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 Forum index » Archive » Archive: The Haunted Apiary (Let Op!) » The Haunted Apiary (Let Op!): General/Updates
[META][SPEC] ILB as H2 Multi-Player Pretext
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SuperJerms
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Joined: 21 Aug 2004
Posts: 537
Location: indiana

[META][SPEC] ILB as H2 Multi-Player Pretext

As soon as we figured out that Halo and ILB was connected, we've been assuming that the ARG is a pretext to Halo2's single-player story. Namely, we've been assuming that it would shed light on how the Covenant find Earth. Here's a new thought: the unfolding ILB saga is actually a pretext to Halo2's multiple-player story.

When Bungie made Marathon, it revolutionized FPS games by adding unprecidented amounts of story depth to the genre. Now we have games like system shock, deus ex, and halo that continue the tradition. What do we have in the world of multiplayer? Homeworld/Tribes is the only thing that comes to mind with a good back-story, but few gamers talk about it much.

Well, I could go on about that problem, citing things like counter-strike's popularity, Red-vs-Blue.com, and The Sims online, but I don't want this to be too long. Here's my backing for the spec:
- We are getting multiple, talented warriors in development. Jan, Ronnie, and Yasmine are well on their ways to being SPARTAN-2 or -3's or ONI spys...heck, if you gave Jan a golden lasso and an invisible jet, she's Wonder Woman.
- According to the novels, Covenant already know where Earth is and are amassing a fleet to invade. Bungie doesn't need this ARG to establish that...they could use the first part of the game, other novels, or even the manual to explain.
- Bungie is known for revolutionizing the genres, and they have a legion of adoring fans because of it. Making a super-popular multiplayer game with an intricate back-story would qualify as this. Furthermore, that ability = company longevity (just look at Blizzard and LucasArts for proof).
- Multiplayer is often tacked onto a game, but H2 will be taking very deliberate measures to be a focal point.


Ok, so it's not bulletproof by any means, but let's consider it for a bit. If nothing else, we close off some options to ourselves when we make classifications. Spec might end up radically different if we start with an assumption that the story is geared for creating a reason to have Halo2 multiplayer instead of a reason to have Halo2 single-player. I'm just thinking outside the nine dots here, so please don't hurt me.
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PostPosted: Sun Sep 19, 2004 10:10 pm
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WhiteGulls
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Joined: 08 Aug 2004
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That would be SHINEY. And each character could have some sort of different bonus - ie, Jan would be a bit faster, and could jump a bit higher. I have no idea who the other two you mentioned were. I need to catch up on the backstory for the past week or so. It'd be interesting to see this put in - add a little bonus for us beekeepers, that we could laugh at all of those who don't know about where the characters came from.

OT: Homeworld is awesome. ^_^
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PostPosted: Sun Sep 19, 2004 10:52 pm
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Atrophied
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Highly unlikely; they have put in elites in the multiplayer, I see no reason as to why they would add more characters. The elites have no ability differences from the Master Chief, they are just as fast/strong/accurate as he is. It would take an immense amout of coding to create specialty characters in a game that doesn't have that as an original feature (such as Unreal, in which the graphics and game physics aren't up to snuff like Halo2).

That said, it would be an interesting/novel feature to see in the game, a little easter egg for us ARGers, that the average Halo player wouldn't understand. I hope there is something, if only a few graphical bits or a small piece of voice acting that would otherwise be out of place.

My $0.02
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PostPosted: Mon Sep 20, 2004 7:03 am
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johnny5
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I posited a similar thought Here
You can see that the community reaction was less than favorable. This is most likely due to the fact that Halo is a shooter and these characters have no place in an asskickfest.
But I haven't dismissed the possibility, and the introduction of new characters makes it more probable.
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PostPosted: Mon Sep 20, 2004 8:32 am
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Schmeck
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Interesting, but...

It's an interesting thought, but I don't think it's going to happen. Usually when you play multiplayer deathmatch-type games, you just want to get into the action and could care less about the pretext. If you want to play multiplayer with a story, you play co-op mode.

PostPosted: Mon Sep 20, 2004 1:27 pm
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Mazian
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Re: Interesting, but...

Schmeck wrote:
It's an interesting thought, but I don't think it's going to happen. Usually when you play multiplayer deathmatch-type games, you just want to get into the action and could care less about the pretext. If you want to play multiplayer with a story, you play co-op mode.


[SPEC wild="75%"]
Perhaps the names of the characters in the ILB games will be "cheat codes." That is, if you name your profile after one of the characters, then there are certain easter eggs that aren't available if you name yourself something else.

I seem to recall that several Xbox games use this method to hide content from the "uninitiated".
[/SPEC]
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PostPosted: Mon Sep 20, 2004 2:21 pm
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IMnotGarbage
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
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ok people heres wuts happening. in the novels theres 4 spartans, 2 girl and 2 boy spartans, 1 girl and 1 boy remain at the end of the novels. heres wuts happening, everything were hearing happend in the Melissa's past. and now her ship has slipstreamed to now. so everything ur hearing is from now its from her past so i dont think there is gonna be n e more characters. listen ok everyone speculates something. but if u go into the past and read with all args everything that people thought was going to happen never did. so i wouldnt be gettin ur hopes up. i mean everytime we get right into a story or a character from ilb they go off and make more storys so, i doubt n e thing coo will come out of this.

PostPosted: Mon Sep 20, 2004 2:41 pm
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Atrophied
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A couple of points:

1) Actually there are more like 30 SPARTANS in the novels, although most of them don't survive the destruction of Reach and the subsequent sabotage of the Unyielding Heirophant. At the end of 'First Strike" there are 4 SPARTANs left on the Ghettysburg (Fred, John, Linda and Will) plus Kelly who Dr. Halsey took elsewhere.

I know this has been posted before but there are so many SPARTAN threads that Searching doesn't help very much.

2) Please type in English, it makes it so much easier to read, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who would appreciate this change.
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PostPosted: Mon Sep 20, 2004 3:56 pm
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IMnotGarbage
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y does it matter how i type on a 4um. its seems to me that ur the only person who cares how i type. So why dont your "exploitive deletive" off.

PostPosted: Mon Sep 20, 2004 4:07 pm
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Nova
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IMnotGarbage wrote:
y does it matter how i type on a 4um. its seems to me that ur the only person who cares how i type. So why dont your "exploitive deletive" off.


Like he said, it makes life easier if people are able to read your posts without translating them. I know people on these forums like puzzles, but I think maybe this isn't the kind of puzzle they are after.
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PostPosted: Mon Sep 20, 2004 4:28 pm
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catherwood
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IMnotGarbage wrote:
y does it matter how i type on a 4um. its seems to me that ur the only person who cares how i type. So why dont your "exploitive deletive" off.

Translation:
Quote:
Why does it matter how I type on a forum? It seems to me that you are the only person who cares how I type. So, why don't you Censored ?

Response:
Which one is easier for you to read?

PostPosted: Mon Sep 20, 2004 4:33 pm
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krystyn
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Unless you're posting from your cellphone to this forum, I'm not sure why you'd wish to type like that. Instead of getting people to pay attention to the meat of your post, you've got people calling you on the style of it.

Probably not what you intended, yah?

txt msgng is 1 ting. bz 4ums w/tonsa 411, sumthn diff.

PostPosted: Mon Sep 20, 2004 4:55 pm
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farva
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LOLZ11! U gyz r ttly lam wi ur reel wyrdz + stuf. it ttly kewl 2 tyep liek ths. LOLZ11!!1!1
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PostPosted: Mon Sep 20, 2004 5:01 pm
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Mazian
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Atrophied wrote:
.
.
.
2) Please type in English, it makes it so much easier to read, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who would appreciate this change.


Seconded, Signed, Approved. Make it so. Twisted Evil
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PostPosted: Mon Sep 20, 2004 5:07 pm
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MeKiwi
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IMnotGarbage wrote:
y does it matter how i type on a 4um.


Because it seriously jeopardizes your credibility, pisses people off, disrupts the train of thought, and basically hides what otherwise might be intelligent posts behind a veil of immaturity and/or laziness when you type like you did above.

In a more on-topic light...
I seriously doubt ILB has anything to do with the Halo2 multiplayer... it just wouldn't make any sense to me to have these characters in ILB show up in H2 MP, get killed, respawn, get killed, respawn, get killed, respawn... you get the idea. I think the main reason that stories are lacking from multiplayer games is that it's virtually impossible to create a believable story in which the characters die, come back to life, die, etc.

PostPosted: Mon Sep 20, 2004 5:24 pm
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