Bungie on Halo Evolution and Going Out with a Bang

Halo: Reach is likely to be the last Bungie Halo made. The studio wants to make the "definitive entry" in the franchise before it moves on to new IP. IndustryGamers sat down with Bungie's Brian Jarrard.

[GiantEnemyCrab]

LOL! The second 360 article I clicked in a row where the first 5+ comments are deleted..

OnTopic: I hope Bungie deliver because they have a lot to live up to. If they truly want to go out with a bang they need to deliver cutting edge tech/graphics with the game play and story to match. It's a tall order but I believe Bungie can do it.

[Blaze929]

kinda wish they wouldve went out with a bang using a new engine instead of a gutted one.

Ah well, can't freakin' wait for Reach.

[GiantEnemyCrab]

It is there engine so gutting it makes sense. There netcode is still the best in the business and there are a lot of other parts of the framework they can keep(lighting). I am sure Bungie see the other benchmarks in the industry and have an idea of what people are expecting and I am giving them the benefit of the doubt. I'm sure whatever they make will be good it's the "bang" part I wonder about.

@below: Jetpacks? So what? What is wrong with that? I'm still waiting to see some final builds of the game before I start downing the graphics. You've already made your mind up.. I know Bungie over promised and under delivered with ODST but I think they are really going all out this time.

Stick Halo on dedicated servers and tell Bungie they need 256 players you damn right they could get it going... How many MP patches did Halo 3 need? None. How many has MAG received? Not to mention it was broken the day it came online.. Quality not Quantity.

[Mo0eY]

I'm sure that cutting edge gameplay will have to do with the jetpacks you will be using. And I don't even want to get started on those cutting edge graphics.

Edit: Best netcode? Are you serious? Slap 256 players in a Halo 3 match, and I'd love to see what happens besides a lot of teabagging.

[Fanb0y]

Mooey

There's a reason the Halo series don't use dedicated servers: the CR*PLOAD of people playing the games! MAG numbers can be dealt with, but not these.
Halo probably has the best p2p netcode I've been on a shooter anyways. COD's is cruddy.

[smittyjerkins]

Pshh, Bungie said they were going to go out with a bang with Halo 3. Two games later and supposedly they are going out with a bang AGAIN?

What will Bungie say next?

[pixelsword]

I'm waiting on how it will "link" to any possible endeavors in the future.

They could have left the traditional Halo story open-ended by having Chief die to close out that branch of the Halo universe. Next in ODST, they could have had someone find a transmission or find files regarding a launch left by someone in Reach, in which someone or a legion of Spartans in Reach escaped to a military base to regroup.

But to me, now if someone escapes from Reach, It seems like Chief will run into them: leaving the story open-ended in that way. The only thing I see is that if so, Cortana would be invaluable in terms of her knowledge, and both could inform them of shifts in loyalty in terms of the Elites and the status of the war.

[Ninji]

More like Halo devolution & them going out with a flop.

[ruiner4482]

And I quote "and the desire to make each game we release better than our last game"

Did this guy remember putting out ODST???

[TOO PAWNED]

Bungie is probably one of most overrated developers out there. Halo 3 was overrated, Halo oDST was BAD, and now they are working on Reach and once again come with BS quote "Going out with a bang".
I honestly think 360 hardware is limiting them, come over to Sony MAKE.BELIEVE!

[OutgoingSquall]

They have no talent all i hear about them is halo thats it they haven't even tried to do a different game in like a decade or more wow these guys are so edgey? Wtf is so talented about them its really hard to make a FPS with no destructible environments pffft gimme a break so overated.

[GiantEnemyCrab]

Bungie no talent?

And you actually got agrees.

N4G never disappoints.

Bungie has some of the best netcode in the business, their integration into the web was cutting edge(and has been copied heavily since) and things like Forge were not done on consoles before.

There games have thousands of people playing it daily.. You don't keep that kind of following without being talented.

[Arnon]

I guess Valve is a terrible developer, too, since they use the Source Engine. Nevermind the actual quality of their games. I mean look at Counter Strike: Source and how old and outdated it is. Who cares about the thousands of players still gaming heavily on it daily.

I'm beginning to think this generation of gaming doesn't actually care about the games, and instead they're just jaded and expect something different with each game.

I never saw these complaints with The Legend of Zelda back on the N64. What really changed between Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask (My favorite game of all time)?

So far, Halo 3 has been the most supported console game to date, with new content releasing almost 3 years after it was sold to the public, all the while still selling; and yet you somehow come to the conclusion that they're not talented developers by what statement, exactly?

What does this mean about Guerrilla Games, then?

[DarkSpawnClone]

how are they not talented I'm not a big halo fan but i still respect the work they put in to there games they do great for there fans base i would like to see you do any better.

[anonymouse111335]

can you not differentiate a troll post from a actual opinion unless it's incredly obvious like the bungies #1 fan guy

[smittyjerkins]

I'm gonna have to disagree with you on the forge mode being original in Halo 3. Build a skate park in Tony Hawk 3 was basically the same exact thing, but done five years earlier than Halo 3 and in a skating game.

Edit: @Arnon:
Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask were very different, actually.
For one, Majora's Mask only had four full temples you had to go through before the final boss battle. OoT had three as a kid and seven as an adult. Also, the collecting fairies gameplay in Majora's mask added a new mechanic to the temples in addition to the standard set up. Also, Majora's Mask was one consistent world over the course of 3 days while OoT was a kid and adult world. On top of that the mask gameplay in Majora's mask added an entirely different element to the game allowing the player to switch between all 4 "races" in the game on the fly. The biggest difference in Majora's mask is that it is one of the very few Link games where Ganon is not the final boss.

Although, you could argue that Ocarina of Time, A Link to the Past and Twilight Princess were essentially the same game. Two worlds, collect the pieces and face Ganon at the end.

[Arnon]

Too bad we're not talking about sales.

Owned.

Also, Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask are about as different as Halo 3 and Halo 3: ODST. Both ran on the same engine with updated features and a new story. Yet, I don't see people criticizing the Zelda franchise for doing such a thing.

[smittyjerkins]

Majora's Mask and Ocarina of Time are completely different. Hell, many have stated Majora's Mask as being a complete offshoot from the mainstay of the series. That's why you haven't heard people calling them out as the same thing because they are so completely different.

Whereas Twilight Princess has come under fire for being literally the same thing as Ocarina of Time. Same story but with a dog, temples, overworld, characters almost being word for word the same thing. They even shared the some of the exact same bosses. Also, most of the same weapons were shared and retrieved in the same order.

That's the problem in your logic, you take a game that was actually a breath of fresh air for Zelda fans (Majora's Mask) while ignoring the one that has come under fire by many Zelda fans and critics for being the same thing as Ocarina of Time (Twilight Princess).

[Arnon]

Yes, the story of Majora's Mask is completely different. You're right on that. But it's the EXACT same scenario as Halo 3 and Halo 3 ODST, is it not? Same gameplay, same characters (Hell, ODST had different ones).

I mean, I'm honestly not sure how you're even able to argue this. Do you realize Majora's Mask was supposed to be an expansion to Ocarina of Time, just like ODST was for Halo 3? The game was created in 6 months and the only difference was that it used the 64mb expansion pak.

Halo 3: ODST - Different story, Different characters, different scenario, same gameplay, same weapons, added visors.
Majora's Mask - Different story, same characters, different scenario, same gameplay, same weapons (less than OoC), added masks.

Do you honestly not see it?

Basically, my conclusion to what you're saying is, Majora's Mask was amazing because it was Zelda and had a new story, but ODST is pretty mediocre because it was Halo and had a new story, correct? Either way, Majora's Mask is my all-time favorite game, but that doesn't exclude the fact that the scenario and development time it was created in is about as different as Halo 3 & ODST.

[smittyjerkins]

I never said ODST was mediocre. Read my posts again.

I was just arguing that Majora's Mask was more original than you made it out to be and it is. Unlike Ocarina of time, the game doesn't revolve around getting the Master Sword and slashing your way through temples. Instead it revolves around collecting the masks of the three other races and using that to get further into the game. You NEED the masks to beat the game and they are very useful in addition to the standard weapons. The masks were an entirely new gameplay mechanic. On top of this, in Majora's Mask, the entire game was a cycle of the same three days. This presented a sense that all was for naught because anything you did would be erased after going back in time on the third day. It also presented a sense of immediacy and it was a new gameplay mechanic. Majora's Mask did have many of the same characters, but you simply ignored the fact that the game added many new characters and increased your interactions with the characters through mask collecting missions. This thrust many of the characters from being 2-dimensional passerby's into 3-dimensional characters that you have a little piece of them to relate to.

Also, you keep purposefully ignoring the fact that I have agreed with you that there are some Zelda games that have shown no sense of evolution. Again, I'll bring up Twilight Princess, this game did word-for-word the same exact thing as Ocarina of Time except with a dog. You seem to continually forget it because Twilight Princess has come under fire by many for being literally and updated version of Ocarina of Time.

This is the end of our argument because I have run out of bubbles to use. You will probably ignore the points I agree with you on, then take away one of my bubbles and that will be the end of that. Won't it?

All I'm trying to say is that it is an injustice to say that Majora's Mask was almost the same thing as Ocarina of Time when gameplay, story, layout of the overworld, character interactions and more were very different in Majora's Mask. Twilight Princess is the copycat, not Majora's Mask.

[Arnon]

/facepalm

I didn't like Twilight Princess. Majora's Mask is my favorite Zelda game ever made. Ocarina of Time was good, but Majora's Mask beat it. Majora's Mask has a different story. Majora's Mask has a different setting.

Lol... any better? Also, why would I take your bubbles?

[Mo0eY]

Bungie wants to go out with a bang with Halo: <fill in the blank here for future Halo title subname here>

Bungie's a one-trick pony. Marathon wasn't that great of a game (only thing it introduced was animated reloads). Look at Oni, LOL.

[Mo0eY]

Quote from Bungie developer: "we've... definitely heard [from them] and taken it on the chin a little bit in the past."

Translation: Hey 10 year old boys, SHUT THE FVCK UP. We can hear you prepubescent annoying voices, your whiney intolerance, your immaturity, we've seen you dress up like a bunch of nerds, type up countless number of short stories, so just SHUT THE FVCK UP.

[JustCallMeMarcus]

My most anticipated 360 game in years!

[Jab-dees-nuts]

hmmm. i doubt their done squeesing every once of blood from "Halo" but this last one does look good. Yes im on the dark side (ps3)

[spunkee311]

Halo Reach is looking more and more amazing. Especially in terms of multplayer.
I really hope Bungie will continue with Halo. Whether its now or years down the road. Seeing another studio take over the Halo reigns just won't feel right. Halo is Bungie's baby. And they've pubicly stated several times that they have not been happy with Microsoft's behavior and are really sensitive about another dev studio taking over the Halo franchise. And I agree. Honestly, I'd rather wait another 5 years and have Bungie do a few new games and get it out of their system and then come back to Halo. I wouldn't want another studio to do it whatsoever.

Halo gets a lot of hate because of its popularity, but there is no denying that they are one of the best studio's out there. They listen to their fans. And have some of the best programmers in the studio. Multi-player is flawless. Despite if you like it or not.