I think that an open world Mass-Effect-style halo game would be amazing. It would take a backseat to the regular games and it wouldn’t have to be canon but I think that if you got to play as a random former Spartan IV maybe who became a mercenary or something and roamed the galaxy kicking butt that would be a fun game. Or at least a game that I would play. I thought of this because Halo has always had such a vast universe but the campaign tends to be fairly linear and short so you don’t get to explore it very much. That’s not to say I haven’t loved every games campaign I just feel like you don’t get much story from just the campaigns.
No.
> That’s not to say I haven’t loved every games campaign I just feel like you don’t get much story from just the campaigns.
Indeed not, which is a shame considering the narrative was one of CE’s most striking elements. You’ll see those who say “Halo has lost its way! 343 go back to form!” and honestly I couldn’t imagine a better way of doing that than this. Refocus on the campaign and do something to renovate this game’s story telling mechanics considering that, well, we’ve all seen it done better in other games. And if we can get away from the UNSC (which I will argue is the most boring organization yet created for sci-fi. Futurama’s Neutral Planet had more depth and personality) all the better.
Rogue Spartan pirates?
Sounds cool, but doesn’t really fit with the universe.
If a game was based around a team or squad, like Kilo Five, then this has some potential, as they tackled all manor of problems and missions alike. On different planets against different factions.
As for a standard spartan or marine, this idea simply wouldn’t fit.
It would fit with the universe. The Spartan IV’s are regular soldiers who volunteered to become Spartans unlike Master Chief and the Spartan II’s and III’s. That means at some point a Spartan IV will leave the military and reenter civilian life and have to get another job if they didn’t retire from the military. Now they couldn’t keep the armor or weapons but they would still have their training and body augmentations which would make them very valuable to bodyguard and mercenary services. It would be similar to today’s mercenaries who usually start out in some kind of military training before they go into the private sector. It would also open up the opportunity to see a little of civilian life which is almost completely missing from the games although the books cover it a little better.
That would be more believable if personal space travel was as wide-spread as it is in, say, Star Wars. However, the Halo universe doesn’t see very many people with their own personal spaceships slipspace-jumping around the galaxy, much less former military personnel. It wouldn’t fit.
You’re best bet would be following the Infinity and the IVs in the days before the First Requiem Campaign. Plenty of material there.
Be interesting to see a game like this in The Rubble.
I didn’t consider the space travel angle but your probably right. The main thing though is the open world free roam Halo game. I was just trying to think of some kind of backstory for it. I would appreciate it if you guys could help me brainstorm story ideas because I know I’m not the best story writer.
> I didn’t consider the space travel angle but your probably right. The main thing though is the open world free roam Halo game. I was just trying to think of some kind of backstory for it. I would appreciate it if you guys could help me brainstorm story ideas because I know I’m not the best story writer.
Well, there are Covenant refugees living in Rio de Janeiro, you could have Spartan-IVs patrolling both human and Covenant areas. Uncover secret Insurrectionist cells, topple black market Covenant weapon trading, busting the shipping of drugs, you name it. ODST showed that a Halo open-world, well okay relatively open in ODSTs case, could work.
I don’t know if rogue spartan pirates would be a good idea. However having an open world game could work provided it followed along the same path as Mass Effect. Have Infinity roam around the galaxy, evading the covenant, landing on worlds and exploring.
The only problem is that Destiny is already doing this, so how do you set yourself apart from them all over again?
Although as far as space travel is concerned it wouldn’t have to be canon considering that it would be a pretty small part. Pretty much all of the books have at least a couple small non-canon pieces.
I never said rogue and I never said pirate. Many mercenary groups tend to work hand-in-hand with governments.
> Although as far as space travel is concerned it wouldn’t have to be canon considering that it would be a pretty small part. <mark>Pretty much all of the books have at least a couple small non-canon pieces.</mark>
Not really. The only thing close to that is old details, like the Elites only coming into the war in 2552, get retconned.
Personally, I would have to say no. It wouldn’t really fit the game.
> Personally, I would have to say no. It wouldn’t really fit the game.
Which one?The FPS, the RTS, or the TDS?
> > Personally, I would have to say no. It wouldn’t really fit the game.
>
> Which one?The FPS, the RTS, or the TDS?
This sort of changed my mind. Alternative-genre Halo games can work, definitely. But as for the actual setting and premise being suggested in the OP, no, that doesn’t really make any sense. The closest thing to a Halo “RPG” that could work is something along the lines of partially-open games like ODST and Deus Ex - they’re semi-linear with hub areas. As I recall, they even wanted the Infinity to act as a hub area in Halo 4. Full on TES and Mass Effect, though, is out of the question.
Destiny awaits.
I wish more people thought like you do. Too many people throw out potentially interesting ideas but try to stuff them in the main series.
Halo is a franchise and there is no need to try and satisfy every possible style in the core series.
Spin-offs FTW.
As for the idea specifically, I would lean towards a sort of drifter fleet made up of several species. Humans from the Outer Colonies abandoned by the UNSC(which may include but not be limited to Innies), Jackals(Skirmishers included) looking for ripe trade and piracy opportunities, the odd disenfranchised Elite and/or(mostly or) Brute, maybe even run into an Engineer along the way.
I would like to see ‘neutral’ and everyday ‘people’ of the Halo universe and how they try to get by sandwiched between a morally ambiguous Government, religious fanatics, rebel factions, and who knows maybe even a universe devouring parasite.
> > Personally, I would have to say no. It wouldn’t really fit the game.
>
> Which one?The FPS, the RTS, or the TDS?
Oh sorry guys. I knew I forgot something, but Halo should remain as FPS.