Yeet.
Unfortunately Microsoft ultimately dictates the direction and quality of Halo Infinite. Just like past Halo’s. H5G’s story was the way it was because Phil Spencer would not give them anymore time after the late development rewrite, so that’s why we got the poor story we got in H5G.
As far as the MP goes, Microsoft says the lot boxes stay, but not intrusive then we will again see shrunken modes like we did in H5G in comparison to Halo 3. Big Team Battle is gone. Smaller “Arena” modes that lack the fun of Halo 3’s MP. And again, RANDOM armor drops in loot boxes. It’s just poorly implemented. I don’t feel any attachment to my character because I didn’t EARN the armor.
But short attention span theatre and loot boxes are all the craze for the little kids these days.
> 2533274806679134;2:
> Unfortunately Microsoft ultimately dictates the direction and quality of Halo Infinite. Just like past Halo’s. H5G’s story was the way it was because Phil Spencer would not give them anymore time after the late development rewrite, so that’s why we got the poor story we got in H5G.
>
> As far as the MP goes, Microsoft says the lot boxes stay, but not intrusive then we will again see shrunken modes like we did in H5G in comparison to Halo 3. Big Team Battle is gone. Smaller “Arena” modes that lack the fun of Halo 3’s MP. And again, RANDOM armor drops in loot boxes. It’s just poorly implemented. I don’t feel any attachment to my character because I didn’t EARN the armor.
>
> But short attention span theatre and loot boxes are all the craze for the little kids these days.
Microsoft is the publisher, not the developer.
Using the word heartfelt in there is unfortunately very true, OP.
Halo 1 through 4 were all heartfelt stories with elements of vulnerability in John, even with his more blank character in 1-3, that made us as viewers feel more for him. Then in Halo 5 we were given characters and positions where the humanity and vulnerability presented more fully in H4 could have been explored and expanded more fully, and splat! Nothing! Well, almost nothing.
We had Blue Team back, John’s childhood friends and lifetime comrades in arms, but there were maybe only 3 or 4 moments through the game that their interactions gave any emotional vulnerability or growth.
I’m thinking of the moment in the start where Kelly hands John his rifle and the intonations in hers and his voice made me think, “Oh, we might see actual character exploration with this subtle emotive speech!” but nope.
Then once or twice with some in-game points of convo between John and Fred.
And then nearer the end when (was it Kelly?) one of Blue Team tried to stand in front of John to guard him.
Then with Osiris -I’m one of the people who actually liked Osiris- we didn’t get to explore Locke more, or the dynamic he has with Buck (with Buck being the more experienced soldier, both in leadership and in soldiering).
I likewise loved their intro to the game. In many ways, I thought it showcased (at last) how capable Spartans are. I thought that the fight between Locke and John was stretched out for cinematic purposes, but I (and many fans I think), even with liking Locke, would have prefered to see John flatten him more easily.
That being said, the fight might not have had John absolutely crush Locke, and it was a little dragged out, but in assessing the fight, John did win pretty easily.
But Locke’s loss at the hands of a different class of Spartan (and soldier) seemed to humble him and his and Osiris’s next approach to Blue Team showed how much was to his character in him totally changing his tack, in that he disarmed himself to speak, and John and Blue Team quickly reciprocated that. That was a moment of vulnerability that was not at all capitalised on in the grand scheme of the story.
In summary: There were so many moments in Halo 5 that SHOULD have been head and shoulders above Halo 4 in emotive storytelling but it was like they were afraid of committing to their big heroic characters having vulnerability without realising that’s what makes them so endearing to the viewer.
That they are heroic but also vulnerable human characters.
I agree with you OP, but at the same time, I’m weary of people saying things like “343 must do ‘x’ or Halo will die.” This sort of thing gets thrown around all the time, and it honestly feels like “The Boy who Cried Wolf” now. If Halo really was in such a delicate, fragile state then it would’ve ended a long time ago.
> 2533274877785117;3:
> > 2533274806679134;2:
> > Unfortunately Microsoft ultimately dictates the direction and quality of Halo Infinite. Just like past Halo’s. H5G’s story was the way it was because Phil Spencer would not give them anymore time after the late development rewrite, so that’s why we got the poor story we got in H5G.
> >
> > As far as the MP goes, Microsoft says the lot boxes stay, but not intrusive then we will again see shrunken modes like we did in H5G in comparison to Halo 3. Big Team Battle is gone. Smaller “Arena” modes that lack the fun of Halo 3’s MP. And again, RANDOM armor drops in loot boxes. It’s just poorly implemented. I don’t feel any attachment to my character because I didn’t EARN the armor.
> >
> > But short attention span theatre and loot boxes are all the craze for the little kids these days.
>
> Microsoft is the publisher, not the developer.
So you’re unfamiliar with how game development works then?
> 2533274806679134;6:
> > 2533274877785117;3:
> > > 2533274806679134;2:
> > > Unfortunately Microsoft ultimately dictates the direction and quality of Halo Infinite. Just like past Halo’s. H5G’s story was the way it was because Phil Spencer would not give them anymore time after the late development rewrite, so that’s why we got the poor story we got in H5G.
> > >
> > > As far as the MP goes, Microsoft says the lot boxes stay, but not intrusive then we will again see shrunken modes like we did in H5G in comparison to Halo 3. Big Team Battle is gone. Smaller “Arena” modes that lack the fun of Halo 3’s MP. And again, RANDOM armor drops in loot boxes. It’s just poorly implemented. I don’t feel any attachment to my character because I didn’t EARN the armor.
> > >
> > > But short attention span theatre and loot boxes are all the craze for the little kids these days.
> >
> > Microsoft is the publisher, not the developer.
>
> So you’re unfamiliar with how game development works then?
Lol
Hopefully with Chris Lee and Phil Spencer we’ll get a much better Halo than what we’ve gotten from Josh Holmes and Don Mattrick. Everything we’ve seen from Halo since those two have taken over from MCC fixing/upgrading to H5 changes to Infinite have all been in the right direction so I’m excited.
> 2533274851997977;4:
> Using the word heartfelt in there is unfortunately very true, OP.
>
> Halo 1 through 4 were all heartfelt stories with elements of vulnerability in John, even with his more blank character in 1-3, that made us as viewers feel more for him. Then in Halo 5 we were given characters and positions where the humanity and vulnerability presented more fully in H4 could have been explored and expanded more fully, and splat! Nothing! Well, almost nothing.
> We had Blue Team back, John’s childhood friends and lifetime comrades in arms, but there were maybe only 3 or 4 moments through the game that their interactions gave any emotional vulnerability or growth.
> I’m thinking of the moment in the start where Kelly hands John his rifle and the intonations in hers and his voice made me think, “Oh, we might see actual character exploration with this subtle emotive speech!” but nope.
> Then once or twice with some in-game points of convo between John and Fred.
> And then nearer the end when (was it Kelly?) one of Blue Team tried to stand in front of John to guard him.
>
> Then with Osiris -I’m one of the people who actually liked Osiris- we didn’t get to explore Locke more, or the dynamic he has with Buck (with Buck being the more experienced soldier, both in leadership and in soldiering).
> I likewise loved their intro to the game. In many ways, I thought it showcased (at last) how capable Spartans are. I thought that the fight between Locke and John was stretched out for cinematic purposes, but I (and many fans I think), even with liking Locke, would have prefered to see John flatten him more easily.
> That being said, the fight might not have had John absolutely crush Locke, and it was a little dragged out, but in assessing the fight, John did win pretty easily.
> But Locke’s loss at the hands of a different class of Spartan (and soldier) seemed to humble him and his and Osiris’s next approach to Blue Team showed how much was to his character in him totally changing his tack, in that he disarmed himself to speak, and John and Blue Team quickly reciprocated that. That was a moment of vulnerability that was not at all capitalised on in the grand scheme of the story.
>
> In summary: There were so many moments in Halo 5 that SHOULD have been head and shoulders above Halo 4 in emotive storytelling but it was like they were afraid of committing to their big heroic characters having vulnerability without realising that’s what makes them so endearing to the viewer.
> That they are heroic but also vulnerable human characters.
I agree, hopefully in Infinite, we will get a much better fleshed out story and set of emotions regarding each character. Chief and Blue team, Locke and Chief, Chief and Arbiter, Halsey and Blue Team, and Locke and Buck are dynamics that need to be worked, fleshed out, and explored more in Infinite. I wouldn’t expect absolute perfection, but the problem still stands in need to be solved.
Thoughts on this guys?
> 2533274877785117;7:
> > 2533274806679134;6:
> > > 2533274877785117;3:
> > > > 2533274806679134;2:
> > > > Unfortunately Microsoft ultimately dictates the direction and quality of Halo Infinite. Just like past Halo’s. H5G’s story was the way it was because Phil Spencer would not give them anymore time after the late development rewrite, so that’s why we got the poor story we got in H5G.
> > > >
> > > > As far as the MP goes, Microsoft says the lot boxes stay, but not intrusive then we will again see shrunken modes like we did in H5G in comparison to Halo 3. Big Team Battle is gone. Smaller “Arena” modes that lack the fun of Halo 3’s MP. And again, RANDOM armor drops in loot boxes. It’s just poorly implemented. I don’t feel any attachment to my character because I didn’t EARN the armor.
> > > >
> > > > But short attention span theatre and loot boxes are all the craze for the little kids these days.
> > >
> > > Microsoft is the publisher, not the developer.
> >
> > So you’re unfamiliar with how game development works then?
>
> Lol
What does a game publisher do?
> You also weigh in on the creative decisions made in the game development process. A lot of times this causes tension between you, who has a focus on market appeal, and the Game Developers, who want artistic freedom. But you write the paychecks, so your say in creative decisions usually wins out.
A quick Google search will present additional sources that corroborate this. Might I emphasize the following?
> But you write the paychecks, so your say in creative decisions usually wins out.
Microsoft is the boss. Bungie tried doing things their own way and they ended up handing over the entire franchise to the boss itself!