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Halo 4 dropped stasis gun to make the game less sci-fi

Halo 4 could have had a stasis gun. Or a "grapple harpoon." But these weapons were taken out in an effort to make the game more accessible and less sci-fi.
Andrew Yoon
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Halo 4 could have had a stasis gun. Or a "grapple harpoon." But these weapons were taken out in an effort to make the game more accessible and less sci-fi. Franchise creative director Josh Holmes told GDC audiences that "when we started out, I was really pushing the team to go in a very sci-fi direction. I wanted to embrace the sci-fi nature of the enemies and explore concepts that were outside the box for Halo, things that you'd never seen before in the Halo sandbox." Unfortunately, the more sci-fi concepts didn't resonate with players. "What we found as we were testing these weapons with players, the really deep sci-fi approach wasn't relatable. As a result, they weren't really gravitating to these weapons." "It really sucks when you're making new weapons and no one wants to use them," Holmes added. Eventually, 343 Industries had to make sure that all the weapons in the game could be understood by players immediately. For example, the scattershot is "at it's core, a shotgun," even if it does disintegrate enemies. The other weapons that made Halo 4's final roster all have immediately understandable real-world counterparts, like a sniper rifle or an assault rifle. "One of the barriers to entry with Halo is that it is sci-fi," Holmes pointed out. "It's had a very steep learning curve that's turned off a lot of players."

Halo 4 strives to be more 'accessible'

Andrew Yoon was previously a games journalist creating content at Shacknews.

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  • Shacknews legacy 10 years legacy 20 years
    reply
    April 1, 2013 2:45 PM

    Andrew Yoon posted a new article, Halo 4 dropped stasis gun to make the game less sci-fi.

    Halo 4 could have had a stasis gun. Or a "grapple harpoon." But these weapons were taken out in an effort to make the game more accessible and less sci-fi.

    • [deleted] 877988455 legacy 10 years
      reply
      April 1, 2013 2:52 PM

      [deleted]

    • RowjinZee legacy 10 years
      reply
      April 1, 2013 3:06 PM

      Is this an April Fool's joke? The Master Chief wheelchair thing seems to betray the article...though if I were a Halo fan confined to a wheelchair, I'd think the joke was in pretty bad taste. Did 343 provide it as well?

    • RowjinZee legacy 10 years
      reply
      April 1, 2013 3:07 PM

      Also, what's really sad is that the Shaq photo above the article doesn't look photoshopped...I think it's from one of Shaq's craptastic movies...

    • vertdang legacy 10 years legacy 20 years
      reply
      April 1, 2013 3:12 PM

      So they make a science fiction game, but then decide that the dude-bro type that plays halo doesn't like sci-fi?

      • [deleted] 877988455 legacy 10 years
        reply
        April 1, 2013 3:14 PM

        [deleted]

      • EvilDolemite moderator legacy 10 years legacy 20 years mercury ultra mega
        reply
        April 1, 2013 3:17 PM

        i feel like there was some of that. not tons but enough to be noticeable. every gun was majorly rapid-fire. the music was...different. it just felt a little off.

        • kagath legacy 10 years legacy 20 years
          reply
          April 1, 2013 3:31 PM

          Agreed, no catchy music or real 'Halo' feel to it. Just kind of a meh game all around unfortunately. Strangely I have enjoyed the MP more than the previous entries so not sure what's up with that.

          • ATimson legacy 10 years
            reply
            April 1, 2013 8:26 PM

            The new music wasn't bad, it just wasn't Halo.

            I wish I could come up wtih a composer to suggest to replace O'Donnell/Salvatori (who are full-time Bungie employees), whose style is closer to their work for the series... Jesper Kyd, maybe?

    • Saldrin legacy 10 years
      reply
      April 1, 2013 3:49 PM

      See! I told you consoles cater to the idiots!!

      Oh boy... here it comes......./runs Oh look its a zombie!

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