Learn All About the Prometheans In This Newest Halo 4 Developer Diary

Man I like Halo 1 and 3 was okay, this seems like it will be a pretty solid game too. I just hope the story isn't like, a retelling of Halo 1 again/Starcraft. I got pretty mad when they kept doing that. 

I am a fan of video game concept art and now this silhouette stuff peaks my interest and i want more

I want a 6 foot tall figure of silhouette #11 and #26. I so want the one labeled "F" in the game.

The original Promethean

@Dad_Is_A_Zombie:

2nd, 3rd and 4rth that and beyond. If ya don't like what you see, move on my friend.

@Solarisala: Yeah I don't know how to read. Ya got me... Is this your first time trying to make fun of someone?

@Feikken said:

@Solarisala:

Yeah. Not gonna read that...

I'm not surprised your mental capacity can't even let you to read more than one paragraph.

@Damolition: ya it seems like they are doing small improvements, but itll probably get good reviews and sell well. Ill wait for the feedback, definitely not rushing out to get this one.

@Solarisala:

Yeah. Not gonna read that...

Fuck yeah Halo 4! Can't wait.

I would like to mention that there is a woman working on this game named "Kiki Wolfkill". You can draw your conclusions about the game based solely on that.

How "original" or not something is has no bearing on my ability to enjoy a well-crafted game or story, so I am very much looking forward to this, regardless of whether some people think it looks creatively bankrupt -- I politely disagree, but whatever. Looks like 343 are really striking the perfect balance of old and new for the Halo franchise with this game, and the graphical fidelity they're managing to push on the 360 is very impressive indeed. Definitely looks like the series is in good hands.

Just saw Prometheus and I fucking love that movie.

@MaddProdigy: I'll definitely do that.

@big_jon: Yeah, very well said... considering he ignored all of my examples. Starcraft, Halo, Conduit, Mass Effect... it's all just slightly different variations of the same glowing insect-shaped armor alien bullshit. It's been done to death. The wise, old ancient alien race that strives for a greater good... *yawn*

This is about as creative and original as the next military shooter.

(Didn't mean to make this a rant but it came out that way)

I don't like it. I'm not a fan of the direction the game is headed. I always saw forerunners as emotionless function over form types a la halo 1, it was the covenant that had all the flashy crap. Now they are making everything glow and sparkle and all the design comes down to is "it looks cool."

For example, remove all the lights from the guns and it would feel much more alien, it would be a huge hunk of metal that you point at something and it dies, a futuristic equivalent of a "boomstick."

"The head has to stick out so you can get headshots" is slightly depressing. Like a hyper advanced alien race wouldn't grasp the concept of effective armor. There is nothing wrong with a hidden weak spot, for example there was nothing more satisfying than landing a well placed sniper shot on a jackals gun arm. The support enemies almost feel like a crutch for the bad design of the main ones.

And if you don't want to make them look like monsters stop making them act like monsters, the whole face splitting open with a human (looking) skull thing and random screeching makes them go from bad to just cheesy.

Oh and the random changes to cortana/chief/elites/everything is gross, only change stuff it makes sense in context. If chief had been awake and was making makeshift adjustments, sure. But it needs to accurately reflect that by looking shoddy. But so far it all looks like unnecessary changes in an effort to make stuff (yup) "look cool." That or so they can sell toys.

I've got to say, when they decided to say "fuck revolutionary! This is more comfortable for our fanbase, and we want to rake in that sweet, sweet skrilla by the Skrillex-full!" I kinda felt something inside me snap a bit. I'm kind of a huge Halo fan; born in 1991, and Halo:CE was the first game I really played from start to finish and enjoyed.

Maybe not a day 1, line-up purchase for me, but I'll definitely play through the campaign this winter break because I'm a sucker for the story (even though it's probably been done to death elsewhere, but then again most stories have, right? I just happen to dig Halo's particular variation on "lone warrior discovers ancient evils" or what have you). And the way they've described the multiplayer and especially Spartan Ops thus far seems super cool; I remember thinking Spartan Ops was like what DUST 514 is trying to do, but actually good and right up my alley because - again - it's got that story I like.

Gotta say, I'm proud of the GB crew for not having a whole lot more mindless fanboy/troll conflicts on the comments here. Halo tends to attract such a crowd, if memory serves (I haven't really posted on the Internet much recently). Seems like by and large, you guys are arguing fairly reasonably about what you think makes this game seem great or middling or bad. That's some decent civil discourse... and on the Internet!? Y'all are the best.

Finally, I have no idea what a "Skrillex-full" is. Like maybe the volume of Skrillex in liquid gold? Maybe the weight of a heavy drop in $100 bills? Jesus, 343 Industries, that is some seriously senseless terminology that I definitely didn't make up then attribute to you.

@CptBedlam: Damn bro you're so witty. Tell me more about your important opinions and your spot on game development analysis. The crowd awaits with bated breath.

I never got all that deep into the Halo lore, but I'm pretty sure it turned out that humans were the Forerunners, or at least their descendants. And they weren't evil, either. So why did they turn them into weird alien robot monsters?

Loving the hate for Halo. 11 years in and all the blind rage that Halo gets, it must have done something right.

Halo 4 keeps looking amazing. In a year where some big ticket games are releasing, its nice to see the 6th instalment in a series be able to stand out and excite me the most still.

@Feikken said:

@Solarisala: Let's see here. Halo is about shooting aliens with glowy space guns... How creative! Are you going to tell me the story is good too?

Also calling people a troll is hardly offensive... Call me anything you want, buddy.

You're basically deconstructing Halo is simplistic preconceptions that any idiotic (such as yourself) can make. I can easily say that Dragon Age: Origins is about elves, dwarfs, and battling evil monsters from another realm. But that isn't the entire case, there's more that goes around beneath the exterior appearance we see in a game. "Shooting aliens with glowy guns" is a traditional trope that's been around since before Star Trek and Star Wars. Does that automatically make Halo generic? The new opponents in Halo 4 are more unique than the basic evil Russians, evil Arabs, and even evil aliens we see in most games. They're synthetics, with distinguishing traits such as the ability to warp and defy the laws of gravity.

You're ignoring all of this because you have close minded, personal bias against Halo. Its fine that you don't like the game, but shitposting on how not "creative" the game is without giving examples of creative shooters or explaining in depth why it's not creative just makes you look childish. And yes, the storyline in Halo is pretty good. Its no Shakespeare, but more goes on than just "SUPER BADASS CYBORG KICKING ALIEN ASSES". There are themes of the evils of radical religion and chaotic nature vs. technological order. I'm not surprise they flew over your head, and I would be even less surprised if you actually played any of the games in this series.

Here's a tip, if you have nothing nice to say, don't say anything at all.

@Feikken: What's cute about my post?...?.?

@ez123 said:

@Feikken said:

@ez123:

Check and mate. *farts on your head*

Now the cute post after telling someone else to grow up.... zzzz.

Cute post after chiding me for using Zs? *flicks a booger in your face*

@Feikken said:

@ez123:

Check and mate. *farts on your head*

Now the cute post after telling someone else to grow up.... zzzz.

@allworkandlowpay said:

@CptBedlam said:

@allworkandlowpay said:

So then you are making a statement without any evidence to validate your assertion? How does your argument stand?

1. Yes

2. This is the internet.

3. You know I'm right about the lazy design.

The first two basically invalidate your claim. If you are making a statement and want it to be accepted as fact, you must provide evidence. Otherwise, you are just being a troll and have no chance of your position being taken with any grain of seriousness. I'm trying to help you here, because while I don't really see where you are coming from on lazy and/or derivative design, I am certainly open to evidence. So please, scramble together some evidence for your sake, because otherwise you are just basically on a quick path to being ignored by everybody on this site.

As for Halo's lore and story, like all works of fiction in any medium, it doesn't exist in a bubble. A lot of Halo's story, visuals and design were inspired by older science fiction films and novels that resonated with the development staff. For example, you can see a hefty dose of Asimov's Foundation series in it, or even something like the soldiers mannerisms being similar to the iconic Aliens' Colonial Marines. That said, these new characters just don't really feel like they are being cribbed off of anybody I can think of. They seem to just be iterative on the common design elements of Halo's Forerunner aesthetic.

If you act so swiftly and harshly to condemn Halo for "cribbing" or being derivative, I'd be really curious to see what games you feel are truly unique and completely isolated from any outside inspiration.

Well said.

These guys have passion for Halo clearly, as do I, so I'm happy about this.

I am so glad that Microsoft takes Halo serious enough to make sure that it is going to continue being high quality, I hope 343 makes some great Halo games.

@Solarisala: Let's see here. Halo is about shooting aliens with glowy space guns... How creative! Are you going to tell me the story is good too?

Also calling people a troll is hardly offensive... Call me anything you want, buddy.

@Feikken said:

@Solarisala said:

@CptBedlam: @dfsix999: @Feikken: @Anupsis:

Oh God, just shut up! If you don't like Halo why do you even bother post in the comments section of this vidoc? I have a Newsflash for ya, hating Halo doesn't make you look cool anymore. This isn't 2007 anymore, so if you don't like the game go bugger off with the next Call of Duty or something. This is just inflammatory shit posting, can't we have one Halo vidoc without this kind of bullshit?

Anyway, the new art and enemy designs look amazing. 343 are outdoing everything Bungie done with the franchise at this point. Day one purchase for me.

If you think this shit is original or creative I feel sorry for you. Enjoy your video game, champ

When the fuck have I ever said this was original? You're nothing but a troll, and a pathetic one at best. It's not the most original work ever made, but it's still more distinct than most shooters we have these days that are gritty and grey military shooters. Do you call that generic?

Wow you can really tell how hard they've worked on the new race and how detailed and thoughtful the game's design has been handled. If the fiction's good this'll be GoTY material imo. Also, production values will be off the hook, and will make us all wonder how this was possible on the old ass hardware they've built it for. I've not heard, but some PC release plans would sure be awesome....you never know.

So, this looks really fucking cool.

@ez123:

Check and mate. *farts on your head*

@CptBedlam said:

Wow, "Prometheans". That's about the amount of creativity I came to expect from the Halo games.

"Guys, we have this revolutionary new concept that will surpise the shit out of everyone: another ancient alien race. How do we call it?"

"Uhh Mass Effect had the Protheans... and the games were pretty good, right? Also, there's this movie in theaters right now..."

"Approved! Next item on the list: we need a new look and I played Metroid Prime yesterday..."

You know they have been called Prometheans since the first halo/book? Back in 2001 right?

@DrewHughes said:

Experiencing something oddly similar to drowning whilst perusing the comments, the cynicism is so thick

Those are some weird looking Protheans...

This time master chief is dead and you play as is dog. O.o

@Feikken: I'm glad you're proud of yourself. You only used one ellipsis this time, too. Congrats.

nice tattoo

@ez123:

Just because I'm not into the same video games as you are and choose to mock it openly on the internet... Come on now, champ. Grow up.

I also like how my tiny post managed to get to you so much. That's some quality internet posting on my part, my friend.

I'll get back to ignoring this awful franchise now

@skcaptain said:

What he said at the end made me want this game. "That's what they think they want, what they really want is something that speaks to the thing they love but provides them with something new."

That's what I've been feeling since I got bored with Reach. This is the one game I'm getting this winter so I hope it knocks my socks off. And Spartan Ops should add longevity as well.

What he said at the end made me want this game. "That's what they think they want, what they really want is something that speaks to the thing they love but provides them with something new."

@Feikken said:

@ez123: Are you telling me to be original and creative with internet posts? We're talking about video games here, smartguy.

You telling people what they should find creative and original while having the most generic post was worth pointing out. I'm not saying someone has to be an expert to judge something but seriously, there were 3 ellipses and a zzz in one sentence. Game website or not, that shit is stupid.

@allworkandlowpay said:

That said, these new characters just don't really feel like they are being cribbed off of anybody I can think of. They seem to just be iterative on the common design elements of Halo's Forerunner aesthetic.

You can't be serious? These things could as well be Protoss, Space-Pirates or whatever.

edit (from below): Just thinking about it for a minute... the Starcraft games, the Metroid Prime games, the Conduit games, the Mass Effect games, the Halo games. If I put some work into it I'm sure I could come up with a pretty long list but I don't feel like wasting a lot of time on this.

@CptBedlam said:

@allworkandlowpay said:

So then you are making a statement without any evidence to validate your assertion? How does your argument stand?

1. Yes

2. This is the internet.

3. You know I'm right about the lazy design.

The first two basically invalidate your claim. If you are making a statement and want it to be accepted as fact, you must provide evidence. Otherwise, you are just being a troll and have no chance of your position being taken with any grain of seriousness. I'm trying to help you here, because while I don't really see where you are coming from on lazy and/or derivative design, I am certainly open to evidence. So please, scramble together some evidence for your sake, because otherwise you are just basically on a quick path to being ignored by everybody on this site.

As for Halo's lore and story, like all works of fiction in any medium, it doesn't exist in a bubble. A lot of Halo's story, visuals and design were inspired by older science fiction films and novels that resonated with the development staff. For example, you can see a hefty dose of Asimov's Foundation series in it, or even something like the soldiers mannerisms being similar to the iconic Aliens' Colonial Marines. That said, these new characters just don't really feel like they are being cribbed off of anybody I can think of. They seem to just be iterative on the common design elements of Halo's Forerunner aesthetic.

If you act so swiftly and harshly to condemn Halo for "cribbing" or being derivative, I'd be really curious to see what games you feel are truly unique and completely isolated from any outside inspiration.

@ez123: Are you telling me to be original and creative with internet posts? We're talking about video games here, smartguy.

It's a Rayman ripoff too because the limbs don't connect.

@allworkandlowpay said:

@CptBedlam said:

@allworkandlowpay said:

@CptBedlam said:

@allworkandlowpay: Not flavor of the recent months, rather flavor of the recent years. But yeah, "latest thing" was maybe a an unfitting phrase. The argument still stands. This is lazy.

You have citation of recent years games/movies that involve Insectoid-cyborg aliens with glowing skulls and allegories to Greek mythology? I want to see this list.

No, I'm sorry. I don't have such a list ready for you.

So then you are making a statement without any evidence to validate your assertion? How does your argument stand?

1. Yes

2. This is the internet.

3. You know I'm right about the lazy design.

edit: Just thinking about it for a minute... the Starcraft games, the Metroid games, the Conduit games, the Mass Effect games, the Halo games. If I put some work into it I'm sure I could come up with a pretty long list but I don't feel like wasting a lot of time on this.

@CptBedlam said:

@allworkandlowpay said:

@CptBedlam said:

@allworkandlowpay: Not flavor of the recent months, rather flavor of the recent years. But yeah, "latest thing" was maybe a an unfitting phrase. The argument still stands. This is lazy.

You have citation of recent years games/movies that involve Insectoid-cyborg aliens with glowing skulls and allegories to Greek mythology? I want to see this list.

No, I'm sorry. I don't have such a list ready for you.

So then you are making a statement without any evidence to validate your assertion? How does your argument stand?

@allworkandlowpay said:

@CptBedlam said:

@allworkandlowpay: Not flavor of the recent months, rather flavor of the recent years. But yeah, "latest thing" was maybe a an unfitting phrase. The argument still stands. This is lazy.

You have citation of recent years games/movies that involve Insectoid-cyborg aliens with glowing skulls and allegories to Greek mythology? I want to see this list.

No, I'm sorry. I don't have such a list ready for you.

@CptBedlam said:

@allworkandlowpay: Not flavor of the recent months, rather flavor of the recent years. But yeah, "latest thing" was maybe a an unfitting phrase. The argument still stands. This is lazy.

You have citation of recent years games/movies that involve Insectoid-cyborg aliens with glowing skulls and allegories to Greek mythology? I want to see this list.

@allworkandlowpay: Not flavor of the recent months, rather flavor of the recent years. But yeah, "latest thing" was maybe a an unfitting phrase. The argument still stands. This is lazy.

@CptBedlam said:

@allworkandlowpay said:

So you're trying to refute my "Halo is creatively bankrupt and nothing about this is original" by saying "everyone else does it, why can't Halo?". Good one. That was my point.

All these tropes have been exhausted to death in sci-fi games and movies. Same with the typical glowing robotic insect alien design. You can't possibly design anything more unoriginal than this.

Actually no, if you take the time to read what posts I respond to you with, you'll see I was responded with your ill-informed comment on "Prometheus" being used solely as a "flavor of the month" term, but very nice deflection.