The Future of Halo

Community General Discussion
1

We have seen the rise of quick kill quick reward games like CoD,BF, MoH, Crysis, the list goes on and on. Why are these FPS’s so popular? What do they offer supposed to a FPS like Halo and what do they do better? The only correct answer is they have very quick kill times. The casual gamer controls the market more than ever before, as the face of gaming has changed over the years and has become more mainstreamed and the tactical ironsight FPS seems to be their shooter of choice. They most certainly in my opinion do not offer what Halo does from a gameplay perspective and overall package but they have become the new trend and safe bet in FPS.

Now, Bungie did something very risky but unique with Reach. They extended kill times with the additions of reticle bloom, and life-saving AA’s. They changed the way Halo is played from a movement perspective, and a kill time perspective. They gave us new abilities off spawn, majorly changing the dynamics of the game. Whether Reach was the best way to go for the Halo franchise is debatable, but one thing is for sure the kill times were increased and they tried to put a new twist on Halo’s basic gameplay and it probably did not fair as well as they probably expected seeing as how the Halo trilogy dominated the FPS market on console for years and Reach does not.

343 Industries is aware of this and my biggest fear is that they will try to drastically change Halo kill time wise and how it is played as a sort of knee-jerk reaction to how Reach was perceived by gamers. I fear that Halo will start to become more like your generic tactical FPS with ironsights to compete with the casual fanbase of those shooters. I fear that we will not be seeing the Halo FPS we all know and love and supported for all these years, but a compromised version of it. Will 343i try to emulate the plethora of BF/CoD clones more with Halo? I seriously hope not, but it is not out of the question especially considering they are not Bungie.

On the other hand, will 343i try to make Halo 4 more like the Halo trilogy with simpler game mechanics with more of a “Halo feel”. They know the Halo trilogy was very sucessful and the safer bet if they want to restore the Halo fanbase. The Trilogy featured slightly quicker kill times emphasizing basic FPS elements and was more of a “barebones” Halo FPS you could say with simple tools. Bungie kept it fairly simple from title to title, although innovating with each Halo title they did not step out of the box as much as they did with Reach. They knew the Halo fanbase was crazy about Halo, so they did not dare or add too much to damage their core fanbase following. They went the usual routes most developers go with their games(FPS especially), sticking to their formula for success and expanding on it a little bit further each time. Early indications say this might be the case, as we see the return of Masterchief and a HCEA giving us a chance to relive the start of the Halo franchise in spectacular fashion.

The third option is taking a bold and out of the box approach like Bungie did with Reach. 343i definitely must have some new ideas of what they could do with Halo and I am sure they dont want to just ride of Bungie’s sucess they might want to innovate on Halo as how they see fit. This again is a gamble, that could either really pay off and amaze the Halo community and breathe new life into the franchise, or it could have disastrous consequences if they stray too far away from the Halo formula. Some would say this happened with Reach to a lesser degree. I say they should not be afraid to innovate with Halo, but they should also be afraid that the Halo community is a VERY loyal community and loves Halo already. Improving Halo and good additions would be my advice, changes to core gameplay/basic fundamentals I would HIGHLY advise against.

Which route 343i will take with Halo 4 is any ones best guess, but hopefully it will be an amazing Halo game.

Which route do you think 343i will take with Halo?

2

> Which route do you think 343i will take with Halo?

I don’t believe we will ever see Kill Times like those in other games.

3

All I know is that 343 seems to listen to our input. If they make a bad move in the eyes of many, we’ll try to give them input on it. However, 343 is compromised of halo fans and professionals. I doubt they’d want to stray too far from what makes halo, halo.

4

> > Which route do you think 343i will take with Halo?
>
> I don’t believe we will ever see Kill Times like those in other games.

Your probably right with the core game mechanic of the regenerating shield and all but I seriously hope Halo remains true to its roots. I think 343i will do that but seeing how bold Bungie was with Reach I am a little nervous. I thought I kind of knew what to expect from Halo until Reach and the whole loadout and bloom thing. Some people say those are not huge changes, but they most certainly are.

5

> > > Which route do you think 343i will take with Halo?
> >
> > I don’t believe we will ever see Kill Times like those in other games.
>
> Your probably right with the core game mechanic of the regenerating shield and all but I seriously hope Halo remains true to its roots. I think 343i will do that but seeing how bold Bungie was with Reach I am a little nervous. I thought I kind of knew what to expect from Halo until Reach and the whole loadout and bloom thing. Some people say those are not huge changes, but they most certainly are.

Think about it like this. 343 is taking on an extremely popular series with many fans. I don’t think they are going to change it too drastically on their first full new game, else end up with a giant mass of people that don’t trust them and think halo is dead. I’m thinking they might take the safe route with some changes of their own that don’t affect gameplay much on it, and then try their own thing on Halo 5.

6

> > > > Which route do you think 343i will take with Halo?
> > >
> > > I don’t believe we will ever see Kill Times like those in other games.
> >
> > Your probably right with the core game mechanic of the regenerating shield and all but I seriously hope Halo remains true to its roots. I think 343i will do that but seeing how bold Bungie was with Reach I am a little nervous. I thought I kind of knew what to expect from Halo until Reach and the whole loadout and bloom thing. Some people say those are not huge changes, but they most certainly are.
>
> Think about it like this. 343 is taking on an extremely popular series with many fans. I don’t think they are going to change it too drastically on their first full new game, else end up with a giant mass of people that don’t trust them and think halo is dead. I’m thinking they might take the safe route with some changes of their own that don’t affect gameplay much on it, and then try their own thing on Halo 5.

Thats certainly how most FPS franchises do it slowly expanding on their game every new release while sticking to their core formula. Halo hasnt always done that with the addition of equipment and AA’s to the golden triangle, not to mention the change from HCE to H2 which was pretty big although the golden triangle remained intact. I love what we get from each Halo game and I applaud Bungie for not being afraid to innovate, but at the same time too much change will ruin the identity of the game and is a huge gamble.

7

> > > > > Which route do you think 343i will take with Halo?
> > > >
> > > > I don’t believe we will ever see Kill Times like those in other games.
> > >
> > > Your probably right with the core game mechanic of the regenerating shield and all but I seriously hope Halo remains true to its roots. I think 343i will do that but seeing how bold Bungie was with Reach I am a little nervous. I thought I kind of knew what to expect from Halo until Reach and the whole loadout and bloom thing. Some people say those are not huge changes, but they most certainly are.
> >
> > Think about it like this. 343 is taking on an extremely popular series with many fans. I don’t think they are going to change it too drastically on their first full new game, else end up with a giant mass of people that don’t trust them and think halo is dead. I’m thinking they might take the safe route with some changes of their own that don’t affect gameplay much on it, and then try their own thing on Halo 5.
>
> Thats certainly how most FPS franchises do it slowly expanding on their game every new release while sticking to their core formula. Halo hasnt always done that with the addition of equipment and AA’s to the golden triangle, not to mention the change from HCE to H2 which was pretty big although the golden triangle remained intact. I love what we get from each Halo game and I applaud Bungie for not being afraid to innovate, but at the same time too much change will ruin the identity of the game and is a huge gamble.

And I agree (except for the equipment ruining the golden triangle part, but that’s just me I guess), but 343 doesn’t seem like the type of company to mangle the Halo series until it’s a shadow of its former self.

8

energy shields are part of what makes halo unique and i dont want to see it go down the path of COD and battlefield where the gameplay is run 1 shot to head run 1shot to head rpg a helicopter occaisionally and so on. AAs, vehicles large open maps make halo, halo and make the gameplay never repetitive, everything is think as you go.

9

> > > > > Which route do you think 343i will take with Halo?
> > > >
> > > > I don’t believe we will ever see Kill Times like those in other games.
> > >
> > > Your probably right with the core game mechanic of the regenerating shield and all but I seriously hope Halo remains true to its roots. I think 343i will do that but seeing how bold Bungie was with Reach I am a little nervous. I thought I kind of knew what to expect from Halo until Reach and the whole loadout and bloom thing. Some people say those are not huge changes, but they most certainly are.
> >
> > Think about it like this. 343 is taking on an extremely popular series with many fans. I don’t think they are going to change it too drastically on their first full new game, else end up with a giant mass of people that don’t trust them and think halo is dead. I’m thinking they might take the safe route with some changes of their own that don’t affect gameplay much on it, and then try their own thing on Halo 5.
>
> Thats certainly how most FPS franchises do it slowly expanding on their game every new release while sticking to their core formula. Halo hasnt always done that with the addition of equipment and AA’s to the golden triangle, not to mention the change from HCE to H2 which was pretty big although the golden triangle remained intact. I love what we get from each Halo game and I applaud Bungie for not being afraid to innovate, but at the same time too much change will ruin the identity of the game and is a huge gamble.

more like a golden hexagon(armor abilities, powerups and vehicles) lol

10

I think the reason those FPS’s are so popular is because a lot of people want quick rewards without doing much real work, in Halo you have to work at getting every kill and actively participate in every kill you get, even stealing someone else’s kill requires some effort put into it. Halo is for… I don’t want to say smart because I’ve seen smart CoD fans and stupid Halo fans, maybe for the more patient of the gaming community?

11

I think they would take a careful approach with Halo 4 and try to make it more like the original trilogy. In a best case scenario they realize what Bungie has been doing wrong with Halo all these years and try not to make the same mistake. In a worst case scenario they misunderstand something and develop Halo to even worse direction.

These are only the two extremes, there are lots of options between those. Technically, it would be our job to tell what we want, but it won’t be easy as there are thousands of people visiting on these forums and almost everyone has a different point of view.

All in all, easiest way to please as many people as possible would be to make it as diverse as possible, with keeping the core gameplay near to the original trilogy and scrapping all redudant features from it. But well, this only applies to Halo 4, with 5 and 6 they should definitely make new additions, but think how they will effect on different levels of gameplay.

12

> I think they would take a careful approach with Halo 4 and try to make it more like the original trilogy. In a best case scenario they realize what Bungie has been doing wrong with Halo all these years and try not to make the same mistake. In a worst case scenario they misunderstand something and develop Halo to even worse direction.
>
> These are only the two extremes, there are lots of options between those. Technically, it would be our job to tell what we want, but it won’t be easy as there are thousands of people visiting on these forums and almost everyone has a different point of view.
>
> All in all, easiest way to please as many people as possible would be to make it as diverse as possible, with keeping the core gameplay near to the original trilogy and scrapping all redudant features from it. But well, this only applies to Halo 4, with 5 and 6 they should definitely make new additions, but think how they will effect on different levels of gameplay.

I for one thin that actual space combat in both campaign and multiplayer might be a good place to start, the only thing I’ve seen people complain about in Reach is that it was like space firefight with which I agree, they should’ve added more action and more movement in that part of the game where you actually go towards something while fighting enemies in your way (Star Fox anyone?). Anyway, I feel like with space combat they could make a big change, without taking a big risk.

13

The FPS and RPG barrier grinding down.

14

> I think the reason those FPS’s are so popular is because a lot of people want quick rewards without doing much real work, in Halo you have to work at getting every kill and actively participate in every kill you get, even stealing someone else’s kill requires some effort put into it. Halo is for… I don’t want to say smart because I’ve seen smart CoD fans and stupid Halo fans, maybe for the more patient of the gaming community?

I really dont understand how so many people can like FPs’s like CoD every kill feels the same unless your using the lol killstreaks which I cant believe even exist in a FPS. Halo’s Sandbox gameplay with the perfect balance of gun,grenades,and melee(Golden triangle) is SO much more interesting and exciting. I hope the whole military realism FPS’s are just a fad and we see some more unique FPS’s be sucessful so developers can step out of the box more with the genre.

15

Time to go back to the Future. @_@
In all seriousness, I think halo couldn’t be in better hands. From what I have seen so far of 343. I really like them as a company and they listen and interact with the fans quite well. I think people should hold all jugment for halo 4 if that turns out right (like the old halos, but still retains its own identity) we know we hit the jackpot. :slight_smile:

16

> I think they would take a careful approach with Halo 4 and try to make it more like the original trilogy. In a best case scenario they realize what Bungie has been doing wrong with Halo all these years and try not to make the same mistake. In a worst case scenario they misunderstand something and develop Halo to even worse direction.
>
> These are only the two extremes, there are lots of options between those. Technically, it would be our job to tell what we want, but it won’t be easy as there are thousands of people visiting on these forums and almost everyone has a different point of view.
>
> All in all, easiest way to please as many people as possible would be to make it as diverse as possible, with keeping the core gameplay near to the original trilogy and scrapping all redudant features from it. But well, this only applies to Halo 4, with 5 and 6 they should definitely make new additions, but think how they will effect on different levels of gameplay.

I agree, I think they should avoid things like changing the shooting mechanics too much or changing the core game mechanics which some people would say happened with Reach. I actually really like that Bungie tried to add to Halo’s movement and put a new twist on the aim mechanic but I did not like that the AA’s came in the form of loadouts. I really like the idea of adding to Halos movement but I feel it should be default for all players not a loadout you choose to keep things balanced and running smoothly. Even making things like strafing and default movement faster could be interesting.

17

> > I think they would take a careful approach with Halo 4 and try to make it more like the original trilogy. In a best case scenario they realize what Bungie has been doing wrong with Halo all these years and try not to make the same mistake. In a worst case scenario they misunderstand something and develop Halo to even worse direction.
> >
> > These are only the two extremes, there are lots of options between those. Technically, it would be our job to tell what we want, but it won’t be easy as there are thousands of people visiting on these forums and almost everyone has a different point of view.
> >
> > All in all, easiest way to please as many people as possible would be to make it as diverse as possible, with keeping the core gameplay near to the original trilogy and scrapping all redudant features from it. But well, this only applies to Halo 4, with 5 and 6 they should definitely make new additions, but think how they will effect on different levels of gameplay.
>
> I agree, I think they should avoid things like changing the shooting mechanics too much or changing the core game mechanics which some people would say happened with Reach. I actually really like that Bungie tried to add to Halo’s movement and put a new twist on the aim mechanic but I did not like that the AA’s came in the form of loadouts. I really like the idea of adding to Halos movement but I feel it should be default for all players not a loadout you choose to keep things balanced and running smoothly. Even making things like strafing and default movement faster could be interesting.

i can easily say something that 99.99999999999999% of people want(come on , i dont really need to say it do i?)
drivable
longswords
seraphs
scarabs
pelicans
phantoms
etcetera etcetera…

18

I think that 343i will go with a more classic Halo gameplay. Halo has always had fast kill times, but nowhere near as fast as modern games. I’m expecting Halo 4 to be closer to Halo 3 in terms of gameplay, with a few added gameplay features such as sprint and some other things. Nothing too drastic to break the core gameplay, but enough to keep it fresh. I trust 343i with Halo more than I did Bungie after Reach.