GhaleonEB said:
I suppose it depends what he wanted to change, the gameplay or the structure. So long as the core Halo gameplay is intact, Halo can be rebuilt to be something other than a mission to mission shooter (ODST was sort of a proof of concept).
I remember in the Halo 4 panel, Frankie mentioned that they had built out a number of ideas in iteration that were great, but were ultimately thrown out because "they weren't Halo". He was making a point to emphasize how the team recognized what Halo was at its core and reassuring fans that they were going to preserve it. I don't know if these are dots that don't necessarily warrant connecting, but that's the first thing I thought of after reading the article. Put together, it sounds like Payton wanted to make substantial changes to the game that the rest of the team resisted, and so he left because he didn't feel like he could be passionate about a project in which he felt so limited.
If that's the case, his departure will be better for him, and Halo. No one should work on something they don't love if they have the choice, and Halo shouldn't be shepherded by someone who doesn't love what it is.
This nails it on the head IMO.
People are quick to be juvenile in this thread and derail it into LOLOL HE DOESNT LIKE IT CUZ HALO IS SHIT, but i think it does come
down to a difference in direction, and when all is said and done, a difference in where the franchise should go. Considering Payton has been there for a few years now, I'm sure some of his contributions will see the light as they are quite far into the development process (he was one of the first few hired, no?), but for obvious reasons, specific elements he's contributed won't be accredited to him.
I definitely feel myself Halo needs a shakeup. I'm sure 343i feels the pressure oo, but when you've built a franchise for so long, I don't see why people feel like they need to remove staples of the series and forget all the things they did right. This would mean they would HAVE to have the Warthog, the AR, a BR equivalent, some form of pistol, and the list goes on. These are creative restraints, but theyre restraints that actual fans of the franchise would love to have there. 343i has to walk the line between pleasing returning fans by not alienating what they know and love, and refreshening the formula to try and hook the rest of the folk not in the core fanbase, who may have been fatigued over the past few years.
I would personally love a shakeup in the arsenal with few returning favourites, updated vehicles with the majority of them being new ones, and most of all an entirely new set of enemies that aren't reskins of Covenant enemy types (forerunners), as well as the linear plot structure expanded to what Halo (the level) could have been if resources were unlimited back in 2001: a large expanse to traverse, discover and tell a narrative in.
