After countless weeks of pouring through these forums I have found why there are so many people bickering. I found these three key conflicts.
Old vs. New
This is pretty simple to understand. There is a group of people that want the games to stay similar to the Halo 2 days, and a group that wants it to be modernized and change. 343 is having this too. They’re struggling, and Halo 4 was a product of that struggle. They want more than anything to please the old fans that love the series with all their heart and that grew up with it, but at the same time they know how business works. A brand can only stay valid so long if it keeps the same way, but if it changes and adjusts it will bring in new people to have it stay valid. The older fans could only keep it afloat for a time, but after that, a new generation must be brought in. This is one of the hardest things to do, and that’s why Halo 4 was so strange.
"Evolution" vs. "Adding to the Existing Basis"
Both of these arguments are valid. Halo itself should evolve because it shouldn’t become stale like COD, so anything different will do. But at the same time keeping the same exact base and adding a few things that add to the game is good to keep the series with it’s original feel, but some additions will not make the game series have its identity anymore. 343 struggles with this as well. How does one change a series? Do you evolve it just to keep it fresh and not stale, or are some innovations detrimental to the original vision of the series? Again, how to please the old who want a non-stale product but gameplay that is similar, or the new who want a non-stale product but is just different, and doesn’t care how its done. Both of these perspectives are very valid, and it all goes down to personal preference.
Competitive vs. Fun
This itself is never actually spoken about directly. No one actually says really “I just want a fun game, and competitivity is meaningless” or “Competitivity is the only way to go because this is a win or lose game” yada yada. But this is in my opinion the core of everything that’s going on. Competitivity can be fun, and fun can be competitive, but at the same time is it possible for them to coexist? Can you have a fun and casual game and a competitive and skill-oriented game? Is this possible? Well…yes it is, but it is very difficult. There are people that are casual and just love having a good time, while there’s people who want to have a fight to the death skillful best player wins all game. 343 is trying to please both of these types of players. One goes “awesome more things to do” when sprint and spartan abilities are added, but the other goes “horrible features, they take away skill.” 343 doesn’t have experience in going about this, and by itself the job of merging these two ideals is as hard as it is, but when you mix it with a fervent and passionate fanbase, it’s a recipe of disaster. The fun players don’t want a game which is two skill-oriented which makes them need to do work to start enjoying yourself, and the skill players don’t want a game which is completely unbalanced and ruins skillful fights so they don’t have to work to enjoy themselves. Then like a bad fungus the old vs. new argument comes back. The majority of the old liked past Halo because it was competitive and want to keep it that way, but the majority of the new like the new and improved Halo for a new generation that has modern features. I almost sympathize with 343 because they have this burden.
Overall, I think we should start appreciating each other for our differences and not our similarities. If you like being competitive, good for you, that’s a cool thing to do. If you like casual fun and a good time, good for you too, having fun is awesome. If you do not like the direction 343 is going, the simple thing is to just walk away from future titles. Ignore them, and don’t buy them. You may have your dissatisfaction, but purposefully trying to rub it in people’s faces who like the game when you aren’t going to buy it anyway is just uncool. Free speech is allowed, but saying your speech in a manner to convert others who don’t agree with you is not that cool. Let them have their thoughts, and you have yours. If you are not going with the series anymore, you really shouldn’t be here. Leave them to their joy, coming in and saying they’re stupid because of their joy is just being a jerk. Be civil, be nice, and that’s what the Halo community should be.