First I would like to point out that I aspire to be a game developer and one of my dream games is a halo game that will push everything we know about Halo to the side for something new and unexpected while still retaining the things that made the original Halos great. As well as expanding the fiction of the Halo universe and getting to know more about it through various mediums. What I’m getting at is a Halo game that temporarily pushes aside the competitive multiplayer aspect of halo in favor of a strong single-player experience. To summarize, i’m talking about a single-player open-world RPG set in the halo universe.
You get to explore the entire known galaxy of halo, meeting new personalities and interesting quests to partake in. Imagine conversing with your favorite marines from Halo 2 and 3 that have been given their own standalone characters like Sgt. Stacker, Chips Dubbo, ETC. or even the protagonists from ODST. Imagine jumping feet first into hell with the remnants of Alpha-Nine and fighting Covies with them on an open, unlimited battleground. You can take on the galaxy as a strong SPARTAN soldier or (through story expansions), a UNSC Marine. Humans not your style? How about playing as a young Sangheili still learning the ins and outs of the covenant (or SWORDS). Imagine listening to the cute and funny dialogue of the Grunts played once again by the actors from Halo 3, the unintelligible gibbering of the Jackals that you can understand through captions, and the Brutes giving you the stink-eye and spiteful remarks as you walk past them. How about a fully voiced dialogue system? Letting the player choose what to say and how it will affect the story.
Now, on to gameplay and combat. I imagine I would be beheaded for this. But I think gameplay could be similar to other RPG-shooters out there like Borderlands, Far Cry, Deus Ex, Fallout, ETC. Which means…and this is my own preference…hold-to-aim ironsights. But hear me out, similar to Halo 5’s current ironsights, it would not effect movement speed, however it will be practical as hip firing will be inaccurate. I like this option because I’ve always wanted to see what halo weapons would look like with ironsights and 3D see-through scopes. Not a zoom with a cheap overlay or hologram crosshairs. Speaking of guns, every single iteration of weapons from previous Halo games will be present as well as new ones like an automatic M6 pistol or an auto-shotgun designed like an MA rifle.
Ever wanted to use every MA series rifle in a halo game without limitation? How about a four weapon limit as opposed to the classic two weapon limit so you can have multiple weapon categories on your person? And all these guns can be bought with credits received after quests through a “Requisition kiosk” that acts as the weapon and armor vendor. Guns can also be modified however you see fit. Want an MA5C with a grenade launcher, long barrel and a short-range scope or maybe an M6C pistol with an Auto-fire Adapter, a 20 round magazine, a silencer and a laser handguard?
If you think things are too COD-y how about a leveling system that unlocks new perks and skills as you level up? How about enemy/friendly health bars similar to that of Mass Effect? Red=Unarmored (Grunts, Jackals, Drones) Yellow=Armor (Brutes, Hunters, Vehicles) and Blue=Shields (Elites). Don’t think that’s what they’re limited to though as some high ranking Grunts, Jackals and Drones may have Armor or Shields or some low ranking Brutes may be unarmored or maybe a vehicle will have external shields. Welp, I’ve been rambling enough. I just want to know if these ideas would be accepted among the Halo community.