Listen guys, I know you want Halo 4 info, and I know people hate these reaction threads but I think it’s time someone looked to the past to see how the releative lack of information compares and contrasts.
Halo 4 was announced on June 6 last year. We saw a single, pre-rendered CGI trailer. Our next look at the game came through the concept art glimpse at PAX Prime during the last days of August 2011. Other than some hints to Halo 4’s story, we have received no more information. All we have is two videos, not in engine, one CGI, one a series of paintings. Doesn’t seem like much huh?
Rewind to 2009. We know Halo 3 ODST is on its way. We know there’ll be a demo of the game on June 1st at E3. What we didn’t know was that we would also get our first look at Halo: Reach. The 1 minute 19 second trailer didn’t give us much to work with. We saw Reach, we saw explosions, we saw a damaged ship (that at the time many though could be the FUD) and we heard the early voices of who we would eventually come to know as Kat and Carter. At the time we merely heard that they were Spartans, they had unusually high service numbers and one of them was referred to as Noble 1. That’s it.
Our next look at the game wouldn’t be for approximately 5 months. The VGA trailer was a shortened version of the game’s opening cutscene and had a number of differences to the final version. This was our first look at the graphics, the style and the characters. After 5 months we had some names. Since then there was a steady trickle of information. A number of hints in weekly updates and the occasional ViDoc. It should be noted that the presentation of this information has been credited by some as creating unrealistic expectations. The lack of precise detail left a number of things open to interpretation.
Halo 4’s second video has come sooner than Reach’s but it didn’t take quite so long for us to see actual footage of Reach as it is for Halo 4. What about Halo 3 then?
Halo 3 was announced on May 9 2006. The announcement trailer showed us the wreckage of the space tether strewn across an arid landscape and a slow build up with unmistakably Halo music lead to the reveal of the Master Chief. Cortana flashed up on the screen spouting a few lines, offering the first hint to her corruption by the gravemind. Covenant ships appeared overhead and a massive Forerunner structure opened with a flash of light and an ominous message from Cortana. All in all the trailer shares quite a few parallels with the Halo 4 trailer.
Alongside this trailer Bungie revealed a 7 minute video titled In The Beginning. The video was a recap of the story so far ending with the announcement trailer. It revealed no new information. Indeed new information wouldn’t be seen until the end of that year.
In early December the trailer known as Starry Night was revealed to America during the football. The trailer gave us early looks at the Mongoose, Bubble Shield (though somewhat different to the one seen in the game) and the Brutes. it wasn’t the most enlightening video ever but it was exciting. Between Starry Night’s reveal and the year’s end the first ViDoc was released. Et Tu Brute? was our first real look at not only the Brutes but much of the game itself. The glimpses we had in the ViDoc were of mostly early work resulting in something that had a number of differences from the final game.
Halo 3 left us waiting more than 7 months for our next look at the game. 7! If you don’t count the concept art glimpse then we’re only now reaching that amount of time since Halo 4’s reveal. What’s happening now is nothing new. Think about the two videos we’ve seen for Halo 4. One is Pre-rendered CGI, one is concept art. Neither truly depict the game. It’s likely that 343 have been trying to avoid something that happened with both Halo 3 and Reach. They are likely avoiding showing us stuff that may not make the cut. Why? They don’t want us disappointed. Think of the lead up to Halo 3 and Reach. We saw many changes, changes that disappointed many. This supposedly lengthy amount of time with no information is anything but. Indeed, we have already seen more of Halo 4 thanks to the concept art glimpse than we had of Halo 3 it’s equal point in time. Be patient and please be thankful that we’ve seen as much as we have. We’d all like new information but what 343 seems to be doing is good.
> It’s likely that 343 have been trying to avoid something that happened with both Halo 3 and Reach. They are likely avoiding showing us stuff that may not make the cut. Why? They don’t want us disappointed. Think of the lead up to Halo 3 and Reach. We saw many changes, changes that disappointed many. This supposedly lengthy amount of time with no information is anything but. Indeed, we have already seen more of Halo 4 thanks to the concept art glimpse than we had of Halo 3 it’s equal point in time. Be patient and please be thankful that we’ve seen as much as we have. We’d all like new information but what 343 seems to be doing is good.
Good post. I think the bottom line is that people just need to be patient a little while longer, because if you’re an actual Halo fan you should be used to waiting by now. And although 343 isn’t Bungie, seeing 343 treat the Halo franchise and its fans with the same respect is both extremely assuring and pleasantly familiar.
Besides, it feels like we’re in the calm before the storm… It probably won’t be long before our hunger for new information is satiated once again.
> > It’s likely that 343 have been trying to avoid something that happened with both Halo 3 and Reach. They are likely avoiding showing us stuff that may not make the cut. Why? They don’t want us disappointed. Think of the lead up to Halo 3 and Reach. We saw many changes, changes that disappointed many. This supposedly lengthy amount of time with no information is anything but. Indeed, we have already seen more of Halo 4 thanks to the concept art glimpse than we had of Halo 3 it’s equal point in time. Be patient and please be thankful that we’ve seen as much as we have. We’d all like new information but what 343 seems to be doing is good.
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> you have a good point
they may not put something in a game that dissapoints us but you know what. it gave use ideas. Halo 1 was suppose to have engineers but it wasnt til ODST we got to see em without modding it in. and they served great in reach, really pissed me off on legendary.
I completely agree eben. I would rather wait a few months and have my mind blown, than have a trailer sloppily thrown together making the game look bad because of community demand.
I do agree with this, but all in all, Halo is on the verge of collapse. Meaning if Halo 4 blows then well… Halo’s kind of dead; and I hope Microsoft realizes this. When the marketing campaign does drop, I hope we see some of the best game trailers of all time. Halo 3 sure did it right, I sure hope Halo 4 does too.
I don’t understand why people can’t wait. It’s not like you’re gonna die. Also, did you see how fast it went when Halo 4 was announced half a year ago at E3 2011? Really fast! E3 2012 is only 5 more months away, that’s less than half a year ALREADY!
People, time goes fast. Before you know it it’s E3 again (June 5th 2012) and after that Halo 4 will be out in 5 or 6 months already.
So wait 5 more months for some information on Halo 4 at E3 2012. And then wait 5 or 6 more months for Halo 4.
> I don’t understand why people can’t wait. It’s not like you’re gonna die. Also, did you see how fast it went when Halo 4 was announced half a year ago at E3 2011? Really fast! E3 2012 is only 5 more months away, that’s less than half a year ALREADY!
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> People, time goes fast. Before you know it it’s E3 again (June 5th 2012) and after that Halo 4 will be out in 5 or 6 months already.
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> So wait 5 more months for some information on Halo 4 at E3 2012. And then wait 5 or 6 more months for Halo 4.
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If you know anything about anything you would know that we are going to have loads of info and a trailer or so drop before E3. You sound stupid when you say things like this.
Did you guys know that Halo Waypoint’s forums views sky rocketed around the time of the VGA’s because people were expecting a Halo 4 Trailer at VGA. It’s a pitty really, but there is no doubt that the lack of information isn’t keeping people close. They need to do something about it as soon as possible.
If I was working in that company I would work till my bones started to shake, that’s how dedicated they should be if they are going to make Halo 4. Don’t just make it another Halo, make it the Halo to beat and do that with every sequel.
Although they picked a very good year for FPS, there isn’t much competition that I’m aware of to go head to head with Halo 4.
> > I don’t understand why people can’t wait. It’s not like you’re gonna die. Also, did you see how fast it went when Halo 4 was announced half a year ago at E3 2011? Really fast! E3 2012 is only 5 more months away, that’s less than half a year ALREADY!
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> >
> > People, time goes fast. Before you know it it’s E3 again (June 5th 2012) and after that Halo 4 will be out in 5 or 6 months already.
> >
> > So wait 5 more months for some information on Halo 4 at E3 2012. And then wait 5 or 6 more months for Halo 4.
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> If you know anything about anything you would know that we are going to have loads of info and a trailer or so drop before E3. You sound stupid when you say things like this.
How are you so sure of that? How can you know when 343I gives us info on Halo 4? Sure there are some game conferences before E3 but who says Frank O conner will show us Halo 4?
And even if 343I does it probably wouldn’t be too much. Expect the most info at E3. And that’s 5 more months away. Won’t be that long because time goes fast. I mean just look at it! It feels like a week ago that E3 2011 ended, but we’re already the 7th of January in 2012.
Ah, the Reach E3 trailer… It showed so little info on the game I lost interest after I was done watching it and was more excited for ODST. Anyways, 343i does seem to be cautious than Bungie when releasing new info about Halo 4.
> Rewind to 2The 1 minute 19 second trailer didn’t give us much to work with. We saw Reach, we saw explosions, we saw a damaged ship (that at the time many though could be the FUD)
> > Rewind to 2The 1 minute 19 second trailer didn’t give us much to work with. We saw Reach, we saw explosions, we saw a damaged ship (that at the time many though could be the FUD)
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> How could the “damaged” ship be FUD?
Didn’t some people speculate that Master Chief went back in time at the end of Halo 3 and that we would follow him fight at Reach again in Halo: Reach?
The thing is, with Halo 3 and Reach we had a bunch of info and screen shots in the weekly updates in between the bigger things like trailers and vidocs. All we’ve had is a few tiny little hints through interviews and the podcasts.
> They are likely avoiding showing us stuff that may not make the cut. Why? They don’t want us disappointed. Think of the lead up to Halo 3 and Reach. We saw many changes, changes that disappointed many.
This is a very good point, so I really hope it’s true ^^
> > > Rewind to 2The 1 minute 19 second trailer didn’t give us much to work with. We saw Reach, we saw explosions, we saw a damaged ship (that at the time many though could be the FUD)
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> > How could the “damaged” ship be FUD?
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> Didn’t some people speculate that Master Chief went back in time at the end of Halo 3 and that we would follow him fight at Reach again in Halo: Reach?
Yep. That was something that dragged on for ages. Even after they revealed the story there were people who thought that Six was the MC.
> The thing is, with Halo 3 and Reach we had a bunch of info and screen shots in the weekly updates in between the bigger things like trailers and vidocs. All we’ve had is a few tiny little hints through interviews and the podcasts.
Those didn’t come until later. In fact we’re only just now getting to the equal time point were those kinds of things started happening for Halo 3.
> Ah, the Reach E3 trailer… It showed so little info on the game I lost interest after I was done watching it and was more excited for ODST. Anyways, 343i does seem to be cautious than Bungie when releasing new info about Halo 4.
Makes sense that they’d be cautious, it’s their first full game. They don’t want to give unrealistic expectations and have it come back to bite them when the game releases.
I understand that it’s early, but I would like to see an in-game screenshot soon. I would honestly be pleased with any information about the game at all or even a set time period for when to be expecting information. Things such as “‘X’ is running beautifully at this point,” or “‘So-and-so’ was cut the other day.” I love seeing early builds of the game and watching it evolve.
To some, seeing things early and having them cut leads to disappointment. I, however, have always been interested the most in the game’s early stages and hearing about these old ideas and seeing them in action or having it play out in my head. The only time I have been disappointed after hearing information about a game and then seeing the final product was Reach.
Again, I know it’s still early in the year and that we are not entitled to having these things, but anything at all in the near future would be appreciated.
