The Feel and Tone of Halo 4

Games Other Halo
1

By the tone, I mean do you want super-serious Reach, or less serious Halo 3? I see some people bag on Halo 3 because it is a “rainbow” or they use “bad humor.” To me, I’d rather have the fun, laid back feel. Games nowadays are too serious. Games are getting TOO realistic. There are barely any bright colors or (attempts of) humor. You can’t say that you don’t like Halo having bright colors, it’s appealing to the eye and it’s what Halo is. What makes being on a Halo ring look good? Colors. The lush green grass, the bright blue skies, and the red, gold, purple and blue Elites that you are fighting against.

I think that as gamers we need to remember what we play video games for: FUN. I grew up playing games like Banjo-Kazooie, Zelda, and or course Halo. I’m not saying Halo should turn into a silly goofy experience, but lets lighten up a little bit! There was nothing better than seeing a Covie patrol in Halo 3, sniping the Brute leader, and hearing the Grunts scatter screaming “Run for your lives!” Halo 2 had a darker tone than CE, but we still had our colorful Elites and a couple very awesome looking levels.

This is a sci-fi game we’re talking about. I want to do things that I can’t do in real life. I want to see the many colors of the universe. Trash realism to a certain extend, and bring the fun and visual flair back to video games.

2

I would like a mix of both gritty and sunny. I dont see why sometime it can be really tense and dark. While other time have you strolling though the brush looking at the beatifull landscape.

3

I will everytime prefer the Halo 3 graphic style above the Reach graphic style no matter what. A game is supposed to be unrealistic. For example high jumps and fast movement provides fun in a game. The same argument you can say about graphics. The more they are unrealistic, the better they are.

4

I liked the humor and bright colors of Halo 3. Really brightened up the mood and made it fun to play.

5

Much agreed, fellows. Halo has always been about art style, not looking realistic. When I peer over a cliff, I don’t want to see something so realistic that I could look out my window and see it. I want to see something amazing and sci-fi. Something different.

6

I much prefered the style of Halo 3. Want it to be colourful with a bit of humour in it, like you said the reactions of grunts in Halo 3 but not goofy. Also I think the feeling of the mysterious is what made the Halo series so enjoyable.

7

> I would like a mix of both gritty and sunny. I dont see why sometime it can be really tense and dark. While other time have you strolling though the brush looking at the beatifull landscape.

This, you can be in some sunny and beautiful landscapes where you have no problem moving, but there could also be some gritty struggle for survival scenarios like trying to escape the exploding UNSC frigate, or moving through a Flood infested cavern. (Another level like Cortana anyone?)

8

> This, you can be in some sunny and beautiful landscapes where you have no problem moving, but there could also be some gritty struggle for survival scenarios like trying to escape the exploding UNSC frigate, or moving through a Flood infested cavern. (Another level like Cortana anyone?)

Much agreed, and yes to another Cortana-type level!

9

I just want it to look “good”, if you know what I mean.

10

Wasn’t there a rumor that 343 was taking purple out of the game?

Anyway, I want Halo 4 to reinvent itself in terms of art, presentation, and gameplay. Somewhat like how Bioshock Infinite is still very much Bioshock, but it has also evolved and morphed into something greater.

-Stronger cast of characters with greater depth and complexity. So far most Halo game characters have been gung-ho, I would like to see some vulnerable and imperfect personalities.
-An art style that is most definately Halo, but not Halo exactly as we know it now.
-Visceral and immersive presentation.
-Lighthearted dialogue and witty banter.

I’m not saying Halo has to change drastically, but it needs a facelift and different creative process. That’s why I believe changing developers is the best thing that could of happened to Halo.

11

> Wasn’t there a rumor that 343 was taking purple out of the game?
>
> Anyway, I want Halo 4 to reinvent itself in terms of art, presentation, and gameplay. Somewhat like how Bioshock Infinite is still very much Bioshock, but it has also evolved and morphed into something greater.
>
>
> -Stronger cast of characters with greater depth and complexity. So far most Halo game characters have been gung-ho, I would like to see some vulnerable and imperfect personalities.
> -An art style that is most definately Halo, but not Halo exactly as we know it now.
> -Visceral and immersive presentation.
> -Lighthearted dialogue and witty banter.
>
> I’m not saying Halo has to change drastically, but it needs a facelift and different creative process. That’s why I believe changing developers is the best thing that could of happened to Halo.

I agree, If we didnt have these extra comics, books ect. There wouldnt be much dept to the universe.
Bungie tried to add emotional dept to the noble team, but it never came out right.
I hope this series will have a more indept story where I cant look away.

12

Halo is Halo.

Sometimes it is happy, not because of it’s bright colors, or it’s humor.

In Reach they tried to make a feeling of desperation and one final fight, they tried to make it feel like all hope was lost on this beautiful planet.

in halo 1, it was pretty generic, but when bungie realized their potential, they strapped on their seatbelts and made it extremely epic in Halo 2. Halo 2 wasn’t very happy-cheery if you ask me, it had its moments, but those level designers nailed it on the flood levels, a feeling of not belonging, and a feeling of being overwhelmed. If you played the ending of Halo 2 it wasn’t very bright or cheery, it was just a feeling of epicness and the feeling of a spartan stepping into battle to finish the fight.

In Halo 3, missions like the Ark displayed a very epic happy feeling, not because the players were happy, but because of the happy yellow sand, and the feeling of epicness and hope.

Even in the last mission, it was happy because the fight was about to be finished, there was definately hope.

13

I’d rather not have exactly the same colours as Halo 3. Halo 3 in all honesty gave me a headache. Too bright. Had to keep fiddling with my TV settings to get everything right. Not to mention that the Spartan armour looked like clay.

In Reach, the colours are just fine. It has more colour than your typical next gen game, but as a little bit of grit and grey to support the feel that Reach is going to be destroyed, and there is no hope. Plus I don’t have to keep picking up that damn TV remote lol.

Also, with the humour thing, I’d rather Halo 4 go halfway with the humour. I don’t want cringe-worthy lines put into the game made by the humans “TO WAR.” “Son of a gun!” -.-

Grunts, hell yes. We need that sort of humour back, because they were actually funny. I didn’t facepalm at those. But keep your cheesy lines to yourself, 343i.

14

I guess I’m in an interesting spot on this one. In my video games, particularly in my first-person-shooters, I want the action is those games to be gritty and visceral. In Halo I would like to feel like a seven-and-a-half-foot tall, half-ton death-hose. But the action in the games is actually where Halo is farthest from me. In Halo, I never feel like I look or act like a particularly well-trained seven-and-a-half-foot tall, half-ton death-hose.

The tactical essence I get from other shooters, that I feel the Master Chief would have, doesn’t seem present. I feel like it’s something more akin to a group of mascots paintballing. and I realize that sounds worse than I want it to, but it’s the only thing I can really think of, and don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love playing all of the Halo games, it’s a wonderful break from the norm, but I’m getting into gameplay preference now.

Playing a game I want to be able to lose myself in it. I want to be able to see where my Spartan would carry his rifle, his sidearm, his ammo and all his important gear. That’s where I want my gritty realism. maybe that’s weird.

But that’s where it ends. The rest of Halo I would never have changed. The proud, exotic alien-ness of the Covenant is fantastic, the vast, sweeping unbelievability(notaword) of the ships and the architecture and the worlds, that magnificence draws me in.

The combination of these two would be my ideal for Halo.

As for the emotional tone, I believe that, just like real life, there is certainly a place for both kinds. It is science fiction. We are big green guys stomping around the galaxy putting the smackdown on little methane-sucking monkeys with squeeky voices and bad English. Humans (especially Marines) will always find the gallows humor in even the darkest times.
But by the same token we are still pitched in what seems to be a hopeless war with a universe full of secrets and two unstoppable enemies pressing in on us. It’s dark, with always a touch of light.

However, that’s just me, and as we all know, I’m kind of a weirdo.

-IV

15

Reach had a dark feel because it was the downfall of reach which is not “Happy and funny” its depressing and serious, thats why reach was like that. I dont know if halo 4 is going to have a depressing story… i doubt it but its always a possibility

16

> Reach had a dark feel because it was the downfall of reach which is not “Happy and funny” its depressing and serious, thats why reach was like that. I dont know if halo 4 is going to have a depressing story… i doubt it but its always a possibility

IDK I would be depressed if I was chief. Stuck on this object with Cortana. NO one knows where I am. The would get very lonely, very fast.

17

I want the new trilogy to be really profound and serious. If you’re going to make another trilogy, I’d like it to be a different experience.

18

I miss the shiny, pretty, happy look and the bounciness and speed of Master Chief :’(

19

> > Reach had a dark feel because it was the downfall of reach which is not “Happy and funny” its depressing and serious, thats why reach was like that. I dont know if halo 4 is going to have a depressing story… i doubt it but its always a possibility
>
> IDK I would be depressed if I was chief. Stuck on this object with Cortana. NO one knows where I am. The would get very lonely, very fast.

You’re in cryo, you can’t be lonely because technically, you’re not thinking.

20

Bungie did a poor job of making the Fall of Reach feel like the Fall of Reach. I never felt like I couldn’t win this fight. The campaign was just mowing down fields of Covies, then somebody dying in a cutscene. I know the grittier serious feel went with the theme of Reach, but it could have been executed better. Also, depressing doesn’t mean make everything grey and brown. Yes, you can use darker colors to display hopelessness, but use COLORS. Dark purple, blue, even red or white. If used in the right context, any color or environment can show depression. It didn’t have to be limited to grey and brown landscapes.

Halo 3 was not overly colorful. In my opinion it had the same amount of color as any other game in the Halo series, but with next gen technologies the metals shined, and many other things popped out more. We’re not talking about a bright cyan shirt from Hollister, so colors “hurting eyes” is a great exaggeration.

But on topic, this is a thread about what Halo 4 should be. Assuming we’ll be entering a Forerunner shield world, this is a chance to bring back the wonder of CE all over again. The Halos are lined with beautiful landscapes, so I’m expecting another eye popping Forerunner structure.