i343 Read This, Machinima in Halo is down 45%

Games Other Halo
1

Ever since Halo 4’s release, the Machinima industry has dropped around 45%.

Why should this be a concern to i343?

Machinima provided FREE Advertising for the game, also Machinima is a businuess itself, many people enjoy creating Machinima and being involved in Machinima, therefore, more people would be on your game.

What exactly is wrong for this to happen?

There is a video created by “soFallenFilms” that basically lines out everything wrong, and provides a humorous tone to it. Please watch the video in full, and enjoy.

Click Here

2

I’m contracted with Machinima and I used to make a series called ‘The Lives’ which did a comical look at various species in the Haloverse such as Grunts, Moa, Elites etc.

Anyway. I’m just here to say that my series was cancelled because it is no longer of ‘brand interest’ which means that either the game that is being used to make it is failing, or the series in general just sucked. For the longest time I thought it was just because my series sucked.

Then lo and behold I get another email from Machinima reps saying they want to pick it up for a Season 2, but NOT in Halo based games.

I’ve submitted Halo content to them in the past as well and they refuse to take it because Halo isn’t a ‘brand interest’ anymore.

3

It’s funny. Before release Frankie said that 343i valued Community stuff like Machinima and said that they would do a lot of stuff to support that group. I haven’t seen that with Halo 4. Hell, Black Ops II did a better job supporting this type of Community with their theater mode.

4

> I’m contracted with Machinima and I used to make a series called ‘The Lives’ which did a comical look at various species in the Haloverse such as Grunts, Moa, Elites etc.
>
> Anyway. I’m just here to say that my series was cancelled because it is no longer of ‘brand interest’ which means that either the game that is being used to make it is failing, or the series in general just sucked. For the longest time I thought it was just because my series sucked.
>
> Then lo and behold I get another email from Machinima reps saying they want to pick it up for a Season 2, but NOT in Halo based games.
>
> I’ve submitted Halo content to them in the past as well and they refuse to take it because Halo isn’t a ‘brand interest’ anymore.

You did those?

Sucks they won’t take anymore. I loved the Promethian one.

DERDAAAAAAAAACT!

5

> I’m contracted with Machinima and I used to make a series called ‘The Lives’ which did a comical look at various species in the Haloverse such as Grunts, Moa, Elites etc.
>
> Anyway. I’m just here to say that my series was cancelled because it is no longer of ‘brand interest’ which means that either the game that is being used to make it is failing, or the series in general just sucked. For the longest time I thought it was just because my series sucked.
>
> Then lo and behold I get another email from Machinima reps saying they want to pick it up for a Season 2, but NOT in Halo based games.
>
> I’ve submitted Halo content to them in the past as well and they refuse to take it because Halo isn’t a ‘brand interest’ anymore.

That was you? -Yoink!- I loved that series.

It’s disappointing that the series is ending as I thought it was rather comical and a fun way to do things.

OT: I noticed a lot of those problems when I was trying to do screenshots. I don’t understand their logic with anything they do in this game. It’s like someone offers a good idea and someone else in the company has to go “Wait, it’s not screwed up and useless enough.” and starts mindlessly deleting lines of coding.

I just don’t understand why they made these changes. Some of them I don’t mind, but others (like the problems in the videos above) are just pointless, random changes that inevitably screw things up.

6

OP, i did notice a drop on Machinima’s in Halo. But i barely pay attention to that, TBH.

> I’m contracted with Machinima and I used to make a series called ‘The Lives’ which did a comical look at various species in the Haloverse such as Grunts, Moa, Elites etc.
>
> Anyway. I’m just here to say that my series was cancelled because it is no longer of ‘brand interest’ which means that either the game that is being used to make it is failing, or the series in general just sucked. For the longest time I thought it was just because my series sucked.
>
> Then lo and behold I get another email from Machinima reps saying they want to pick it up for a Season 2, but NOT in Halo based games.
>
> I’ve submitted Halo content to them in the past as well and they refuse to take it because Halo isn’t a ‘brand interest’ anymore.

Oh damn, just reminded me…I gotta get a contract with them…ugh. BTW, i remember that series, I liked it, TBH.

7

> I’m contracted with Machinima and I used to make a series called ‘The Lives’ which did a comical look at various species in the Haloverse such as Grunts, Moa, Elites etc.
>
> Anyway. I’m just here to say that my series was cancelled because it is no longer of ‘brand interest’ which means that either the game that is being used to make it is failing, or the series in general just sucked. For the longest time I thought it was just because my series sucked.
>
> Then lo and behold I get another email from Machinima reps saying they want to pick it up for a Season 2, but NOT in Halo based games.
>
> I’ve submitted Halo content to them in the past as well and they refuse to take it because Halo isn’t a ‘brand interest’ anymore.

> GreenDragon37
> It’s funny. Before release Frankie said that 343i valued Community stuff like Machinima and said that they would do a lot of stuff to support that group. I haven’t seen that with Halo 4. Hell, Black Ops II did a better job supporting this type of Community with their theater mode.

It’s pretty pathetic. We already of two examples. Machinima barley posts Halo 4 Machinima, for the exact reason Spearhead provided. Halo 4 is loosing interest for various reasons, but I do think this whole Machinima issue is a serious one. About 2 in every 4 gamer’s watch and enjoy Machinima, whether that is creating it, or just following a series.

And as GreenDragon said, it’s sad, they DID say they wanted to support the Community of people who make user creations. At this time it seems all there worried about is Forge, and well. I can’t figure out what else they’re doing.

8

> > I’m contracted with Machinima and I used to make a series called ‘The Lives’ which did a comical look at various species in the Haloverse such as Grunts, Moa, Elites etc.
> >
> > Anyway. I’m just here to say that my series was cancelled because it is no longer of ‘brand interest’ which means that either the game that is being used to make it is failing, or the series in general just sucked. For the longest time I thought it was just because my series sucked.
> >
> > Then lo and behold I get another email from Machinima reps saying they want to pick it up for a Season 2, but NOT in Halo based games.
> >
> > I’ve submitted Halo content to them in the past as well and they refuse to take it because Halo isn’t a ‘brand interest’ anymore.
>
> You did those?
>
> Sucks they won’t take anymore. I loved the Promethian one.
>
> DERDAAAAAAAAACT!

There’s actually a spiritual sequel to that. Link.

Glad you liked them. It sucks that I had to stop. I had some really fun plans for the Hunter video. D:

9

> > I’m contracted with Machinima and I used to make a series called ‘The Lives’ which did a comical look at various species in the Haloverse such as Grunts, Moa, Elites etc.
> >
> > Anyway. I’m just here to say that my series was cancelled because it is no longer of ‘brand interest’ which means that either the game that is being used to make it is failing, or the series in general just sucked. For the longest time I thought it was just because my series sucked.
> >
> > Then lo and behold I get another email from Machinima reps saying they want to pick it up for a Season 2, but NOT in Halo based games.
> >
> > I’ve submitted Halo content to them in the past as well and they refuse to take it because Halo isn’t a ‘brand interest’ anymore.
>
>
>
> > GreenDragon37
> > It’s funny. Before release Frankie said that 343i valued Community stuff like Machinima and said that they would do a lot of stuff to support that group. I haven’t seen that with Halo 4. Hell, Black Ops II did a better job supporting this type of Community with their theater mode.
>
> It’s pretty pathetic. We already of two examples. Machinima barley posts Halo 4 Machinima, for the exact reason Spearhead provided. Halo 4 is loosing interest for various reasons, but I do think this whole Machinima issue is a serious one. About 2 in every 4 gamer’s watch and enjoy Machinima, whether that is creating it, or just following a series.
>
> And as GreenDragon said, it’s sad, they DID say they wanted to support the Community of people who make user creations. At this time it seems all there worried about is Forge, and well. I can’t figure out what else they’re doing.

Forge Island doesn’t exactly show they’re worried about forge.

It doesn’t fix the multiple problems forge now has, it just tides us over by giving us a new pallet to work with which we’ll eventually get bored of.

10

Problem with that is that, in my honest opinion, Machinima has become less interested in gaming and more in what makes the most money with their exploitative, near inescapable contracts and poor business ethics.

It’s just not a good idea anymore.

11

So why is this 343i and Halo 4s fault? The only reasons I’ve seen boil down to generalizations and “because not an interest”.

Is there a reason why? Does it have anything to do with Microsoft making that rule that no one can make machinima except them?

12

> So why is this 343i and Halo 4s fault? The only reasons I’ve seen boil down to generalizations and “because not an interest”.
>
> Is there a reason why? Does it have anything to do with Microsoft making that rule that no one can make machinima except them?

Please watch the video provided in the OP.

> Problem with that is that, in my honest opinion, Machinima has become less interested in gaming and more in what makes the most money with their exploitative, near inescapable contracts and poor business ethics.
>
> It’s just not a good idea anymore.

Even so, if you watch the video. My issue is creating Machinima, not the company “Machinima”.

13

> > So why is this 343i and Halo 4s fault? The only reasons I’ve seen boil down to generalizations and “because not an interest”.
> >
> > Is there a reason why? Does it have anything to do with Microsoft making that rule that no one can make machinima except them?
>
> Please watch the video provided in the OP.
>
>
>
> > Problem with that is that, in my honest opinion, Machinima has become less interested in gaming and more in what makes the most money with their exploitative, near inescapable contracts and poor business ethics.
> >
> > It’s just not a good idea anymore.
>
> Even so, if you watch the video. My issue is creating Machinima, not the company “Machinima”.

Fair enough. One problem with 4 is the lack of Elites in that aspect, cuts out so many possible avenues.

14

> Problem with that is that, in my honest opinion, Machinima has become less interested in gaming and more in what makes the most money with their exploitative, near inescapable contracts and poor business ethics.
>
> It’s just not a good idea anymore.

I agree with this. The contract I have with Machinima is a lifetime agreement, even though I never agreed to that.

I still signed the contract though, had I known at the time I probably would’ve told them to stick it.

That being said, it’s exactly how you said, Machinima has become less about creativity and more about making a fast buck and it’s disgusting. I would love to make a Waypoint based series for 343 in Halo 4 but they only seem interested in Playtime.

That’s fine and all, but if you’re going to say you support such areas of the community, don’t just support CruelLEGACY and Rooster Teeth. (As much as I enjoy the two.)

15

I gotta say, the guy does make some valid points, but I want to remind everybody that in previous Halo games (before Reach anyways) there were a lot of limitations that people did have to work around. You would even have to play in Infection mode if you wanted black armour since it wasn’t part of the colour palette.

16

> I gotta say, the guy does make some valid points, but I want to remind everybody that in previous Halo games (before Reach anyways) there were a lot of limitations that people did have to work around. You would even have to play in Infection mode if you wanted black armour since it wasn’t part of the colour palette.

This is correct, but issues like that were incredibly easy to bypass. If you wanted a Black Spartan with custom colored Spartans you just changed up the mechanics a little in the game.

To do that in Halo 4, you need to either download a modded gametype or crack the game open and mod it yourself.

In all the previous Halo’s we’ve always had the whole “This person has killed you” thing, but it vanished when we went into free-cam. This can still happen in Halo 4 but you need to keep switching between characters to avoid it.

And the weapon lowering thing is the most annoying. But, that being said I don’t think they are MASSIVE problems. (Apart from the Flood thing)
I and anyone else can still make perfectly decent Halo 4 content. What I think has currently upset the Machinima community is that all these issues never existed or weren’t as bad until 343 took over.

There were always limitations in previous Halo games but 343 just seem to add more and more making it just that little bit more frustrating to actually get those shots you need. It really sucks. :I

But like I said, they aren’t massive issues and are easily avoided. But the fact that they’re there after 10 years of nothing is the annoying part.

On another note, I believe Frank O’Connor offered Weapon Lowering online. I would like to see that. I also believe there was supposed to be a depth of field view. Where is that? Those two options right there were enough to make me purchase the standard game.

Literally, the FIRST thing I did when I got the game was go into customs, run around and go into theater mode to see what it looked like. Imagine my disappointment and anger when I finally realized there was nothing like that in the game.

Not only that, the Engine continuously frustrates me. I don’t know about anyone else but Halo 4 has this awful system where the further you get away from something the worse it looks. This is alright in most cases but when the trees start suddenly looking like silly putty and the Warthog’s texture pops in the middle of a shot it’s slightly disheartening.

I know those things were in previous Halo games too but I’ve NEVER seen it as bad as it is in Halo 4.

And I’ve just realized I’ve gone on a mega rant…I guess you can only hold it in for so long. :I

17

There are so many more problems with Machinima in Halo 4 than were listed in this video.

The weapons raising when lowered should have been patched ages ago.

18

> There are so many more problems with Machinima in Halo 4 than were listed in this video.
>
> The weapons raising when lowered should have been patched ages ago.

I believe I PM’d BS Angel about this a while ago. I can’t remember if I got a reply to it but I’m sure the answer would’ve been something along the lines of it not being a priority.

I mean…I get it, but it still sucks that a portion of the community is essentially being ignored.

The most annoying thing about that is in Spartan Ops and Campaign mode you can see the AI Spartans and they walk around with their weapons lowered so the animation is actually in-game.

It’s not like they need to bring people in for motion capturing again…

> So why is this 343i and Halo 4s fault? The only reasons I’ve seen boil down to generalizations and “because not an interest”.
>
> <mark>Is there a reason why? Does it have anything to do with Microsoft making that rule that no one can make machinima except them?</mark>

I think you’ll find that this is not the case. Microsoft put those rules in place to stop people from getting unauthorized Ad Revenue from their content. If you’re partnered with someone like Machinima then you can earn money.

It’s kinda like one bad apple spoiling the bunch really. Some people enjoy making content and feel satisfied and rewarded by earning even $5-$10 from their Machinima. Then others just spam their content all over the place, making hundreds upon hundreds of videos just so they can make an easy buck.

I believe that is what Microsoft was combating. It just sucks because those innocent people now can earn nothing and are in some cases, punished for earning revenue.

19

Another question is why can’t I lower my weapon Online in a Custom Game. Like really? Is it that hard to implement that? I don’t care if I cant do it in Match Making, but at least maybe in Forge Online or Custom Games Online. The whole reason they always provided was “to prevent exploits” Well…Jeese. Let’s see, we’re in a Custom Match, who cares if we exploit? I mean they let people Mod Maps and Game Types… Smh.

20

> I’m contracted with Machinima and I used to make a series called ‘The Lives’ which did a comical look at various species in the Haloverse such as Grunts, Moa, Elites etc.
>
> Anyway. I’m just here to say that my series was cancelled because it is no longer of ‘brand interest’ which means that either the game that is being used to make it is failing, or the series in general just sucked. For the longest time I thought it was just because my series sucked.
>
> Then lo and behold I get another email from Machinima reps saying they want to pick it up for a Season 2, but NOT in Halo based games.
>
> I’ve submitted Halo content to them in the past as well and they refuse to take it because Halo isn’t a ‘brand interest’ anymore.

Such a damn shame, one of the private things I loved about Halo was machinima featuring the AI!

I’ve done my best to manipulate the AI (Knights, Elites) but I can’t compete with the masters!