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[IbizaPocholo]

https://wccftech.com/bonnie-ross-we-have-made-mistakes/

In an interview posted yesterday on GamesBeat, Bonnie Ross admitted having committed some mistakes along the way with Halo since they took over working on the series from Bungie. At the same time, she reiterated the team’s determination to ‘do right’ by the IP with the next installments.

"Honestly, we have made mistakes along the way. The community has helped us in creating good learning experiences for us. But I think that when I look at Halo, the universe is the most important character and we are stewards of the universe. And if we’re going to keep the universe alive and healthy, I think that we have to ensure that we are doing right by Halo.

I do look at it as a very humbling experience. The whole team looks at this as not just our universe. It’s the fans’universe. How are we doing right by the fans? How are we doing right by the franchise? It is a part of our culture, this precious, precious world, and we’re responsible for taking care of it. And we want to do it right."

"I would say that taking over the Halo franchise was taking over an established business but creating a startup company to do that. The thing that I’m most proud of is building an amazing team. I am biased. But I would say that the 343 team has the most talented creators in the in the industry. And I would say, that’s the thing I’m most proud of. The work that they have done, the work we’re doing on Halo Infinite is something that I am so proud. "

 

[Dr. Claus]

I really enjoyed most of Halo 4, but I despised how so much of the story was hidden behind extraneous media (books, social media, etc). They doubled down on this with the pitiful Halo 5 so I hope they realized it is an asinine way to tell stories.

 

[stickkidsam]

It's nice to see that they appear to have learned. No need to crucify yourselves though 343. These apologies always come across like they're about to commit sudoku before the alter of Chief man.

I ain't about to drink their blood juice.

I really enjoyed most of Halo 4, but I despised how so much of the story was hidden behind extraneous media (books, social media, etc). They doubled down on this with the pitiful Halo 5 so I hope they realized it is an asinine way to tell stories.

I really dug the idea of integrating the expanded universe more, but they just did such a terrible job. From the very beginning of Halo 4 they never explained anything.

If Halo 4 and 5 could be retconned as Chief's yandere fever dream... that would be nice. At least I would think it nice.

If not though I really look forward to seeing how in the hell Cortana comes back from this colossal embarrassment of a revolution. Or how the galaxy is supposed to fight back against someone with planet busters at her disposal.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

"I would say that taking over the Halo franchise was taking over an established business but creating a startup company to do that. The thing that I’m most proud of is building an amazing team. I am biased. But I would say that the 343 team has the most talented creators in the in the industry. And I would say, that’s the thing I’m most proud of. The work that they have done, the work we’re doing on Halo Infinite is something that I am so proud. "

Anyone know why in the video game business the execs are always doing this pat on the back stuff with their employees?

In other industries (even for entertainment like movies and tv shows), you don't see this kind of thing.

Game programmers have fragile egos?

 

[JLB]

Hopefully, this does not mean that:

1) Spartan Abilities get canned (best of Halo 5).
2) The story for Infinite doesn't take Halo 4 as the reference (best of Halo 4).

Add 1) and 2) with CE size maps and Ill be happy.

 

[yoyo67]

Anyone know why in the video game business the execs are always doing this pat on the back stuff with their employees?

In other industries (even for entertainment like movies and tv shows), you don't see this kind of thing.

Game programmers have fragile egos?

You see it in the movies, specifically the directors like James Cameron, Steven Spielberg, etc. They ones managing the team give as much credit to them as possible, because they know the team has to do the grunt work.

 

[yoyo67]

I hope they learned their lessons. I always replayed bungie's halo games several times over. I only played Halo 4 and 5 once. The enemies are pretty bad to fight against. Plus it just feels like I'm fighting wave after wave with no real placements, just enemies popping out of nowhere.

 

[JLB]

Hopefully, this does not mean that:

1) Spartan Abilities get canned (best of Halo 5).
2) The story for Infinite doesn't take Halo 4 as the reference (best of Halo 4).

Add 1) and 2) with CE size maps and Ill be happy.

LOL I wanted to say to take Halo 4 for the story as reference.

 

[TheShocker]

I enjoyed Halo 4 and 5’s campaign. I also really enjoyed (still do) Halo 5 MP.

 

[Codes 208]

Halo 5 campaign was a mistake. Arguably so were the mobile twin stick games. And MCC’s launch. And several aspects of halo 4 and wars 2. And even halo cea didn’t escape from criticism. (Mainly artistic choices and creating a cool new scanning feature that was exclusive only to Kinect.)

There hasn’t been a halo game under 343i that hasn’t been scrutinized in some way. And honestly I’m still debating whether that should be considered a growing experience, the fan base simply being too protective over bungie’s work or simply a red flag.

 

[Sakura Doritos]

Is it me or does Destiny 2 at 30fps feel faster than Halo 5 at 60?

 

[Sqorin Hammerfarf]

I’m of two minds on this. On one hand, Halo kind of sucks now. On the other, I really enjoyed her work on the American flag.

 

[Nemesis Prime]

Another correct step, admitting to the mistakes. But after 3 mistakes in a row, I wonder if they'll finally hit their stride

 

[Dr. Claus]

It's nice to see that they appear to have learned. No need to crucify yourselves though 343. These apologies always come across like they're about to commit sudoku before the alter of Chief man.

I ain't about to drink their blood juice.


I really dug the idea of integrating the expanded universe more, but they just did such a terrible job. From the very beginning of Halo 4 they never explained anything.

If Halo 4 and 5 could be retconned as Chief's yandere fever dream... that would be nice. At least I would think it nice.

If not though I really look forward to seeing how in the hell Cortana comes back from this colossal embarrassment of a revolution. Or how the galaxy is supposed to fight back against someone with planet busters at her disposal.

They did a wonderful job with the "expansion" of its universe in the early days of the franchise. Fall of Reach, Onyx, etc. All those books gave some insight in other folks, but it doesn't take away from the core understanding of the video games. Unlike Halo 4/5 where so much of what you needed to know was hidden away. Who was the didact? What the hell are the precursors? Very little was explained in the game and that made it ultimately worse to play.

 

[Vasto]

Halo 4 is still my favorite. That story has me hooked from start to finish. Halo 5 was good but not as good as Halo 4. The story was all over the place which kept me disconnected and not feeling anything. I feel like Halo Infinite will be something special.

Damn, now I want to go play some Halo.

 

[ExpandKong]

Did they get rid of stinkles yet?

Halo 5’s mp is pretty okay. The campaign is where they shit the bed, both in plot and gameplay/level design/etc. Fingers crossed.m for infinite.

 

[Blam]

Halo 5 was fucking perfect with their story lead up. Hunt the truth is honestly something they should have put in the game. It was hella well produced. I wanted more damnt

 

[Havoc2049]

Hopefully 343 can put out a quality game this time. The campaign in Halo 5 was such a let down and at times was just eye rolling bad and cringe worthy.

 

[JimmyRustler]

Speaking of Halo... I have played all of them but stopped after 4. The story of it was such a mess. Is Master Chief still Space Jesus?

 

[Caayn]

I still hold the thought that 343i should've created their own IP instead of morphing Halo.

 

[TeamGhobad]

ya mistakes like making you the halo boss

 

[Starfield]

Okay, let's see what mistakes they made:

-made Halo 4' sp not 4 player splitscreen
-no camera mode for campaign
-almost no original soundtrack used
-no Halo ring lvl
-weird ass campaign where you only get like 50% of the story because the other half is explained in books you have to buy and read
-tried to turn Halos mp into a cod clone going for the esports crowd.
-implented ADS into a game that had 6 previous games before who never needed that shit.
-tried to turn Halos mp into a cod clone going for the esports crowd
-micro transactions...IN HALO
-made the worst campaign ever (Halo 5)
-bullshit marketing to fake and hype up halo 5s story
-made Locke the main character and let's you play as the chief at only like 30% of the campaign
-again no camera mode in campaign
-ah fuck let's don't continue on this anymore...

I guess Bonnie was right, they did fuck up.

 

[1inthechamber_]

They'll never recapture the glory days of Halo 2 or Halo 3. Not even sure Bungie can anymore.

4 and 5 were ok games but not good Halo games. Although I enjoyed 5's mp, its not the same.

 

[SirTerry-T]

Anyone know why in the video game business the execs are always doing this pat on the back stuff with their employees?

In other industries (even for entertainment like movies and tv shows), you don't see this kind of thing.

Game programmers have fragile egos?

You kidding? The movie industry is one big suck-up party, the music biz too with PR staff, press and agents continually massaging egos.

Bonnie is just giving her staff, who no doubt work very hard and with the best intentions (regardless of what the franchise's fan base assume) a confidence boost.
Nothing wrong with that.

 

[Fbh]

Hopefully it's true. My interest in Halo has been on a steady decline ever since they took over.

Halo 1 and 3 are still some of my favourite FPS ever so I really hope Infinite is a return to form for the franchise

I really enjoyed most of Halo 4, but I despised how so much of the story was hidden behind extraneous media (books, social media, etc). They doubled down on this with the pitiful Halo 5 so I hope they realized it is an asinine way to tell stories.

I still don't get why they went that way with the story and how anyone in charge was like "yep, this is a good idea".
The percentage of people that get into the expanded universe of any given IP must be minimal. It's cool when the games include references, nods and cameos of the expanded universe but building the entire story of your new game around it makes no sense.

What was their expectation? That everyone would go out there and buy/read the books?

 

[Nemesis Prime]

Did they get rid of stinkles yet?

Is he still on GAF? Haven’t seen him post in a long time

 

[JLB]

Is it me or does Destiny 2 at 30fps feel faster than Halo 5 at 60?

Definitely its you.

 

[Jigsaah]

It's nice to see that they appear to have learned. No need to crucify yourselves though 343. These apologies always come across like they're about to commit sudoku before the alter of Chief man.

I ain't about to drink their blood juice.


I really dug the idea of integrating the expanded universe more, but they just did such a terrible job. From the very beginning of Halo 4 they never explained anything.

If Halo 4 and 5 could be retconned as Chief's yandere fever dream... that would be nice. At least I would think it nice.

If not though I really look forward to seeing how in the hell Cortana comes back from this colossal embarrassment of a revolution. Or how the galaxy is supposed to fight back against someone with planet busters at her disposal.

You didn't even try...the word is "Seppuku"...

 

[Hendrick's]

I like Bonnie. Hope this is a soft reboot and they don't even try to reconcile the narrative mess from the past few games.

 

[stickkidsam]

They did a wonderful job with the "expansion" of its universe in the early days of the franchise. Fall of Reach, Onyx, etc. All those books gave some insight in other folks, but it doesn't take away from the core understanding of the video games. Unlike Halo 4/5 where so much of what you needed to know was hidden away. Who was the didact? What the hell are the precursors? Very little was explained in the game and that made it ultimately worse to play.

I absolutely loved the early Halo books. I had already played and enjoyed the original trilogy so getting to read that stuff was icing on a delicious cake. Playing Halo 4 meanwhile was like jumping into the middle of someone's fan fiction and the first half of the book was torn out and scattered like the pages of the Hundred Acre Wood.

I think one of the worst things they did was turn the Forerunners into dick bags. Not that the idea of the Forerunners having hubris is a bad idea, but the mystery and almost divine air about them was shattered. What we got to replace it? Balding Porcupine man.

You didn't even try...the word is "Seppuku"...

This ancient historical piece begs to differ.

Spoiler

 

[Kacho]

Based on that interview it’s easy to see why Phil Spencer speaks so highly of her.

I’m glad 343 understand that their Halo games haven’t lived up to the name and it’s something they’re actively working on addressing with Infinite. They have a lot to prove.

 

[Wimbledon]

Not a fan of Bonnie "self proclaimed Feminist" Ross.

But i do hope Halo Infinite is good. halo 4 story good, Multi bad, Halo 5 bad story and MP. I played halo 4 multi for a week, and played 5 MP for one day. Not a fan of either , hopefully Infinite is gold i want to see greatness.

 

[link1201]

Halo 5 was fucking perfect with their story lead up. Hunt the truth is honestly something they should have put in the game. It was hella well produced. I wanted more damnt

Yeah that had me hooked... more of that please. I liked the mystery and the voice acting was really well done. Halo 5's story was a step down which was disappointing but I really love the MP so I hope they don't abandon that completely.

 

[Golgo 13]

“We’ve made mistakes” blah blah blah “learned from the community” blah blah blah.

No one gives a flying fuck. Just deliver a classic video game in Halo: Infinite.

We don’t care about apologies, we want Halo back.

 

[Captain Zyrain]

Looking forward to Infinite..

Will be really curious what approach they take with the series moving forward.

 

[iconmaster]

No need to crucify yourselves though 343.

It’s refreshing to experience a reaction of “you guys are being too hard on yourselves” rather than, well…anything related to Bethesda lately.

 

[Enjay]

They can crucify themselves in a vain attempt to seem like they know what they're doing this time around all they want, but fool me once, etc.

 

[Enjay]

Did they get rid of stinkles yet?

Nope. He still posts almost daily about hating people of a certain race too.

 

[Iced Arcade]

Halo 5's downfall.... people play halo to play as master chief.

no one wanted to play as locke BUT they forced it so they could push the Halo Nightfall series out when they were trying the TV thing. (locke would have been cool as a spin off series)

 

[Barakov]

Eh....believe it when I see it. I really want Infinite to be great but their track record thus far hasn't inspired confidence.

 

[ThatOneGrunt]

I really enjoyed most of Halo 4, but I despised how so much of the story was hidden behind extraneous media (books, social media, etc). They doubled down on this with the pitiful Halo 5 so I hope they realized it is an asinine way to tell stories.

I will alway remember the cutscene where the Didact emerges and Cortana and Chief talk about him like they’ve always known who he was.

Meanwhile I’m sitting there thinking I accidentally skipped a cutscene having no idea who or what a Didact is.

Same thing with Halo five and the cutscene where he sees Cortana for the first time. He wasn’t surprised at all. Again making me think I missed a cutscene.

I still love the games though. But guys, just put the story in the game.

 

[Golgo 13]

Nope. He still posts almost daily about hating people of a certain race too.

Let me guess...... white people?

Because it’s so cool and hip and progressive to hate white people nowadays.

 

[VertigoOA]

I don’t buy the pr. I’ll play it because thank you gamespass...

I don’t see how I can get hyped tho. I remember people saying 4 was bad, and even as a diehard Bungie fan I enjoyed half the campaign... halo 5 was an abomination tho from start to finish.

We shall see

 

[spookyfish]

I’m of two minds on this. On one hand, Halo kind of sucks now. On the other, I really enjoyed her work on the American flag.

That was her sister, Betsy.

 

[Nemesis Prime]

Nope. He still posts almost daily about hating people of a certain race too.

Ummm what? Mind elaborating?

 

[benjohn]

343I output has been solid. The problem is they have to keep up to a legacy that isn't theirs to begin with. Perhaps they could live up to their full potential if they worked on their own original IP. Why not trying new roads making your own adventure?

 

[ExpandKong]

343I output has been solid. The problem is they have to keep up to a legacy that isn't theirs to begin with. Perhaps they could live up to their full potential if they worked on their own original IP. Why not trying new roads making your own adventure?

343i was founded specifically and explicitly to take over the Halo franchise though. It’s the entire reason they exist and they fell flat on their face right out of the gate with Halo 4. Then again with the Master Chief Collection. Then again with Halo 5 (the campaign, at least).

Maybe they just suck.

 

[iconmaster]

I’m of two minds on this. On one hand, Halo kind of sucks now. On the other, I really enjoyed her work on the American flag.

Promote this poster to Member

 

[Crew 511A]

I just hope they focus more on character development more than diversity for the sake of diversity. I don't care about Palmer, Fred, Linda, or really anyone else besides Chief and Buck. The fact I don't care about those characters has nothing to do with their race or gender. I don't care because the game doesn't give me a reason to care, and I'm not wading through volumes of lore. But hey, we managed to make half the playable Spartans female, so...I guess that makes up for having such a bloated cast.

Reach's team was racially diverse, and no one complained. I guess it's because the characters all had their own personalities. If I mention the kind, friendly one, you know I'm talking about Jorge. Emile is the psycho. Kat is the techie, and so on. What was the personality of the non-white female on Locke's team? Dunno. Her only purpose was exposition. Well, that and so you could have 4 players at the same time. She was the very definition of a filler character, and she wasn't the only one. But hey...diversity?

And the story was a mess also. What exactly was Locke's mission? I guess he was supposed to bring Chief in, and beat him down if necessary. But for whatever reason, he loses interest in this after their first encounter. At the end, they're just like...hey buddy. There's never really an explanation for this. Like I said in another post, they need to either have H4 and H5 be a dream the MC had in cryo freeze, or just have some massive retcons to fix things.

 

[Artistic]

More compensation or at least discounted prices on any potential DLC.

Still feel MCC should be F2P.