Oh man, so sad to see him go. Me and a lot of my friends considered him the genius behind Halo 4’s excellent storyline.
I didn’t really like anything about Halo 4’s script so I’m indifferent bordering on relieved. Hopefully Halo 5 will be better.
Besides the John-Cortana moments, Halo 4’s writing was pretty mediocre to me. The plot failed to explain who exactly the Didact is and why Del Rio was so hostile toward John. I also found John’s interactions with the other characters besides Cortana were just dull (perhaps this was done on purpose). Why wasn’t he the least bit curious about the Spartan-IVs? Why didn’t he ask about the state of humanity post-war?
Schlerf wasn’t a bad writer, but I’m not sad to see him go.
> Besides the John-Cortana moments, Halo 4’s writing was pretty mediocre to me. The plot failed to explain who exactly the Didact is
>
> The flashback chapter explains this verbatim.
>
> and why Del Rio was so hostile toward John.
>
> A man who is has been alone in isolation presumed dead for 5 years, spinning crazy tales of an alien space goddess and ancient human empires with only his provably insane AI to back him up is now questioning and threatening your command, and putting the most expensive, and only, superweapon humanity has that can give us a fighting chance, at risk of a fairly easy obliteration. The game doesn’t have to explain anything. There are moments where thinking is acceptable enough.
>
> I also found John’s interactions with the other characters besides Cortana were just dull (perhaps this was done on purpose). Why wasn’t he the least bit curious about the Spartan-IVs? Why didn’t he ask about the state of humanity post-war?
>
> Wasn’t his concern. John keeps a poker face with anyone other than his most trusted friends and allies. Anyone else and he’s by the books, to the point focused on the mission and only that.
>
> Schlerf wasn’t a bad writer, but I’m not sad to see him go.
> Besides the John-Cortana moments, Halo 4’s writing was pretty mediocre to me. The plot failed to explain who exactly the Didact is and why Del Rio was so hostile toward John.
“A device which will finally allow him to contain the greatest enemy ever faced by the Forerunners. You.”
“Entire systems fell, before the Didact’s Warrior-Servants rose to halt the aggression.”
“The Forerunners made plans for a final Great Journey, but the Didact refused to yield our Mantle of Responsibility. He would save all life in the galaxy, at a cost.”
“…our attempts to return them to biological states created only abominations. Such moral concern faded from the Didact’s attention.”
“We’ve never seen this offensive reactions from any of the other installations.”
“This is a first contact scenario, Master Chief. Priority is to free Infinity from Requiem’s Gravity Well and file a threat assessment back at FLEETCOM.”
“You know, I think you of all people would appreciate the benefit of living to fight another day.”
Some more from the Reclaimer Closing Cutscene
“Infinity cannot handle that kind of punishment, not again.”
“And with all due respect to you soldier, I’m not willing to jeopardize my ship for the hallucinations of an aging Spartan and his malfunctioning AI.”
> Del Rio Explanation
>
> “We’ve never seen this offensive reactions from any of the other installations.”
>
> “This is a first contact scenario, Master Chief. Priority is to free Infinity from Requiem’s Gravity Well and file a threat assessment back at FLEETCOM.”
>
> “You know, I think you of all people would appreciate the benefit of living to fight another day.”
>
> Some more from the Reclaimer Closing Cutscene
>
> “Infinity cannot handle that kind of punishment, not again.”
>
> “And with all due respect to you soldier, I’m not willing to jeopardize my ship for the hallucinations of an aging Spartan and his malfunctioning AI.”
Del Rio still felt like he was there for no reason other than to oppose the Chief. He ignores the advice of the person who saved Humanity & the galaxy 3 times, just because he thinks since MC’s old(11 years younger than Rio) and has experienced many dangerous things, that he must be hallucinating things. Like how the giant glowy orange ball that stole all information from the Infinity’s systems contains a Forerunner who wants to go to Earth and kill everyone.
Seriously, nobody thought that since that this Didact now knows where Earth is, and sent his defense programs to attack the Infinity, that he’s probably looking for something to go finish them all off with? And that by going to warn Fleetcom you’d be wasting time that could be spent fighting, if the Didact really is just looking for his weapon of choice? What low criteria did they then have to be Captain of the Infinity, if someone who throws logic out the window and follows procedure when they encounter an enemy unlike any faced before? The Infinity was the best ship the UNSC had, if it couldn’t stop the Didact nothing the UNSC had could, Earth’s SMACs couldn’t even slow down the Keyship during the Second battle of Earth.
> > Besides the John-Cortana moments, Halo 4’s writing was pretty mediocre to me. The plot failed to explain who exactly the Didact is
> >
> > The flashback chapter explains this verbatim.
> >
> > and why Del Rio was so hostile toward John.
> >
> > A man who is has been alone in isolation presumed dead for 5 years, spinning crazy tales of an alien space goddess and ancient human empires with only his provably insane AI to back him up is now questioning and threatening your command, and putting the most expensive, and only, superweapon humanity has that can give us a fighting chance, at risk of a fairly easy obliteration. The game doesn’t have to explain anything. There are moments where thinking is acceptable enough.
> >
> > I also found John’s interactions with the other characters besides Cortana were just dull (perhaps this was done on purpose). Why wasn’t he the least bit curious about the Spartan-IVs? Why didn’t he ask about the state of humanity post-war?
> >
> > Wasn’t his concern. John keeps a poker face with anyone other than his most trusted friends and allies. Anyone else and he’s by the books, to the point focused on the mission and only that.
> >
> > Schlerf wasn’t a bad writer, but I’m not sad to see him go.
Hasty explanations about the Didact and his motives in a single chapter is hardly satisfying.
Yes, we can infer some things about Del Rio, but concrete details would be even better, and cause less argument. Not everyone will infer the same thing. Besides, Del Rio was unnecessarily hostile and rude to Chief even before he heard John’s supposedly ridiculous story.
More Spartans ARE John’s concern, and even a mild curiosity or question toward Cortana would have been acceptable. And why wouldn’t he want to know the condition of humanity?
I think it’s safe to say that he has indeed written Halo 5. I mean, the game is a year away from release, chances are that the script was written a long time ago.
However, any future Halo game will undoubtedly have a different writer. It’s a shame, since Halo 4 was well written, for the most part.
> > > Besides the John-Cortana moments, Halo 4’s writing was pretty mediocre to me. The plot failed to explain who exactly the Didact is
> > >
> > > The flashback chapter explains this verbatim.
> > >
> > > and why Del Rio was so hostile toward John.
> > >
> > > A man who is has been alone in isolation presumed dead for 5 years, spinning crazy tales of an alien space goddess and ancient human empires with only his provably insane AI to back him up is now questioning and threatening your command, and putting the most expensive, and only, superweapon humanity has that can give us a fighting chance, at risk of a fairly easy obliteration. The game doesn’t have to explain anything. There are moments where thinking is acceptable enough.
> > >
> > > I also found John’s interactions with the other characters besides Cortana were just dull (perhaps this was done on purpose). Why wasn’t he the least bit curious about the Spartan-IVs? Why didn’t he ask about the state of humanity post-war?
> > >
> > > Wasn’t his concern. John keeps a poker face with anyone other than his most trusted friends and allies. Anyone else and he’s by the books, to the point focused on the mission and only that.
> > >
> > > Schlerf wasn’t a bad writer, but I’m not sad to see him go.
>
> Hasty explanations about the Didact and his motives in a single chapter is hardly satisfying.
>
> Hasty and in one scene is a bit overkill, given that every line he speaks is about his motivations, character and so on. The flashback is just compiles all of that into one convenient scene.
>
> Yes, we can infer some things about Del Rio, but concrete details would be even better, and cause less argument. Not everyone will infer the same thing. Besides, Del Rio was unnecessarily hostile and rude to Chief even before he heard John’s supposedly ridiculous story.
>
> Unnecessary hostility that can easily be explained away as “we are outnumbered, outgunned, outmatched and totally screwed” frustration and anger. Plus everyone clearly respected John more, that goes without saying. Perhaps the initial hostility isn’t as clear, but there’s no reason it’s a point against the author given that it’s still pretty clear why he was acting that way. /it isn’t the author’s job to hold your hand.
>
> More Spartans ARE John’s concern, and even a mild curiosity or question toward Cortana would have been acceptable. And why wouldn’t he want to know the condition of humanity?
Perhaps, but the ultimate reason he didn’t care is because that isn’t what mattered. What mattered was completing the objective, getting out alive, saving the Infinity and defeating Didact. The state of humanity and what the SIVs are wouldn’t have changed the outcome of any of that: humanity needed saving again, and the SIV’s were Spartans that were present, valuable assets, but until the dust settles, not worth thinking about.
Plus John’s smart. He can figure out what the Spartan IV’s are on his own. He doesn’t need Cortana for everything.
Bear in mind that, as Deception Cobra has said, Halo 4 essentially deconstructed Bungie’s Chief, in the sense that outwardly he’s a no-nonsense, by the books stoic, but internally he’s an actual person. They juxtapose this with his banter with Cortana, and his stoic almost roboticism with everyone else, culminating in the final scene of him opening up (as much as he tried not too) ever so little to a regular human, Lasky.
My initial reaction went along like this. For all the problems I had with Halo 4’s story, I still felt Schlerf did a good job given everything he had to condense and show. That said, if Brian Reed has been given the reins, any hope I had in Halo 5’s story just went out the window. Just judging from how Spartan Ops played out and how Initiation was, I’m not sure he has the potential to do the things that Schlerf was able to do.
> Besides the John-Cortana moments, Halo 4’s writing was pretty mediocre to me. The plot failed to explain who exactly the Didact is and why Del Rio was so hostile toward John. I also found John’s interactions with the other characters besides Cortana were just dull (perhaps this was done on purpose). Why wasn’t he the least bit curious about the Spartan-IVs? Why didn’t he ask about the state of humanity post-war?
>
> Schlerf wasn’t a bad writer, but I’m not sad to see him go.
The Didact got much more explanation than the Gravemind did. In fact, they were introduced in the exact same way.
But thats okay, because Bungie did it, right? Its not like the leader of the Flood, the one who defeated the Forerunners causing them to wipe out all life in the galaxy is important.
What do you need to know? You were introduced, and he quite clearly didn’t like Humans. The name of the mission was Forerunner and it was pretty clear later on he was a Forerunner. Not like we ever got an in-game explanation for the Covenant at war with Humanity.
Then we got a cutscene of his motives. Humans were an interstellar race that were less than friendly with the Forerunners. The Didact used this Composer weapon, and his sanity began to fade.
We hear the UNSC mentioning a Forerunner device on a Halo, and the Didact makes it clear thats what he’s after. He gets it, and runs to Earth.
The terminals and books also explain more about his motives and backgrounds, like terminals and books should. What other information did you need?
It was pretty common sense why Del Rio was hostile towards Chief. Just a new concept in Halo, where people can actually disagree with Chief.
Chief was telling Del Rio he saw a Forerunner lady in a vision who told them they have to stay and stop the Didact. The Infinity had no AI, no shields, has a couple noticeable scrapes on the bottom, and is not outfitted for a war like this. It was on an exploration mission. Not to mention its kind of difficult to battle a flying ball with a 3 mile long ship trying to navigate through gigantic spires.
I’m not saying there can’t be improvements to many aspects of the story. Bungie could have used it too.
Why didn’t Chief say more than a couple words in the entire original trilogy?
Partially, he was trying to cope with Cortana’s instability. He knew she was losing focus and efficiency, and in turn he had to step up and maintain his and some of what she would do. I do wish he had more interaction with the IVs, and especially the IVs to him. Later in the game, he is running against the clock and he knows it. He doesn’t have much time to chat with people. He needs to give them clear instructions to keep everything going.
I hope whoever is coming up next can do great as well.
First of all, you’re just outright assuming that I thought Bungie’s writing was perfect.
I didn’t.
And no, I didn’t feel that some things in Halo 4 were explained adequately. You don’t have to agree with me. I didn’t care for Schlerf. If you did, great. But he’s leaving, and I couldn’t care less.
> I didn’t really like anything about Halo 4’s script so I’m indifferent bordering on relieved. Hopefully Halo 5 will be better.
You’re out of your mind. Halo 4’s story was great.
[deleted]
> > I didn’t really like anything about Halo 4’s script so I’m indifferent bordering on relieved. Hopefully Halo 5 will be better.
>
> You’re out of your mind. Halo 4’s story was great.
To you.
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion.
No D: He helped curb the horribleness that is Brian Reed!
Why don’t they fire Traviss and Brian Reed. I’ll seriously be very pissed if Brian Reed is involved in Halo 5’S story. :X
> Why don’t they fire Traviss and Brian Reed. I’ll seriously be very pissed if Brian Reed is involved in Halo 5’S story. :X
Exactly.
For me it’s positive that Schlerf has gone, because it means halo 5 will be different and hopefully repair some mistakes made with halo 4.
But everything depends on who they take, i really really would be disappointed if they chose Reed, desperate if they chose Traviss. (I don’t think they are doing this, somebody that writes books doesn’t have the ability to write a halo game, it’s completely different)
Halo 4 plot had some interesting points, the focus on Cortana and chief relation is great, feelings in the game are good, but I, as many others, didn’t enjoy it that much as i did with others halos. It’s the plot I like less except from ODST (that was still nice and enjoyable, and spinoff)
> I think it’s safe to say that he has indeed written Halo 5. I mean, the game is a year away from release, chances are that the script was written a long time ago.
>
> However, any future Halo game will undoubtedly have a different writer. It’s a shame, since Halo 4 was well written, for the most part.
Wrong, we don’t know if this game is Halo 5 yet. They’ve already announced that this isn’t going to just be a trilogy anymore. This could be something along the lines of Assassin’s Creed Revelations and Brotherhood.
> > I think it’s safe to say that he has indeed written Halo 5. I mean, the game is a year away from release, chances are that the script was written a long time ago.
> >
> > However, any future Halo game will undoubtedly have a different writer. It’s a shame, since Halo 4 was well written, for the most part.
>
> Wrong, we don’t know if this game is Halo 5 yet. They’ve already announced that this isn’t going to just be a trilogy anymore. This could be something along the lines of Assassin’s Creed Revelations and Brotherhood.
Whether the game turns out to be Halo 5 or not is another debate.