- Plasma Prestige
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- Intrepid Legendary Member
Expressing my strong liberal views without shame. Favorite quotes below:
"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe."
"One starts to live when he can live outside himself."
- Albert Einstein
Ever since Halo 4's release, there hasn't been lack of reviews and impressions from Floodians on the game's campaign, multiplayer, and community tools. The Flood has hosted diverse opinions, from disgust to adoration.
I'm of the belief that 343i ultimately managed to accomplish what Bungie has failed to accomplish in any of their Halo games. I say this out of immense love for Bungie, even if it isn't construed that way by the public, because I want the developer that created the Universe I love to learn from the mistakes they made and grow stronger as artists and storytellers as a result.
Let me preface my case by saying that Halo, to me, is about the Universe the game takes place in: the characters, the conflicts, the arcs, and the technology. While I enjoy my own dose of frantic multiplayer and fun forging, this is not the reason I love this franchise. As a result, my general judgment of a Halo game's success is based on its campaign, from its story and character development to its gameplay and environments.
I believe 343i has delivered a better experience in this department than Bungie ever has. Bungie treated the Halo Universe as two separate domains: the extended media and the games. Through the decisions they made, they demonstrated that they are unwilling to incorporate elements of the extended media into their games, even if it meant enhancing the experience not only for its dedicated fans, but enhancing the storytelling and character arcs in general. A classic example of this divorce would be Halo: Reach, wherein Bungie "reformatted" (to say the least) the entire Battle of Reach to avoid the established elements set out by them through the author they worked with.
343i's biggest success with Halo 4's campaign was realizing the massive potential incorporating the elements of the extended media to the game itself, thereby giving the storytelling and character development a hefty enhancement. This is seen immediately from starting the campaign with the Prologue, where Dr. Halsey justifies the decisions she made regarding the Spartan-II program. It is seen in the cordial familiarity between John and Lasky. And finally, it is seen in the heart of Halo 4's campaign: the relationship between Cortana and John.
Bungie's strength as a developer was always environments and gameplay, never storytelling and character development. While this served them quite well initially, it ultimately forced them to concentrate more on one portion of all the Halo games post-CE: the multiplayer.
What 343i may lack in multiplayer management and user-interface, they more than compensate for in the storytelling and development department. These two facets of good writing will carry the Halo Universe much further because a) the management can be learned fairly quickly whereas storytelling is an art, and b) the core of Halo's appeal for many lies in its expansive and compelling Universe.
As a long time fan of Bungie, my only advice to them as they move on from Halo to other endeavors is to realize that the Universe you create cannot be fragmented and separate for it to be developed and vibrant; and that storytelling still matters for many of your fans. I am not a 343i apologist: I recognize the mistakes they have made and insist that they fix them, but I am also aware of this developer's obvious strengths and what my all-time favorite developer can learn from them. I wish the success of Halo as a fan, but I also wish the future success of Bungie for all they have done for not only the Halo Universe, but the gaming industry in general.
[Edited on 11.27.2012 3:38 PM PST]