A few months ago, Frankie and Kiki did an interview with WCCTech, Frankie said this:
> Chief we tend to think of as kind of a vessel for your adventure rather than necessarily this major character in the universe. He’s really just your entry into the universe.
What the hell Frankie?!! So, apparently, he thinks that John is just a vessel for the player, not this major character in the Universe. Okay, let’s just forget that when talking about Halo 4, you said this. In Halo 4, you guys clearly brought John’s personality to the forefront, like in the novels and comics. However, now you decide “Eh, -Yoink- that, let’s just regress him back to what he was like in the early games.” I think this is a problem. The higher ups shouldn’t dictate how the story should be written. Yes, the higher ups should ensure they make the game as best as possible, but not interfere with the team. Frankie should be like “Okay guys, our next project is gonna be Halo 6. Our estimated release is Fall 2019.” They can help, but the writing and direction should go to those who believe they can tell the best story possible. This really makes nervous for how John’s story will be handled. I’m worried they’ll just make John once again the badass avatar for the player. It hurts, as John is my favorite character of all time. Thoughts?
While I agree this is a troubling direction, I don’t necessarily assume its higher up/corporate that’s doing it.
Halo’s not been doing so well. Sales show it, opinion shows it, 343’s only post mortem studies likely show it. Thus, they are looking for ways to make it better. One of the most common suggestions put forward by the community is to make things like they used to be. While the lore community generally loved halo 4’s story, there are certainly those who did not like it, and many of their complaints carried over into h5’s portrayal as well (even if i don’t agree with many of them).
There’s nothing stopping 343, by itself, from looking at all this feedback and rethinking how they want to do things. Yes, there’s undoubtedly pressure to improve sales from higher up, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the higher ups are calling shots.
Wasn’t this already discussed in a thread last year, or earlier this year when it was first said? Anyhow, I agree with Frankie. While Chief is the lifeblood of Halo, he is also the vessel from which we see the universe Bungie created and 343 inherited. We see mostly everything in the series through his eyes. He is the character we grow with as players, but he’s also the way we play the games, as the entry point. The exact same way we play other games and see the world through their eyes. I also disagree with Frankie on this point - he is more than just that vessel. He is a major character, our protagonist, but he isn’t the only major character we play as.
So its more of a yes/no statement that lacks enough context to really understand the point of.
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> Wasn’t this already discussed in a thread last year, or earlier this year when it was first said? Anyhow, I agree with Frankie. While Chief is the lifeblood of Halo, he is also the vessel from which we see the universe Bungie created and 343 inherited. We see mostly everything in the series through his eyes. He is the character we grow with as players, but he’s also the way we play the games, as the entry point. The exact same way we play other games and see the world through their eyes. I also disagree with Frankie on this point - he is more than just that vessel. He is a major character, our protagonist, but he isn’t the only major character we play as.
> So its more of a yes/no statement that lacks enough context to really understand the point of.
I would say the character isn’t really a vessel for the player anymore, but rather we experience the majority of the story through playing as the protagonist. Like I said, it hurts even more when it’s your favorite character of all time, and one of the head honchos talks about them in a certain way. I really hope whoever is writing Halo 6 doesn’t feel this way, and gives him his personality and depth he deserves.
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> > 2533274805386380;3:
> > Wasn’t this already discussed in a thread last year, or earlier this year when it was first said? Anyhow, I agree with Frankie. While Chief is the lifeblood of Halo, he is also the vessel from which we see the universe Bungie created and 343 inherited. We see mostly everything in the series through his eyes. He is the character we grow with as players, but he’s also the way we play the games, as the entry point. The exact same way we play other games and see the world through their eyes. I also disagree with Frankie on this point - he is more than just that vessel. He is a major character, our protagonist, but he isn’t the only major character we play as.
> > So its more of a yes/no statement that lacks enough context to really understand the point of.
>
> I would say the character isn’t really a vessel for the player anymore, but rather we experience the majority of the story through playing as the protagonist. Like I said, it hurts even more when it’s your favorite character of all time, and one of the head honchos talks about them in a certain way. I really hope whoever is writing Halo 6 doesn’t feel this way, and gives him his personality and depth he deserves.
Ehh I see your point. I hope the same. Master Chief is also one of my all time favorite characters. Aragorn happens to be my all time favorite male character, and to add Hermione Granger is my all time favorite female character.
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> > > 2533274805386380;3:
> > > Wasn’t this already discussed in a thread last year, or earlier this year when it was first said? Anyhow, I agree with Frankie. While Chief is the lifeblood of Halo, he is also the vessel from which we see the universe Bungie created and 343 inherited. We see mostly everything in the series through his eyes. He is the character we grow with as players, but he’s also the way we play the games, as the entry point. The exact same way we play other games and see the world through their eyes. I also disagree with Frankie on this point - he is more than just that vessel. He is a major character, our protagonist, but he isn’t the only major character we play as.
> > > So its more of a yes/no statement that lacks enough context to really understand the point of.
> >
> > I would say the character isn’t really a vessel for the player anymore, but rather we experience the majority of the story through playing as the protagonist. Like I said, it hurts even more when it’s your favorite character of all time, and one of the head honchos talks about them in a certain way. I really hope whoever is writing Halo 6 doesn’t feel this way, and gives him his personality and depth he deserves.
>
> Ehh I see your point. I hope the same. Master Chief is also one of my all time favorite characters. Aragorn happens to be my all time favorite male character, and to add Hermione Granger is my all time favorite female character.
Awesome, Aragorn is a close second, with Princess Leia being my favorite female character ever.
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> > 2533274805386380;6:
> > > 2533274840469109;5:
> > > > 2533274805386380;3:
> > > > Wasn’t this already discussed in a thread last year, or earlier this year when it was first said? Anyhow, I agree with Frankie. While Chief is the lifeblood of Halo, he is also the vessel from which we see the universe Bungie created and 343 inherited. We see mostly everything in the series through his eyes. He is the character we grow with as players, but he’s also the way we play the games, as the entry point. The exact same way we play other games and see the world through their eyes. I also disagree with Frankie on this point - he is more than just that vessel. He is a major character, our protagonist, but he isn’t the only major character we play as.
> > > > So its more of a yes/no statement that lacks enough context to really understand the point of.
> > >
> > > I would say the character isn’t really a vessel for the player anymore, but rather we experience the majority of the story through playing as the protagonist. Like I said, it hurts even more when it’s your favorite character of all time, and one of the head honchos talks about them in a certain way. I really hope whoever is writing Halo 6 doesn’t feel this way, and gives him his personality and depth he deserves.
> >
> > Ehh I see your point. I hope the same. Master Chief is also one of my all time favorite characters. Aragorn happens to be my all time favorite male character, and to add Hermione Granger is my all time favorite female character.
>
> Awesome, Aragorn is a close second, with Princess Leia being my favorite female character ever.
This is pretty disappointing to hear. I thought that it would be a step in the right direction to explore Master Chief’s mental state (which I thought they were going to do in Halo 5). Reverting things back to just a soldier who barely talks… I understand the whole “we want you to feel like the protagonist” but Master Chief is more than just a vessel. They can’t take all that back now. He’s a realized character in the games and fiction. I don’t want him to get The Rookie treatment, or god forbid the Noble Six treatment.
I thought 343 was going to explore more of the Chief and I was excited about that. But, now I’m not so sure.
Also, unless they make the characters around him really likable, how are they supposed to deliver any emotion during the game if Chief is just treated as an avatar rather than a real character?
It’s a shame, too. Even in Halo: CE Master Chief had a fair bit of character(especially in his movements). All thanks to Microsoft, who sorta forced Bungie to do that.
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> It’s a shame, too. Even in Halo: CE Master Chief had a fair bit of character(especially in his movements). All thanks to Microsoft, who sorta forced Bungie to do that.
I’ve been reading The Flood, the novelization of Halo: CE, and we get some of John’s thoughts as well and he clearly is his own defined character. He struggles a bit with coping with Marines and people dying around him. There’s so much depth and potential there.
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> > It’s a shame, too. Even in Halo: CE Master Chief had a fair bit of character(especially in his movements). All thanks to Microsoft, who sorta forced Bungie to do that.
>
> I’ve been reading The Flood, the novelization of Halo: CE, and we get some of John’s thoughts as well and he clearly is his own defined character. He struggles a bit with coping with Marines and people dying around him. There’s so much depth and potential there.
I think you guys will find this article(and the subsequent ones) interesting.
I hope to god they dont just throw away the new side of chief they were showing us in Halo 4 and 5. I was glad that our big green brick was getting some character development for once.
