Okay. So we all know that 343 Industries just LOVES to churn out books for the Halo series (having published 26 novels so far with another 2 being expected next year).
I believe that, either through comic books/graphic novels or chapter novels/novellas, 343 should make a sub-series of Halo media that takes place in each Fractures alt-universe.
Think about it.
The whole “Fractures” thing is very much similar to Marvel’s “What If?” series.
Every Season of Halo Infinite is supposed to have a Fractures Armor Core with cosmetics that are unlocked through events and lore descriptions with said cosmetic options.
So far Fractures Entrenched presented a “community-vote-to-chose-your-own-adventure” mini-series to further flesh out the alt-universe that the Eaglestrike Armor Core is host to.
What if we went beyond that?
A series of books that are written by authors commissioned by 343 Industries to further expand and flesh-out the alt-universes of each Fracture?
Whether the series has only one book focusing on each universe or perhaps a trilogy of books, or even a comic series with assistance from Dark Horse Comics; this could be a great medium for players who are intrigued by these alternate timelines of Halo to delve into the alt-lore to have new compelling stories and allow for a deeper appreciation for each Fractures armor.
There is also the bonus caveat that comes with the fact that since each of these stories would be in their own self-contained universes and narratives.
Which means that for the authors that write these stories, they do not have to worry about making in-universe contradictions as they write the Fractures storyline because it is entirely new and fresh; disconnected from the main plot of Halo canon.
Arguably these books could be produced quickly and even by the 343 devs that came up and fleshed out the lore of each Fracture-verse, with the bonus being a literal bonus to their paycheck for when these hypothetical novels they produce making sales.
If 343 Industries were to do this to some extent, it would mean that this alt-universe series already has 9 potential universes to date that can be used for the settings.
Just call the collection of these alt-universe stories “Halo: Infinite Fractures” and we would have the following -
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Halo: Infinite Fractures - Demigod (Belos’ universe)
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Halo: Infinite Fractures - Roundtable (Blackguard’s universe)
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Halo: Infinite Fractures - Vikyngr (Drengr’s universe)
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Halo: Infinite Fractures - Tenrai (Yoroi’s universe)
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Halo: Infinite Fractures - Entrenched (Eaglestrike’s universe)
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Halo: Infinite Fractures - [INFINITE SEASON 3 FRACTURE EVENT]
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Halo: Infinite Fractures - Infestation (Biroid’s universe)
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Halo: Infinite Fractures - Megaframe (Trooper’s universe)
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Halo: Infinite Fractures - Machina (Panzerdoll’s universe)
I for one would absolutely enjoy the prospect of having a new and interesting remix of the narrative of Halo’s main story in these alt-storylines that, unlike the majority of Halo’s mainline canon novels, would be entirely optional stories that players can purchase and read.
Thoughts anyone?
No, i don’t why 343 is hooked on this multiverse stuff. i know it started in mcc but i just dont care for it. i rather have canon spartan armor take inspiration from old samurai, knight and roman armor than make up some stupid “what if” story.
2 Likes
It is an interesting solution to a problem that Halo 4 and Halo 5’s armor cosmetics had presented :
Inconsistent Art Styles
Spartans in Halo 4 and Halo 5 did not look like the Spartans of the first decade of Halo. Many of their designs were outlandish and strange while trying to be taken seriously.
Fractures allows for 343 to release armor designs that deviate from the main design norm WITHOUT messing with the main canon faction design philosophies.
Spartans in the main canon armor cores remain looking like Spartans.
Meanwhile if someone wants to unleash their inner weeb, they can don the Yoroi armor and still look amazing without it being part of the main established canon as a UNSC armor design.
It satisfies those that want diverse designs without angering the lore-heads such as myself.
Fractures are a win-win.
people need to get over it already, halo 4 and 5 happened, accept it.
Indeed they did happen.
The damage had been done.
But let’s keep this thread on target.
One advantage of having these proposed Fractures novels/comics is the fact that they are entirely optional reads.
Remember the original six novels of Halo?
They were not required to understand the wider narrative of Halo’s games because the stories of said games were self contained enough that you understood the narrative and the stakes present without requiring the read of the novels.
Sure, if you wanted to know what this “Reach” place was back in 2001, you could read the novel written by Eric Nylund to gain some deeper context.
But that wasn’t required to understand Halo CE’s plot because Reach was not involved in it, just being a name of the place that the Pillar of Autumn & crew fled from that led to the discovery of the ring.
Optional stories are great because it allows people who want to learn more to be able to learn more about what is presented before them, while others who desire to just focus on the games can just do so and then still enjoy the experience.
If a player is curious about the universe presented in a Fracture, I say “why not provide them satisfying and entertaining answers?”
At the very least, not a live action version. The Paramount Halo series is evidence enough of that as is.
If they were going to do something like that, they should be taking at least some cues from the Cyberpunk anime. Maybe take some cues from what worked and what didn’t work from Halo Legends. It would be curious to see how a Yoroi armored Spartan would interacted with a feudal-Japan, or an Eaglestrike with WWI.
With that being said, they really should just focus on making Halo Infinite the content complete, fully functioning game it should have been at launch. They still haven’t done that, so making an extra series would just be a distraction for them IMO.
2 Likes
A mini-series would be cool, but I’m surprised 343 hasn’t just started a novel run yet. They’re normally on top of that. Heck, I’m a writer, a Halo fan, and a WWI nerd, I’d have a field day with the Eaglestrike universe.
Fractures has alot of story potential. You don’t need to worry about being inconsistent with canon like with the over-bloated modern lore, and you don’t have thematic conflicts like what happened in the paramount show.
However all of this needs to be in addition to stuff shown in-game. The choose your own adventure style blogs were cool, but they weren’t provided in-game and lacked alot of context to make sense to us. We need something in-game for us to understand the new items, and something outside for those of us looking for more.
Please no…
Multiverse stuff just cheapens and complicates a universe like Halo. Lets just keep Halo pure.
How does an entirely optional set of short stories that take up only one book for each fracture universe cheapen the main narrative of Halo in any way?
Unlike the rest of 343’s novels, these hypothetical stories would be entirely optional purchases for those who are curious as to the stories that is alluded to in the the Fractures alt-canons. And since they do not have to worry about contradictions with the main established timeline of events, we can let the writers essentially go all out without much restriction.
It’s something that would appease the curiosities of those curious about the alt-lore presented in each Fracture without detracting the main narrative since these events do not cross-over into the main story of Halo.
We have already seen some major success come from the “vote-for-what-happens-next-week” story set in Fractures Entrenched. This is merely the logical next step.
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Honor of the Tenrai: A Halo Fractures Anthology - a set of stories for Yoroi armor’s universe
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Tales from the Entrenched Lines: A Halo Fractures Anthology - a set of stories for Eaglestrike armor’s universe
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Legends of Demigods: A Halo Fractures Anthology - a set of stories for Belos armor’s universe
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Fables Told at the Roundtable: A Halo Fractures Anthology - a set of stories for Blackguard armor’s universe
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Boasts of the Vykingr: A Halo Fractures Anthology - for the Drengr armor’s universe
And so forth and so on for all other Fractures alt-canons to be established in MCC and Halo Infinite.
And just like with Halo Evolutions, these would be just short stories that the writing staff, Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary alike can write themselves; with the bonus that they get to go ham on their creativity since they don’t have to worry about fact-checking the main lore of Halo and worry about making contradictory statements and plot-holes; since each book would be set entirely in an alt-canon with its own rules and backstory that is explored in the series of short stories.
This is a win-win idea.
Fast producing books that are not costly to write and publish.
Satiating the curiosity of those who are now wanting to have a peek into each of these Fractures.
It didn’t start with MCC, it started with Infinite and the Armor Core system; MCC’s fractures were largely a result of 343 trying to use that game as a way to promote Infinites launch
By what metric do you think the fractures story was successful? That was the most terribly written fan-fic I’ve ever seen.
Personally I love the Fracture Armor Cores and I await to see the New ones 343 has been cooking up behind closed doors, as for the OPs idea of a Fracture Event mini series sure it could work but as possibly a Anthology miniseries spin off from the Core Halo Games, Comics and Novels.
The amount of voters on Waypoint made it apparrent that people had interest.
I like the idea, I mean it would at least make sense out of the guy with samurai armore centuries out of date.
Also this can get the community involved with what the game has to offer in Fractures.
We could make our own stories with different art styles that the community can vote on every other season.
1 Like
interaction doesn’t necessarily imply approval, and 6400 votes on a clickbait thing they posted on twitter does not equate to major success for a franchise with the potential to engage millions.
It was on twitter too?
Still, it doesn’t change the fact that there are those interested in these little side-universes that 343 has put into play. We are curious about the finer details of these alt-canons and the strange questions they pose.
For example, one of the Tenrai short stories could be called “The Giant Who Reached For Victory” and tell the tale of Spartan Jorge’s arrival to the Tenrai universe, considering the fact that an armor coating alludes to his sudden arrival to Tenrai. It could make for an interesting small isekai story and confirm that Jorge did survive his slip-space kamikaze, all while not taking away from the narrative of Halo Reach since by all accounts, Jorge is pronounced “M.I.A.” due to his sacrifice and practically being dead in the eyes of everyone in the main canon universe.
A small story that doesn’t change anything of the main narrative, but asks an interesting question while providing an entertaining answer -
“What if Jorge survived the slip-space bubble? How would he react or fit in among the samurai of the Imperial Tenrai Court? Will he find peace in this alternate reality as he saves this alternate-version of Reach from falling?”
Sounds to me like a pretty fun narrative if you ask me.