What would be the optimal balance between story/character development in halo 4, and free-form fighting? Personally, I want to see more character development happening in the game, so that the MC isn’t so one-dimensional a character (in-game, I know he’s been developed in the books). But on the other hand, it wouldn’t be a very good game if they make us watch a movie in between every 5 minutes of gameplay. What are your thoughts, guys?
Just make a solidly awesome story without requiring Metal-Gear-5-hour-long-megamovie-MichaelBay-worthy-cutscenes, and make great gameplay to go with it.
Simple. 
> Just make a solidly awesome story without requiring Metal-Gear-5-hour-long-megamovie-MichaelBay-worthy-cutscenes, and make great gameplay to go with it.
>
> Simple.
lol. Tbh, I haven’t played metal gear solid, but I wouldn’t mind slightly longer cut scenes, personally. I have always felt the story is rushed, especially in halo reach. You barely get to know the characters before it’s over. I’ve seen 2 minute videos on youtube that do a better job of establishing character development than halo reach. xD
Some MGS cutscenes are excruciatingly long. I wouldn’t mind longer cutscenes, but they really shouldn’t be longer than at most 2 minutes (except for opening or closing cutscenes).
Reach’s story wasn’t just rushed, it was just kind of poorly cobbled together, really. Individually, the cutscenes themselves were pretty good and actually very well-composed, but they didn’t fit into the big picture very well.
A good balance always does a game justice. Halo 2 had it right. Beautiful and engaging cinematic cutscenes and lots of fantastic and fun gameplay!
> A good balance always does a game justice. Halo 2 had it right. Beautiful and engaging cinematic cutscenes and lots of fantastic and fun gameplay!
Yup. I agree with that much. Halo 2’s cutscene-to-gameplay ratio was pretty well done. The only problem I have is that the general quality of both the gameplay and the cutscenes steadily declined as the game went on through the later levels. 
> A good balance always does a game justice. Halo 2 had it right. Beautiful and engaging cinematic cutscenes and lots of fantastic and fun gameplay!
I actually dislike halo 2’s story overall. It was upsetting to me that I found myself back on a halo ready to be blown up again, felt like backtracking. As to the actual length of the cutscenes, I thought they were appropriately long. Again, though, it felt like in most of the scenes, they ended up talking about stuff that doesn’t really matter, no real development that I cared about.
Sometimes, I almost think it would be cool if halo went a little bit into rpg territory, although I’m sure that some fans of pure shooters would be upset. I thought ODST honestly had the best, tightest story. A lot got done in the game, even considering that it was short.
A movie in between every 5 minutes of gameplay? No thanks I already beat all the Metal Gear Solid games and got my fill of cut scenes.
> Some MGS cutscenes are excruciatingly long. I wouldn’t mind longer cutscenes, but they really shouldn’t be longer than at most 2 minutes (except for opening or closing cutscenes).
>
> Reach’s story wasn’t just rushed, it was just kind of poorly cobbled together, really. Individually, the cutscenes themselves were pretty good and actually very well-composed, but they didn’t fit into the big picture very well.
How do you think the story might have been pieced together more effectively, given the same amount of cutscene time?
> > Some MGS cutscenes are excruciatingly long. I wouldn’t mind longer cutscenes, but they really shouldn’t be longer than at most 2 minutes (except for opening or closing cutscenes).
> >
> > Reach’s story wasn’t just rushed, it was just kind of poorly cobbled together, really. Individually, the cutscenes themselves were pretty good and actually very well-composed, but they didn’t fit into the big picture very well.
>
> How do you think the story might have been pieced together more effectively, given the same amount of cutscene time?
I would have re-written the story to give the player more of a real, overarching goal. Most of the cutscenes were isolated and specific to nothing more than the current mission at hand… Briefing ==> Here’s what to do ==> Here’s a tiny nibble of (usually insignificant) plot ==> PLAY!
None of them related to the big picture or to a centralized overarching plot very much until toward the end, when Halsey kidnaps them all and gives you the BIG REVEAL that THIS is what you’re really fighting for. You get hints of it in previous levels, but nothing very specific.
Contrast that to Halo CE, which is a bit like Reach in the beginning in that cutscenes are a bit mission-specific at times, but then the story VERY quickly transitions into having a centralized goal after the first few levels. Then that goal gets very smoothly altered over time, as events unfold. This centralization of an overarching goal doesn’t happen in Reach until the second to last level, which is kind of pathetic, to be honest. It doesn’t allow for much plot development at all, like Halo CE did.
Again though, the individual cutscenes themselves were beautifully done.
Very Good Gameplay with Very Good Story obviously
I read or heard something somewhere (and this is about the 1D comment by the OP) that in-game John’ll be doing a lot more speaking. You can see it in the LA/Campaign trailer, he does speak more then he ever has. In fact, I don’t recall him speaking at any point during the time you have full control of him. Sans a grunt here and a moan there.
So, I assume, by allowing Chief to speak, they’re going to enhance the personality of said SPARTAN.
I for one, am not excited for a blabbermouth John. Hell I was disappointed about how much he spoke as a Firefight voice in Reach.
> A good balance always does a game justice. Halo 2 had it right. Beautiful and engaging cinematic cutscenes and lots of fantastic and fun gameplay!
Halo 2’s Campaign: Quantity=Quality
> I read or heard something somewhere (and this is about the 1D comment by the OP) that in-game John’ll be doing a lot more speaking. You can see it in the LA/Campaign trailer, he does speak more then he ever has. In fact, I don’t recall him speaking at any point during the time you have full control of him. Sans a grunt here and a moan there.
>
> So, I assume, by allowing Chief to speak, they’re going to enhance the personality of said SPARTAN.
>
> I for one, am not excited for a blabbermouth John. Hell I was disappointed about how much he spoke as a Firefight voice in Reach.
I dunno if he needs to be a “blabbermouth”. I think in a way, it goes against his character. But I’m sure they can make him evolve without having him suddenly start giving 5 minute speeches.
> > A good balance always does a game justice. Halo 2 had it right. Beautiful and engaging cinematic cutscenes and lots of fantastic and fun gameplay!
>
> Halo 2’s Campaign: Quantity=Quality
What do you mean by that exactly?