Get back blood!

Games Halo Infinite
62

…I don’t even know how to respond to that… If the corridor was filled with bubbles and balloons, there’d be tonal whiplash. So, visuals have an effect on the atmosphere. You don’t see blood like that in the rest of the game prior, so it adds to the foreboding atmosphere. It feels like I’m trying to describe a colour to someone that’s blind, so I’m just going to move on.

Halo 2 felt claustrophobic because of the linear level design, not because of the atmosphere. If anything, the Flood are weakest in Halo 2 - in terms of horror and tension. You fight them in Arbiter’s second level like its nothing, beyond the first corridor when you hear them through the floor. They just jump down into the lift like space zombies, and fill that role for the rest of the game.

Halo 3 did better, but it never actually felt like the Flood were a threat to Earth. Just one quick mission, and they’re done. We were only told how deadly a single Flood spore can be - we didn’t see it. In contrast, we see what the Flood do to the marines in 343 Guilty Spark, with the recorded footage being far more effective than just a sentence that gets brushed over immediately. Even Hood is more concerned about the glassing that took place across Africa, than the presence of Flood. I know he didn’t understand the gravity of the situation, as he hasn’t properly encountered them, but that’s irrelevant when discussing if the Flood seemed to be a real threat or not. Cortana worked better than Floodgate, but there’s nothing to save in that level. You aren’t desperately trying to find Captain Keyes, as you did in 343 Guilty Spark and Keyes. Cortana is an AI, so can’t be changed, and High Charity belonged to the Covenant anyway. Halo 2 and 3 lack the human element that Halo CE had, such as the recording we watch from the perspective of a marine, or the piling up of bodies in the corner of rooms. The Pillar of Autumn being taken over in The Maw feels more impactful than High Charity because we’re more familiar with the ship. It was human, and it was supposed to be safe. Now, everything is gone. Just dust and echoes…

We obviously have very differing opinions on the gravitas of the Flood in specific games and levels.

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63

Why are you suggesting the exact polar opposite to blood-spattered hallways? It’s just as unnecessary.

Compare, rather, to the atmosphere outside the facility. Dense fog that’s likely minor Flood spores. Minimal lighting. Odd shapes moving in the distance. The knowledge through narration that the Covenant is terrified. Frantic radio transmissions cut off mid-scream. These things set the tone of that level more than a single blood-smeared hallway.

No. Several of the areas encountered on, for example, Sacred Icon are in open spaces, as are many of the areas in High Charity that we see being terraformed by Flood spores. The pervasive fog and limited visual range is what made things claustrophobic, not the level geometry itself.

I have no arguments against what you said in regards to Halo 3, however that would put it as the weakest of the Flood presences.

And yet still, none of those illustrate how blood is necessary to Halo’s identity, as has been claimed and criticized against on my part. One singular area of a hallway smeared in blood doesn’t quite make for a Franchise defining element.

64

Just give us the gore!

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65

no blood? seriously MS. Beyond stupid

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66

I really hope that we’ll have the option, at least or campaign, to disable hitmarkers and have more blood. It’s a better feedback for when you’re dealing damage.

I’m not asking for anything gore, I just want Halo CE levels. Remembers the blood on the walls in 343 Guilty Spark ? It was excellent environmental storytelling, and Infinite needs this.

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67

The only time halo has gore is when dealing with the flood, and even then the flood level of gore no longer gets a real gore rating.

68

Give us the blood!!

Some of the design decisions have really confused me and this is one.

69

I certainly hope we can get it back as an option or DLC, but after going back to look at how it looked in H2A and Halo 5 I get the impression it’s something they can’t get to look right, which may be why it’s absent in Infinite.

70

Game is rated T for blood, seriously Blood is in the game, does no one read the ratings?

I mean the only reason people are complaining is because of a few videos that where proven wrong.

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71

I never said that a single corridor predominately set the tone for 343 Guilty Spark; I never said blood was necessary; and I certainly didn’t say that blood was a franchise defining element.

But sure, just make things up.

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72

Actually you did say that, you used metaphors to imply that with out saying it. My guess is so you could use the defense you just used.

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73

@Warbrand2 You’re clearly having literacy issues. You need to look up what the word ‘add’ means. You think I care enough about this discussion to plan a defence? It’s not a legal battle. :joy:

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74

You obviously don’t care enough about it or else you would realized infinite has blood.

75

I don’t recall saying that Infinite doesn’t have blood either… Nice to know there’s two of you reading things that aren’t there.

All I’ve spoken about is a toggle making sense for blood for Infinite as it’s a common toggle for games to have; the immersion blood adds to Halo; and the positive addition it has to the atmosphere of the Flood ‐ highlighting the example of the corridor in 343 Guilty Spark from Halo CE.

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76

Well, those are the notions in general that I have been holding stance against this entire thread. Note that as you claim you’ve never said them, I never said “You said…” The only citation that I made for your comments was the polar opposite of that hallway of 343 Guilty Spark being made into Super Weenie Hut Jr.

However there is this.

So, this would be you saying, in a simplified way, that “a single corridor predominantly set the tone” for that level. Note that I never said “predominantly” but here we are. That’s the only location in 343 Guilty Spark where there’s a noticeable presence of blood for atmosphere. (And before you get to it, I said location here, and I’ve already recognized a narrative presence of gore in cutscenes, e.g. the mutilated Sangheili in that level’s mid-cutscene.)

And yet, still unanswered, in what way does it add to the atmosphere? Why do we never see the Flood creating that much carnage again? Additionally, further on in that post you go on to say that up until Halo Wars 2 the Flood didn’t have “atmosphere”, and specifically credit the Body Horror aspects of that. You directly juxtaposed Halo 3 to the “tense atmosphere” of Halo: CE. So what, then, provides for that “atmosphere”?

Lastly,

Care to support this? You’re seemingly mounting the entire franchise on a singular experience found in one game. How does blood add to the Halo experience? In what way is gore “Key to Halo” when the Flood have never - even in CE - been a Night of the Living Space Zombies manner of enemy, and their “gore” (or what you’re figuring in as “body horror”) has remained present without necessitating copious amounts of blood.

You’ve done a lot more than talk about a toggle for blood (which I have no argument against, that would make sense from a certain standpoint), but supported very little for why there’s a need for blood in Halo to the point that a toggle would even be applicable.

77

yeah i think they should just make a toggle for blood. If you dont like blood turn it off, easy.

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78

It’s toggles all the way down!

But the game is already rated. They won’t be adding more blood to it, even if it can be toggled off.

79

Never said that Halo needs blood. Instead, I said it adds to immersion, because when you shoot living beings with blood, they’ll bleed. Last I checked, Halo was a sci-fi military FPS.

That’s not what I’ve said at all. I can’t help it if you decided to complete misinterpret what was typed.

No, it isn’t. It says what is read. You’re being pedantic about the word ‘predominantly’ here, because you said others things added to the atmosphere more – implying that I was arguing that the corridor was the predominant edition that added to the atmosphere, when I never said that. At no point have I said that without the corridor, the level would fail, and at no point did I say it was the most important detail.

Because it was an artistic choice for that level to add to the tense atmosphere of the level.

Because the Flood are a horror enemy, and seeing mutilated corpses (gore) running at you makes them more horrific, and increases their credibility as a threat worse than the Covenant – explaining the existence of the Halo arrays.

Because it’s horrific. If you don’t care for it, that’s fine.

I specifically credited, but didn’t exclusively credit. Body horror makes the Flood more scary, because it’s body horror. The clue is in the name. Tendrils aren’t supposed to come out of people’s faces and arms.

Now you’re being pedantic again. You directed them at me, and gave them as response to me – particularly the part about franchise elements, as I brought that up when speaking of Doom.

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80

Alright, so Im only sending off what I’ve heard on a theory of WHY theres lack of blood, “flood?” and gore compared to past games and even Halo Wars and spinooffs.
Seems theres this game dev trend that to sell TONS of a particular game in China, then you have to censor the living heck out of it. No matter what and dosent seems to be enough to just have blood and other mature content country/ content hard-locked.
Like as it is now if Im correct. Germany, Australia and yes big C have very harsh censorship law, due to games including… oh I dont know content that underagers shouldnt dawdle in anyway. Making it go out over others who ARE old enough to play games with such content.

So for example if the Flood returns. Prepare for a neutered, censored-beyond-belief and non immersive, horrific enemy. I rather then have a MATURE, gut wrenching, nigmare fuel fused Halo game centered around the cosmic threat and its nasty details the FLood are capable of.

Hope Im wrong, very, very wrong that 343 dont cater to such censorship laws to sell more ( they will anyway, in the long run ), cencorship laws that are not contained within said example countries above.
So inste2ad of taking a bit more effort to make a censored version of Halo Infinite for said countries, it will instead " childify/ teenify " a franchise that they swear artistic integrity for, but bend the knee? Really?
AGAIN. This is just something I grasped on to from some Youtuber/ comment somewhere I wish have bookmarked. But here I am.

No, blood, gore and whatever other mature stuff Halo are known for isnt the END of the world but it woundshoot the immersive, artistic and impression based element such content contribute to.

So, Im not sure which kind of " conspiracy " reason 343 have to do this. And Im not counting in time and resources. Theres tons of that under the wing of MS, unless… uh… unless MS demanded 343 clip the mature wings off…

sigh anyway, I’ll stop speculating. I’ve said my impression…

Still imagine gut wrenching infection of hapless humans, elites and whoever else, suddenly taken off guard on Zeta Halo.
The smell of grunty blood in the morning, painting a cyan… or was it light blue room from wall to wall. Lekgolo worms fluorescent orange blood drowning a UNSC bases cantina where some jackals would at first glance, mistake it for humans spilling all of their orange juice in a weird human ritual…

81

Generally games include it with the option to disable. Defending the lack of choice isn’t going to change anyone’s mind.

4 Likes