Master Chief Needs to Go Back to Talking Less

Games Halo Infinite
1

In Halo 1-3 when Master Chief spoke, you listened. It meant something when he spoke, his voice carried tremendous weight.

In Halo 4 + 5 himself and the other characters are pretty much non-stop talking and it’s not only unnecessary and bad writing (too much exposition is bad), but it diminished the significance of his voice and disconnects the player from the character.

There are many videos online talking about this in a much better way than I can, but I would recommend The Act Man’s videos on why Halo 5’s campaign was so bad since he explains it better than I can. IIRC Part 2 and Part 3 deal with this topic specifically.

In conclusion, if you’re bringing the series back to its roots then bring the Master Chief back too.

2

It was hardly non-stop speaking, and it was a great feeling for folks coming from the books where Halo 4/5 John felt more like his book incarnations.

“Disconnects from the player” only if one’s expecting an Empty Shell to “input themselves into” rather than a unique character with his own established personality and story. If people want an Empty Shell again 343 can just bring back Fireteam Crimson.

Undoing all that wouldn’t be the ‘spiritiual bringing back to the roots’ you’re looking for, but just throwing away progress and spitting on the EU for the sake of going back to Bungie’s ill-conceived “The Master Chief IS the player! Except he’s not but we’re just going to ignore all that because the EU means nothing to us.” days. We were NEVER John, and we won’t ever BE him.

3

> 2533274850869596;2:
> It was hardly non-stop speaking, and it was a great feeling for folks coming from the books where Halo 4/5 John felt more like his book incarnations.
>
> “Disconnects from the player” only if one’s expecting an Empty Shell to “input themselves into” rather than a unique character with his own established personality and story. If people want an Empty Shell again 343 can just bring back Fireteam Crimson.
>
> Undoing all that wouldn’t be the ‘spiritiual bringing back to the roots’ you’re looking for, but just throwing away progress and spitting on the EU for the sake of going back to Bungie’s ill-conceived “The Master Chief IS the player! Except he’s not but we’re just going to ignore all that because the EU means nothing to us.” days. We were NEVER John, and we won’t ever BE him.

Idk, I agree with both you and the OP as well.

So in the original trilogy, yes Chief did not talk very often, but when he did it was short sweet and to the point. Chief was basically raised as a soldier, so the way he communicated in the original trilogy was kind of like plain talk radio communications. Just say what you have to say and get off the radio ya know?

Now I agree with you that it’s nice to have him talk a little bit more like in Halo 4 and 5, but the way he was talking I didn’t really like too much. Halo 4 was okay, but Halo 5 was painfully bad, and I think the main reason is because he was talking while we’re playing as him. It didn’t really feel right, and I think if 343 wants him to talk more, then keep it to the cut scenes.

4

> 2533274845291741;3:
> > 2533274850869596;2:
> > It was hardly non-stop speaking, and it was a great feeling for folks coming from the books where Halo 4/5 John felt more like his book incarnations.
> >
> > “Disconnects from the player” only if one’s expecting an Empty Shell to “input themselves into” rather than a unique character with his own established personality and story. If people want an Empty Shell again 343 can just bring back Fireteam Crimson.
> >
> > Undoing all that wouldn’t be the ‘spiritiual bringing back to the roots’ you’re looking for, but just throwing away progress and spitting on the EU for the sake of going back to Bungie’s ill-conceived “The Master Chief IS the player! Except he’s not but we’re just going to ignore all that because the EU means nothing to us.” days. We were NEVER John, and we won’t ever BE him.
>
> Idk, I agree with both you and the OP as well.
>
> So in the original trilogy, yes Chief did not talk very often, but when he did it was short sweet and to the point. Chief was basically raised as a soldier, so the way he communicated in the original trilogy was kind of like plain talk radio communications. Just say what you have to say and get off the radio ya know?
>
> Now I agree with you that it’s nice to have him talk a little bit more like in Halo 4 and 5, but the way he was talking I didn’t really like too much. Halo 4 was okay, but Halo 5 was painfully bad, and I think the main reason is because he was talking while we’re playing as him. It didn’t really feel right, and I think if 343 wants him to talk more, then keep it to the cut scenes.

This.

You can keep the characterisation from the books without having him talking during gameplay. He talked during cutscenes in Halo 1-3 too.

5

> 2533274801605494;4:
> > 2533274845291741;3:
> > > 2533274850869596;2:
> > > It was hardly non-stop speaking, and it was a great feeling for folks coming from the books where Halo 4/5 John felt more like his book incarnations.
> > >
> > > “Disconnects from the player” only if one’s expecting an Empty Shell to “input themselves into” rather than a unique character with his own established personality and story. If people want an Empty Shell again 343 can just bring back Fireteam Crimson.
> > >
> > > Undoing all that wouldn’t be the ‘spiritiual bringing back to the roots’ you’re looking for, but just throwing away progress and spitting on the EU for the sake of going back to Bungie’s ill-conceived “The Master Chief IS the player! Except he’s not but we’re just going to ignore all that because the EU means nothing to us.” days. We were NEVER John, and we won’t ever BE him.
> >
> > Idk, I agree with both you and the OP as well.
> >
> > So in the original trilogy, yes Chief did not talk very often, but when he did it was short sweet and to the point. Chief was basically raised as a soldier, so the way he communicated in the original trilogy was kind of like plain talk radio communications. Just say what you have to say and get off the radio ya know?
> >
> > Now I agree with you that it’s nice to have him talk a little bit more like in Halo 4 and 5, but the way he was talking I didn’t really like too much. Halo 4 was okay, but Halo 5 was painfully bad, and I think the main reason is because he was talking while we’re playing as him. It didn’t really feel right, and I think if 343 wants him to talk more, then keep it to the cut scenes.
>
> This.
>
> You can keep the characterisation from the books without having him talking during gameplay. He talked during cutscenes in Halo 1-3 too.

I think a great example of how Chief should talk is the cutscene in Halo 3 before “crows nest” begins. He actually talks quite a bit, but it’s short little practical responses. When Hood asks him what his status is, Chief doesn’t go “Sir, ready to take the fight to the covenant” or “Sir I’m a little banged up but I should be good to go”. He simply states “Green, Sir”. Chief isn’t about small talk, not even in the slightest bit. He just fell from a ship entering earths atmosphere and hit the ground so hard he created a freaking crater… and lived… and his status is just simply “green” because he is the bad -Yoink- that we all know and love.

6

> 2533274845291741;5:
> > 2533274801605494;4:
> > > 2533274845291741;3:
> > > > 2533274850869596;2:
> > > > It was hardly non-stop speaking, and it was a great feeling for folks coming from the books where Halo 4/5 John felt more like his book incarnations.
> > > >
> > > > “Disconnects from the player” only if one’s expecting an Empty Shell to “input themselves into” rather than a unique character with his own established personality and story. If people want an Empty Shell again 343 can just bring back Fireteam Crimson.
> > > >
> > > > Undoing all that wouldn’t be the ‘spiritiual bringing back to the roots’ you’re looking for, but just throwing away progress and spitting on the EU for the sake of going back to Bungie’s ill-conceived “The Master Chief IS the player! Except he’s not but we’re just going to ignore all that because the EU means nothing to us.” days. We were NEVER John, and we won’t ever BE him.
> > >
> > > Idk, I agree with both you and the OP as well.
> > >
> > > So in the original trilogy, yes Chief did not talk very often, but when he did it was short sweet and to the point. Chief was basically raised as a soldier, so the way he communicated in the original trilogy was kind of like plain talk radio communications. Just say what you have to say and get off the radio ya know?
> > >
> > > Now I agree with you that it’s nice to have him talk a little bit more like in Halo 4 and 5, but the way he was talking I didn’t really like too much. Halo 4 was okay, but Halo 5 was painfully bad, and I think the main reason is because he was talking while we’re playing as him. It didn’t really feel right, and I think if 343 wants him to talk more, then keep it to the cut scenes.
> >
> > This.
> >
> > You can keep the characterisation from the books without having him talking during gameplay. He talked during cutscenes in Halo 1-3 too.
>
> I think a great example of how Chief should talk is the cutscene in Halo 3 before “crows nest” begins. He actually talks quite a bit, but it’s short little practical responses. When Hood asks him what his status is, Chief doesn’t go “Sir, ready to take the fight to the covenant” or “Sir I’m a little banged up but I should be good to go”. He simply states “Green, Sir”. Chief isn’t about small talk, not even in the slightest bit. He just fell from a ship entering earths atmosphere and hit the ground so hard he created a freaking crater… and lived… and his status is just simply “green” because he is the bad -Yoink- that we all know and love.

Couldn’t agree more!

7

I like Chief being John rather than us, the player, but being John doesn’t mean he has to say a lot, and when he does, it doesn’t have to be all the time.

That being said, I defend Chief talking a lot in Halo 4 because Cortana was dying. He was trying to keep her focused, which was essentially trying to keep her alive. However, we should have been introduced to a more talkative Chief over a period of time, rather than him immediately responding to the first thing Cortana says to him. He shouldn’t have said much until after he learnt that Cortana was dying, and even then, only when it became a more realistic possibility that she would die. I think he was handled well in 5. He talks when he should, and he’s short-spoken when he needs to be. Being with Blue Team, it would be stranger if he was near-mute.

For Halo: Infinite…I love how short-spoken he was with the pilot. Chief doesn’t have a deep connectionwith him, and there’s a mission to do. It felt perfectly within character. But when he eventually talks with Cortana again, I want him to say more than five words. How much he says should be situational. I definitely think there’s a middle-ground.

8

> 2535419441797248;7:
> I like Chief being John rather than us, the player, but being John doesn’t mean he has to say a lot, and when he does, it doesn’t have to be all the time.
>
> That being said, I defend Chief talking a lot in Halo 4 because Cortana was dying. He was trying to keep her focused, which was essentially trying to keep her alive. However, we should have been introduced to a more talkative Chief over a period of time, rather than him immediately responding to the first thing Cortana says to him. He shouldn’t have said much until after he learnt that Cortana was dying, and even then, only when it became a more realistic possibility that she would die. I think he was handled well in 5. He talks when he should, and he’s short-spoken when he needs to be. Being with Blue Team, it would be stranger if he was near-mute.
>
> For Halo: Infinite…I love how short-spoken he was with the pilot. Chief doesn’t have a deep connectionwith him, and there’s a mission to do. It felt perfectly within character. But when he eventually talks with Cortana again, I want him to say more than five words. How much he says should be situational. I definitely think there’s a middle-ground.

I’m constantly surprised how people miss what you say here. For the start of Halo 4, it’s just Chief and Cortana. Having Cortana just ramble off with no feedback from Chief would be really awkward, especially when she had her rampant episodes. In the past there was usually someone else talking like Keyes or Johnson or whoever, so leaving things up to Cortana was fine.

Overall, I think people blow way out of proportion how talkative Chief was in 4. Certainly he talked more than Halo 2 (18 lines in total I believe), but it isn’t like he was spouting Shakespeare.

9

I preferred chief’s depiction in halo 4/5. He felt more like an actual character which is refreshing after reading the books.

10

> 2533274812652989;8:
> > 2535419441797248;7:
> > I like Chief being John rather than us, the player, but being John doesn’t mean he has to say a lot, and when he does, it doesn’t have to be all the time.
> >
> > That being said, I defend Chief talking a lot in Halo 4 because Cortana was dying. He was trying to keep her focused, which was essentially trying to keep her alive. However, we should have been introduced to a more talkative Chief over a period of time, rather than him immediately responding to the first thing Cortana says to him. He shouldn’t have said much until after he learnt that Cortana was dying, and even then, only when it became a more realistic possibility that she would die. I think he was handled well in 5. He talks when he should, and he’s short-spoken when he needs to be. Being with Blue Team, it would be stranger if he was near-mute.
> >
> > For Halo: Infinite…I love how short-spoken he was with the pilot. Chief doesn’t have a deep connectionwith him, and there’s a mission to do. It felt perfectly within character. But when he eventually talks with Cortana again, I want him to say more than five words. How much he says should be situational. I definitely think there’s a middle-ground.
>
> I’m constantly surprised how people miss what you say here. For the start of Halo 4, it’s just Chief and Cortana. Having Cortana just ramble off with no feedback from Chief would be really awkward, especially when she had her rampant episodes. In the past there was usually someone else talking like Keyes or Johnson or whoever, so leaving things up to Cortana was fine.
>
> Overall, I think people blow way out of proportion how talkative Chief was in 4. Certainly he talked more than Halo 2 (18 lines in total I believe), but it isn’t like he was spouting Shakespeare.

This is how the entirety of Halo 1 went and it wasn’t awkward.

11

> 2533274801605494;10:
> > 2533274812652989;8:
> > > 2535419441797248;7:
> > > I like Chief being John rather than us, the player, but being John doesn’t mean he has to say a lot, and when he does, it doesn’t have to be all the time.
> > >
> > > That being said, I defend Chief talking a lot in Halo 4 because Cortana was dying. He was trying to keep her focused, which was essentially trying to keep her alive. However, we should have been introduced to a more talkative Chief over a period of time, rather than him immediately responding to the first thing Cortana says to him. He shouldn’t have said much until after he learnt that Cortana was dying, and even then, only when it became a more realistic possibility that she would die. I think he was handled well in 5. He talks when he should, and he’s short-spoken when he needs to be. Being with Blue Team, it would be stranger if he was near-mute.
> > >
> > > For Halo: Infinite…I love how short-spoken he was with the pilot. Chief doesn’t have a deep connectionwith him, and there’s a mission to do. It felt perfectly within character. But when he eventually talks with Cortana again, I want him to say more than five words. How much he says should be situational. I definitely think there’s a middle-ground.
> >
> > I’m constantly surprised how people miss what you say here. For the start of Halo 4, it’s just Chief and Cortana. Having Cortana just ramble off with no feedback from Chief would be really awkward, especially when she had her rampant episodes. In the past there was usually someone else talking like Keyes or Johnson or whoever, so leaving things up to Cortana was fine.
> >
> > Overall, I think people blow way out of proportion how talkative Chief was in 4. Certainly he talked more than Halo 2 (18 lines in total I believe), but it isn’t like he was spouting Shakespeare.
>
> This is how the entirety of Halo 1 went and it wasn’t awkward.

Entirely different context. Cortana provided information that Chief by and large didn’t need to comment on in CE. Not to mention Marine presences weren’t uncommon or Foehammer could chime in. Halo 4 has those two alone for a good span of time and has Cortana acting in a way that requires comment.

Or put it this way. Cortana mentioning the cave not being a natural formation? No need for Chief to comment. Cortana freaking out because her condition is deteriorating? Chief should really say something, especially as a reassurance.

12

> 2533274845291741;3:
> > 2533274850869596;2:
> > It was hardly non-stop speaking, and it was a great feeling for folks coming from the books where Halo 4/5 John felt more like his book incarnations.
> >
> > “Disconnects from the player” only if one’s expecting an Empty Shell to “input themselves into” rather than a unique character with his own established personality and story. If people want an Empty Shell again 343 can just bring back Fireteam Crimson.
> >
> > Undoing all that wouldn’t be the ‘spiritiual bringing back to the roots’ you’re looking for, but just throwing away progress and spitting on the EU for the sake of going back to Bungie’s ill-conceived “The Master Chief IS the player! Except he’s not but we’re just going to ignore all that because the EU means nothing to us.” days. We were NEVER John, and we won’t ever BE him.
>
> Idk, I agree with both you and the OP as well.
>
> So in the original trilogy, yes Chief did not talk very often, but when he did it was short sweet and to the point. Chief was basically raised as a soldier, so the way he communicated in the original trilogy was kind of like plain talk radio communications. Just say what you have to say and get off the radio ya know?
>
> Now I agree with you that it’s nice to have him talk a little bit more like in Halo 4 and 5, but the way he was talking I didn’t really like too much. Halo 4 was okay, but Halo 5 was painfully bad, and I think the main reason is because he was talking while we’re playing as him. It didn’t really feel right, and I think if 343 wants him to talk more, then keep it to the cut scenes.

It honestly doesn’t have a whole lot to do with being raised as a soldier. It’s a personality thing in this case. I mean, look at Fred-104, he was raised to be a soldier but he’s pretty easy going and more of a people person than say Linda-058. Jerome-092 is a social butterfly (somewhat) and leads fire teams, Alice-130 is just a firework of personality, and even Douglas-042 is pretty outgoing.

Spartans act based upon the ones they surround themselves with and how they take each action. John-117 was a bit more secluded because Bungie wanted to make an empty character even though the books saw a rather different side to him. It is currently unknown if this was because they didn’t know how having a character like Novel 117 would be received given the time that Halo: Combat Evolved was made or if they simply wanted to make a game where the player could feel like the hero of the story (even if it technically can’t be true because Chief has a name, a background, etc). A lot of games like it (solo hero/character) were pretty empty in the chatterbox category back in the late 90’s/early millennia.

13

> 2533274879757912;12:
> > 2533274845291741;3:
> > > 2533274850869596;2:
> > > It was hardly non-stop speaking, and it was a great feeling for folks coming from the books where Halo 4/5 John felt more like his book incarnations.
> > >
> > > “Disconnects from the player” only if one’s expecting an Empty Shell to “input themselves into” rather than a unique character with his own established personality and story. If people want an Empty Shell again 343 can just bring back Fireteam Crimson.
> > >
> > > Undoing all that wouldn’t be the ‘spiritiual bringing back to the roots’ you’re looking for, but just throwing away progress and spitting on the EU for the sake of going back to Bungie’s ill-conceived “The Master Chief IS the player! Except he’s not but we’re just going to ignore all that because the EU means nothing to us.” days. We were NEVER John, and we won’t ever BE him.
> >
> > Idk, I agree with both you and the OP as well.
> >
> > So in the original trilogy, yes Chief did not talk very often, but when he did it was short sweet and to the point. Chief was basically raised as a soldier, so the way he communicated in the original trilogy was kind of like plain talk radio communications. Just say what you have to say and get off the radio ya know?
> >
> > Now I agree with you that it’s nice to have him talk a little bit more like in Halo 4 and 5, but the way he was talking I didn’t really like too much. Halo 4 was okay, but Halo 5 was painfully bad, and I think the main reason is because he was talking while we’re playing as him. It didn’t really feel right, and I think if 343 wants him to talk more, then keep it to the cut scenes.
>
> It honestly doesn’t have a whole lot to do with being raised as a soldier. It’s a personality thing in this case. I mean, look at Fred-104, he was raised to be a soldier but he’s pretty easy going and more of a people person than say Linda-058. Jerome-092 is a social butterfly (somewhat) and leads fire teams, Alice-130 is just a firework of personality, and even Douglas-042 is pretty outgoing.
>
> Spartans act based upon the ones they surround themselves with and how they take each action. John-117 was a bit more secluded because Bungie wanted to make an empty character even though the books saw a rather different side to him. It is currently unknown if this was because they didn’t know how having a character like Novel 117 would be received given the time that Halo: Combat Evolved was made or if they simply wanted to make a game where the player could feel like the hero of the story (even if it technically can’t be true because Chief has a name, a background, etc). A lot of games like it (solo hero/character) were pretty empty in the chatterbox category back in the late 90’s/early millennia.

Well as far as the games go, Chief was the only other spartan we saw for the first 3 Halo games. Based solely off of what we see in those games, Chief acts like the perfect soldier.

Now the books are different because it would be a boring read if every other spartan was exactly the same as him. I love Fall of Reach, it’s one of my favorite books, and it does add a lot of depth to them. I just think you’re missing my point a little bit.

I dont really care how ofher Spartans act, I’m talking about Chief and what was established in the original trilogy (and even Fall of Reach, he wasn’t chatty by any means in that book, as book standards go. Chief talks more in the books than in the games because we aren’t playing a game… we’re reading a book lol) I would have the same problem with The Legend of Zelda if suddenly the next game had link talking all the time even while you’re playing… it would just be weird.

14

> 2533274845291741;13:
> > 2533274879757912;12:
> > > 2533274845291741;3:
> > > > 2533274850869596;2:
> > > > It was hardly non-stop speaking, and it was a great feeling for folks coming from the books where Halo 4/5 John felt more like his book incarnations.
> > > >
> > > > “Disconnects from the player” only if one’s expecting an Empty Shell to “input themselves into” rather than a unique character with his own established personality and story. If people want an Empty Shell again 343 can just bring back Fireteam Crimson.
> > > >
> > > > Undoing all that wouldn’t be the ‘spiritiual bringing back to the roots’ you’re looking for, but just throwing away progress and spitting on the EU for the sake of going back to Bungie’s ill-conceived “The Master Chief IS the player! Except he’s not but we’re just going to ignore all that because the EU means nothing to us.” days. We were NEVER John, and we won’t ever BE him.
> > >
> > > Idk, I agree with both you and the OP as well.
> > >
> > > So in the original trilogy, yes Chief did not talk very often, but when he did it was short sweet and to the point. Chief was basically raised as a soldier, so the way he communicated in the original trilogy was kind of like plain talk radio communications. Just say what you have to say and get off the radio ya know?
> > >
> > > Now I agree with you that it’s nice to have him talk a little bit more like in Halo 4 and 5, but the way he was talking I didn’t really like too much. Halo 4 was okay, but Halo 5 was painfully bad, and I think the main reason is because he was talking while we’re playing as him. It didn’t really feel right, and I think if 343 wants him to talk more, then keep it to the cut scenes.
> >
> > It honestly doesn’t have a whole lot to do with being raised as a soldier. It’s a personality thing in this case. I mean, look at Fred-104, he was raised to be a soldier but he’s pretty easy going and more of a people person than say Linda-058. Jerome-092 is a social butterfly (somewhat) and leads fire teams, Alice-130 is just a firework of personality, and even Douglas-042 is pretty outgoing.
> >
> > Spartans act based upon the ones they surround themselves with and how they take each action. John-117 was a bit more secluded because Bungie wanted to make an empty character even though the books saw a rather different side to him. It is currently unknown if this was because they didn’t know how having a character like Novel 117 would be received given the time that Halo: Combat Evolved was made or if they simply wanted to make a game where the player could feel like the hero of the story (even if it technically can’t be true because Chief has a name, a background, etc). A lot of games like it (solo hero/character) were pretty empty in the chatterbox category back in the late 90’s/early millennia.
>
> Well as far as the games go, Chief was the only other spartan we saw for the first 3 Halo games. Based solely off of what we see in those games, Chief acts like the perfect soldier.
>
> Now the books are different because it would be a boring read if every other spartan was exactly the same as him. I love Fall of Reach, it’s one of my favorite books, and it does add a lot of depth to them. I just think you’re missing my point a little bit.
>
> I dont really care how ofher Spartans act, I’m talking about Chief and what was established in the original trilogy (and even Fall of Reach, he wasn’t chatty by any means in that book, as book standards go. Chief talks more in the books than in the games because we aren’t playing a game… we’re reading a book lol) I would have the same problem with The Legend of Zelda if suddenly the next game had link talking all the time even while you’re playing… it would just be weird.

We were meant to believe that he was the last Spartan for a while. Then that turned out to not be true. And yes, he does act like a perfect soldier, that’s what his personality has him pride himself in. Being the best soldier, who completes his missions, and saves innocent from the threats of the Galaxy.

That stands for more than just Halo. Imagine if every character ever acted just like each other. No difference in personality, likes, dislikes, etc. However, I don’t understand how I missed any points you were trying to make.

I wasn’t saying you had to care about the other Spartans, I was using them as a comparison. Their behaviors have little to do with being raised as soldiers. In fact, I think Bungie just made Chief like the typical stone cold soldier because they simply didn’t want to be bothered with a fleshed out personality that might not sit well with the fans. You can’t really go wrong with a mostly silent protagonist that only gives the occasional witty remark and short sentenced comment.

Now, Nintendo I believe has typically been in the absolutely silent characters box for a while. Preferring to have sound cues with speech/text boxes rather than actual vocalized characters until recently.

15

> 2533274801605494;10:
> > 2533274812652989;8:
> > > 2535419441797248;7:
> > > I like Chief being John rather than us, the player, but being John doesn’t mean he has to say a lot, and when he does, it doesn’t have to be all the time.
> > >
> > > That being said, I defend Chief talking a lot in Halo 4 because Cortana was dying. He was trying to keep her focused, which was essentially trying to keep her alive. However, we should have been introduced to a more talkative Chief over a period of time, rather than him immediately responding to the first thing Cortana says to him. He shouldn’t have said much until after he learnt that Cortana was dying, and even then, only when it became a more realistic possibility that she would die. I think he was handled well in 5. He talks when he should, and he’s short-spoken when he needs to be. Being with Blue Team, it would be stranger if he was near-mute.
> > >
> > > For Halo: Infinite…I love how short-spoken he was with the pilot. Chief doesn’t have a deep connectionwith him, and there’s a mission to do. It felt perfectly within character. But when he eventually talks with Cortana again, I want him to say more than five words. How much he says should be situational. I definitely think there’s a middle-ground.
> >
> > I’m constantly surprised how people miss what you say here. For the start of Halo 4, it’s just Chief and Cortana. Having Cortana just ramble off with no feedback from Chief would be really awkward, especially when she had her rampant episodes. In the past there was usually someone else talking like Keyes or Johnson or whoever, so leaving things up to Cortana was fine.
> >
> > Overall, I think people blow way out of proportion how talkative Chief was in 4. Certainly he talked more than Halo 2 (18 lines in total I believe), but it isn’t like he was spouting Shakespeare.
>
> This is how the entirety of Halo 1 went and it wasn’t awkward.

Except it wasn’t. Case and point, the control room.

When Chief and Cortana were first in the control room, Chief had a full conversation with Cortana.

When 343 Guilty Spark and Chief arrived back in the control room, and the ensuing arguement between 343 and Cortana started, Chief was trying to explain the situation to Cortana.

He didn’t just say a couple of short, badass one-liners. Cortana was the voice for the majority of Halo: CE, so Chief didn’t need to talk. But Chief spoke exactly when he needed to, which is my entire point. It would have been ridiculously awkward if all he had said during the arguement was shouting “Enough!”, or didn’t try to keep Cortana FOCUSED on the job at hand when they had first arrived.

In case you hadn’t noticed, Cortana can’t be the voice anymore. Chief needs to use his own voice. Halo: CE is a perfect example of Chief being mostly short-spoken, but speaking for longer durations when he needs to. He’s just short-spoken more often now because Cortana isn’t there.

16

> 2535419441797248;15:
> > 2533274801605494;10:
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> > > > I like Chief being John rather than us, the player, but being John doesn’t mean he has to say a lot, and when he does, it doesn’t have to be all the time.
> > > >
> > > > That being said, I defend Chief talking a lot in Halo 4 because Cortana was dying. He was trying to keep her focused, which was essentially trying to keep her alive. However, we should have been introduced to a more talkative Chief over a period of time, rather than him immediately responding to the first thing Cortana says to him. He shouldn’t have said much until after he learnt that Cortana was dying, and even then, only when it became a more realistic possibility that she would die. I think he was handled well in 5. He talks when he should, and he’s short-spoken when he needs to be. Being with Blue Team, it would be stranger if he was near-mute.
> > > >
> > > > For Halo: Infinite…I love how short-spoken he was with the pilot. Chief doesn’t have a deep connectionwith him, and there’s a mission to do. It felt perfectly within character. But when he eventually talks with Cortana again, I want him to say more than five words. How much he says should be situational. I definitely think there’s a middle-ground.
> > >
> > > I’m constantly surprised how people miss what you say here. For the start of Halo 4, it’s just Chief and Cortana. Having Cortana just ramble off with no feedback from Chief would be really awkward, especially when she had her rampant episodes. In the past there was usually someone else talking like Keyes or Johnson or whoever, so leaving things up to Cortana was fine.
> > >
> > > Overall, I think people blow way out of proportion how talkative Chief was in 4. Certainly he talked more than Halo 2 (18 lines in total I believe), but it isn’t like he was spouting Shakespeare.
> >
> > This is how the entirety of Halo 1 went and it wasn’t awkward.
>
> Except it wasn’t. **Case and point, The control room.**When Chief and Cortana were first in the control room, Chief had a full conversation with Cortana.
>
> When 343 Guilty Spark and Chief arrived back in the control room, and the ensuing arguement between 343 and Cortana started, Chief was trying to explain the situation to Cortana.
>
> He didn’t just say a couple of short, badass one-liners. Cortana was the voice for the majority of Halo: CE, so Chief didn’t need to talk. But Chief spoke exactly when he needed to, which is my entire point. It would have been ridiculously awkward if all he had said during the arguement was shouting “Enough!”, or didn’t try to keep Cortana FOCUSED on the job at hand when they had first arrived.
>
> In case you hadn’t noticed, Cortana can’t be the voice anymore. Chief needs to use his own voice. Halo: CE is a perfect example of Chief being mostly short-spoken, but speaking for longer durations when he needs to. He’s just short-spoken more often now because Cortana isn’t there.

You’re missing the context. We’re talking about gameplay here, not cutscenes.

17

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> > > It was hardly non-stop speaking, and it was a great feeling for folks coming from the books where Halo 4/5 John felt more like his book incarnations.
> > >
> > > “Disconnects from the player” only if one’s expecting an Empty Shell to “input themselves into” rather than a unique character with his own established personality and story. If people want an Empty Shell again 343 can just bring back Fireteam Crimson.
> > >
> > > Undoing all that wouldn’t be the ‘spiritiual bringing back to the roots’ you’re looking for, but just throwing away progress and spitting on the EU for the sake of going back to Bungie’s ill-conceived “The Master Chief IS the player! Except he’s not but we’re just going to ignore all that because the EU means nothing to us.” days. We were NEVER John, and we won’t ever BE him.
> >
> > Idk, I agree with both you and the OP as well.
> >
> > So in the original trilogy, yes Chief did not talk very often, but when he did it was short sweet and to the point. Chief was basically raised as a soldier, so the way he communicated in the original trilogy was kind of like plain talk radio communications. Just say what you have to say and get off the radio ya know?
> >
> > Now I agree with you that it’s nice to have him talk a little bit more like in Halo 4 and 5, but the way he was talking I didn’t really like too much. Halo 4 was okay, but Halo 5 was painfully bad, and I think the main reason is because he was talking while we’re playing as him. It didn’t really feel right, and I think if 343 wants him to talk more, then keep it to the cut scenes.
>
> It honestly doesn’t have a whole lot to do with being raised as a soldier. It’s a personality thing in this case. I mean, look at Fred-104, he was raised to be a soldier but he’s pretty easy going and more of a people person than say Linda-058. Jerome-092 is a social butterfly (somewhat) and leads fire teams, Alice-130 is just a firework of personality, and even Douglas-042 is pretty outgoing.
>
> Spartans act based upon the ones they surround themselves with and how they take each action. John-117 was a bit more secluded because Bungie wanted to make an empty character even though the books saw a rather different side to him. It is currently unknown if this was because they didn’t know how having a character like Novel 117 would be received given the time that Halo: Combat Evolved was made or if they simply wanted to make a game where the player could feel like the hero of the story (even if it technically can’t be true because Chief has a name, a background, etc). A lot of games like it (solo hero/character) were pretty empty in the chatterbox category back in the late 90’s/early millennia.

Firstly, the books are secondary sources of canon and are trumped by the games. If Chief is one way in the games and another way in the books, we take the games as true canon.

Secondly, as shawnk9512 said, the needs for a character to be more vocal in a book are far greater than in a game. Near-silent protagonists typically dont work outside of games. The spartans were written that way so the books could be interesting.

18

> 2533274801605494;16:
> > 2535419441797248;15:
> > > 2533274801605494;10:
> > > > 2533274812652989;8:
> > > > > 2535419441797248;7:
> > > > > I like Chief being John rather than us, the player, but being John doesn’t mean he has to say a lot, and when he does, it doesn’t have to be all the time.
> > > > >
> > > > > That being said, I defend Chief talking a lot in Halo 4 because Cortana was dying. He was trying to keep her focused, which was essentially trying to keep her alive. However, we should have been introduced to a more talkative Chief over a period of time, rather than him immediately responding to the first thing Cortana says to him. He shouldn’t have said much until after he learnt that Cortana was dying, and even then, only when it became a more realistic possibility that she would die. I think he was handled well in 5. He talks when he should, and he’s short-spoken when he needs to be. Being with Blue Team, it would be stranger if he was near-mute.
> > > > >
> > > > > For Halo: Infinite…I love how short-spoken he was with the pilot. Chief doesn’t have a deep connectionwith him, and there’s a mission to do. It felt perfectly within character. But when he eventually talks with Cortana again, I want him to say more than five words. How much he says should be situational. I definitely think there’s a middle-ground.
> > > >
> > > > I’m constantly surprised how people miss what you say here. For the start of Halo 4, it’s just Chief and Cortana. Having Cortana just ramble off with no feedback from Chief would be really awkward, especially when she had her rampant episodes. In the past there was usually someone else talking like Keyes or Johnson or whoever, so leaving things up to Cortana was fine.
> > > >
> > > > Overall, I think people blow way out of proportion how talkative Chief was in 4. Certainly he talked more than Halo 2 (18 lines in total I believe), but it isn’t like he was spouting Shakespeare.
> > >
> > > This is how the entirety of Halo 1 went and it wasn’t awkward.
> >
> > Except it wasn’t. **Case and point, The control room.**When Chief and Cortana were first in the control room, Chief had a full conversation with Cortana.
> >
> > When 343 Guilty Spark and Chief arrived back in the control room, and the ensuing arguement between 343 and Cortana started, Chief was trying to explain the situation to Cortana.
> >
> > He didn’t just say a couple of short, badass one-liners. Cortana was the voice for the majority of Halo: CE, so Chief didn’t need to talk. But Chief spoke exactly when he needed to, which is my entire point. It would have been ridiculously awkward if all he had said during the arguement was shouting “Enough!”, or didn’t try to keep Cortana FOCUSED on the job at hand when they had first arrived.
> >
> > In case you hadn’t noticed, Cortana can’t be the voice anymore. Chief needs to use his own voice. Halo: CE is a perfect example of Chief being mostly short-spoken, but speaking for longer durations when he needs to. He’s just short-spoken more often now because Cortana isn’t there.
>
> You’re missing the context. We’re talking about gameplay here, not cutscenes.

I haven’t seen anyone mention that this discussion was exclusively about in-game.

Cortana spoke during gameplay in Halo 1 and 2, but Cortana is no longer there. In Halo 3, Miranda Keyes or Johnson spoke on our behalf, as Cortana wasn’t present for most of the game. Halo 4, Cortana was literally dying. It would be ridiculous for Chief to be quiet. In Halo 5, Chief was with people that were essentially his family. It would be weird to not talk. The context of Halo 4 and 5 matters.

19

> 2533274801605494;6:
> > 2533274845291741;5:
> > > 2533274801605494;4:
> > > > 2533274845291741;3:
> > > > > 2533274850869596;2:
> > > > > It was hardly non-stop speaking, and it was a great feeling for folks coming from the books where Halo 4/5 John felt more like his book incarnations.
> > > > >
> > > > > “Disconnects from the player” only if one’s expecting an Empty Shell to “input themselves into” rather than a unique character with his own established personality and story. If people want an Empty Shell again 343 can just bring back Fireteam Crimson.
> > > > >
> > > > > Undoing all that wouldn’t be the ‘spiritiual bringing back to the roots’ you’re looking for, but just throwing away progress and spitting on the EU for the sake of going back to Bungie’s ill-conceived “The Master Chief IS the player! Except he’s not but we’re just going to ignore all that because the EU means nothing to us.” days. We were NEVER John, and we won’t ever BE him.
> > > >
> > > > Idk, I agree with both you and the OP as well.
> > > >
> > > > So in the original trilogy, yes Chief did not talk very often, but when he did it was short sweet and to the point. Chief was basically raised as a soldier, so the way he communicated in the original trilogy was kind of like plain talk radio communications. Just say what you have to say and get off the radio ya know?
> > > >
> > > > Now I agree with you that it’s nice to have him talk a little bit more like in Halo 4 and 5, but the way he was talking I didn’t really like too much. Halo 4 was okay, but Halo 5 was painfully bad, and I think the main reason is because he was talking while we’re playing as him. It didn’t really feel right, and I think if 343 wants him to talk more, then keep it to the cut scenes.
> > >
> > > This.
> > >
> > > You can keep the characterisation from the books without having him talking during gameplay. He talked during cutscenes in Halo 1-3 too.
> >
> > I think a great example of how Chief should talk is the cutscene in Halo 3 before “crows nest” begins. He actually talks quite a bit, but it’s short little practical responses. When Hood asks him what his status is, Chief doesn’t go “Sir, ready to take the fight to the covenant” or “Sir I’m a little banged up but I should be good to go”. He simply states “Green, Sir”. Chief isn’t about small talk, not even in the slightest bit. He just fell from a ship entering earths atmosphere and hit the ground so hard he created a freaking crater… and lived… and his status is just simply “green” because he is the bad -Yoink- that we all know and love.
>
> Couldn’t agree more!

Same. Another great example is when he talks during the Cutscene in Halo 2 Between Cairo Station and Outskirts. Simple. Talked quite a bit. But still short and quick responses. He does not need to talk “less” in terms of total speaking time. But talk in shorter sentences and more direct to the point talk.

20

Exactly. When i first played 5 i was like “Why the hell is chief blabbing so much?” Now, i don’t mind him talking in CE-3, 4 was BARELY acceptable, but 5 was a no.