Fight against Sprint/ADS = fight against industry

Games Halo 5: Guardians
1

What do these games have in common?

Far Cry 4
Call of Duty
Borderlands
Destiny
Metro Redux
Titanfall
Killzone
Wolfenstein
Battlefield
Blacklight Retribution
Payday 2
Dead Island
Sniper: Ghost Warrior
The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct
Crysis 3
Aliens Colonal Marines

They’re first person games, most of them pure FPS, all of them including first person shooting mechanics. They’re games released in the last years (on console).
There are all styles represented, from your typical military shooter, sci-fi epos to fantasy/horror scenarios.

But there is another commonality: All of these games have some kind of sprint/ADS mechanics. Matter of fact is, that if you happened to play any shooter in the last years it’s practically a given that if you pressed the left stick you activated sprint and if you pressed LT there’s ADS.

Wait, wait – please hear me out before you rage.
I know exactly what the critics want to say: That this is exactly the reason why Halo should be different!
Why more of the same when practically all FPS on the market are so similar already?

Here comes the ugly truth: Because that’s how AAA game development works.
In fact it’s not 343i you’re fighting against; it’s a fight against a whole industry.

Some people refuse to realize that Halo isn’t the product of some kind of creative Indie studio that dares to swim against the stream. That ended at the latest when MS bought Bungie and Halo became a billion-dollar franchise with up to 9 million copies sold per game release.
Bungie rode on the wave of success until Halo was a legend but not the trendsetter anymore. Bungie saw the signs of the time, released Reach (some kind of prototype for their future project) and despite all the criticism Destiny is now another huge success both financially and in terms of player population.

There is a whole new generation of gamers that grew up with a different breed of games in general. There has been a huge amount of conditioning in the last years, accompanied by a paradigm shift in game design (making the player feel as comfortable as possible, rewarding the player).

Don’t kid yourself: The vision that the classic Halo design values will once again set the gaming world on fire is a beautiful thought but it isn’t realistic in today’s market.
Halo isn’t the new cool kid in town anymore, there’s been a lot going on since 2001 (14 years ago!).

If you look at the above list and still wonder why some people feel that Halo is ‘dated’ or feels ‘off’ you underestimate the (psychological) effect of conditioning. If you still neglect the very real problem of harsh transitions from game to game and the implications for a mass market product you’ll only see half of the business picture. Keep in mind that there are plans to create Halo products for another decade – not only for the old dogs but (of course!) a new generation as well.

All of the above is not an absolution and neither do I want to argue that the way this AAA industry works should be applauded. But I think we should not throw out the baby with the bathwater.

Yes, sprint and ADS are established mechanics that practically all of today’s (console) shooters share.
But there are still enough unique characteristics that clearly distinguish a CoD, a Destiny and a Killzone from each other.

It’s pretty far-fetched to argue that343i or H5 should be regarded as the sole exception or as some kind of abomination.

If you really want to fight the overarching trend don’t buy AAA games at all. Support Indie developers or switch to PC where competitive games can last a very long time because there’s such a huge pool of hardcore players.

I for myself can’t wait to play Halo 5. It’s not a revolutionary game but (for me) a thousand times more fun than any CoD or Destiny PvP on the market.

2

AMENN!! Yesss! YASSS! Thiss is exactly what I have been saying! Ppl want to lose their s**t because of the default control scheme it’s there for a reason and guess what you might not be the reason but it’s not like our beloved schemes are gone.

your prototype comment on reach is spot on. And I think it’s why I hated the game. Instead of giving us one more classic halo they decided to try out ideas on “our” halo.

as for halo 5 idk how much someone wanna b***h about where those features came from no one can argue there but to say it felt like suing cod is BS. I hope this OP never disappears tbh.

nothingg is applauding the changes but understanding where they came from and not just ripping them apart for not being exactly like the trilogy we know and love. Just a dev team switch would cause changes to a series and now you add in where the genre is headed itself and that 14yeat gap. It’s quite possible this saga isn’t tailor made for us “old dogs” but it still feels like halo

3

Completely agree. If a game is going to compete with other AAA shooters on the console stage, then it has to have intrinsic similarities. All of the games you’ve listed share some core mechanics, but are all distinct. At what point does being ‘unique’ begin to alienate new players?

4

@XBlazeX101:
Well said, that’s exactly what I tried to bring across.

But that doesn’t mean that people should stop criticizing. It’s an important counter-weigh and can actually help sharpen the identity of the franchise as seen from H4 => H5.

Just that absurd hate and witch-hunt has to stop because it just isn’t warranted in any way or form.

5

I was (kind of) tracking with you until you said Destiny was successful. That game could actually cost Bungie a crap ton in liabilities. I understand it still has a dedicated player base but I don’t think that’s enough to off-set the 500,000 dollar development cost either Bungie or Activision blew on Google Earth ads. In fact, aside from Wolfenstein, most of those games are seen as mediocre at best. Of course, they all made money, which is all the AAA world cares about, so I suppose it’s hard to see it any other way.

But isn’t that just the point?

If a mechanic was seen in Reach and 4, both of which making money but neither of which successful in the long-haul, I would think devs would start scratching their head as to what changed? You’d think that over time people would begin to wonder if some of the ideas that carried over really fit with the rest of the mechanics in the game.

Or they don’t. Because it made money and they’ll make a new one next year.

Sigh This, among other reasons, is why consoles are forever inferior to the glorious master - race.

6

> 2533274793332039;4:
> Just that absurd hate and witch-hunt has to stop because it just isn’t warranted in any way or form.

Why should it stop? The Halo community is one ogf the last console communities that actually cares about the game and doesn’t just switch singleplayer games and go back to CoD to play MP…
Haw many people play those games regulary after they finished campaign? Does anybody actually play games like Far Cey online? Is Titanfall still alive? I have no idea…the only relevant online games on your list are BF and CoD…if you ask me Halo could be up there too! It wouldn’t be on top of all like it used to be until the end of Halo 3 but it would give people an alternative to those “modern” FPS…
Sure “casuals” will buy every Halo! MS will have some huge PR going down making sure people get hyped but lets be honest, after a few weeks mayby even 2-3 months the players will leave for the true “modern” FPS experience (CoD) and drop Halo, most of the old fans will drop it even faster IF they buy it at all…
Nobody knows for sure what would happen if 343 brought Halo back to its roots! But there a a few things that are not arguable:

  1. Halo would be unique again
  2. Fans would be happy -> less negativity -> higher chance of new people falling in love with Halo as well
  3. “Casuals” will buy it anyways

I get what your saying about all that industry mainstream but that doesnt mean fans should just adapt to every -Yoink- devs come up with…

7

What if I enhoy those two gameplay mechanics? What if I enjoy Far Cry, Metro, Battlefield and Titanfall?

No thanks, I’ll keep my preorder, preordered.

8

> 2533274904944768;7:
> What if I enhoy those two gameplay mechanics? What if I enjoy Far Cry, Metro, Battlefield and Titanfall?
>
> No thanks, I’ll keep my preorder, preordered.

Then why dont you stick to those games for a longer period of time, wait for another “Modern” FPS and let there be one, just ONE game that is unique?!

9

> 2533274801973487;8:
> > 2533274904944768;7:
> > What if I enhoy those two gameplay mechanics? What if I enjoy Far Cry, Metro, Battlefield and Titanfall?
> >
> > No thanks, I’ll keep my preorder, preordered.
>
>
> Then why dont you stick to those games for a longer period of time, wait for another “Modern” FPS and let there be one, just ONE game that is unique?!

Well H5G played a lot different to Battlefield, with the increased movement options and a much better engine than Source, used in Titanfall. I only buy the games for the campaign, but I will play the multiplayer if I enjoy it.

Regardless, I’m level 118 in Battlefield 4, I can assure you that I haven’t stopped yet and don’t plan to in the future :^)

10

> 2533274801973487;8:
> > 2533274904944768;7:
> > What if I enhoy those two gameplay mechanics? What if I enjoy Far Cry, Metro, Battlefield and Titanfall?
> >
> > No thanks, I’ll keep my preorder, preordered.
>
>
> Then why dont you stick to those games for a longer period of time, wait for another “Modern” FPS and let there be one, just ONE game that is unique?!

> 2533274801973487;6:
> > 2533274793332039;4:
> > Just that absurd hate and witch-hunt has to stop because it just isn’t warranted in any way or form.
>
>
> Why should it stop? The Halo community is one ogf the last console communities that actually cares about the game and doesn’t just switch singleplayer games and go back to CoD to play MP…
> Haw many people play those games regulary after they finished campaign? Does anybody actually play games like Far Cey online? Is Titanfall still alive? I have no idea…the only relevant online games on your list are BF and CoD…if you ask me Halo could be up there too! It wouldn’t be on top of all like it used to be until the end of Halo 3 but it would give people an alternative to those “modern” FPS…
> Sure “casuals” will buy every Halo! MS will have some huge PR going down making sure people get hyped but lets be honest, after a few weeks mayby even 2-3 months the players will leave for the true “modern” FPS experience (CoD) and drop Halo, most of the old fans will drop it even faster IF they buy it at all…
> Nobody knows for sure what would happen if 343 brought Halo back to its roots! But there a a few things that are not arguable:
> 1) Halo would be unique again
> 2) Fans would be happy → less negativity → higher chance of new people falling in love with Halo as well
> 3) “Casuals” will buy it anyways
>
> I get what your saying about all that industry mainstream but that doesnt mean fans should just adapt to every -Yoink- devs come up with…

  1. In the grand scheme of things, the changes that have been made are ridiculously small. Every one of the above listed games are unique, and so is H5. It’s killtimes are still exponentially higher than other games, the health/shield system is different. It’s still unique.
  2. The fans are never happy. Ever. Halo2sucks.com, anyone? And all the hate over H3 BR spread?
  3. They won’t if it looks too different to what they’re used to.
11

> 2533274904944768;9:
> > 2533274801973487;8:
> > > 2533274904944768;7:
> > > What if I enhoy those two gameplay mechanics? What if I enjoy Far Cry, Metro, Battlefield and Titanfall?
> > >
> > > No thanks, I’ll keep my preorder, preordered.
> >
> >
> >
> > Then why dont you stick to those games for a longer period of time, wait for another “Modern” FPS and let there be one, just ONE game that is unique?!
>
>
> Well H5G played a lot different to Battlefield, with the increased movement options and a much better engine than Source, used in Titanfall. I only buy the games for the campaign, but I will play the multiplayer if I enjoy it.
>
> Regardless, I’m level 118 in Battlefield 4, I can assure you that I haven’t stopped yet and don’t plan to in the future :^)

See that is exactly what I said, you enjoy BF, you will probably go back to BF even after H5G released and that is no Problem but who should be the players that go back to H5G after playing new games if Halo has no real identity any more…

And its not that all those games play the same, its just the same mechanics all over the industry.
H1-3 shard the same mechanics but played a lot different too :wink:

12

I completely agree with you OP.

And yet, I think that rather completely switching or moving on (don’t get me wrong, I loved the Beta, can’t wait for H5), I’m pretty sure they’ll give us “classic playlists”, because they’re fans just like us. They know every new Halo has to be the most complete Halo experience ever. So I don’t understand why some people just bash them, forgetting all what the original Halos are about (a friendly community), and what they are pretending to defend.

13

> 2533274801973487;11:
> > 2533274904944768;9:
> > > 2533274801973487;8:
> > > > 2533274904944768;7:
> > > > What if I enhoy those two gameplay mechanics? What if I enjoy Far Cry, Metro, Battlefield and Titanfall?
> > > >
> > > > No thanks, I’ll keep my preorder, preordered.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > Then why dont you stick to those games for a longer period of time, wait for another “Modern” FPS and let there be one, just ONE game that is unique?!
> >
> >
> >
> > Well H5G played a lot different to Battlefield, with the increased movement options and a much better engine than Source, used in Titanfall. I only buy the games for the campaign, but I will play the multiplayer if I enjoy it.
> >
> > Regardless, I’m level 118 in Battlefield 4, I can assure you that I haven’t stopped yet and don’t plan to in the future :^)
>
>
> See that is exactly what I said, you enjoy BF, you will probably go back to BF even after H5G released and that is no Problem but who should be the players that go back to H5G after playing new games if Halo has no real identity any more…
>
> And its not that all those games play the same, its just the same mechanics all over the industry.
> H1-3 shard the same mechanics but played a lot different too :wink:

Oh no, if I enjoy H5, I’ll stay on it- and the beta seems I will be doing so. But if not, no big deal, I can get my £60 from single player feature alone. So I don’t care if the multiplayer is something I enjoy because I can just go to somethign else, somethign which most Halo fans don’t seem to undersand the concept of.

14

90% of those games are awful. They didnt sell well nor were they critically acclaimed.

The best selling game of last gen was a mining game with N64 graphics.

The most critically acclaimed game was a slow, character drive half stealth half survival horror game.

Everything listed with those two games go against current gaming trends and fads.

If MS wants halo to be a cookie cutter shooter that will quickly bow out to franchise fatigue, then by all means continue to follow the currents fads. If they want to take a risk and maybe strike it huge, they need to stop. Right now halo is just a game on a list of other similiar games. It used to be soooo much more :frowning:

15

> 2533274793332039;1:
> What do these games have in common?
>
> Far Cry 4
> Call of Duty
> Borderlands
> Destiny
> Metro Redux
> Titanfall
> Killzone
> Wolfenstein
> Battlefield
> Blacklight Retribution
> Payday 2
> Dead Island
> Sniper: Ghost Warrior
> The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct
> Crysis 3
> Aliens Colonal Marines

They aren’t Halo.

16

In the 1980’s, music was at an all time low (until now of course), it was filled crappy hair bands, with their overly produced junk and their crappy music videos, yet they were still successful. People said the same thing as you TrueBlue, “this is the way it’s gonna be” and “only music like this can survive in the industry”. But, grunge and alternative popped up, bringing another golden era to music by preserving the old ways while being innovative in itself. Why can’t Halo be the gaming industry’s grunge that we desperately need?

17

Dannnggggggg, this is a fist full of truth.

18

Halo has had ADS for a while, in Halo 5 it just looks different as compared to ce through halo 4 .

19

> 2535445272577794;14:
> 90% of those games are awful. They didnt sell well nor were they critically acclaimed.
>
> The best selling game of last gen was a mining game with N64 graphics.
>
> The most critically acclaimed game was a slow, character drive half stealth half survival horror game.
>
> Everything listed with those two games go against current gaming trends and fads.
>
> If MS wants halo to be a cookie cutter shooter that will quickly bow out to franchise fatigue, then by all means continue to follow the currents fads. If they want to take a risk and maybe strike it huge, they need to stop. Right now halo is just a game on a list of other similiar games. It used to be soooo much more :frowning:

This.

20

“Every other game should have it therefore Halo should have it.”

^Summary of OP.

Great logic brah.

There are plenty of gamers in the console market who would love an FPS without sprint and ADS because they are smart and realise they do nothing for the overall quality of the game.

Following the herd is never gonna result in a good Halo game, just look at H4.