Ideas for Other Halo Games Part 3

[Goldfish Lord]

Before I deliver my next idea, which will be a very long post, I'd like to cover some things.

 

First off, some of you may be thinking that if these ideas actually turn into games, there'd be too many Halo games, and people would get tired of them. I don't think that'd happen. ODST showed that fans will embrace spin-offs already. There is so much potential in the Halo Universe that I don't think it will be exhausted any time soon.

 

Also, in your responses, please suggest any other game ideas you may have, while also approving, critiquing, and recommending improvements to mine. If you have an interesting idea, I'll certainly take a look at them, and perhaps adding it to the next installment, giving you all the credit of course.

 

I hope these the Halo community finds these posts and seriously considers what I'm offering. I may be new to this forum, but I am by no means new to Halo.

 

With that, my third idea.

 

3) A series encompassing the various wars that eventually resulted in the Covenant we know

 

The Covenant did not just come out of nowhere. The different species have not always been at peace. It'd be awesome to be able to play through these events. Here's the breakdown:

 

a) The San 'Shyuum-Sangheili War 938-852 BC

 

San 'Shyuum are Hierarchs, later to be known as Prophets, and Sangheili are Elites.

 

The Hierarchs found the Elites, and discovering that there were other sentient species, decided that they should ally with the Elites so that they could have an effective military force. They also wanted to examine the Forerunner artifacts on the Elite home world. However, the Elites didn't want this initially, hence the war. You may think this was one-sided, but the Hierarchs had vastly superior technology. Many of you probably didn't realize that there are, or at least were, quite a few members of the Hierarch race as well.

 

There is so little information given about this period of time that 343 Industries would have plenty of room to work. The design of everything could (but not necessarily should) be completely different from what we've seen, without contradicting anything.

 

As for who and where you play, here are some suggestions, though I'm unsure myself:

 

The location should be on Sanghelios, the Elite's home world. The Hierarchs found it, so it only makes sense. While on Sanghelios, the player could see creatures such as the Helioskrill and the Doarmir.

 

http://halo.wikia.co...ki/Helioskrill

http://halo.wikia.com/wiki/Doarmir

 

Obviously the Hierarchs won the war, and so reasonably we should play as one of them, right? Though the only time we see one of them walk is in Halo 3, and that guy kinda struggles at it, he was a Prophet, and therefore probably spent most of his time sitting in his cushy floating chair. San 'Shyuum probably didn't have that technology widely available when they were fighting the Elites, and so were probably quite capable of walking, running, and maybe some limited jumping. Maybe they developed the floating chair to fight the Elites. In Halo 2, when you kill the Prophet of Regret, that chair had a nasty laser. Maybe we could see that. The point is, playing as a San 'Shyuum soldier is feasible.

 

However, most people would probably want to play as an Elite. This makes sense, because the play style for an Elite would be much closer to the traditional Halo style.

 

This leads me to propose that the game be a little bit like Star Wars Battlefront, where you can choose what faction you play as. I don't mean having skirmishes. I definitely advocate a Halo-style campaign. The main story would have you play as a San 'Shyuum, with whatever weapons and equipment they had at that point. There'd also be the option to play through the campaign as an Elite, though the stories would end the same: with the formation of a compact between the two races.

 

Because Elites would fare much better in a ground engagement, the San 'Shyuum campaign would have a number of space or aerial battles, with the possibility of you being dropped in for limited ground combat. Of course, one or two missions would have to be all ground. Maybe one could be recon? Maybe to capture an Elite general?

 

Then the Elite campaign would be mostly ground battles, because that's more the Halo way, but they had more spaceships than the San 'Shyuum, though they were outgunned.

 

The challenge here for 343 would be variety. There are only two races, you can't have all the weapons or vehicles featured in the other games, and the two parties have very different strengths. At the same time, they can throw in previously unseen weapons and vehicles that have since been outdated in the games we know now. And there's the length of the war to consider. There's a lot of freedom for 343.

 

Personally, I'd be fine with just a San 'Shyuum campaign. I think it's completely doable.

 

This all might sound ridiculous to you. Please try not to think of the San 'Shyuum as the Prophets you've seen in the games so far. They aren't Prophets yet. This is thousands of years before the Halo event.

 

 

b. The Taming of the Lekgolo (Ended in 784 BC)

 

We all know that Hunters are made of worm-like creatures. These are called Lekgolo. In the Hunter form, they are known as Mgalekgolo. The Covenant found these worms on Forerunner artifacts. They discovered that the Lekgolo ate the artifacts, and so the Hierarchs ordered the worms to be eradicated. This proved difficult, as they did not want to destroy the artifacts. Also, on the ground, when the worms were Mgalekgolo, the Elites lost almost every battle, so the Covenant were forced to fall back on orbital bombardment, nearly wiping out the Lekgolo, until the worms surrendered.

 

Now I believe you should play the role of an Elite. Maybe do three or four ground missions where you either win with unacceptable losses, fight to a stalemate, or have to retreat. Then maybe an in-atmosphere banshee mission. These different wars do not have to all be separate games. The Taming, for example, may not have enough material to be a game of its own. Maybe a compilation of the different Covenant wars is the best option.

 

Again, variety would be difficult, even more so than for the previous conflict, because Hunters are known to fight in only one way. But the Hunter form is only one of the things that the worms can become. Because so few facts are stated on the matter, 343 Industries would again have a lot of room to maneuver.

 

 

c) Assimilating the Yanme'e (1112)

 

The Yanme'e are the Drones. Yeah, they came before the Grunts.

 

The story's pretty simple with these guys. The Covenant discovered them, and then forced them to join. The specifics are nonexistent. Plenty of space for 343 to move in. This is another one that could probably only constitute part of a game.

 

You'd play as an Elite. Possible mission as a Jackal. Maybe you could play as a Hunter pair in co-op mode.

 

Note: Jackals were hired by the Covenant as mercenaries; they were not forced into service.

 

 

d) Assimilating the Unggoy (2142)

 

These are the Grunts. As far as combat goes, almost the same story as the Drones. But there's a lot more background information for those interested. Check out the Halo Wiki.

 

Possible playtime as a Drone or Jackal, again possible Hunter co-op, otherwise as an Elite.

 

We'd have to see Zap-Jellies, Mud Wasps, and Shade Crabs on the Grunt home world.

http://halo.wikia.co...Covenant_Empire

 

 

e) Assimilating the Jiralhanae (2492)

 

These are the Brutes. Generations of fighting each other and losing technology in the process left them weak when they were discovered by the Covenant.

 

Definitely a mission as a Grunt, maybe a Jackal, probably not a Drone, and possibly a Hunter co-op option. Primary playtime as an Elite.

 

I think fighting Brutes as an Elite would be epic.

 

 

f) The Unggoy Rebellion (2462)

 

The Jackals are supposed to be equal to the Grunts, but of course they see themselves as above their smaller counterparts. Some Jackals (Kig-Yar) had attempted to poison a recreational drug the Grunts enjoyed, and the Covenant Council opted not to investigate, prompting the Grunts to rebel. The Grunts displayed a surprising tenacity in this conflict, and the Covenant nearly had to glass their home world before they yielded.

 

You would not be able to play as a Brute in this, as the rebellion occurred before the Brutes were initiated into the Covenant.

 

 

That wraps up the various Covenant wars. I focused primarily on the Elite/Hierarch war because I figured that if I convince you all about that, then the rest follow. I think all of these conflicts should be part on one or two compilations. All the campaigns and characters would be separate. There is just enormous potential for all of this.

 

What I don't want to see is skirmish-style fighting like Battlefront. I also don't want it to be like Halo Wars, though I did enjoy that game. I want traditional Halo-style missions. Maybe a little less "flip three switches" though.

[Teutonic]

Hierarch rebellion

Hierarch domination

War losing

War betrayal

 

My first post shall be in response to the first war. There are a number of ideas I came up with.

 

First off, I recall the books only scantily, but I believe my suggestion will work with them quite a bit, and may include something a blend with another event. Most wars aren't like the war we saw in the original Halo. They aren't simple, the two sides aren't homogenous. What I'm saying is, this game could be a lot more interesting if you play around with the sides a bit.

 

The Hierarchs (the term I'll use to differentiate them from the ones present in the timeframe of the original Halo) did not all agree. For instance, there was a large disagreement early in their history as to whether or not to worship Forerunner technology with study or rapture. Should they pretend to understand them better, or avoid tampering with them out of reverence? Obviously the first was what they went with, but there were several wars fought to determine that, including a flood outbreak. Anyways, what I am saying here is that a minority of Hierarchs could join the elites in the interest of preventing manipulation of Forerunner technology. Also, a portion of the elites could help the Hierarchs due to simple political disagreements within their society. This solves the problem of a playable character.

 

Secondly, it would make sense for the compact with the Elites to have a precedent. Perhaps the Hierarchs similarly dominated a species native to a more closeby planet, or their own planet, in order to use as ground forces. This species would be very much inferior to the elites, especially in their position to Hierarchs, however, they would have the technology of the Hierarchs, which would put them in a very similar spot to the Spartans. Not nearly as intimidating naturally, however, suited and manipulated in such a way as to make them superior to an Elite.

 

Alternatively, the same job could be done by a robot. The Hierarchs have superior technology, do they not? Why not create a robotic ground soldier? This soldier would be very expensive, which would make the compact as the conclusion just as reasonable. Both the unnamed species or robot would be perfect and interesting playable characters, though the robot would have less personality than the species. The species' story would be interesting, as they would essentially be losing out in the end, though I will touch more on that later.

 

The Elites do sort of lose, though you make it sound as if it was a compromising peace. Personally, one of the beautiful things about the original Halo game was the shear audacity of suggesting that we were losing a war. Playing on the losing side yet again may return that feeling back to us.

 

This last idea blends elements of all of my previous suggestions. First off, the sides could muddle for the various reasons stated in the first suggestion. Let's say that the war drags on so long that the Hierarchs no longer wish to gain the Forerunner technology, they simply want peace. However, at this point, the Elites' honor demands a war of totality, at least for the leaders. But as the Hierarchs become more and more willing to talk peace, the common Elites become more and more willing to listen. This prompts a split, with a large portion of the Elites now fighting for the Hierarchsto simply end the war, and for promises of their homeworld going untouched.

 

How would we play in this game? Well, we would be that underling species that the Hierarchs control, fighting for under the leadership of a Hierarch that is low enough on the command chain that we almost consider him a friend. This character would be in a role that is precedent to the future Arbiter-role in the Halo history. We would also play as a common Elite ground soldier that receives constant promotion for his successful heroics, switching back and forth for a very Halo 2-esque style, seeing both sides of the war. The Elite eventually becomes one of the leaders that calls for fighting for the Hierarchs, and does so personally, in the frontlines, in order to inspire his men to fight against their own species. The final element is that both characters lose the fight. First, at the culmination of the war, we are playing as the first character, who only discovers the compact that has essentially deemed his species replaced and outdated, well after it has been signed. Upon hearing of it, he confronts his Hierarch immediate commander, whom he considers his friend. This does not end well, as he is seized by two elites, and personally shot in the head by that Hierarch. Secondly, we play as the Elite, who, after celebrating the victory he has won and his species new military position, sees, at the culmination of the game, his homeworld being desecrated and mined out for Forerunner artifiacts, despite the Hierarchs' promises.

 

If any little facet of any of my ideas can be used to support a new Halo game, then please, butcher it.

[MrMajiggles]

I think 343 should make a Halo 2 anniversary

[Goldfish Lord]

Teutonic, I like it. Playing as multiple characters is fine with me. I don't think that there should be a robotic race. The Hierarchs have Forerunner technology, and they make minor adaptations to that. They don't innovate. And they also don't have access to nearly as many Forerunner artifacts before they assimilate the Elites as they do afterwards. I don't think they would have the capabilities of creating functional, effective robotic soldiers.

 

What I'm really after is support of the idea to make a game about the war in the first place, so thank you. You should key down the "reading level" of your words though. Most people aren't as into the campaign aspect of Halo as we are.