With all the talk about the Master Chief and Locke I thought it would be a nice change of pace to open a discussion about the other characters of Halo: the villains. Not much regard is given to creatures we destroy in our daily struggle, but their story is our story, and Bungie/343 have written a wonderful story for their enemies. I don’t know whether they had this intention or if they were just following universal archetypes hardwired into the human psyche, but with creation of the Prometheans there is a beautiful symbolism in the story of Halo which I’ve taken to calling the trinity.
I see it as such: The Covenant fervently wage war for transcendence to be like the Prometheans who destroyed life to escape the Flood, who are dead and wish only to live.
This is life! Like the snake devouring its own tail. It takes and is taken from; consumes and is consumed. We live to die. To suffer is to exist, and we (Humans) as the protagonist are left to make do the best he can with the time we have. Existential Poetry.
That said, each faction has its own vibe: the imperial Covenant; ethereal Promethean; and the horrifying, all-consuming Flood. These concepts exist in the game, and complement each factions role in the cycle, but I don’t think there has been much emphasis on articulating them. I would like to see a more extensive reflection of this in their design and dialogue of the three factions.
I’m interested to read other interpretations on symbolism and over-arching motifs in the Halo universe. How do you think the villains fit into the story, and what would you do as far as design and dialogue to make their actions more relevant?