There was, partly by-design, no singular vision for who or what the Master Chief was. As such, the writing clamours for some kind of middleground between the idea that the Chief is a “vessel,” but also has things that he should be independently motivated by (when the plot demands him to be).īetween a growing expanded universe (which the Master Chief was a significant part of in its early years), a host of issues during the development of these games, and, perhaps, a case of there being too many cooks in one kitchen… it really felt like the Master Chief – despite his status as an iconic hero in gaming – was an aspect of the Halo universe that never really came together in a coherent way.
In Halo 3, which suffered an abundance of writing issues due to a creative leadership vacuum in Bungie and a story that was largely written by committee, the Master Chief returns to the role of protagonist where the stakes are raised higher than ever before… and yet the Chief has little investment in them, due to a plot that doesn’t materialise until half-way through the campaign. In Halo 2, a story that is perhaps best described as one-part Shakespearean drama and one-part 80s action flick, the Master Chief’s characterisation was, in a sense, undone – this was the origin of the whole notion that the Chief is just a “vessel” character for the player, contrasting with Thel (the protagonist of the game). In Halo 1, the Master Chief was a minimal, yet well-defined character, and the game sought to subtly articulate his fears and flaws, and demonstrated, through his movement and actions, his surprisingly expressive personality. We have, after all, covered the narrative edifice of three whole games (and several books) that must now be summarised in a couple of sentences. I say “character study,” this is perhaps, more accurately, a love letter. After countless hours of research, going back over all of the panels, ViDocs, documentaries, interviews, peripheral fiction, all that good stuff – let’s finally dive into a character study of the Master Chief in my favourite Halo game. I now find that I am writing my 117th article, and, frankly, it would be remiss of me not to just throw my arms up and say “Screw it, let’s write the damn thing anyway!”
There really is that much to be said and I didn’t want to write it until I was convinced I had the time to do it justice. Upon looking back at how the article on Halo 3 ended, I left you all on something of a cliffhanger with the promise that I would get around to Halo 4… only to find that the scope and scale of examining the Master Chief in that game would be an undertaking larger than all three of those articles combined (indeed, this article is exactly that).
Last year, I wrote three articles exploring the Master Chief’s characterisation in the original Halo trilogy – not just about his journey through the games, but the way in which the attitudes towards him from both the writers and the community changed over time. “Our duty, as soldiers, is to protect humanity… whatever the cost.” Halo Infinite Campai… on So, I’ve played Halo Inf… Timothy Smith BLM AC… on So, I’ve played Halo Inf…
MASTER CHIEF HALO 4 SERIES
What Halo: The Television Series will be about (and why it’ll be great) March 5, 2021.Halo fiction for Women’s History Month March 10, 2021.Everything Shadows of Reach sets up for Halo Infinite April 22, 2021.Everything Point of Light sets up for Halo Infinite May 3, 2021.Every Mass Effect Trilogy character who could be in ‘Mass Effect 4’ May 12, 2021.E3 2021: Halo Infinite – A Masterclass of Storytelling June 13, 2021.‘PREVIOUSLY ON HALO’ – A guide to every game, book, comic, and more! September 15, 2021.HALO: DIVINE WIND – Review (NON-SPOILER) October 19, 2021.Everything Divine Wind sets up for the future of Halo November 10, 2021.So, I’ve played Halo Infinite’s campaign… (SPOILER-FREE impressions) November 19, 2021.
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