Halo 5 art lack consistency it wasn’t bad it just flowed in wierd places. The chief armor was the only armor which made sense then you had pinks and blues and purple which wasn’t in no way MILITARY. Tone of the level was excellent the usage of some elements like light and extra action was to much at time.
Armor designs I felt was not flush out properly too many helmets where created with no military form or function. It felt like a runaway process pick a shape and make it work while not work at the same time.
Weapons played in this wired meta and to make a point as simple as I can FPS are made or broken by its weapon play.
There is this complaint for simple geometry simple and lackluster even though what has being show is intriguing it still feel flat. Once the game is released I will check a walkthrough or two.
In all people ask now they got what they want who will be the vocal minority or the major consumer base we will see.
No thank you. Halo hasn’t looked like Halo to me in 11 years, I’m very happy about the current art style. If Infinite doesn’t look like a 2021 game then I don’t want a 2021 game. It sucks that not everyone can get what they want but you’re definitely in the minority.
> 2533275031939856;122:
> No thank you. Halo hasn’t looked like Halo to me in 11 years, I’m very happy about the current art style. If Infinite doesn’t look like a 2021 game then I don’t want a 2021 game. It sucks that not everyone can get what they want but you’re definitely in the minority.
I’m with you but it depends who you’re talking to. I have no issue with the Halo Infinite art style, it’s pretty much Halo imo and my first game was Halo CE. My son on the other hand is different. His first and most played Halo game is Halo 5. He’s not keen on the way Halo Infinite looks though.
But I feel there’s more going on with him, he’s hardly on Halo at all these days. Warframe, DOOM, Destiny and Borderlands seem to be the popular ones with him. I guarantee he pre loads Halo Infinite on Game Pass though lol. Anyway, just a different point of view on how we’re all different. Good thing too, it would be a boring existence if we all liked the same thing.
The game looks like a “2021 game”. It’s not just aesthetics. It’s graphical fidelity, sound direction, all of that.
Just because it doesn’t fit your exact definition of what a “2021 game” should look like doesn’t mean it isn’t one.
We really need to stop this bogus train of thought.
> 2592250499819446;123:
> > 2533275031939856;122:
> > No thank you. Halo hasn’t looked like Halo to me in 11 years, I’m very happy about the current art style. If Infinite doesn’t look like a 2021 game then I don’t want a 2021 game. It sucks that not everyone can get what they want but you’re definitely in the minority.
>
> I’m with you but it depends who you’re talking to. I have no issue with the Halo Infinite art style, it’s pretty much Halo imo and my first game was Halo CE. My son on the other hand is different. His first and most played Halo game is Halo 5. He’s not keen on the way Halo Infinite looks though.
>
> But I feel there’s more going on with him, he’s hardly on Halo at all these days. Warframe, DOOM, Destiny and Borderlands seem to be the popular ones with him. I guarantee he pre loads Halo Infinite on Game Pass though lol. Anyway, just a different point of view on how we’re all different. Good thing too, it would be a boring existence if we all liked the same thing.
Yeah that’s why I said it sucks not everyone will be happy because there obviously is people who prefer the H4/5 style but when you look online and the vast majority of fans I’ve talked to, way more people are digging Infinite art style than not, especially if they’re part of the community which I think is who you should cater to. That makes sense that your son likes H4/5 more if he likes those other games, especially Warframe.
I’ve been playing Halo since CE when it released on the original Xbox, I am in the camp of it looked better through the original trilogy and Reach. I can understand though that a lot of people started playing at Halo 4 or 5, it’s all a matter of your first taste because that would be “original” to you. As a fan of the older Halo’s I will actually say I do like some aspects of 4/5’s art style and even the sounds in game, but it just didn’t flow as well compared to the prior games. I didn’t get in the first flight of the Infinite test (fingers crossed for the next one) but from what I’ve watched of other’s playing it, I really enjoy the direction they are going with it this time, it really has me optimistic for the full game and hope to see even more soon.
To be honest there wasn’t much from halo 4 or 5’s design that i liked. Chief’s new amour was good but im really happy with infinites now. The warthog design was good too in 4/5 but everything else was bad IMO. The way Elites looked top heavy, bumbling and even goofy looking really annoyed me. Compared to halo Reach the Elites where done perfect. Im not a fan of the grunts either in 4/5. Im taking a qoute from Marcus Lehto were they kinda based their designs for the covenant on crustaceans and that was for Halo CE 
even a lot of inspiration came from aliens and predator movies, the clssics not AVP they where gawd awful. 343 took what bungie did and put there own spin on it, to have there own version of halo. Most people have there preferences and some people only played 4 or 5 halo games and not the rest. They probably only played the campaigns but even now you can play the older games on multiplayer with the MCC all be it, not the same experience as it was when the older games came out and your where lucky to experience it when it launched and now The MCC is quite different to try and get the nostalgic feeling. I know Reach was way better at launch compared to playing it now on the MCC. 343 had very big shoes to fill after bungie and now that they know not to try and give us their version of halo they listened better and now hopefully we will get halo. Some people like bungies halo some people prefer 343’s halo but evey fan just wants to have “their halo” and not a halo like version that kinda looks like it but its not halo. 4 and 5 were ok games but they didnt seem like halo to me. 4 was better than 5 and sadly i had to force myself to play 5 and when i cleared the campaign I never played it again. It was sad. Im not angery i just wanted “my halo” back.
> 2533274804813082;97:
> > 2535449665894532;92:
> > Zero evidence? Have you not been on the internet for the last 6 years? It’s been WIDELY discussed about how the majority of fans have not like the art style. You can keep “wanting proof” all you want, but it’s been being shown for years already.
> >
> > Edit: You know what, nevermind. Looking at your posts it’s clear you are just in denial of anything criticizing Halo 4 or 5. Continue your blissful denialism.
>
> No, I have several criticism of my own regarding Halo 4 and Halo 5. That does not give leniency to your lack of evidence - verifiable, quantifiable evidence - that the art style of Halo 4 and 5 are hated by the majority. A topic widely discussed in an echo chamber for 6 years doesn’t make for the majority view.
Do you have any evidence of the contrary? Clearly, if the majority of fans (or at least around 50% of fans) do not hate the Halo 4/5 art style, then they will clearly have their own echo chamber. There must be some pocket of the internet that has people who not only prefer the newer games, but also like their art styles. Mind showing these people?
Because if there is none, then that means every part of the internet that talks about Halo (from these forums, to the subreddits, to more generalized game forums) are ALL just echo chambers by your logic. But doesn’t that tell you anything? IF there is virtually no vocal community in the world that prefers the H4/5 style, then how is 343 suppose to know this community exists - let alone is committed to the product like those willing to talk about it?
Though out this entire thread, you have not been offering any argument to support the idea that the players who prefer Halo’s older arty style are not actually the majority. You have only been attempting to counter the arguments of people who say otherwise. So I ask: what evidence do you have to suggest this is the case?
And, if you say it is impossible to tell what the majority of the community thinks, then why should 343 not listen to the vocal community? Why should 343 not use an art style that is reminiscent of the old style but still different? Why should 343 have to stick to their H4/5 style? I would love to hear an answer.
> 2535470395434446;13:
> > 2533274817345506;3:
> > Shame you feel this way. Halo 5 MP is good, but Halo 3 / Halo Reach were the prime of the series. Halo 4 / Halo 5 art was not well received because was too clunky and abstract. Halo Infinite is trying to find a balance between modern and classic, and they did this because the majority wanted this. I think they did a great job.
> >
> > In comparison on MP experience, Halo 5 is currently complete. While Halo 5 is a very good experience; you can’t compare Halo Infinite quite yet just based on a slice in a technical preview. In terms of feel Halo Infinite is more Halo 3 / Reach era.
>
> Don’t make me laugh, Reach was garbage and the beginning of Halo’s decline. The prime of Halo lasted from 1 to 3. You must be like 18 or something
Im not 18 and I enjoyed reach campaign and mp, H4 mp, and H5 mp
> 2535411919953126;118:
> I did not get notified. That happens sometimes when you edit post quote. So you did not. This time you did.–
Yeah, and neither did I last night. So I guess you didn’t either. Or maybe Waypoint was just messing up, who knows. The quote patterns are exactly the same. Do you really want to go back and forth nit-picking on this when the evidence clearly shows it to be quoted? Come on.
> Doesn’t change the fact I did not say it.
Nor did I say that you said it. I said there was the “tossed-in qualifier that Halo Infinite would flop” Quoting your post that stepped in to “explain their point”. Using a bunch of word-salad that you still have yet to give any example for as to what you mean. That is what I mean by you supported their post, not that you necessarily agree with it. Though this much effort to insist on “their point” certainly leans towards the former.
> Negative space and visual noise for function is a common concept.
> Google it, you will find far better explanations than I could provide on the topic.
I am aware of the positive use of “negative space” (not really the term to use, but whatever) to convey a particular environmental language or emotion in video games. However you have yet to give examples as to how this is applied in a video game, specifically that it is present in the Original Trilogy (not denying that it is) and that it is absent in Halo 4 and Halo 5. A very odd point, regardless, as the whole topic was about the art style, not the level design.
> Jon shafer has a post on the concept of negative space beyond just the purely visual
This post? “Negative Space” in games, as he illustrates, translates to downtime. For Halo, this is moments without gunfights. As Shafer puts it, they’re moments for players to catch a breath. Various areas in Halo: CE such as riding elevators, sneaking around sleeping enemies, traversing large empty areas on foot, etc. Some of those get really boring, particularly in Two Betrayals and The Library when you’re on foot and it takes forever to cross an empty field. Halo 2 when you’re riding the gondolas - though thinking through it Halo 2 has very few of these “downtime” moments. Halo 3 seems to have less.
Yet, and if the claim is that they are absent in Halo 4 and Halo 5, the Reclaimer Saga does feature these downtimes. In Halo 4 we have everything on the Forward Unto Dawn leading up to the bridge, moments on Requiem where players can take in the scenery before encountering Covenant survivors, and even on the Infinity before utilizing the Mantis, and before deploying in the Pelican on Shutdown. Halo 5 has areas in main levels where there are no enemy encounters, on Genesis, Sanghelios and Meridian, and even a few on Kamchatka. And most notably, there are levels on Meridian and Sanghelios that are entirely down time and “Negative Space”; the mining camp and the Swords of Sanghelios camp.
> Geometry in halo 2 and 3 are decidedly simple. ODST changed that as I explained above.
Really the only thing that I can gather from that is that VISR was changed to better display the details of buildings as designed, rather than their basic outline. Not necessarily that the buildings themselves were made more complex, and they still bear the exact same design and aesthetic as Halo 3. An example of this is the conflict between “Classic” Forerunner design (or rather, the perceived design) and the “Reclaimer” Forerunner design. A lengthy topic in and of itself, but criticism is often in regards to the abundance of lights and “floaty bits”. That is a difference in geometry and design, not a visual effect being added to display details.
> I’m just acknowledging the strong argument one can make that the early games do this better than the reclaimer saga.
In what way?
> Lets consider what 343i added to their games despite the linearity of the spaces.
> FOF tags, weapon spawn tags and a literal tracking system.
IFF tags have always been present through reticule targeting and the motion tracker, and beginning in Halo 3 your teammates had indicators above their head. Halo 2 had objectives shown through level geometry, and tags showing up when the players were in reticule. This is something that has been refined and now given a stronger presence in Infinite, but has always been there. I argue that this is not intrusive (or does not contribute to “visual noise”) in that it is not something that clutters your HUD, and is only present when in view. As experienced it’s relatively unobtrusive, and the IFF draws attention less than threat indicators and actual fire.
Power Weapon Spawns had indicators in Halo 4, and I will grant you this sometimes presented a clutter or “visual noise” on the HUD. This was somewhat mitigated in that the indicators were transparent, and when moved to the side of the HUD when not in sight, their icons were minimized to a smaller, less intrusive version. Still, an issue, and it was moved away from. In Halo 5, when power weapons spawn, they have a HUD indicator only when in-sight. IFF indicators are present on the edges of the screen only when teammates fire, and when they die. Everything is small and unobtrusive, and oriented towards the edges of the map to keep the HUD clear during gameplay and reduce clutter.
In Infinite, from what I can recall in the Tech Preview, power weapons are announced by AI, and an indicator is minimally present as with Halo 5. IFF is presented via the VISR outline only when players are visible, and on the very edges of the HUD when they are out of view. Kill logs are on the side and largely ignorable, and medals are also smaller and less obtrusive. You get a notification of what you got (and audio announcement), but can review in detail when everything is done.
Put best, visual noise is when the game holds your hand. Halo has only ever gotten close to doing this in Halo 4, but not as badly as games like Overwatch. There’s so much going on in that HUD that it’s almost painful to watch live. In Halo, even Halo 4, there is still information present, but you can very easily ignore it. Personally, I even found the IFF outlines of teammates to be ignorable. Enemy IFF outlines I will grant are currently a little overbearing, and I hope that the effect is minimized in the final product. Suggestions I have given would be to utilize the function akin to Halo 3: ODST’s VISR mode.
> 2533274887875135;2:
> Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. But Halo 4 and 5s art styles were objectively bad and if 343 had stuck with it then infinite would have failed… HARD.
You couldn’t say it best dude, completely true.
> 2533274814550076;128:
> Do you have any evidence of the contrary?
No one has evidence to what “the majority” is. That is my point. Shifting the burden of proof for claims of “The Majority thinks…” does not supply that argument with evidence.
> Because if there is none, then that means every part of the internet that talks about Halo (from these forums, to the subreddits, to more generalized game forums) are ALL just echo chambers by your logic. But doesn’t that tell you anything?
It’s interesting that you bring up other parts of the internet. Here, 343i support gets ridicule and insults. Don’t deny it, I’ve seen it happen and have received no small amount myself. So why bother? It wears on people. Places like Reddit? That’s a joke, and creates it’s own echo chamber. Don’t agree with the Status Quo by supporting 343? Well, now your post is downvoted to the point where it’s hidden. On r/halo, literally eight people can decide if your opinion is seen or not.
It does not provide a reliable metric for determining what the majority - if any - prefer. The only way that’s going to be gotten or shown is for every single Halo fan (or at least 80-90% of us) to be directly polled. Until then, it is a non-argument often won-out by Veteran Elitism.
> Though out this entire thread, you have not been offering any argument to support the idea that the players who prefer Halo’s older arty style are not actually the majority.
Because the claim that a majority of Halo players prefer Bungie’s artstyle is not my claim to support, or actively disprove as I have not made a positive claim to the contrary.
> And, if you say it is impossible to tell what the majority of the community thinks, then why should 343 not listen to the vocal community? Why should 343 not use an art style that is reminiscent of the old style but still different? Why should 343 have to stick to their H4/5 style? I would love to hear an answer.
In my opinion, I don’t think 343i should listen to non-constructive criticisms that fall along the lines of “It’s bad because it’s not Bungie”. I don’t think generalized and asinine complaints of “Gundams and Power Rangers” hold any sort of value or worth in terms of design. I think opinion-based statements like “It doesn’t look like Halo” are vague and unhelpful, and often tie back to the “It’s not Bungie” complaints.
I think the Bungie artstyle should be left behind because 343i is not Bungie. Bungie’s time is over, and they are not coming back. Halo is 343i’s ship now. I think that forcing 343i into Bungie’s shoes not only stunts their growth as a studio, but that of the Halo Universe as a whole. It limits the visual culture to 2552 - yet even then, Bungie’s art style changed just as much as the change from Halo Reach to Halo 4 in many regards. Turning up one’s nose at 343i’s art style is also grossly disrespectful to the work of the artists for 343i, holding them to the style of others without even considering appreciating their contribution.
In my opinion nostalgia is a hell of a drug, and people who are riding on it are holding back Halo as a franchise.
343industries handling of the art style in 4 and 5 is how we ended up going back to the original art style in Infinite in the first place.
Literally no one liked how 4 or 5 looked. The Act Man described it best in one of his MANY videos about H5, the Spartans look way too eccentric in H5’s style and they shouldn’t. They don’t need unicorn horns protruding from their helmets, they’re soldiers not Power Rangers.
> 2535441918993765;133:
> Literally no one liked how 4 or 5 looked.
Literally no one, huh? A broad statement that is incredibly foolish and absolutely demonstrably false.
> the Spartans look way too eccentric in H5’s style and they shouldn’t. They don’t need unicorn horns protruding from their helmets, they’re soldiers not Power Rangers.
Because Samurai with katanas on their backs was soooo much better. Way more believable for Spartans.
> 2535449665894532;92:
> > 2533274804813082;54:
> > I disagree in the scope that you have zero evidence to back up your claim that it’s a majority that prefer the “Classic Style”. Telling me to “do my own research” on the matter supports this. Surveys are also horribly inaccurate, especially for something like this. Poll in an echo chamber, and you’ll always get the result you want. And really, I think folk like you are the only ones who care to poll for this sort of nonsense, to try and lend validity to your claim that Halo should have stagnated in 2007.
> >
> > Personally I hope there are Campaign armors, and we get the option to wear something more reminiscent of the MJOLNIR GEN2, if we so desire.
>
> Zero evidence? Have you not been on the internet for the last 6 years? It’s been WIDELY discussed about how the majority of fans have not like the art style. You can keep “wanting proof” all you want, but it’s been being shown for years already.
>
> Edit: You know what, nevermind. Looking at your posts it’s clear you are just in denial of anything criticizing Halo 4 or 5. Continue your blissful denialism.
Yep, barely anyone agrees with this bloke but he won’t stop lol
Nope, I sure won’t. But then again, y’all wanted to see support for 343i right? You asked where it is, right? Do you understand that demanding or expecting it to go away and stop is counterintuitive to representation?
> 2533274804813082;132:
> > 2533274814550076;128:
> > Do you have any evidence of the contrary?
>
> No one has evidence to what “the majority” is. That is my point. Shifting the burden of proof for claims of “The Majority thinks…” does not supply that argument with evidence.
>
>
>
>
> > Because if there is none, then that means every part of the internet that talks about Halo (from these forums, to the subreddits, to more generalized game forums) are ALL just echo chambers by your logic. But doesn’t that tell you anything?
>
> It’s interesting that you bring up other parts of the internet. Here, 343i support gets ridicule and insults. Don’t deny it, I’ve seen it happen and have received no small amount myself. So why bother? It wears on people. Places like Reddit? That’s a joke, and creates it’s own echo chamber. Don’t agree with the Status Quo by supporting 343? Well, now your post is downvoted to the point where it’s hidden. On r/halo, literally eight people can decide if your opinion is seen or not.
>
> It does not provide a reliable metric for determining what the majority - if any - prefer. The only way that’s going to be gotten or shown is for every single Halo fan (or at least 80-90% of us) to be directly polled. Until then, it is a non-argument often won-out by Veteran Elitism.
>
>
>
>
> > Though out this entire thread, you have not been offering any argument to support the idea that the players who prefer Halo’s older arty style are not actually the majority.
>
> Because the claim that a majority of Halo players prefer Bungie’s artstyle is not my claim to support, or actively disprove as I have not made a positive claim to the contrary.
>
>
>
>
> > And, if you say it is impossible to tell what the majority of the community thinks, then why should 343 not listen to the vocal community? Why should 343 not use an art style that is reminiscent of the old style but still different? Why should 343 have to stick to their H4/5 style? I would love to hear an answer.
>
> In my opinion, I don’t think 343i should listen to non-constructive criticisms that fall along the lines of “It’s bad because it’s not Bungie”. I don’t think generalized and asinine complaints of “Gundams and Power Rangers” hold any sort of value or worth in terms of design. I think opinion-based statements like “It doesn’t look like Halo” are vague and unhelpful, and often tie back to the “It’s not Bungie” complaints.
>
> I think the Bungie artstyle should be left behind because 343i is not Bungie. Bungie’s time is over, and they are not coming back. Halo is 343i’s ship now. I think that forcing 343i into Bungie’s shoes not only stunts their growth as a studio, but that of the Halo Universe as a whole. It limits the visual culture to 2552 - yet even then, Bungie’s art style changed just as much as the change from Halo Reach to Halo 4 in many regards. Turning up one’s nose at 343i’s art style is also grossly disrespectful to the work of the artists for 343i, holding them to the style of others without even considering appreciating their contribution.
>
> In my opinion nostalgia is a hell of a drug, and people who are riding on it are holding back Halo as a franchise.
People who prefer 343’s art style don’t understand Halo.
Want prood Bungie’s halo and its art style were more popular than 343’s? Statistics. Halo 3 is the most popular and successful Halo to date. Halo’s mythos and core is simplicity and militarism, mythos and wonder. That’s butchered by 4/5.
Its funny that you think 343 is stunted yet this game is demonstrably their most well liked thus far. Both in terms of art style, gameplay, writing and music.
Whether you like it or not, your eccentric power rangers are categorically inferior designs. It’d be like doing Lord of the Rings with a Warcraft art style - its just wrong.
But further more, the best parts of 343s design language has translated to Infinite. The bulk and practicality intended by 343’s Chief armour is present in Infinite but also married to Halo’s inherent art style.
343 are doing a great job.
> 2533274804813082;136:
> Nope, I sure won’t. But then again, y’all wanted to see support for 343i right? You asked where it is, right? Do you understand that demanding or expecting it to go away and stop is counterintuitive to representation?
There is TONS of support for 343.
Just not their mistakes.
> 2533274876991706;137:
> People who prefer 343’s art style don’t understand Halo.
A bold claim. Explain Halo then. Go on, explain it to me, since apparently I don’t understand it.
> Want prood Bungie’s halo and its art style were more popular than 343’s? Statistics. Halo 3 is the most popular and successful Halo to date.
Prove that is because of the art style.
> Halo’s mythos and core is simplicity and militarism, mythos and wonder. That’s butchered by 4/5.
In what way. Especially considering that Halo 4 and 5 vastly expanded the mythos and scope (ergo the sense of wonder) beyond anything during Bungie’ tenure.
> Whether you like it or not, your eccentric power rangers are categorically inferior designs.
Categorically: in a way that is unambiguously explicit and direct. Prove it.
> 2533274804813082;132:
> No one has evidence to what “the majority” is. That is my point. Shifting the burden of proof for claims of “The Majority thinks…” does not supply that argument with evidence.
I know you think that. I addressed it in a later line that you quoted (quote: “And, if you say it is impossible to tell what the majority of the community thinks…”).
Additionally, if it is impossible to tell the majority, than you can find evidence (not proof) that there are a sizable amount of people who like the H4/5 art style. Showing me a community that likes this style does not prove to me that they are the majority, but rather it is evidence that shows me there is reasonable contention. It shows me that there are many people out there that support that art style.
> It’s interesting that you bring up other parts of the internet. Here, 343i support gets ridicule and insults. Don’t deny it, I’ve seen it happen and have received no small amount myself. So why bother? It wears on people. Places like Reddit? That’s a joke, and creates it’s own echo chamber. Don’t agree with the Status Quo by supporting 343? Well, now your post is downvoted to the point where it’s hidden. On r/halo, literally eight people can decide if your opinion is seen or not.
You greatly missed my point. I am not arguing these communities are not echo chambers, but rather that it is strange that all communities that talk about Halo are pro-Bungie echo chambers. There is never a pro-343 echo cambers (at least in terms of art style).
And I have been insulted myself just because I did not like certain mechanics. It works two ways, my friend. That is just how the internet works. It sucks, and 343 does not deserve it regardless of the quality of their games, but the assumption that people who prefer the older games never give constructive feedback is absurd or that because there are people who give bad-faith criticisms, any good faith actors who believe the same thing should be ignored. People, including devs, being insulted on the internet sucks, but it has nothing to do with what I am arguing.
> It does not provide a reliable metric for determining what the majority - if any - prefer. The only way that’s going to be gotten or shown is for every single Halo fan (or at least 80-90% of us) to be directly polled. Until then, it is a non-argument often won-out by Veteran Elitism.
I am sorry, but your denial of statistics is concerning. It is an entire field of study that is aware of the biases of the groups asked and means of avoiding that. However, you just deny the results because it does not fit your impossible standards of having a “sample size” of 100%. Should everyone who is a statistician should just quit there job then? Should those insider surveys just be ignored despite there is no reason why insiders would be overwhelmingly one group over the other? What is even the point of these forums then?
> In my opinion,
I know it is your opinion. I know what opinions are. But you are still attempting to use logic to back up your opinions, and that is where I take issue. For example:
> I don’t think 343i should listen to non-constructive criticisms that fall along the lines of “It’s bad because it’s not Bungie”.
I agree they should not take bad-faith criticisms. But that is the purpose of moderators as well as common sense from the community teams - they weed out destructive criticisms. Tell me, how many people in this thread are destructive in there criticisms. Now how many are constructive? Should the destructive ones invalidated the constructive ones?
And the line “I**t’s bad because it’s not Bungie” is a straw man. I think you are better than that.
> I don’t think generalized and asinine complaints of “Gundams and Power Rangers” hold any sort of value or worth in terms of design. I think opinion-based statements like “It doesn’t look like Halo” are vague and unhelpful, and often tie back to the “It’s not Bungie” complaints.
I am confused. You preface this paragraph announcing that it is an opinion and you earlier went after someone who said the art style was “objectively bad.” I agree with you that the notion of art being objective is silly, but now you are say opinion-based statements are vague and unhelpful.
Sure the phrase “It doesn’t look like Halo” alone is vague and unhelpful, but there are plenty of opinion-based arguments that go along with it. Almost never is that phrase made in a vacuum and it usually is back-up with more specific opinion-based arguments such as “colored under suits create poor contrast of colors”, “there is poor silhouette design”, “the designs overall are too noisy and filled with unnecessary detail”, “the materials look too much like plastic”, “the ‘sporty’ paint job creates poor composition of colors”, etc. (Please, don’t respond to each of those. I am sure you do not agree with many of them, but they are just examples.)
> I think the Bungie artstyle should be left behind because 343i is not Bungie. Bungie’s time is over, and they are not coming back. Halo is 343i’s ship now. I think that forcing 343i into Bungie’s shoes not only stunts their growth as a studio, but that of the Halo Universe as a whole. It limits the visual culture to 2552 - yet even then, Bungie’s art style changed just as much as the change from Halo Reach to Halo 4 in many regards. Turning up one’s nose at 343i’s art style is also grossly disrespectful to the work of the artists for 343i, holding them to the style of others without even considering appreciating their contribution.
Sure, it is 343’s ship now, but it is an established franchise with an identity and it is very much possible to move that ship in a direction that hinders that identity. I think 343 did a good job at creating establishing their own style while still honoring the franchise.
Yes, the game’s art style can and should change each game, but there is going too far with it. I am scratching my head at the line I bolded in your quote. Yes, Reach is different from Halo 3, but it is by no means just as different from Halo 4. I am curious as to what makes you think that. Yes, a lot of the weapons and vehicles were directly ported over from Reach, but I genuinely feel as though the Spartans, the Covenant infintry (save for hunters) and especially the Forerunner designs feel like they are from a completely different franchise. For an example of a nuanced opinion: the Lich looks “like Halo”, but the Harvester looks like something from Warhammer. But these two things do not like they are from the same universe let alone the same faction.
But the strangest thing to me is the fact that Halo Infinite IS a new art style. Sure, the Mark V Reach armor is a literal recreation of Reach’s armor, but that is it’s point and there are plenty of other things in the game including other armor cores. Mark VII is Halo-y but still very much its own thing. The chest is a bit too close to Reach, but helmets arms and legs look completely different. They are much more rounded and detailed without being too detailed.
Master Chief is a new design without being identical to Bungie. 343 is using their original designs for the Plasma pistol, the mongoose, many of the enemies, their own original weapons, are all their own art style. The hornet, mantis and sniper have barely changed from H5. The banished vehicles could have just been painted red but they aren’t. There is so much originality here, I am not sure what you are upset about.