… otherwise the player is left with no satisfaction.
A great man named Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote a great series once called Sherlock Holmes, after many years of writing the adventures of his iconic character he wrote to his mother saying, “I think of slaying Holmes and winding him up for good and all. He takes my mind from better things.” His mother responded, “You may do what you deem fit, but the crowds will not take this lightheartedly.”
This is absolutely applicable to Halo, Doyle justified the killing-off of Sherlock by saying that the protagonist was at the height of his story in the most important part of his life and once that was over he must be done away with because any story following that same character will be mundane in comparison.
Approaching us now is the Reclaimer Trilogy, we have been told by 343 that they have a definite end planned for the series, we have also been told that John faces an “ancient enemy that threatens the entire universe”, hyperbole or not this statement clearly shows us that this will be the most dangerous and important thing that John has to go through. This also means that in order for any satisfying conclusion to be reached, John, like Sherlock Holmes, the ever-enduring hero, has to die.
Let’s face it, after this ancient enemy has been defeated and the universe is forever safe, what else is left for John to do? What else is left for any Spartan to do? I don’t see any of them being integrated into normal society and settling down with a family after being honourably discharged, with no threat around they cease to have a purpose and that brings down the character in the eyes of the player. For a super-soldier bred for a life of warfare to die anywhere other than the battlefield would be an insult, ergo in order for the Reclaimer Trilogy to deliver a truly satisfying ending to the character arc of John, he must die.
Although the death of a main character does indeed constitute an apt conclusion to a series, I have always found such events to be somewhat insubstantial. Given that the player has endeavoured to ensure the character’s survival, their demise may be perceived to undermine the toil undertaken by the player. In the case of Halo 3, John was shown to be ‘dead’ in the eyes of both Humanity and the Sangheili. This constituted a sound conclusion to the storyline. However, by being privy to knowledge of his survival, the player was contented by the usefulness of their actions.
Therefore, I postulate that an ending not dissimilar from that of Halo 3 would achieve the greatest player satisfaction and contentment.
john cant die i think me and lots of other people would like to see the franchise end with him winning instead of dieing…wait did i say that i wanted to see the franchise end… HELL NO
I hate how most video games here recently end with the hero dying. I want John to live no matter what. It makes me feel like I wasted hours playing an entire game, and then the hero die.
I don’t like your style of trying to force this as the only possible satisfying conclusion. I think that there are other possibilities that can end chiefs story just as nicely. Maybe at the end of his story he will lock him self in some kind of Forerunner sub dimension to ensure the -Yoink- inside doesn’t escape and he is trapped in.
Death seems a bit to basic and over used. A story with him being locked in with the enemy and nobody can escape says that after someone won the fight they are still trapped and if its the enemy then probably looking for a way out that it will never find, if its chief then maybe hell just try to survive. Once the doors close its anyone’s guess as to what happens on the inside.
> Although the death of a main character does indeed constitute an apt conclusion to a series, I have always found such events to be somewhat insubstantial. Given that the player has endeavoured to ensure the character’s survival, their demise may be perceived to undermine the toil undertaken by the player. In the case of Halo 3, John was shown to be ‘dead’ in the eyes of both Humanity and the Sangheili. This constituted a sound conclusion to the storyline. However, by being privy to knowledge of his survival, the player was contented by the usefulness of their actions.
>
> Therefore, I postulate that an ending not dissimilar from that of Halo 3 would achieve the greatest player satisfaction and contentment.
I think a death could be made to work, so long as it’s not a last-minute thing like Jorge’s. If, at a reasonable point before the ending, the plot has developed such that John knows he’s going to have to sacrifice himself for some greater good, then in his death the player has a sense of satisfaction that they achieved what they were fighting for. The key to this working, of course, is the story being good enough for the player to care about whatever reason John’s going to die for enough for it to seem worthwhile to them. It also has to be utterly inevitable, it can’t be a “oh noes, teh bomb timer r broken” moment, there has to be something intrinsically vital that John dies.
> john cant die i think me and lots of other people would like to see the franchise end with him winning instead of dieing…wait did i say that i wanted to see the franchise end… HELL NO
> I hate how most video games here recently end with the hero dying. I want John to live no matter what. It makes me feel like I wasted hours playing an entire game, and then the hero die.
Er… what? Most video games end with the protagonist surviving and having a happily ever after, in fact the vast majority of most modern and classical media end this way.
> I think a death could be made to work, so long as it’s not a last-minute thing like Jorge’s. If, at a reasonable point before the ending, the plot has developed such that John knows he’s going to have to sacrifice himself for some greater good, then in his death the player has a sense of satisfaction that they achieved what they were fighting for. The key to this working, of course, is the story being good enough for the player to care about whatever reason John’s going to die for enough for it to seem worthwhile to them. It also has to be utterly inevitable, it can’t be a “oh noes, teh bomb timer r broken” moment, there has to be something intrinsically vital that John dies.
Oh absolutely, there would have to be a real build-up to it, I think that could be kickstarted by Cortana turning rampant by the end of Halo 5 and John has to cope without her which would leave him more vulnerable, then get a sense of the sheer scale of his mission and the danger that surrounds it.
> why does he have to die?, why cant it be that he kills all evil? He is safely home and thats that.
>
> Killing him would be a waste. He is fighting to protect humans, including himself.
Why don’t you actually read the OP?
After he vanquishes whatever evil threatens the universe, there is absolutely nothing left for him to do after. His sole purpose is to protect humanity, once this is fulfilled he’ll become a man with no purpose. Also, anything that happens after the climactic confrontation between John and the ancient enemy would be mundane in comparison, John will have fulfilled his role in the story and there’s no use keeping him around because the image of him rotting away in some cottage in the countryside is an insult to his character. Spartans were made to fight against suicidal odds, the most honourable way to respect his character would be to have him die destroying this ancient evil.
> > why does he have to die?, why cant it be that he kills all evil? He is safely home and thats that.
> >
> > Killing him would be a waste. He is fighting to protect humans, including himself.
>
> Why don’t you actually read the OP?
>
> After he vanquishes whatever evil threatens the universe, there is absolutely nothing left for him to do after. His sole purpose is to protect humanity, once this is fulfilled he’ll become a man with no purpose. Also, anything that happens after the climactic confrontation between John and the ancient enemy would be mundane in comparison, John will have fulfilled his role in the story and there’s no use keeping him around because the image of him rotting away in some cottage in the countryside is an insult to his character. Spartans were made to fight against suicidal odds, the most honourable way to respect his character would be to have him die destroying this ancient evil.
Death seems a bit to basic and over used. A story with him being locked in with the enemy and nobody can escape says that after someone won the fight they are still trapped and if its the enemy then probably looking for a way out that it will never find, if its chief then maybe hell just try to survive. Once the doors close its anyone’s guess as to what happens on the inside.
> > > why does he have to die?, why cant it be that he kills all evil? He is safely home and thats that.
> > >
> > > Killing him would be a waste. He is fighting to protect humans, including himself.
> >
> > Why don’t you actually read the OP?
> >
> > After he vanquishes whatever evil threatens the universe, there is absolutely nothing left for him to do after. His sole purpose is to protect humanity, once this is fulfilled he’ll become a man with no purpose. Also, anything that happens after the climactic confrontation between John and the ancient enemy would be mundane in comparison, John will have fulfilled his role in the story and there’s no use keeping him around because the image of him rotting away in some cottage in the countryside is an insult to his character. Spartans were made to fight against suicidal odds, the most honourable way to respect his character would be to have him die destroying this ancient evil.
>
> Death seems a bit to basic and over used. A story with him being locked in with the enemy and nobody can escape says that after someone won the fight they are still trapped and if its the enemy then probably looking for a way out that it will never find, if its chief then maybe hell just try to survive. Once the doors close its anyone’s guess as to what happens on the inside.
Death is not overused with protagonists at all, the vast majority of contemporary media has the protagonist survive and live happily ever after. Death reminds us that the characters are human and vulnerable, no matter what feats they have accomplished they are still like you and me, it’s an incredibly underused device but when it is used it can be pulled of brilliantly, just look at Sherlock Holmes or Othello.
I actually read the entire thing, so be quiet… Spartans are HUMANS. If you didnt know, John never got to choose to be a spartan. So ending the story with him dying would be tradgic in so meny levels. Finnishing off the story with him living his life would be satisfying(In my opinion). would you love to die protecting a civilisation that kidnaped you and turned you into a spartan?
I agree entirely with your notion, Anoying. The receptiveness of a player to the demise of John shall foremost depend upon the aptitude of the Reclaimer series narrative. To undertake his death in a suitable manner, however, shall require notable and innovating storytelling.
> I actually read the entire thing, so be quiet… Spartans are HUMANS. If you didnt know, John never got to choose to be a spartan. So ending the story with him dying would be tradgic in so meny levels. Finnishing off the story with him living his life would be satisfying(In my opinion). would you love to die protecting a civilisation that kidnaped you and turned you into a spartan?
What you’ve just posted is a contradictory mess.
You clearly didn’t grasp the point of what I was saying, in that case.
I never implied that they weren’t humans. -_-
Choice has nothing to do with it, he is what he is and he accepts it. Therefore we accept it.
Exactly, it’s supposed to be tragic because the man who we’ve been with for over a decade has had to sacrifice himself so the galaxy and humanity are protected. It’s a more satisfying ending than him sat in a cottage in the countryside sipping tea for the rest of his life doing sweet FA, it strips the character of his purpose, he’s not supposed to be a man who is going to have a happy ending, he’s supposed to fight and die for his people and that’s exactly what gives sense to his death and therefore satisfaction that he died fulfilling his purpose, much like the Terminator at the end of the third film, much like Mendicant Bias at the end of Halo 3, much like Darth Vader at the end of Return of the Jedi. Their role in the story comes to an end.
But no, you’re happy for him to sit in an armchair doing nothing for the rest of his days…
The last sentence of your post makes no sense at all. Firstly, his ‘race’ didn’t kidnap him, ONI did, ONI is not the whole of humanity. Secondly, he is SUPPOSED to fight and stand in the face of death, I don’t think you quite understand the role of a Spartan.
> > I actually read the entire thing, so be quiet… Spartans are HUMANS. If you didnt know, John never got to choose to be a spartan. So ending the story with him dying would be tradgic in so meny levels. Finnishing off the story with him living his life would be satisfying(In my opinion). would you love to die protecting a civilisation that kidnaped you and turned you into a spartan?
>
> What you’ve just posted is a contradictory mess.
>
> 1) You clearly didn’t grasp the point of what I was saying, in that case.
>
> 2) I never implied that they weren’t humans. -_-
>
> 3) Choice has nothing to do with it, he is what he is and he accepts it. Therefore we accept it.
>
> 4) Exactly, it’s supposed to be tragic because the man who we’ve been with for over a decade has had to sacrifice himself so the galaxy and humanity are protected. It’s a more satisfying ending than him sat in a cottage in the countryside sipping tea for the rest of his life doing sweet FA, it strips the character of his purpose, he’s not supposed to be a man who is going to have a happy ending, he’s supposed to fight and die for his people and that’s exactly what gives sense to his death and therefore satisfaction that he died fulfilling his purpose, much like the Terminator at the end of the third film, much like Mendicant Bias at the end of Halo 3, much like Darth Vader at the end of Return of the Jedi. Their role in the story comes to an end.
>
> But no, you’re happy for him to sit in an armchair doing nothing for the rest of his days…
>
> 5) The last sentence of your post makes no sense at all. Firstly, his ‘race’ didn’t kidnap him, ONI did, ONI is not the whole of humanity. Secondly, he is SUPPOSED to fight and stand in the face of death, I don’t think you quite understand the role of a Spartan.
YOU started the criticism, not me
Why dont you tell the story then? Easy for you to kill him but not easy to build his charecter.
John actually doesnt HAVE to die, that is your opinion,
You do know what his story is right? so you would build up such a good charecter and kill him?
