What if Halo wasn't an FPS?

So, since Vanquish came out this is a relevant thing to talk about.

Ever since Halo 4’s opening cinematic had captured the agility that even Spartan IIs are capable of, these acrobatic feats are genuinely impossible with Halo 5’s current engine.

So what if Halo wasn’t an FPS? For those of you who’ve played Platinum games such as Bayonetta and Vanquish, what if it operated similarly to that? Even Samus is getting a more kinetic moveset in the newest Metroid title. I’m not saying get rid of how we aim, get rid of the grenades, guns and melee trifecta or even vehicles.

No, no keep all that. That is all very important. But, what if we could have that alongside further enhanced mobility, melee combat, and so on? We don’t need combos, but imagine you get in a melee fight with another player. Usually it’s determined by who has more health/shields, or who can spray off a few more shots. What if you could counter punches and leave open the enemy for a spray or kick or something? What if you could dodge a Spartan charge with a very brief window, or even turn it around on them?

There are still ways to do a lot of this, but they aren’t refined. They’re clunky, they’re very luck and connection based, but the building blocks for the best -Yoink!- multiplayer 3PS/A are there. Why not pursue this?

You can absolutely have your 4SK BR and have grand agility. This is a cake you can eat and have. What do you guys think?

If Halo wasn’t an FPS then it would have taken another game to change up the FPS landscape.

Hey I’d be all for it, but I feel like it would have to be a spinoff game. Halo simply always has been an FPS and while 343 has strayed from many things Halo has always been, I just can’t see them having a main Halo game being anything other than a first person shooter.

I’ve never heard of Vanquish, but you’re suggesting some pretty drastic changes here. I don’t know how I’d feel if Halo suddenly became half shooting game/half fighting game

> 2533274904158628;4:
> I’ve never heard of Vanquish, but you’re suggesting some pretty drastic changes here. I don’t know how I’d feel if Halo suddenly became half shooting game/half fighting game

I’m not a fan of those types of games. A bit too complex for my tastes.

> 2535429593088083;5:
> > 2533274904158628;4:
> > I’ve never heard of Vanquish, but you’re suggesting some pretty drastic changes here. I don’t know how I’d feel if Halo suddenly became half shooting game/half fighting game
>
> I’m not a fan of those types of games. A bit too complex for my tastes.

To be fair, Halo’s gameplay has always become increasingly complex, but it has also always struggled with this increasing complexity. This is because the developers want so hard, to stick to a format that prohibits the changes it wants to make.

> 2535440693312185;3:
> Hey I’d be all for it, but I feel like it would have to be a spinoff game. Halo simply always has been an FPS and while 343 has strayed from many things Halo has always been, I just can’t see them having a main Halo game being anything other than a first person shooter.

That’s part of why they pretty much can’t do it, but it’s also part of why Halo has to change if it keeps this up. The manner in which the original trilogy plays is not… 100% in line with 343i’s proposed vision and player capabilities, I don’t think. Imagine wanting to give players loads of Spartan capabilities but having to just as well appease veteran fans. You do that, and Halo 5 is the gameplay pseudo-mess we get.

> 2533274972430429;2:
> If Halo wasn’t an FPS then it would have taken another game to change up the FPS landscape.

I’m not sure what you’re trying to say here. I’m talking about Halo going forward.

If Halo wasn’t an FPS then I would say it would become an RTS like it was originally going to be.

If it wouldnt be an FPS,it would have become an RTS,as originaly planned.

> 2533274903727694;7:
> If Halo wasn’t an FPS then I would say it would become an RTS like it was originally going to be.

> 2535408730995228;8:
> If it wouldnt be an FPS,it would have become an RTS,as originaly planned.

Phew somehow my phrasing made people think I was talking in the pastest of past tenses ever thought possible, damn.

I’m talking about the now, guys.

> 2533274805075298;9:
> > 2533274903727694;7:
> > If Halo wasn’t an FPS then I would say it would become an RTS like it was originally going to be.
>
>
>
> > 2535408730995228;8:
> > If it wouldnt be an FPS,it would have become an RTS,as originaly planned.
>
> Phew somehow my phrasing made people think I was talking in the pastest of past tenses ever thought possible, damn.
>
> I’m talking about the now, guys.

Then it would still be an RTS

I don’t like this idea because “feeling like a Spartan” is not high on my list when it comes to what I want from Halo. My philosophy when it comes to gameplay design is that one should try to find a minimal set of mechanics that allows for a high amount of depth, and new mechanics shouldn’t be implemented unless they add a great deal of things to learn for a minimal incerase in complexity. Spartan Abilities already go against this philosophy, so I can’t see there being anything for me in this kind of Halo. The number one thing I used to like about Halo was that the very simple movement style had a lot to learn when it comes to moving around optimally. Halo 5 already ruined that for me, so naturally I think turning the mainline Halo games into this would be a terrible idea.

If the player’s movement capabilities are to be incerased, rather than drowning them in different abilities, time should be spent considering what single ability that barebones Halo (by which I mean Halo sans Spartan Abilities) doesn’t already have could have the most potential. At the same time, it’s also important to remember that not every attack should be counterable, not every wall scalable, and not every gap jumpable. Intersting gameplay arises from players overcoming their limitations in ingenious ways. Maybe you shouldn’t be able to counter a punch, because the fact that an opponent got into punching distance from you means you let your guard down, or failed to anticipate your opponent’s movements. Maybe you should try to play proactively rather than reactively.

i wouldn’t play it as much if at all

> 2535408730995228;10:
> > 2533274805075298;9:
> > > 2533274903727694;7:
> > > If Halo wasn’t an FPS then I would say it would become an RTS like it was originally going to be.
> >
> >
> >
> > > 2535408730995228;8:
> > > If it wouldnt be an FPS,it would have become an RTS,as originaly planned.
> >
> > Phew somehow my phrasing made people think I was talking in the pastest of past tenses ever thought possible, damn.
> >
> > I’m talking about the now, guys.
>
> Then it would still be an RTS

…ppphhhhhhhhhhheeeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwww…

I ain’t even got words for how much you’ve missed the point. Did you even read more than the title?

> 2533274825830455;11:
> I don’t like this idea because “feeling like a Spartan” is not high on my list when it comes to what I want from Halo. My philosophy when it comes to gameplay design is that one should try to find a minimal set of mechanics that allows for a high amount of depth, and new mechanics shouldn’t be implemented unless they add a great deal of things to learn for a minimal increase in complexity. Spartan Abilities already go against this philosophy, so I can’t see there being anything for me in this kind of Halo. The number one thing I used to like about Halo was that the very simple movement style had a lot to learn when it comes to moving around optimally. Halo 5 already ruined that for me, so naturally I think turning the mainline Halo games into this would be a terrible idea.
>
> If the player’s movement capabilities are to be incerased, rather than drowning them in different abilities, time should be spent considering what single ability that barebones Halo (by which I mean Halo sans Spartan Abilities) doesn’t already have could have the most potential. At the same time, it’s also important to remember that not every attack should be counterable, not every wall scalable, and not every gap jumpable. Intersting gameplay arises from players overcoming their limitations in ingenious ways. Maybe you shouldn’t be able to counter a punch, because the fact that an opponent got into punching distance from you means you let your guard down, or failed to anticipate your opponent’s movements. Maybe you should try to play proactively rather than reactively.

I want to highlight this as it assumes this post is made from the OP having poor experiences.

Let me just say that is not the case. Like **at all.**Now while I agree with a lot of the second half of your post, I do want to say that absolutely everything should be counterable, or be able to be reacted to accordingly. I’m not saying you should stop a tank shot by timing a parry, that’s stupid. What I am saying is that you should absolutely be able to neutralize a superior threat by outmaneuvering it, EG: Boarding/Hijacking.

> 2533274805075298;13:
> I want to highlight this as it assumes this post is made from the OP having poor experiences.

I was just using “you” in the general sense, not as in “you, the OP”. I didn’t assume anything but was mainly given a counter argument to the example given in the OP.

> 2533274805075298;13:
> I do want to say that absolutely everything should be counterable, or be able to be reacted to accordingly. I’m not saying you should stop a tank shot by timing a parry, that’s stupid. What I am saying is that you should absolutely be able to neutralize a superior threat by outmaneuvering it, EG: Boarding/Hijacking.

No, everything doesn’t need a counter. You don’t just end up in a situation where an opponent is standing next to you ready to melee you. A series of choices led you down the path that ended in that situation. Any of those choices could’ve been different, you could’ve prevented the situation before it occured. Same goes for standing in the sights of a tank, but for some reason here you seem to accept that you don’t need to have a way out of that situation.

The key here is that I said not every attack needs a counter, because there are ways of ensuring that the opponent doesn’t get to use that attack. You don’t need to be able to deflect the shot from a tank in order to destroy one. What you do to destroy it is you find position where it can’t hit you in the first place. The tank itself can be outmaneuverable, but this does not mean that its attacks have to have a counter. There can exist a counter strategy to destroy a tank without there existing a defensive method to counter the attacks of a tank.

The confusion here arises because “counter” is a very broad term and it’s being used in two different senses here. When we talk about outmaneuvering a tank, we are talking about a proactively coming up with an overall strategy (a counter strategy, if you will) with which we go against the tank. When we talk about countering a melee attack, we are talking about reactively performing a single move (a counter attack) to nullify the effects of an attack. Even though both can be called counters, they are two drastically different things; one is a strategy, the other is a reaction. One is proactive, the other is reactive.

Reactive actions are often not interesting because they are easy. It takes much more mental effort to not end up in a situation where an opponent melees you than it takes to press a button to dodge said melee attack. Therefore not having the ability to dodge the melee attack means that you will have to play smarter to succeed. That’s not to say mental effort is the only thing that counts. You can have counters to attacks, but those counters should still be difficult enough that you’d rather not want to end up in the situation in the first place. For example, I think at least in Halo 3 you could snipe grenades while they were in the air. But it’s so difficult that if you manage to snipe a plasma grenade before it hits you, you pretty much deserve it. So, if an attack does have a counter, it needs to be really difficult to pull off or else there is no point in having the attack. However, by no means does the attack need to have a counter.

It would have probably been Gears Of War Halo edition

If Halo wasn’t a fps I don’t think it would be the 15yr+ series that it became. Halo is GOAT of fps.