Frank O’Connor, the former creative director on Halo in a response posted to LinkedIn gave his thoughts on Activision taking over the future of the franchise.
He sees three paths forward that could succeed and is urging Activision to hire former Bungie and Halo Studios developers.
“There are 3 paths – any one of which COULD be successful. None of these are easy, guaranteed or necessarily viable,” he said.
“1. Make a ‘classic’ Halo movement/sandbox/shooter experience tailored to a core audience & scaled to be successful with that core audience and attractive to a broader one so it can grow (not to mention obvious fact that Halo MP is better w. more people playing, by mathematical default).
“2. Make something new, modern that >reinvents< the game/universe in a surprising but fantastic way. An action/sandbox game (maybe it’s a new take on the FPS, maybe it’s an action RPG but it’s fundamentally different) and succeeds with a combination of strong story, IP use and gets a small head start based on curiosity or loyalty.
“3. Translate Halo IP and sandbox into the ATVI comfort zone. Use the player, progression and business models that are proven to work and craft a big annual or semi-annual spectacle and constant content.
“Pro-Tip: Do NOT tie it to hardware/services launch cycles, do not try to force it into a shape (or aging platform) that it can’t fit and do NOT abandon sandbox. Pro-Pro-Tip: Hire Bungie, Halo Studios and other laid off folk who are bursting w. talent and ideas that got nerfed or shut down over the years.”
A life-long and avid gamer, William D’Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can follow the author on Bluesky.
Full Article – https://www.vgchartz.com/article/469215/former-halo-lead-frank-oconnor-wants-activision-to-hire-former-bungie-and-halo-studios-devs/
