How to Give your Narrative Events an Actual Narrative

Games Halo Infinite
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I wanna preface this by saying I’m fine with Season 2 so far, however, I will admit it’s obviously not perfect. Now that we’ve got the obvious out of the way, lets mention something else that’s just as known, the “Narrative” Event that released with Season 2, is not a narrative event. The paragraph after this one isn’t really the topic of this post, rather that’s next paragraph so I recommend just scrolling.

It’s narrative is a single cutscene, that has no remote impact on anything. Maybe they felt like it’d disturb the flow of gameplay with players. Maybe they just couldn’t do anything else besides a single cutscene while they expand the singleplayer campaign. However we’re not here to discuss maybes. The maybes aren’t the issue. Like I said, this “narrative event” is nothing. It’s just a gamemode that doesn’t really do anything, nor does it even connect to the narrative the cutscene is trying to provide. Now, is LSS fun? No clue, I played one game and got frustrated and swore it off. What sucks about it is, they could’ve easily given the cutscene more weight without having to expand additional resources. They could’ve had the voice actors talk about how, lets say, the more people you take out the more it helps whatever his name is, signified by them saying something like “Keep it up Spartan, (Insert what’shisname here) is getting better!” but they don’t do that. I’m not a game designer or the owner of a company, so for all I know it wouldn’t work. Maybe the voice actors weren’t available enough to do such things.

Now, here’s what you came here for. How to give it a narrative even in gameplay, but also make it fun, and make it WORK. I won’t lie, I did not come up with it myself, someone on the Halo Discord gave me the idea and I forgot their name. Anyway, it’s very simple: Make the narrative events a Firefight or Spartan Ops gamemode. This would make challenges easier, since they’re dumb NPCs, allow people to feel like they’re contributing to the story, and it’d also just be fun. Oh, and also give the Narrative Event an actual Narrative, and make it an event. Everyone loves Firefight, and some Spartan Ops, personally I love both, so why not use those modes to contribute to your narrative event, especially considering that Spartan Ops especially actually had somewhat of a narrative behind it? Yeah, some people will complain that’s it’s temporary, but I’d rather temp Firefight/SO than none.

Imagine this: The cutscene occurs as per normal, nothing really that different, except Agryna looks to you with a smile, she asks you “Think you’re ready for some action?” or something like that. It is now up to YOU whether you can save the Lone Wolfs life, you take the damaged Banished Phantom and make your way to figure out what the hell went wrong.

It probably could be better, what I wrote of what the change could’ve been, but you get the idea and that’s good enough.

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#1 rule for cutscenes is show don’t tell, they did the opposite (likely due to time constraints), but yes I completely agree that there should’ve been a playable aspect to this. I have seen stuff where people are walking around the academy where it looks all different but I think someone was probably just walking around inside where the cutscene takes place. Sad because even just having the academy function as a social map/mode would be cool.

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Their lack of a writing director really shows in the cutscenes. And I think having a firefight or spartan ops mode would be interesting, but the narrative events are made for the multiplayer pvp stuff. But the story doesn’t have anything to do with the gameplay.

I think it would be interesting is to take a COD zombies approach. In the gamemodes and maps, make small easter-eggs players do (maybe linked with challenges) that unlock more of the story. Audio logs, cutscenes, items, etc.

Or, to fit the theme of a Rogue AI in Last Spartan Standing, how about there is a random chance that the AI takes over one of the players (or a bot) and then the player is marked for all to see, and the whole lobby has to take down this one “hacked” player. Then the AI jumps around, and all the people who manage to kill the hacked player gets an XP boost of some sort.

Lots of potential, but I would like something more than “play this game mode!” Then finish the event just to be told “good job”.

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inb4 someone screams at you for that.

But yes, I agree with you. There could have been… More to this Narrative Event. And I understand that this is Part 1 of at least 2 parts, but the Narrative angle just lacks impact. The set-up is extremely lacking, with no real reason or rationale being given to care about any of the characters on screen. Your Spartan is a nothing-burger (literally no spoken lines, I can understand a silent protag angle if we’re Gordon Freemaning this, but we’re just plugged into the Matrix 99% of the time), Agryna is sorta just… There (especially confusing after Season 1’s narrative end) and we’re told that the two Lone Wolves (can’t for the life of me remember their names) are really cool and awesome… But we never see that. There’s no playable memory sections like in Halo 3 ODST, there are no flashback cutscenes like in Halo CEA, Halo 2A, or Halo 4, there’s nothing for these characters to make the player think they’re anything more than just cardboard cutouts with voice boxes attached to their backs. The narrative style of prior Halo games has always been about involving the player in the events that are happening on screen, one way or another. So why are they trying to avoid showing us anything at all?

Then there’s the stuff that OP is talking about - there’s no impact or feel from the events we’re doing (and why we’re killing each other to irritate an AI that hates us, I have no idea) until we do enough of them and then the game goes “YOU WIN” when it feels like we haven’t done anything yet.

A way better event would be a Firefight mode where the AI goes all Mass Effect 2 Harbinger on us and starts assuming control of Banished to fight us. That would have been cool, and potentially fed into the narrative angle more.

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Ngl I’ve never heard of “inb4” before lol, I mainly just meant that they literally gave a ton of dialogue and showed next to nothing. For instance, they could’ve cut to a flashback when Agryna asked what happened and gone from there. Love the idea of playing as them to illustrate how they’re badass -why we like/care about them at all-, even if it was a super linear short mission that would’ve been dope. As for the reason to play LSS, you hit that 100%, like just why…? If the AI hates humans why would this make him mad? I hope part 2 is better and doesn’t feel so rushed, maybe comes with something in addition to the cutscene.

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Yeah I honestly don’t know what the point of the mode even is.
I thought it’s be a Destiny style social area but it’s just a weird scripted tutorial hidden in custom games.

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The narrative event felt pretty weak to me. From my perspective it felt like an attempt to please everyone.

Clearly they are focusing the live service on the multiplayer stuff, and specifically cosmetics. The narrative event seems like “throwing a bone” to fans of the canon. If they really want to throw us a bone, do a PVE event, add some kind of canon PVE multiplayer, or just update the campaign as a live service like you said you would.

“Serial narrative” to sell multiplayer cosmetics is an all-time low of storytelling through video games. Halo should avoid it entirely, and limit the canon stuff to PVE and campaign.

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That wont work because they are so behind on content and modes. Also doesnt help the issue of the cutscene itself being on of the wprst directed/written things in core canon.
I appreciate the effort ou put into this though!

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Yeah, a whole cutscene to introduce the Lone Wolf (Not Headhunter™) Spartans and their cool edgy new Rakshasa (Not SPI) gear, alongside the cartoon character Iratus, being a funny new multiplayer voiceover.
Now this is narrative! Don’t forget to grab the new armor sets that aren’t the boring season pass ones, $12USD each in the store!

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The thought certainly crossed my mind, however, to that I have one bit of advice:

If you don’t have the resources to make an actual narrative event, or the time or the people:
Save that for later, and focus on more important stuff.

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Thats the obvious solution for sure.

But that felt a bit off topic to say as it wouldnt really respond to any of your original posts content or concepts.

The obvious solution though.

Id also have said the nareative events should support the claim infinite was a good emtry point for fans and newcomers because as it is its neither.
One of the worst introductions to a universe with boats of established, ineresting l and abandoned lore threads. I really hoped this would be when 343i got stpry right and made something that feels cohesive in game. The eu is so well interlinked and the games see it as baggage when really its oppertuinity.

Id love it if events were just universe histpry lessons for now.
I know 343i made a song and dance about how you cant just import assets into halo5 when the ce magnum and the h2br were added. But we all know its a cake walk. Dont even need to code in the behaviour.
So instead of half baked events give me events that teach new players about the univers and just use legacy assets and textures as skins or alt weapon models and add little lore segments. Just have it portrayed as a missiin debrief for chief and the info recoreded by the mjolnir and AI reviewing it for training purpose.
Not cotly new in engine trailers needed.
Tie it then to how these events helped evolve both unsc tactics and armaments.
Super straightforward, assets are made just need to be implemented and if i can drop ce assets into halo 4 with relative ease theres no good reason a AAA studio cant do the same.

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I mean. In relation to the narrative event, if the issue was people and time, and that you shouldn’t spend them on a half -Yoink!- attempt to justify a BR-esque mode, which is what the og post is about, ie, how to improve the next one at least, I’d say it’s pretty related.

And personally I don’t think a history lesson is what should be done, because at that point: read the books. But expanding upon that lore, however, is something that could definitely be done.
I still stand by that they should do Spartan Ops (or Firefight, whichever works) for narrative events.

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Ya but you didnt provide a slution to the issue as I did

Bringing up firefight and tying to narrative doesnt help the real issue.
Challanges should be totally reworked not just deemed as ok cause bots.
So i opted to provide a solution.
We dont even have coop yet and you want lager events with spartan ops and firefight style additions
Thats clearly the intent but the game isnt in a state were its actually a possibility

I thought it was obvious the history lessons would provide new lore and context but perhaps that wasnt made clear. This way yoh can have nostalgia bait unlocks and new stories set in the past that explain perhaps the evolution of the br in the field or things of that nature. Or camo and the intergration of it into spi for headhunters or as an armour ability etc.
New story content that can be used to make the entire mythos more cohesive in the game itself.
Not a recap of books, that’d be dumb.

Related topics for sure but I still felt distinct enough to be seen as seperate topics.
You want narrative events with narrative but your concept at this time isnt a good one to achieve that.

So i suggested a solution that can provide an immediate fix in the short term as to allow for spartan ops season 2.

Also can you explain what you mean by “somewhat” halo 4s spartan ops was as story centric as any campaign thus far.

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Ok.

The solution was moreso to having an actual, full on narrative then the poor excuse we had for the event, less so gameplay and all that. I wanted to discuss the narrative side of this Season’s event, rather than the problems it made since it seemed like everyone else was talking about it. Plus, I’m too smoothbrained to actually discuss the gameplay side since I’m also not a game designer.

Also, less an issue of you making it clear, and more just how I interpreted it- When you say history lesson, I think “here’s what happened” like a retelling of history, if you will. If it was a different perspective, eh, I dunno how I’d feel about that. I’ve never read the books, and any few information I have comes from halopedia and the games.

As for what I mean by “somewhat”, I hadn’t touched Spartan Ops in quite a while and was recalling what I could, and believed Spartan Ops, at least, had “somewhat” of a narrative.
I’m also realizing you were referring to your post and not mine when you were talking about off topic to the conversation. My bad.

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I get ya, ya its lack luster story for sure.

Sorry for the confusion haha, i type these while waitingbfor meetings ti start or waiting for a bus or what have you so they are not the clearest things to read im sure haha.

But ya id like more story and I want infinite to be best it can be so events that flesh iut and connect new and old fans by sort of delving into the universes lore and history seems like a great resource light way of giving cool events while 343i finish the game.
I understand it isnt for everyone though.

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Nah don’t worry, it’s my fault man. I misread and thought you were being instigative.

It’s just a weird feeling, probably just my ignorance an’ all that. I’m sure it wouldn’t be bad.

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they should make a tab with narrative cutscenes. For season 2 you have the intro of the season, and the intro and ending cutscenes por Interference… a place were to go and watch that cinematics would be could, to have a linear continuity with narrative. i understand what you say but, this is what we have now, at least should it be better organized