First i would like to say this interview scares the blam out of me. http://www.gamesradar.com/halo-5-frank-oconnor-interview/
Chief is complicated because in some ways he’s this literal vehicle for you to inhabit and go explore this adventure. I go in, as Frank, and I’m running around in this galaxy full of terror and madness. People like literally filling those shoes, but over the years the stuff that has happened to him has become more meaningful and people keep asking us about him. The simplest version of the question I get is, ‘What does he look like?’ There’s this weird tension that players have between ‘I want to know more about him’ and ‘I don’t want him to stop being me’.
He is not you he never was you. God forbid we have one FPS protagonist that isn’t you and can actually be developed. This just seems like a giant step backwards from halo 4 and destroys what it took so long to create.
the irony is that Locke is going to do some of the heavy lifting for people’s need for better storytelling and characterisation without altering the Chief
I would like to have the lore community voice their opinion on this. To me this is like the multiplayer people being told the Battle Rifle is being removed, I have loved everything 343 has done with the lore and not complained but i feel really strongly about this.
This is why i love 343 they have John a character and not just another standard FPS Hero which is what Bungie was doing.
Ever since Halo CE Chief has always been described as a character who is also the player. He has a life story, and looks, and exists as an important part of the story. Frankie was just saying that while they’re going to continue fleshing out his character, they’re not going to take away the ability to put yourself in his “shoes”. I don’t think it’s anything to worry about.
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> Ever since Halo CE Chief has always been described as a character who is also the player. He has a life story, and looks, and exists as an important part of the story. Frankie was just saying that while they’re going to continue fleshing out his character, they’re not going to take away the ability to put yourself in his “shoes”. I don’t think it’s anything to worry about.
When he says Locke will do the lifing Characterization wise. When 343 have been talking about John’s mental state and what shape he is in emotionally that seems to be going right out the window now. I don’t want him to be another Sterotypical FPS hero that;s why i hated bungie’s Master Chief. 343 in halo 4 made him a person. Bungie’s Master Chief Vs 343’s John. This whole reclaimer saga is about John’s journey what’s the point if Locke is doing the heavy lifting characterization wise and Story wise. Yes i Love Locke and i love how he is getting from the sounds of things lots of screen time but it should be equal between the two. John getting over the loss of Cortana the stages of Grief and loss this sounds like its being removed so we can have everyone’s favorite cyborg back.
I think you’re taking that quote a bit out of context. If you read on you see he gives a counterpoint to that. He also says that Locke is going to do most of the heavy lifting in the storytelling department, but also hints that some of that heavy lifting will be in understanding Chief’s character.
He basically comes out and says that Locke will be important to understanding Chief’s character from an outside point of view. Something that we’ve never really gotten since we never played as Cortana.
As for the character being “us”. While I agree it is completely true, it is also true that the majority of people who play the game’s campaign do think that way so it still must unfortunately be accommodated. However, he did say that they didn’t go too far in Halo 4 with that so I take that as Chief’s development continuing at least to the pace of Halo 4.
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> I think you’re taking that quote a bit out of context. If you read on you see he gives a counterpoint to that. He also says that Locke is going to do most of the heavy lifting in the storytelling department, but also hints that some of that heavy lifting will be in understanding Chief’s character.
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> He basically comes out and says that Locke will be important to understanding Chief’s character from an outside point of view. Something that we’ve never really gotten since we never played as Cortana.
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> As for the character being “us”. While I agree it is completely true, it is also true that the majority of people who play the game’s campaign do think that way so it still must unfortunately be accommodated. However, he did say that they didn’t go too far in Halo 4 with that so I take that as Chief’s development continuing at least to the pace of Halo 4.
But he also says characterization.
Maybe I’m reading it wrong, but it seems like the way Frankie is saying it, that we won’t see much of what Chief is going through in this game. Does anybody know really what he’s talking about when hes talking about Chief’s emotional/mental journey?
They’re constantly going back and forth on the significance of John and Locke, so I wouldn’t put too much faith in this kind of statements. Better wait till the game is properly showcased.
Ya this is interesting. I definitely like 343 John more than Bungie’s Chief cyborg. I thought Halo 4 bringing him out more was amazing. But ya it concerns me if they have Locke do everything for the Chief, but it will be a different perspective then we have ever been given, which is neat. I hope they do it right or the best way, so far on story side I think 343 is doing much better than Bungie anyways.
I never thought I was the Chief anyways, even if Bungie could give that stance to players, which is fine. It got boring IMO on the story front. Of course a lot of people who just want to kill aliens as a super space soldier couldn’t care less about story usually or if they only play MM.
I’m all for more development of the Chief, although I’ve never really been able to project myself into him as much as other characters. When I play as the John, it’s because I want to learn his story, not make up a new one.
However, I’m not completely against “blank slate” characters. Halo actually has one of my favorite methods for them out of any game, because while the main character is his own person, we get numerous side characters to basically create ourselves (IE B313 and Crimson). These guys are important enough to be interesting while unimportant enough to be blank canvases onto which we can project ourselves without hindering storytelling and lore building. So keep it up, 343. In my opinion, you’ve nailed it.
What does Frankie mean, is he saying we won’t be seeing much of Master Chief’s emotional journey, or will we be seeing it and also seeing Chief’s journey from Locke’s perspective?
I really hope all of the characterization in the game won’t come from Locke. What 343 Industries did with Chief’s character was simply beautiful. They turned a static cyborg (at least in Bungie’s games) into a character with drive and ambition, and set Chief up for so much room to develop and grow as a character. I’d be devastated if they decided to throw all that away just so they could turn Chief back into a lifeless suit of armour and give Locke all of the characterization. Ideally, I’d prefer it if they used Locke’s role as a bounty hunter as means of further exploring the Chief’s character. That’s what I’ve been hoping for.