Halo 4 Narrative Designer Ryan Payton Departing 343 Industries

A bit late to be throwing in the towel considering you already know the games called Halo 4! Makes me sad as a 360 owner that this is all the devoted Xbox community ever demand of Microsoft, so they never get their fingers dirty with other 1st party IPs. Hopefully there will be some long-term syptoms of this neglect next gen?.. I doubt it though.

@JazGalaxy said:

So much for Halo 4 being the game that fixes the mess than Halo has become...

So much you not being a troll/wanker/pretendhero/masterofherpderp/shoeselller

Sorry for the shitty copy and paste link, but this might be interesting viewing...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsjR5_R4HHg&feature=BFa&list=PLEABEB916981DE691&lf=results_main

Holy shit. The name sounded familiar to me, so I look it up to see if it was who I thought it was. Ryan Payton is the older brother of my best friend (Matt Payton) in Jr. High. I lived down the street from him. Small fucking world.

Guy was an asshole back then, used to torture cats even.

His dad is the coolest dude ever though. Was my role model growing up.

I am guessing Master Chief is gonna have more things to shoot at in Halo 4.

He sounds passionate...hopefully the desire to really do something with Halo's narrative within the actual games didn't leave with him. I'm also pulling for more in-game development and less jarring cutscenes...taking a cue from Valve wouldn't be terrible.

Sounds like they didn't like his story and he got forced out. What did Payton do in the past other than make sure that MGS4 was somewhat more playable? 

@Captain_Felafel said:

@Mordukai said:

@Captain_Felafel said:

@HistoryInRust said:

@Mordukai said:

@HistoryInRust said:

Seriously, though. How depressing will it be when Halo 4 is just Master Chief vs. Some Covenant again.

don't forget the flood. You know they will turn up at some point.

Ugh.

Not to be the Halo nerd coming in here to correct everyone's fears with speculation but...

...from what we know about the game, mostly from the Halo 4 panel at PAX and what was said and shown there, the setting will most likely take place on a still semi-active Forerunner planet in the form of a Dyson Sphere, which is essentially an inside-out planet. Most of the information gleamed from the few pieces of concept art at that panel seem to support this, as does this piece of teaser art:

What this means is, we will not be fighting Covenant forces, especially seeing as the Covenant was basically in shambles as of the end of Halo 3, and will most likely be fighting some form of Forerunner machinery or possibly Flood. This is all speculation on my part, but it's a pretty easy leap of logic considering Master Chief has just randomly shown up at a massive Forerunner installation (Again) and no one really knows he's there, least of all the disbanded Covenant.

Most of the UNSC weaponry and vehicles can be explained away by the very ship he is riding into the Forerunner planet on, the UNSC Forward Unto Dawn.

As a long-time Halo fan, I was worried about the direction of Halo 4 being in the hands of an as-of-now unproven team, but after the PAX panel I attended, it definitely sounds like the creative minds behind Halo 4 both are reverent for the world Bungie crafted, but also want to do something a little different with it. It's still going to be a Halo game, no doubt about it, but as this is an entirely new set of 3 games, I would expect some pretty major changes in the form of what we're fighting and where. Only time will tell though.

sorry to make you work so hard on your Halo facts but I should have mentioned that I don't give a shit about Halo and it mythos. I enjoyed the first game and that's where it ended. After that all the halo games were downhill. imo Green Eggs and Ham has better plot.

And I totally get that about 98% of people playing Halo don't give a shit about the narrative. It's unfortunate, but a lot of the really awesome stuff in the Halo universe takes place outside of the core games. So on their own, the core 3 Halo games kind of don't have a lot of depth in their narrative. It's there, but you have to dig, and most players can't and shouldn't be expected to do that extra work.

I with ya man. I'm a huge fan of the Halo fiction and I think there are more of us than you think. Halo brings in people that just love the online, some the single player, and some the fiction. I'm a big fan of all of it.

I've read quite a few of the novels they've put out and it's really filled out the universe. There is very little story in the games at all. I've re-played all the games since reading those books and having that knowledge about the universe has totally enriched my experience with the games. It's too bad they don't always match up perfectly like the endings of Fall of Reach and Halo Reach. Now that 343 is in charge of the games too I think the stories will align across all the mediums they put Halo out on. I can't wait to see where they take the series with Halo 4. The idea that it could be on a planet like Onyx from the Ghosts of Onyx novel kind of blows my mind. The concept art looks amazing.

Also, I'm looking forward to Glasslands by Karen Traviss to give some information on the universe after Halo 3 that will tie-in to Halo 4. That and Greg Bear's second book in the forerunner trilogy which has been amazing so far. The Halo Universe is so deep and people seem to dismiss it's story a lot. I can understand that though because there is very little of it in the games at all. It's a great universe and I'm becoming a bigger fan all the time.

Wish you best of luck...?

Oh hey a NEW Camoflaj/Camouflaj company page, no wonder mine's getting deleted.

@Mordukai said:

@Captain_Felafel said:

@HistoryInRust said:

@Mordukai said:

@HistoryInRust said:

Seriously, though. How depressing will it be when Halo 4 is just Master Chief vs. Some Covenant again.

don't forget the flood. You know they will turn up at some point.

Ugh.

Not to be the Halo nerd coming in here to correct everyone's fears with speculation but...

...from what we know about the game, mostly from the Halo 4 panel at PAX and what was said and shown there, the setting will most likely take place on a still semi-active Forerunner planet in the form of a Dyson Sphere, which is essentially an inside-out planet. Most of the information gleamed from the few pieces of concept art at that panel seem to support this, as does this piece of teaser art:

What this means is, we will not be fighting Covenant forces, especially seeing as the Covenant was basically in shambles as of the end of Halo 3, and will most likely be fighting some form of Forerunner machinery or possibly Flood. This is all speculation on my part, but it's a pretty easy leap of logic considering Master Chief has just randomly shown up at a massive Forerunner installation (Again) and no one really knows he's there, least of all the disbanded Covenant.

Most of the UNSC weaponry and vehicles can be explained away by the very ship he is riding into the Forerunner planet on, the UNSC Forward Unto Dawn.

As a long-time Halo fan, I was worried about the direction of Halo 4 being in the hands of an as-of-now unproven team, but after the PAX panel I attended, it definitely sounds like the creative minds behind Halo 4 both are reverent for the world Bungie crafted, but also want to do something a little different with it. It's still going to be a Halo game, no doubt about it, but as this is an entirely new set of 3 games, I would expect some pretty major changes in the form of what we're fighting and where. Only time will tell though.

sorry to make you work so hard on your Halo facts but I should have mentioned that I don't give a shit about Halo and it mythos. I enjoyed the first game and that's where it ended. After that all the halo games were downhill. imo Green Eggs and Ham has better plot.

And I totally get that about 98% of people playing Halo don't give a shit about the narrative. It's unfortunate, but a lot of the really awesome stuff in the Halo universe takes place outside of the core games. So on their own, the core 3 Halo games kind of don't have a lot of depth in their narrative. It's there, but you have to dig, and most players can't and shouldn't be expected to do that extra work.

@HistoryInRust said:

@Mordukai said:

@HistoryInRust said:

Seriously, though. How depressing will it be when Halo 4 is just Master Chief vs. Some Covenant again.

don't forget the flood. You know they will turn up at some point.

Ugh.

Not to be the Halo nerd coming in here to correct everyone's fears with speculation but...

...from what we know about the game, mostly from the Halo 4 panel at PAX and what was said and shown there, the setting will most likely take place on a still semi-active Forerunner planet in the form of a Dyson Sphere, which is essentially an inside-out planet. Most of the information gleamed from the few pieces of concept art at that panel seem to support this, as does this piece of teaser art:

What this means is, we will not be fighting Covenant forces, especially seeing as the Covenant was basically in shambles as of the end of Halo 3, and will most likely be fighting some form of Forerunner machinery or possibly Flood. This is all speculation on my part, but it's a pretty easy leap of logic considering Master Chief has just randomly shown up at a massive Forerunner installation (Again) and no one really knows he's there, least of all the disbanded Covenant.

Most of the UNSC weaponry and vehicles can be explained away by the very ship he is riding into the Forerunner planet on, the UNSC Forward Unto Dawn.

As a long-time Halo fan, I was worried about the direction of Halo 4 being in the hands of an as-of-now unproven team, but after the PAX panel I attended, it definitely sounds like the creative minds behind Halo 4 both are reverent for the world Bungie crafted, but also want to do something a little different with it. It's still going to be a Halo game, no doubt about it, but as this is an entirely new set of 3 games, I would expect some pretty major changes in the form of what we're fighting and where. Only time will tell though.

@HistoryInRust said:

@Mordukai said:

@HistoryInRust said:

Seriously, though. How depressing will it be when Halo 4 is just Master Chief vs. Some Covenant again.

don't forget the flood. You know they will turn up at some point.

Ugh.

Not to be the Halo nerd coming in here to correct everyone's fears with speculation but...

...from what we know about the game, mostly from the Halo 4 panel at PAX and what was said and shown there, the setting will most likely take place on a still semi-active Forerunner planet in the form of a Dyson Sphere, which is essentially an inside-out planet. Most of the information gleamed from the few pieces of concept art at that panel seem to support this, as does this piece of teaser art:

What this means is, we will not be fighting Covenant forces, especially seeing as the Covenant was basically in shambles as of the end of Halo 3, and will most likely be fighting some form of Forerunner machinery or possibly Flood. This is all speculation on my part, but it's a pretty easy leap of logic considering Master Chief has just randomly shown up at a massive Forerunner installation (Again) and no one really knows he's there, least of all the disbanded Covenant.

Most of the UNSC weaponry and vehicles can be explained away by the very ship he is riding into the Forerunner planet on, the UNSC Forward Unto Dawn.

As a long-time Halo fan, I was worried about the direction of Halo 4 being in the hands of an as-of-now unproven team, but after the PAX panel I attended, it definitely sounds like the creative minds behind Halo 4 both are reverent for the world Bungie crafted, but also want to do something a little different with it. It's still going to be a Halo game, no doubt about it, but as this is an entirely new set of 3 games, I would expect some pretty major changes in the form of what we're fighting and where. Only time will tell though.

@Mordukai said:

@HistoryInRust said:

Seriously, though. How depressing will it be when Halo 4 is just Master Chief vs. Some Covenant again.

don't forget the flood. You know they will turn up at some point.

Ugh.

@Mordukai said:

Wait a minute...He worked with Hideo Kojima and MS burnt him out???? WOW!

Hideo is pretty corny, and tweets about his attempts to sidestep the monolithic culture of Konami.

Meanwhile, teh Haloz is serious business.

Anyway, I met Ryan P. just in passing during a Tokyo Game Show, and his hatwear style is as legendary as the bard songs tell it.

Seriously, though. How depressing will it be when Halo 4 is just Master Chief vs. Some Covenant again.

Seriously, though. How depressing will it be when Halo 4 is just Master Chief vs. Some Covenant again.

@Mordukai said:

Wait a minute...He worked with Hideo Kojima and MS burnt him out???? WOW!

Hideo is pretty corny, and tweets about his attempts to sidestep the monolithic culture of Konami.

Meanwhile, teh Haloz is serious business.

Anyway, I met Ryan P. just in passing during a Tokyo Game Show, and his hatwear style is as legendary as the bard songs tell it.

I can get behind his reason for leaving though. He's not making the game he wants to make, he is not enjoying what he is doing, sounds legit to me. He has the resources to leave and pursue his own dream and if that is the case I completely understand that motivation. It doesn't work out with every job and this what he wants to do more power to him. I am very interested to see what he'll do next.

@Grilledcheez said:

Well people have different opinions about what they want, I'm assuming that applies to video game development. Just because it wasn't the game he wanted, doesn't mean it's not the game we want. If heads were clashing over game direction, then maybe MS wasn't the best place for him. Now he gets to go and make the games he wants, the way he wants..so good for him!

Well said, sir.

just the other the day i was wondering what the hell happened to Ryan Payton. well guess that answers that!

@penINC said:

Metal Gear's batshit crazy narrative design worked for it, but I can't see it working for any other thing ever. I kinda feel bad for the guy, but let Halo be Halo.

Because clearly not only was he responsible for the entirety of Metal Gear being crazy....he also clearly had the intent of making Halo just as crazy...

Looking forward to seeing what he does out on his own.

This kind of worries me and/or confuses me. Was he a major component of Halo 4? Was he trying to make Halo a completely different kind of game both gameplay wise and narrative wise, or just trying to spice things up creatively to prevent the stagnation of the series?

Well people have different opinions about what they want, I'm assuming that applies to video game development. Just because it wasn't the game he wanted, doesn't mean it's not the game we want. If heads were clashing over game direction, then maybe MS wasn't the best place for him. Now he gets to go and make the games he wants, the way he wants..so good for him!

Can't help but feel Microsoft wants to stay safe and make a Halo 3.5.

I've never been one of the "Halo is the pinnacle of gaming" kind of guys, but I enjoyed their run and appreciate what they did for the FPS genre.

But I feel like Microsoft should recognize that they are retroactively killing Halo. Irrational stopped making games featuring SHODAN because

SPOILER WARNING: Click here to reveal hidden content.

"every time a villain fails to destroy the world, it lessens them."

Every time I go back into the universe of Halo, every time I again beat the Covenant, and every time I hear Cortana's voice, the Halo universe seems a bit less wonderous, the Covenant seem a bit more pathetic, and Cortana's voice becomes a bit more like Jen Taylor's. Am I alone in this?

I can totally see why they wouldn't want him to mess with the halo fiction but since this next game is after the finished trilogy i say why not go in a crazy direction.

Well, hope he does well with his new studio.

@penINC said:

Metal Gear's batshit crazy narrative design worked for it, but I can't see it working for any other thing ever. I kinda feel bad for the guy, but let Halo be Halo.

He was not narrative designer on MGS, he had a WIDE arrange of influence all over MGS4, to Americanize it and make it a bit less crazy. The crazy in MGS has always been there, have you played the games? lol

That said, I am a big fan of Ryan Payton and hope he can find an avenue for his creativity, seeing him bummed out makes me bummed out!

He has only done one halo game and never finshed it.
 
in other words  He wanted to  fuck  with the games and make something insane and microsoft said no so he had a hissy fit and left. 
 
IF i only I could have that power I get fucked over  my company makes me make crap for a fucking worthless  Apple products like the Ipad and we used to work on the fucking  PC engine and xbox unreal engine. 
 
 
 
Not that I care about fucking halo  and console noob shooters, thank god  when we make one of those that is when I quit or they force us to make crap like gears of war.

@Cubical said:

He has only done one halo game and never finshed it. in other words He wanted to fuck with the games and make something insane and microsoft said no so he had a hissy fit and left. IF i only I could have that power I get fucked over my company makes me make crap for a fucking worthless Apple products like the Ipad and we used to work on the fucking PC engine and xbox unreal engine. Not that I care about fucking halo and console noob shooters, thank god when we make one of those that is when I quit or they force us to make crap like gears of war.

What the fuck are you rambling about?

I wish him luck and happiness.

I didn't know he left for Microsoft. That makes a lot of sense, considering how he was the main rumor mongerer behind MGS4 coming to the Xbox360. I can't even remember how many threads there were about quotes of his sparking rumors that it was coming to Xbox360 and how many forum "wars" it created. That's funny. 
 
What's not funny is that he got depressed and the situation with his mother :(. Career wise I feel he should be fairly happy with the attention he's gotten considering he was junior producer on MGS4 and then got a Lead Designer role at one of the biggest games developers in the world. Would he have gotten several articles written about his start-up, that most indie-developers would beg for, without his "fame"? I hope he finds his happiness in the indie market and we get to see what he's capable of on his own. I'm sure with his name that he'll land a publisher easier than other indie developers.  
 
And to all think that a large part of it might be because he fueled the flames behind the MGS4 coming to Xbox360 deal. If you don't believe me, how many of you knew his name before MGS4? And can you name, without looking it up, the current junior producers on MGS Rising or MGS Peace Walker? He did a good job getting his name out there.

I've never been one of the "Halo is the pinnacle of gaming" kind of guys, but I enjoyed their run and appreciate what they did for the FPS genre.

But I feel like Microsoft should recognize that they are retroactively killing Halo. Irrational stopped making games featuring SHODAN because

Every time I go back into the universe of Halo, every time I again beat the Covenant, and every time I hear Cortana's voice, the Halo universe seems a bit less wonderous, the Covenant seem a bit more pathetic, and Cortana's voice becomes a bit more like Jen Taylor's. Am I alone in this?

All the best to Ryan Payton, I hope he can conquer his depression and make what he truly wants to. It's weird, for someone who wants to be creatively free, he's always thrown himself behind some big name titles that have a very set structure already.

@Cubical said:

@moonpix: Ok you work on the crap Ipad and phone then and I will go work on the new jazz jack rabbit game I have been trying to push through the company since I got there. It's fun, in fact it sucks.

Wow, duder, you should maybe calm down a bit. Your rage seems to be keeping you from putting together a grammatical sentence.

@Cubical said:

He has only done one halo game and never finshed it. in other words He wanted to fuck with the games and make something insane and microsoft said no so he had a hissy fit and left. IF i only I could have that power I get fucked over my company makes me make crap for a fucking worthless Apple products like the Ipad and we used to work on the fucking PC engine and xbox unreal engine. Not that I care about fucking halo and console noob shooters, thank god when we make one of those that is when I quit or they force us to make crap like gears of war.

Are you going to cry?

Good sign

I like Ryan Payton from what i listened to him and seen of him on podcasts and videos and he has worked on some great games but I do not think Halo needs anything radical done too it, the gameplay is solid just keep adding to it, I really could not see MS allowing anyone to take Halo in a totally different direction as it simply could kill the franchise, If its not broke don't fix it, Halo is not one of my fav games but its very enjoyable. 
 
For a second I was thinking about a bat shit crazy plot similar to something from MGS, I really do not think that would work although i love MGS games, But when you have a top franchise you dont mess with it while its still selling really well.

depression? ouch, video game devs don't have it easy man.

Metal Gear's batshit crazy narrative design worked for it, but I can't see it working for any other thing ever. I kinda feel bad for the guy, but let Halo be Halo.

@SmokePants: He was Kojima's right hand during the developement of MGS4.

Before reading this article: zero interest in Halo 4.
 
After reading this article: ...yep, still zero interest in Halo 4.
 
Also, Ryan who?

kind of a dick move saying that you would do Halo 4 completely different as you are leaving. oh well best of luck to him.