A Work in Progress
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The Storytelling of Halo
Back in the day we didn't really need any story for games.
We'd blast our Space Invaders and save our princesses without
much given reason. If any strange turtle/dinosaur hybrid
kidnapped our loved one (or whatever Mario's and Princess Peach's
relationship was) we'd go through all kinds of trials and
tribulations just to get her back. If I was Mario, I'd seriously
start thinking of whether one woman was worth all the trouble.
And so it seems did the developers, as more and more games started
incorporating a decent story-line to motivate the players progress.
One of the more interesting approaches to story-telling in games
comes from Bungie and MS Game Studios in the form of Halo, it's
sequel, and the series of books chronicling the adventures of the
Master Chief. This is basically an extension of what Bungie did in
their classic FPS Marathon, where the story was brought forward in
terminals that could give the player new objectives, tell of what
happened before in the form of ship logs, and recount the
conversation between two rampant AIs. What Bungie did with Halo was
to separate the two elements. A great game that could appeal to the
masses, and the books for those who wanted to know the deeper story
that Halo had to tell.
Of course, with the good comes also the bad.
Even though the books are well-written and exciting in their own
right, the second of the three (at the time of writing), that
recounts for what happened in the game itself, sometimes feels a bit
like you were reading a battle-report of a battle you've participated
in yourself. What drags this down further is the decision to follow the
Master Chief's progression through the game, which adds some very tedious
sections where you basically read about what you've done more than once
in the game. And the book can never catch the best parts of the game in
writing; there are no words to describe the feeling when you make that
shot, sidestep a charging Hunter or barely evade a Wraiths arcing
projectile.
It is an interesting idea that Bungie have brought to life,
one that adds greatly to the game universe itself since there are parts
in a story that cannot yet be told through the game alone (at least not
without long and possibly tedious cut-scenes). But it also takes a
certain kind of sensitivity towards the story told; what do you elaborate
on and what parts do you leave for the game? Bungie have some hard
decisions to make if they continue in this path (which I hope they do).
They need to find a way to cater not only for the die-hard Halo fans that
buys and reads the books, but also for those who don't want to invest
their time in a whole series of SF books. What to include in the game to
satisfy the hardcore but yet not scare away the casual gamers.
Let's hope they succeed.
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