In the first Halo Bulletin of 2013, former Bungie member, and now 343 Industries co-founder Frank O'Connor speaks out on the success and tribulations of the studio's first major entry in the franchise.
O'Connor states, "2012 was supposed to be the end of the world. Instead, it was the beginning of ours. Halo 4, despite being the seventh or eighth game in the Halo series (depending on how you count them), was our first game. That is to say, our first-ever fully fledged title, built from the ground up creatively and technologically. So let me save you the trouble of trolling my statement: We have a lot to learn. We made a lot of mistakes. We can do better. And we know this, and we will. But I don’t want to spend the first moments of the year thinking about the negatives, because frankly, I am incredibly proud of both the team and the game that team created. "
Frank thinks that for a first effort, Halo 4 "isn't that bad." But to see his statement as akin to admitting that Halo 4 isn't all that would be a mistake. On the contrary, O'Connor thinks that Halo 4 is the "best" game in the series…although he also admits that stepping into Bungie's giant-sized shoes was no easy feat.
Stepping into Bungie’s oversized shoes would have been difficult, even for a well-established team. The challenge of wrangling that engine, that universe and that community was dizzying, even withering. Four years ago when our charter began, the challenge of starting the seed of a development team and then creating a sequel to Halo terrified us. A small group of us – names you know, like Kiki Wolfkill, Bonnie Ross, Kenneth Scott Josh Holmes and other characters who have moved on to different projects, different places – was tasked with doing something that was almost impossible.
But the team grew. And we learned. And we’re still learning. And the game arrived and it succeeded. Halo 4 is the best and fastest-selling Halo game in the series. It won critical acclaim. It won awards, from Best Graphics at the VGAs to Game of the Year at the Inside Gaming Awards. We altered the engine. We expanded the universe. We innovated in storytelling, technology, and even marketing. It wasn’t flawless by any stretch of the imagination, but by most objective criteria, it was a resounding success. So we know we have a lot to do. And we know we have a lot to learn. But we also know that we now have the capacity, the teamwork, the technology and the experience to do much better next time.
While a game being the fastest-selling or selling the most copies in franchise history is not always indicative of its quality, that could very well be the case for Halo 4. It did, after all, win numerous industry awards.
O'Connor wasn't done there, he reveals that there are a ton of things they wished they could have done better; features that didn't make the cut, glitches that emerged, missteps made and DLC fiascos to name a few. But in all of these, he doesn't forget to thank the fans; which the studio considers the most important aspect of their success.
But the most important aspect of our success, and our efforts now and in the future, has been this community – a demanding, imaginative, engaged, vocal, varied and intelligent swarm of personalities, groups and individuals, each with subtly to radically different interests in this vast and varied universe we’re charged with. That isn’t lip service, nor is it pandering. You guys pay for the privilege of playing our game, and you have every right to have a voice in its development.
Frank finishes by saying he's more excited about the future than the past, excited about what 343 is "already working on," and excited for the future of Halo.
To read everything O'Connor has to say, click here for the full post.
Do you agree with O'Connor that Halo 4 is the best entry in the series or are Bungie's Halo games still the de-facto standard?
Thanks, OXM
