Halo during Bungie’s time had a lot of comedic elements from the lines the marines spoke and the grunts themselves. This was funny i guess back then, especially when I was younger, but times are changing and Halo’s storyline is getting more complex and serious especially with the new books backing the lore.
It’s getting hard to take seriously that this is an “Alien Invasion,” if grunts and jackals are continuously cowardly and marines make stale jokes from side to side. Sometimes it feels like Halo has an identity crisis with tone, usually you’d have funny dialogue during gameplay then a serious cutscene with a major character death.
I like gameplay and story to be two separate things, I like having a calm and steady gameflow in Campaign and the inclusion of how comedy plays out in it balances well, it tells you that there is always a lighter side in (e)life.
Halo 4 killed that element for me, which I was annoyed for.
I liked the comedy in the Halos but in 4 it would have felt out of place considering the more serious approach 343 are taking. Saying that I think funny Easter eggs should be left in and if the player wants hilarious dialogue they can activate the IWBYD skull. Win Win
I like the more serious approach. Suits the theme and complexity of the Halo story better.
Personally, it breaks the immersion and sense of purpose when a Marine is waddling around saying idiotic things. A grunt is a bit better, but does help take away the fact that these things are nearly the size of a normal human and are a part of the empire that his wiped out over 20 billion humans, destroyed hundreds of worlds.
That said… leave something like the IWHBYD skull in, which will enable funny/less serious dialogue. There’s still the comedic element for those that desire it, but the tone of the general story isn’t sacrificed as default.
Ya kno wot I fink da 'alo franchize needz? It needz more Orkz! Afta all, wot’z funniah den a big, green, stompy alien ‘oo’z ded killy, made for fightin’, and ‘az lotz o’ dakka? I even 'ear dere’s dis git in dis 'alo fing 'oo’z big, green, and ded killy, just like an Ork! We’d fit right in! Me and me boyz’ll show dem sneeky purple Cov’nant gits 'ow to stomp dem 'umies right 'n propa!
In all seriousness though, I like the serious approach. Comedy can break the immersion, and while it shouldn’t go away, Marines should really be acting professional when they’re in a warzone fighting against genocidal aliens.
> Ya kno wot I fink da 'alo franchize needz? It needz more Orkz! Afta all, wot’z funniah den a big, green, stompy alien ‘oo’z ded killy, made for fightin’, and ‘az lotz o’ dakka? I even 'ear dere’s dis git in dis 'alo fing 'oo’z big, green, and ded killy, just like an Ork! We’d fit right in! Me and me boyz’ll show dem sneeky purple Cov’nant gits 'ow to stomp dem 'umies right 'n propa!
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> In all seriousness though, I like the serious approach, as long as the series still knows how to be fun sometimes, too.
> > Ya kno wot I fink da 'alo franchize needz? It needz more Orkz! Afta all, wot’z funniah den a big, green, stompy alien ‘oo’z ded killy, made for fightin’, and ‘az lotz o’ dakka? I even 'ear dere’s dis git in dis 'alo fing 'oo’z big, green, and ded killy, just like an Ork! We’d fit right in! Me and me boyz’ll show dem sneeky purple Cov’nant gits 'ow to stomp dem 'umies right 'n propa!
> >
> > In all seriousness though, I like the serious approach, as long as the series still knows how to be fun sometimes, too.
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> I don’t even, what, I mean, what?
Whenever someone brings up comic relief in a sci-fi franchise, I can’t help but think of the Orks, in all of their stompy, shooty, and green magnificence. They’re just so perfect, since they mesh so well with Warhammer 40k’s dark sense of humor and its outlandish nature.
> I liked the comedy in the Halos but in 4 it would have felt out of place considering the more serious approach 343 are taking. Saying that I think funny Easter eggs should be left in and if the player wants hilarious dialogue they can activate the IWBYD skull. Win Win
> I like the more serious approach. Suits the theme and complexity of the Halo story better.
>
> Personally, it breaks the immersion and sense of purpose when a Marine is waddling around saying idiotic things. A grunt is a bit better, but does help take away the fact that these things are nearly the size of a normal human and are a part of the empire that his wiped out over 20 billion humans, destroyed hundreds of worlds.
>
>
> That said… leave something like the IWHBYD skull in, which will enable funny/less serious dialogue. There’s still the comedic element for those that desire it, but the tone of the general story isn’t sacrificed as default.
This^
Leave most of the comical relief to the IWHBYD skull.
If I wanted to feel like I was seriously at war, then I’d join the Marines and head to Afghanistan. I prefer the humor to the Dark Knight fad approach many seem to be in love with lately.
> If I wanted to feel like I was seriously at war, then I’d join the Marines and head to Afghanistan. I prefer the humor to the Dark Knight fad approach many seem to be in love with lately.
Dark Knight was all gloomy, depressing and serious. I’m talking like the Last of Us. It’s a serious storyline, but from time to time you got to some light banter between friends. Another example is Lord of The Rings, pretty serious movie, but lots of physical and script comedy. There’s a time for everything.
Personally I felt the serious tone of Halo 4 felt extraordinarily cringe-inducing. The way the game tried to present itself to the audience was so embarrassing that it made me wince several times. The quasi-romantic relationship garbage, the dissonant lore that was obviously not told well enough to understand who the hell these new people were, just about everything. This embarrassing doom and gloom absolutely kills replayability for most players. Ignoring the cutscenes by texting away or skipping them has become the norm when my friends and I couch co-op 4.
Comedy was a golden aspect of the original trilogy’s storytelling. Comedy, action, and drama. Have a well-balanced diet of that with some great gameplay and thousands of little easter eggs and boom, you’ve got a successor to Halo 2.
You can use comedy to your advantage and make the story even more dark. We didn’t grow to love Johnson because he was in every game. We loved Johnson because he was funny, because he was real. When he died it was like a friend died.
Comedy is the quickest way to get attached to characters, whether they be randomly spawned marines or Sarah Palmer. It makes you realize that the side you’re fighting with is real, breathing. It makes each loss hurt more, feel more. You bet yourself that I felt bad whenever a funny marine would die in the old trilogy. In Halo 4 I kept them alive just so I could distract fire from myself.