in Halo 4. But since 343 like to screw up the good things they do, I would not be surprised if Chief would have a few lines through the game.

I swear I remember seeing a round-table interview with the cast that said Steve Downes was finished after Halo 5, so I mean we may be getting a new voice actor as well, or just less lines for him.

8

> 2533274812652989;6:
> We won’t know until Halo 6 I reckon. Anything said from now until then is going to be suspect. I hope they get Chief back on track the way Halo 4 left him, but it’s hard to say why 343 is going to do.

I’m hoping Kevin Grace is gonna be the writer for Halo 6. Not sure if he would finish up Reed’s script, or he would craft his own script.

9

> 2533274808386392;5:
> Honestly, everything Frankie says at this point is complete BS to me. He’s directly insulted people for not liking Halo 5’s story, and so much of what he said prior to Halo 5 turned out to be lies. I don’t trust a word coming out of his mouth, and I’ll wait and see how Halo 6 turns out (through reviews or Youtube videos) before making up my mind about all the stuff they say.
>
> You want to protect your game and company? Sure, I get that. But the moment you turn your mistakes onto the fans is the moment I lose all respect for you. So no, I don’t believe that Frankie believes a single thing he says there, especially since it conflicts so much with what he’s said before. Plus, so many people really enjoyed the Chief’s development in Halo 4. The issue wasn’t that he was a “major character” or whatever in Halo 5, he was more empty than he ever had been even in Bungie’s Halo games, alongside the plethora of other issues in Halo 5.

I’m annoyed that this guy was apart of bungie in the good old days,they handled halo games and media so well (excluding reach) and for him to be the main guy now really bugs me,very little passion and alot of arrogance oozes out of him

10

> 2533274935099360;7:
> > 2533274989165227;2:
> > This is ridiculous. I started to wonder, wherter these people knows what they’re saying/doing or not.
> > Reading your post, this is what i had in my thought.
> > LINKTo answer you question, I don’t know what we should waiting for. I think we all agree that a more “human” Chief would be good, like what we had in the books and in Halo 4. But since 343 like to screw up the good things they do, I would not be surprised if Chief would have a few lines through the game.
>
> I swear I remember seeing a round-table interview with the cast that said Steve Downes was finished after Halo 5, so I mean we may be getting a new voice actor as well, or just less lines for him.

Please God no.

11

> 2533274840469109;1:
> When talking about Halo 6, Frankie said this about our beloved John
>
>
>
>
> > And that has been a big learning. Chief we tend to think of as kind of a vessel for your adventure rather than necessarily this major character in the universe. He’s really just your entry into the universe.
>
> This seems to go against what he, and the rest of the team had in mind when they were developing Halo 4 - Previously, the Chief was just a shell for the player to jump into. But with Halo 4 and Halo 5 we’ve seen him develop a lot more as a character, seemingly alienating some of the more mainstream players. Returning the chief, in some respects, to his original position as a vessel for the player seems to be the message here, without removing him as a central character altogether.
>
> > Most of the exploration that we’ve done of the Master Chief has been through other media outside the game; through comic books, through novels. We wanted to put it squarely in the video game this time.
>
> I wonder if Frankie actually believes the 1st quote, or is saying to that to appease some of the fans. What’s weird, is after Halo 5 came out, he said this about Halo 6 - So the previous games have seen the Chief develop significantly as a character. And that’s clearly a direction they want to continue. But as mentioned above they probably also want to get him to take a step back so it’s easier for new players to digest.
>
> > Without giving away too much, at the end of Halo 5, as you well know, the universe has changed so fundamentally that we have no choice but to tell what I would call a much more human story in the next game.
>
> Which do you think we will get with John in Halo 6, an actual main character like in the novels/comics and Halo 4, or the blank slate suit of armor like in CE-3?
> - I think we’ll get a blend. 343i are still trying to find their feet with Halo. They clearly wanted to tell more of a story, which is great for me, but not for the average player who doesn’t have every novel.

The above quotes seem to be from different stages of 343i’s history. I should also point out that the development process will change and adapt according to fan feedback regarding multiplayer, campaign, story etc. Halo 5 is far more approachable as a story than Halo 4. But there’s still some distance to go. I suspect Halo 6 will see Halsey fill the gap left by Cortana, and she’ll provide guidance and advice via the COM system. The other Spartans will fill in here and there for different missions.

12

> 2533274935099360;7:
> I swear I remember seeing a round-table interview with the cast that said Steve Downes was finished after Halo 5, so I mean we may be getting a new voice actor as well, or just less lines for him.

There was a round table at the launch of Halo 5, but what was discussed was Steve retiring from his radio show not voice acting - quite a lot of people took this to be him leaving Halo, but that’s not the case. The video he made celebrating 15 years of Halo seems to suggest there are no plans for him to hang up his mic just yet.

13

I want to like Frankie, but he’s said so many contradicting statements that I truly think he can’t find any other way to say that the team can’t tell us about what they’re working on. That, or he’s carefully forming these statements for us to rip apart and get mad at him for not being so crystal clear we’re all happy.

14

> 2533274808386392;5:
> Honestly, everything Frankie says at this point is complete BS to me. He’s directly insulted people for not liking Halo 5’s story, and so much of what he said prior to Halo 5 turned out to be lies. I don’t trust a word coming out of his mouth, and I’ll wait and see how Halo 6 turns out (through reviews or Youtube videos) before making up my mind about all the stuff they say.
>
> You want to protect your game and company? Sure, I get that. But the moment you turn your mistakes onto the fans is the moment I lose all respect for you. So no, I don’t believe that Frankie believes a single thing he says there, especially since it conflicts so much with what he’s said before. Plus, so many people really enjoyed the Chief’s development in Halo 4. The issue wasn’t that he was a “major character” or whatever in Halo 5, he was more empty than he ever had been even in Bungie’s Halo games, alongside the plethora of other issues in Halo 5.

How has he directly insulted people for not liking Halo 5’s story? All I’ve read is that he understands whats going on and we don’t.
343 can’t simply state what their working on; he’s gotta bend things to avoid spoiling stuff. He’s good at his job, but bad with answering questions and discussing current developments. Makes us think, like this forum and tons of other threads, that he’s contradicting himself.

15

> 2533274813317074;12:
> > 2533274935099360;7:
> > I swear I remember seeing a round-table interview with the cast that said Steve Downes was finished after Halo 5, so I mean we may be getting a new voice actor as well, or just less lines for him.
>
> There was a round table at the launch of Halo 5, but what was discussed was Steve retiring from his radio show not voice acting - quite a lot of people took this to be him leaving Halo, but that’s not the case. The video he made celebrating 15 years of Halo seems to suggest there are no plans for him to hang up his mic just yet.

Thank you stckrboy you have made my day again, I some how missed his 2nd video. I enjoyed that roundtable video, but that was one thing that stuck with me. I am glad I was not right

16

> 2533274805386380;14:
> > 2533274808386392;5:
> > Honestly, everything Frankie says at this point is complete BS to me. He’s directly insulted people for not liking Halo 5’s story, and so much of what he said prior to Halo 5 turned out to be lies. I don’t trust a word coming out of his mouth, and I’ll wait and see how Halo 6 turns out (through reviews or Youtube videos) before making up my mind about all the stuff they say.
> >
> > You want to protect your game and company? Sure, I get that. But the moment you turn your mistakes onto the fans is the moment I lose all respect for you. So no, I don’t believe that Frankie believes a single thing he says there, especially since it conflicts so much with what he’s said before. Plus, so many people really enjoyed the Chief’s development in Halo 4. The issue wasn’t that he was a “major character” or whatever in Halo 5, he was more empty than he ever had been even in Bungie’s Halo games, alongside the plethora of other issues in Halo 5.
>
> How has he directly insulted people for not liking Halo 5’s story? All I’ve read is that he understands whats going on and we don’t.
> 343 can’t simply state what their working on; he’s gotta bend things to avoid spoiling stuff. He’s good at his job, but bad with answering questions and discussing current developments. Makes us think, like this forum and tons of other threads, that he’s contradicting himself.

By calling us little kids for not understanding the “stublety” in their story, and saying that it’s not his fault that we were expecting a shallow and boring villain like Darth Vader (who is actually a very compelling villain that I can personally understand and even relate to) instead of a deep villain like zombie dictator Cortana who isn’t evil for killing millions of people.

Sure, calling the fanbase mentally undeveloped and too dumb to understand their game instead of admitting that maybe their story was badly received is definitely not insulting at all. And he keeps insisting that Halo 5’s story is beloved by everybody. Recently, he even claimed that “some” parts of Halo 5 were disliked, it was generally very well received. He’s living in denial, really.

And there’s a difference between bending something to not spoil the truth and saying outright lies. Frankie told us that Blue Team is a blank slate with no personality. Clearly he hasn’t read the books where Fred makes dirty jokes and Kelly gives the finger to an Onyx Sentinel. Blue Team (when it’s written by competent writers) has more personality than all of Halo 5’s characters combined. Telling us that they don’t have any personality is just plain wrong. And didn’t he tell us that the Didact would be monumental to post-Halo 4 stories? What, appearing in one story in a bad comic book where he acts like a stereotypical villain who sits around and monologues before getting killed is being “monumental”? Better to say nothing instead of a lie like that.

And what about all the pre-Halo 4 stuff about insisting that the game was adored by all of the pros (which it wasn’t) and that it was truly bringing Halo back to its roots (which it didn’t)?

So yeah, no. Not trusting Frankie. You can say that he’s trying to make us think, but the only thing he’s making me think is that he’s not trustworthy.

17

> 2533274805386380;13:
> I want to like Frankie, but he’s said so many contradicting statements that I truly think he can’t find any other way to say that the team can’t tell us about what they’re working on. That, or he’s carefully forming these statements for us to rip apart and get mad at him for not being so crystal clear we’re all happy.

I can’t like him for some reason,dude seems arrogant and has little to no passion for halo imo and under his watch halo has plummeted into the ground imo

18

> 2533274808386392;16:
> > 2533274805386380;14:
> > > 2533274808386392;5:
> > > Honestly, everything Frankie says at this point is complete BS to me. He’s directly insulted people for not liking Halo 5’s story, and so much of what he said prior to Halo 5 turned out to be lies. I don’t trust a word coming out of his mouth, and I’ll wait and see how Halo 6 turns out (through reviews or Youtube videos) before making up my mind about all the stuff they say.
> > >
> > > You want to protect your game and company? Sure, I get that. But the moment you turn your mistakes onto the fans is the moment I lose all respect for you. So no, I don’t believe that Frankie believes a single thing he says there, especially since it conflicts so much with what he’s said before. Plus, so many people really enjoyed the Chief’s development in Halo 4. The issue wasn’t that he was a “major character” or whatever in Halo 5, he was more empty than he ever had been even in Bungie’s Halo games, alongside the plethora of other issues in Halo 5.
> >
> > How has he directly insulted people for not liking Halo 5’s story? All I’ve read is that he understands whats going on and we don’t.
> > 343 can’t simply state what their working on; he’s gotta bend things to avoid spoiling stuff. He’s good at his job, but bad with answering questions and discussing current developments. Makes us think, like this forum and tons of other threads, that he’s contradicting himself.
>
> By calling us little kids for not understanding the “stublety” in their story, and saying that it’s not his fault that we were expecting a shallow and boring villain like Darth Vader (who is actually a very compelling villain that I can personally understand and even relate to) instead of a deep villain like zombie dictator Cortana who isn’t evil for killing millions of people.
>
> Sure, calling the fanbase mentally undeveloped and too dumb to understand their game instead of admitting that maybe their story was badly received is definitely not insulting at all. And he keeps insisting that Halo 5’s story is beloved by everybody. Recently, he even claimed that “some” parts of Halo 5 were disliked, it was generally very well received. He’s living in denial, really.
>
> And there’s a difference between bending something to not spoil the truth and saying outright lies. Frankie told us that Blue Team is a blank slate with no personality. Clearly he hasn’t read the books where Fred makes dirty jokes and Kelly gives the finger to an Onyx Sentinel. Blue Team (when it’s written by competent writers) has more personality than all of Halo 5’s characters combined. Telling us that they don’t have any personality is just plain wrong. And didn’t he tell us that the Didact would be monumental to post-Halo 4 stories? What, appearing in one story in a bad comic book where he acts like a stereotypical villain who sits around and monologues before getting killed is being “monumental”? Better to say nothing instead of a lie like that.
>
> And what about all the pre-Halo 4 stuff about insisting that the game was adored by all of the pros (which it wasn’t) and that it was truly bringing Halo back to its roots (which it didn’t)?
>
> So yeah, no. Not trusting Frankie. You can say that he’s trying to make us think, but the only thing he’s making me think is that he’s not trustworthy.

Uhh Frankie didn’t call us little kids… He called the little kids that play the game little, that they might not like another Darth Vader villian. I heard that interview. If he literally said those words, I’d love to read those. I know of the “subtelty and nuance” part. This was back when he knew more about the narrative problems than we did.
I have never heard him say any of the other stuff. I’m interested in any links you might have.

19

> 2533274805386380;18:
> > 2533274808386392;16:
> > > 2533274805386380;14:
> > > > 2533274808386392;5:
> > > > Honestly, everything Frankie says at this point is complete BS to me. He’s directly insulted people for not liking Halo 5’s story, and so much of what he said prior to Halo 5 turned out to be lies. I don’t trust a word coming out of his mouth, and I’ll wait and see how Halo 6 turns out (through reviews or Youtube videos) before making up my mind about all the stuff they say.
> > > >
> > > > You want to protect your game and company? Sure, I get that. But the moment you turn your mistakes onto the fans is the moment I lose all respect for you. So no, I don’t believe that Frankie believes a single thing he says there, especially since it conflicts so much with what he’s said before. Plus, so many people really enjoyed the Chief’s development in Halo 4. The issue wasn’t that he was a “major character” or whatever in Halo 5, he was more empty than he ever had been even in Bungie’s Halo games, alongside the plethora of other issues in Halo 5.
> > >
> > > How has he directly insulted people for not liking Halo 5’s story? All I’ve read is that he understands whats going on and we don’t.
> > > 343 can’t simply state what their working on; he’s gotta bend things to avoid spoiling stuff. He’s good at his job, but bad with answering questions and discussing current developments. Makes us think, like this forum and tons of other threads, that he’s contradicting himself.
> >
> > By calling us little kids for not understanding the “stublety” in their story, and saying that it’s not his fault that we were expecting a shallow and boring villain like Darth Vader (who is actually a very compelling villain that I can personally understand and even relate to) instead of a deep villain like zombie dictator Cortana who isn’t evil for killing millions of people.
> >
> > Sure, calling the fanbase mentally undeveloped and too dumb to understand their game instead of admitting that maybe their story was badly received is definitely not insulting at all. And he keeps insisting that Halo 5’s story is beloved by everybody. Recently, he even claimed that “some” parts of Halo 5 were disliked, it was generally very well received. He’s living in denial, really.
> >
> > And there’s a difference between bending something to not spoil the truth and saying outright lies. Frankie told us that Blue Team is a blank slate with no personality. Clearly he hasn’t read the books where Fred makes dirty jokes and Kelly gives the finger to an Onyx Sentinel. Blue Team (when it’s written by competent writers) has more personality than all of Halo 5’s characters combined. Telling us that they don’t have any personality is just plain wrong. And didn’t he tell us that the Didact would be monumental to post-Halo 4 stories? What, appearing in one story in a bad comic book where he acts like a stereotypical villain who sits around and monologues before getting killed is being “monumental”? Better to say nothing instead of a lie like that.
> >
> > And what about all the pre-Halo 4 stuff about insisting that the game was adored by all of the pros (which it wasn’t) and that it was truly bringing Halo back to its roots (which it didn’t)?
> >
> > So yeah, no. Not trusting Frankie. You can say that he’s trying to make us think, but the only thing he’s making me think is that he’s not trustworthy.
>
> Uhh Frankie didn’t call us little kids… He called the little kids that play the game little, that they might not like another Darth Vader villian. I heard that interview. If he literally said those words, I’d love to read those. I know of the “subtelty and nuance” part. This was back when he knew more about the narrative problems than we did.
> I have never heard him say any of the other stuff. I’m interested in any links you might have.

I unfortunately don’t keep a repertoire of links where developers either tell lies or say demeaning things to the fans. A quick Google search should help you out though.

20

> 2533274805386380;18:
> > 2533274808386392;16:
> > > 2533274805386380;14:
> > > > 2533274808386392;5:
> > > > Honestly, everything Frankie says at this point is complete BS to me. He’s directly insulted people for not liking Halo 5’s story, and so much of what he said prior to Halo 5 turned out to be lies. I don’t trust a word coming out of his mouth, and I’ll wait and see how Halo 6 turns out (through reviews or Youtube videos) before making up my mind about all the stuff they say.
> > > >
> > > > You want to protect your game and company? Sure, I get that. But the moment you turn your mistakes onto the fans is the moment I lose all respect for you. So no, I don’t believe that Frankie believes a single thing he says there, especially since it conflicts so much with what he’s said before. Plus, so many people really enjoyed the Chief’s development in Halo 4. The issue wasn’t that he was a “major character” or whatever in Halo 5, he was more empty than he ever had been even in Bungie’s Halo games, alongside the plethora of other issues in Halo 5.
> > >
> > > How has he directly insulted people for not liking Halo 5’s story? All I’ve read is that he understands whats going on and we don’t.
> > > 343 can’t simply state what their working on; he’s gotta bend things to avoid spoiling stuff. He’s good at his job, but bad with answering questions and discussing current developments. Makes us think, like this forum and tons of other threads, that he’s contradicting himself.
> >
> > By calling us little kids for not understanding the “stublety” in their story, and saying that it’s not his fault that we were expecting a shallow and boring villain like Darth Vader (who is actually a very compelling villain that I can personally understand and even relate to) instead of a deep villain like zombie dictator Cortana who isn’t evil for killing millions of people.
> >
> > Sure, calling the fanbase mentally undeveloped and too dumb to understand their game instead of admitting that maybe their story was badly received is definitely not insulting at all. And he keeps insisting that Halo 5’s story is beloved by everybody. Recently, he even claimed that “some” parts of Halo 5 were disliked, it was generally very well received. He’s living in denial, really.
> >
> > And there’s a difference between bending something to not spoil the truth and saying outright lies. Frankie told us that Blue Team is a blank slate with no personality. Clearly he hasn’t read the books where Fred makes dirty jokes and Kelly gives the finger to an Onyx Sentinel. Blue Team (when it’s written by competent writers) has more personality than all of Halo 5’s characters combined. Telling us that they don’t have any personality is just plain wrong. And didn’t he tell us that the Didact would be monumental to post-Halo 4 stories? What, appearing in one story in a bad comic book where he acts like a stereotypical villain who sits around and monologues before getting killed is being “monumental”? Better to say nothing instead of a lie like that.
> >
> > And what about all the pre-Halo 4 stuff about insisting that the game was adored by all of the pros (which it wasn’t) and that it was truly bringing Halo back to its roots (which it didn’t)?
> >
> > So yeah, no. Not trusting Frankie. You can say that he’s trying to make us think, but the only thing he’s making me think is that he’s not trustworthy.
>
> Uhh Frankie didn’t call us little kids… He called the little kids that play the game little, that they might not like another Darth Vader villian. I heard that interview. If he literally said those words, I’d love to read those. I know of the “subtelty and nuance” part. This was back when he knew more about the narrative problems than we did.
> I have never heard him say any of the other stuff. I’m interested in any links you might have.

HereSpecificlly, "I saw a complaint online, somebody had been reading spoilers, they hadn’t played the game, and they said ‘Why is this character evil?’ And my question back to them is, ‘What makes you say they’re evil?’ Certainly a lot of our younger players are going to struggle with that subtlety, that nuance, because they’re expecting Darth Vader.”

Now, the kicker is that he is referring to the user GreenleafCM after they made their objections known on NeoGAF. Sure, spoilers can mislead, but the finally product didn’t really change anything. How Frankie knows how old people like Greenleaf are remains a mystery, but he sure seems to think they’d have to be a “young fan” (whatever that really means) to miss the subtlety or nuance of what 343 was doing.

Its classic deflection from him.