So I want your opinion on that and I really hope that some 343 level designers stumple across this and take it serious/get some ideas.
First of all, I think Halo 5’s campaign was really bad, but there are enough topics here about that. I just hope the storywriters somehow can clear the mess they’ve made with halo 5’s story in Halo 6, but I doubt it. However, that is not the topic right here.
I think the fps genre in general needs something new when it comes to the campaign level design. It doesn’t matter if it’s Halo, cod or whatever, almost every times it is the following map layout:
Go to point A, kill everything there and move on to point B to press a button/cutscene. Some areas are bigger than others, some have a second path to flank the enemies, but all have the same concept: a static battlefield with enemies thrown in, where the player moves in, kills everything or needs to protect an object, and moves on. boooring!
Even vehicle sequences, which are very lackluster in halo 5 (e.g. the ghost part where you followed the kraken for like 2 min at that incredible linear cliff) are not enough to mix it up.
A campaign full of level that change while you are fighting on them would be something new and very exciting. Halo 5’s best sequence was literally when you ran down the Guardian with Team Osiris, with changed gravity etc. Unfortunately it lasted only 2 min, too.
But more campaign level with that concept would be something revolutionary, something that would make Halo 6 special.
I think some of them should be scripted, but overall Halo 6 should have more destructable Environments, too.
A few examples how to change the battlefield while fighting on it:
A cliff slowly crumbling into the ocean, making the level smaller and smaller over time and changing the flow of combat. Same could be done with lava moving down a vulcano, slowly covering the ground.
A scripted earthquake that destroys buildings and high positions while opening trenches in the ground, changing the map over time, would also be amazing.
Or like gears of war 4, where giant tornados mess up the battlefield and even influence bullets.
I think you get the idea.
I also think you should be able to e.g. destroy a sniper tower with a rocket launcher => destructable environment. Things like that (in campaign).
I know it is not easy to accomplish and a lot more work than creating normal, usual campaign level; but it would be something great and I’m sure 343 could do it if they wanted.
In conclusion I really hope Halo 6 comes up with something original, less static and more and bigger vehicle level. That would bring the quality of the campaign to a whole new height. The story, on the other hand, is a problem of another dimension.
What do you think?