Frank O’Connor, the long-standing creative director of “Halo”, said that with the acquisition of Activision Blizzard, the series faces three possible development paths: Which one will it choose?
There are three possible paths ahead of the new Halo: support Frank O’Connor, historic creative director A member of a series created by Bungie, a company that has been playing the character for nearly two decades and therefore knows the series well.
“There are three ways, any one of them might succeedbut none of them are simple, guaranteed or necessarily feasible,” O’Connor said. “The first thing is to create a ‘classic’ Halo experience, design it for your target audience, and scale it to succeed with that audience. ”
However, it turned out to be “attractive enough to grow its audience, but failed to take into account an obvious fact: The more people playing Halo multiplayer, the betterfor a simple mathematical problem. ”
The next Halo from Halo Studios seems far away
In short, the idea isn’t necessarily to turn Halo from the outset into a product for the widest possible audience; Building a solid package for fans of the series This will serve as the basis for subsequent expansion of the basin area.
second option
It is said that the next chapter of Halo may be a reboot, which according to Frank O’Connor is the second path forward for the series: “Production Something new and modern that “reinvents” the game and its universe In a surprising but wonderful way. ”
Not limited to plot: “Action Sandbox, Maybe a new version of an FPS or action RPGbut fundamentally different, success is achieved through a combination of a strong story, the use of intellectual property, and a small head start based on curiosity or loyalty. “
So the legendary former creative director imagined the possibility of changing everything completely, even change gender Or enrich it by adding additional elements to the original system, thus arousing the curiosity of those who do not yet understand the brand.
third option
Therefore, there is a third possible path, which according to O’Connor is Bringing Halo into Activision’s “comfort zone.”focusing on the publisher’s extensive experience in shooters and multiplayer-based productions, thanks to the combined success of Call of Duty and the like.
“They could move Halo’s intellectual property and sandbox into Activision’s comfort zone,” the author explains. “Using players, progression and business models These methods have proven effective in creating large annual or semi-annual programs with consistent content. “
“My advice is Don’t tie it to the hardware or service startup cycledon’t try to force it into a form (or an old platform) for which it’s not suited, and don’t abandon the sandbox. “
“Pro tip: Hire people from Bungie, Halo Studios and other laid-off developers “These are places that are full of talent and ideas but have been curtailed or blocked over the years,” O’Connor concluded.
