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  • Subject: The Halo Network: An Idea for the Future of the Halo Franchise
Subject: The Halo Network: An Idea for the Future of the Halo Franchise

*Sips tea*

I wrote this in the Halo Waypoint forums in hopes that someone at 343i will read it, and take the idea into consideration. However, since I feel it's relevant to the Halo universe, I'm posting it here for anyone who'd like to comment on it.

Hello Halo fans, and 343 Industries.

I've had this idea bouncing around in my brain for a long time, and now that the Halo Franchise has been turned over to you, Microsoft and 343i, I would like to explain it in full, in hopes that not only will this community support the idea, but that it be considered by 343i as a new direction to take the Halo games in. I know that these are bold words, but I assure you that if you take the time to read through and understand what I'm proposing here, you will not only have the community on your side, but you will create something that the Xbox and the gaming industry as a whole has never seen before. Innovation at its best, my friends.

While this is not going to be a fully in-depth, detail-oriented article, it will be a full overview of what I'm proposing. A concept, if you will. A concept that what could revitalize the Halo name and put it back on top. So I hope you all brought your listening caps today, because now is the time to put 'em on.
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The Halo universe is vast, deep, and full of life. Through the various comics, books, and of course games, the dedicated Halo fan could prattle on for hours about how great the universe is, and how much there is in it. The universe spans over many mediums, and it's always growing and changing with each new piece of information we get.

But as we all know (And I hope you guys at 343 Industries know) is that Halo has always been, and will always be, about the games. While the non-game canon has always felt connected and in-sync, the games feel disconnected and disjointed. The games are either behind in the times, coming out too infrequently, or have broken canon altogether (I'm talking about YOU Halo: Reach). They almost seem like sometimes, they aren't even related to the story and canon. You have the Halo lore: The books, graphic novels, motion comics, anime movies, and ARGs. And then you have the Halo games, which pretty much only cover one story. They're part of the universe, but in a way, they aren't. They're the backbone to the whole thing, but they don't FEEL that way. They FEEL separate, while all the other mediums (books, comics, etc.) all feel like they're bulked into one category.

Even though the Halo games are all telling the same story...They don't even feel connected to each other! The games play very differently, and each one feels separate. So we have the story-based Halo content that feels like it's all together, and has its act together, and then we have the games that seem all over the place and separate from one another.

So...How do we change that? Well my friends, that's what I'm going to explain right here, right now.
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What the Halo games need is a central location. They need something to feel connected to one another, rather than each release being its own separate thing. They need to all feel like they belong together. How do we do that? My idea for the future of the Halo franchise is based entirely around the idea that from this point on, the Halo games be part of a centralized platform, or as I'm calling it in concept...The Halo Network.

The concept behind the network is that every piece of game content released from this point on is not its own separate game, but is a contribution to the collective Halo Network. The network would be the basis for all things Halo games, and would only require the consumer to purchase the platform, and additional content to that platform. The Halo Network would be a One-Stop-Shop for all things Halo-game, and would never require the release of another stand-alone Halo game ever again.

I know that sounds BIG. But let me break it down a little better, from the consumers perspective.

The Halo Network would work similarly to every other game in existence. You'd buy the disk, bring it home, and slap it in your Xbox. But from that point on, things would be very different. From that disk, you would be able to access all Halo-related game content, right from one central location. All past, present, and future game content, all in one place. How great would that be, eh?

"But Time Glitch," you ask, "All the Halo games are separate! They can't just be COMBINED! Plus all the different multiplayer modes are all on different severs, etc...How is this even possible?!"

Well, that's where the work comes in. See, The Halo Network would be more than just an app. It would be a whole new game, with one singular goal in mind: Customization and Adaptation. The launch of the Halo Network wouldn't just be a platform, it would also be a new game. However, this game wouldn't be like any of the Halo games we've ever seen before. The Network would feature its own, stand-alone multiplayer system that was FULL of customization options. We're talking about a customization system that is so flexible, it could re-create the multiplayer of ALL OTHER PREVIOUSLY RELEASED HALO GAMES.

Using this customization system (That would of course, be available to the players), The Network's multiplayer platform could satisfy the entire community's wants and needs for their personal Halo game play style. All the people who want Halo 2 back, or Halo CE back...They could have it. Not only could they have it, but they could have a high-resolution, graphically updated version of their favorite multiplayer game that plays exactly like they remember it. All the same maps, all the same weapons, all at their fingertips, to not only play, but customize how they'd like.

Oh and did I mention that all this would have matchmaking support? Yup, Halo 1, 2, 3, Reach, and the next incarnation of Halo's multiplayer...All with matchmaking support...All under one roof.

They could then take this world into Forge, where the updated engine would allow for them to select from all the previous Halo weapons and vehicles (Which are already used, of course, to re-create the multiplayer from past Halo games), but also edit their properties. Weapon damage, projectiles, rate of fire. All adjustable by the player. Of course, Forge would now come with a terrain editor as well as many, many more options for the player to create levels exactly how they want to, without the need for a singular "theme" or style they had to conform to.

And that's just Step 1.

The Halo Network would not only launch with the definitive Multiplayer platform, but it would also launch with the next Halo's campaign. This campaign, however, would not be the only campaign compatible with this platform, however. This campaign would be the first of many. The Network would be built with add-on campaign support enabled. With this infrastructure in place, each new campaign could simply be bought (either online, or in-store), and added to The Network. Say you bought the next Halo campaign. All you'd have to do is stick it in the drive, download it to your hard drive, and you'd never have to stick in that campaign disk ever again. It would all be part of The Network, and directly accessible from the game's menu under "Campaign".

This would also open up the doors for updating past Halo games to current-gen graphics. They could be sold on the network, to function WITH the network. Imagine hitting the "Campaign" tab, and having all the classic Halo campaigns immediately available to you, all in stunning new, highly detailed and current-gen graphics, with co-op support, alongside all the new content that you've just purchased. What a rush, right!?

Basically, Halo game releases would continue as normal, but instead of them being their own stand-alone platform, they would be incorporated into The Halo Network. The "multiplayer" for each Halo game would simply be add-ons, expansions, and updates to the current multiplayer platform.

Do you see where I'm going with this? The whole idea is to create one definitive platform where all future Halo game content could come together as one, centralized game. It would be a truly evolving game experience, with each release not only bringing new ideas and content to the forefront, but incorporating all those new ideas in with the pre-existing medium. It would be the ULTIMATE Halo experience, and one that could, in the future, define how high-profile, AAA franchises are handled.

This could be the future of FPS and franchise gaming. And you'd be the first to do it. What better place to start than with Halo?
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Thank you all for your time (If you read the whole thing), and I'd be more than glad to answer any questions you all may have about this idea.

Feel free, in fact. I know it's a complex idea. I'll be sure to add any questions/answers to this post for a more informative OP.

Dream053 is concerned that the concept of the network would bring down or replace the sale of physical media (the games themselves).

I figured that would be a common mis-understanding.

Halo titles would continue to be released, in physical form, but they could also be purchased online, on the network. The physical releases, which would release like Halo games always have, would contain the next campaign, a set of multiplayer maps and updates, and any other game updates/add-ons the creators had come up with.

The Network would not replace the physical medium, but would provide a place for all of them to come together under one roof, one platform, one game. It would unite the games rather than divide them.

[Edited on 11.23.2010 11:33 PM PST]

  • 11.23.2010 10:16 PM PDT
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I do not appreciate B.Net Group solicitation. If you ignore this and send me an invitation anyway, I will block communications with you.

I never liked "one-stop shop" platforms myself. Isolating an entire franchise to a specific location, even if that platform is already strictly electronic, really tends to isolate the audience.

Doing that with Halo would likely eliminate a huge portion of if not all of the physical ownership of the content one continues to purchase (aside from this "network" itself), and I think something most people have realized over the past few years as more and more systems become strictly-electronic, that physical ownership is very, very important to a lot of people. I conducted a poll on electronic content ownership versus physical ownership in community college during an economics assignment a few years ago, and even with today's generation immersing themselves in technology and being "lighter" and more convenient, from the statistics our class received (and just from my experience in general), it seems that the desire is very much prevalent.

More importantly, however, turning the entire Halo franchise into a single, all-encompassing "platform" or "network" could be somewhat detrimental to the franchise's other market sales. A huge amount of Halo-licensed materials, from novels to tees to McFarlane models are bolstered by or even rely upon in-store release events or physical marketing campaigns. Isolating the most important part of the franchise away from these other markets doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

This sort of progressive, ever-evolving mechanic should be reserved for the platforms that are designed for it. Games that are designed to have their own, unique worlds should remain standalone. If you bunch them in with everything else and call it nothing but an expansion or furtherance, it becomes less significant.

Utilizing a singular engine to reproduce all of the past content and all of the future content would certainly, as you say, be an impressive platform of its own. However, I don't think it's a very appropriate business move to name all Halo titled and playable content exclusive to it.

Halo Waypoint would almost seem to be like a very basic framework to your idea, and I believe even Waypoint to be a bit too alienated.

  • 11.23.2010 11:27 PM PDT

*Sips tea*

I figured that would be a common mis-understanding.

Halo titles would continue to be released, in physical form, but they could also be purchased online, on the network. The physical releases, which would release like Halo games always have, would contain the next campaign, a set of multiplayer maps and updates, and any other game updates/add-ons the creators had come up with.

The Network would not replace the physical medium, but would provide a place for all of them to come together under one roof, one platform, one game. It would unite the games rather than divide them.

  • 11.23.2010 11:31 PM PDT
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I do not appreciate B.Net Group solicitation. If you ignore this and send me an invitation anyway, I will block communications with you.

Your OP reads differently, but thanks for clarifying. However, if that's the case, then I'm not sure I understand how your idea of the this Network's ever-evolving multiplayer experience, with all of its expansions and additional features could possibly mesh with the demographic that chooses to avoid said Network, and simply stay tuned with physical releases.

Augmenting previous game engines and sandboxes would undoubtedly cause some serious compatibility issues between players who choose to play in the improved engines of the Network's versions of the games versus the original, physical versions.

It is also questionable as to whether something like that will ever even be possible. Developers spend time creating engines and individually creating textures, shaders, lightmaps, and other graphical mechanics to craft next-gen environments, and the most they've been able to do is re-use it, again manually, whether for a subsequent and sequential release or a prequel. It has never been as easy as "port"ing, and likely won't until game developers start coding their software to be able to be backward-compatible with previous coding. Certainly there is some measure of that now, but the idea of old games being upgraded to next-gen expectations in a fiscally feasible frame of time seems a bit far-fetched. Then again, I suppose we've seen 343i working on a number of different projects on Waypoint at any given time, so perhaps they're larger than I'm anticipating.

Either way, while something like this would be a dream for the consumer, it seems like a nightmare for the producer.

  • 11.24.2010 1:14 AM PDT
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It's Hazard Time

Good idea that would cost an insane amount of money and wouldn't make MS that much richer.
Good idea, but it has no place in a world ruled by capitalism. (I'm no commie, just stating a fact). We got a really, really light version of this (Halo Waypoint) that so far is good for nothing, and I would guess never gets used. MS should improve waypoint and make it something good, usable and "halo", that would be the way...

  • 11.24.2010 3:52 AM PDT

*Sips tea*

Posted by: Dream053
Your OP reads differently, but thanks for clarifying. However, if that's the case, then I'm not sure I understand how your idea of the this Network's ever-evolving multiplayer experience, with all of its expansions and additional features could possibly mesh with the demographic that chooses to avoid said Network, and simply stay tuned with physical releases.


It'd be simple. The player could still just buy the games and play them, but the Network would be the backbone to every game. The multiplayer would not be separated per-game, it would simply be THE multiplayer.

It's kinda like what Starcraft did way back in the day. You had your Starcraft multiplayer, but they kept releasing campaign expansions to add to your core game. It was all integrated. Brood War was not a stand-alone game. It was an add-on. That's kinda what I'm proposing here.

Augmenting previous game engines and sandboxes would undoubtedly cause some serious compatibility issues between players who choose to play in the improved engines of the Network's versions of the games versus the original, physical versions.

You have to think of the Network as an ever-improving, cloud-esque structure. The Network would be updated to the latest version of the engine whenever a new game was added. Of course, the engine would have to be built to be fully backwards-compatible with previous versions, to allow the old campaigns to be playable on the new platform.

Now if you're referring to being able to say, play the ORIGINAL Halo 2 or 1 on the Network, that would not be possible. However, the Network would be set up to accept new campaigns, so devs could charge for re-makes of the old campaigns with better graphics.

It is also questionable as to whether something like that will ever even be possible. Developers spend time creating engines and individually creating textures, shaders, lightmaps, and other graphical mechanics to craft next-gen environments, and the most they've been able to do is re-use it, again manually, whether for a subsequent and sequential release or a prequel. It has never been as easy as "port"ing, and likely won't until game developers start coding their software to be able to be backward-compatible with previous coding. Certainly there is some measure of that now, but the idea of old games being upgraded to next-gen expectations in a fiscally feasible frame of time seems a bit far-fetched. Then again, I suppose we've seen 343i working on a number of different projects on Waypoint at any given time, so perhaps they're larger than I'm anticipating.

Either way, while something like this would be a dream for the consumer, it seems like a nightmare for the producer.


I think that to innovate, one must question what is possible and what is not. I think a structure like this is entirely feasible, and I can actually see this becoming a structure for mainstream game franchises like Call of Duty, Gears of War, and other big-name games.

In my eyes, it's the next step: Unification of a game series to a central hub, where the user has access to all the game franchise's past and present content, and one persistent multiplayer that's always being updated.

It would be a lot of work, but we've been working in the same "Release game; Abandon old game" mentality for a long time. I guarantee the first developer/publisher to pull this off will go down in history as innovating the next stage in the way online multiplayer, and game franchises as a whole, are handled.

  • 11.24.2010 9:06 AM PDT

this r sig?

I think they should stop before they screw anything else up.

  • 11.24.2010 6:26 PM PDT

I...I...it`s beautiful

  • 11.24.2010 6:42 PM PDT

This is the best idea i have ever heard. simply genius man.

  • 11.24.2010 7:00 PM PDT

sorry but i dont think this all that a good idea. i see where you're coming from and all but i just dont think its that great. not to mention the fact this would require an insane amount of money and i dont think the systems could handle it.

  • 11.24.2010 7:43 PM PDT