Halo 4 as a Machinima Engine

Hello folks! Hope you are all enjoying your summer and getting excited for the epic release of "HALO 4!" I know we are! So because of our uncontrollable excitement I've decided to write about what I hope to see, in terms of Machinimating, in Halo 4. So without further adieu let's dive right in!

Halo 3 was an incredible time for Halo Machinima, by many people's opinions it was the prime of not only machinima, but Machinima.com as well. Well I do admit I miss seeing nothing but Halo Machinima whenever I looked at Machinima.com's YouTube channel, I personally think that the genre of Machinima is at it's prime right now! Halo 3 brought tools to people who were interested in making movies but didn't have the resources to do so. I was able to begin my "career" in the entertainment business because of it. Bungie introduced things like Theatre Mode, the ability to go back and watch your games in Real Time allowing us to manipulate camera angles that would have been impossible in Halo CE or Halo 2. We were also given Forge Mode, a gamemode that let you edit maps and move around simple things like crates, vehicles and weapons. We were quite literally making movies just like Hollywood, starting with a script, building sets and acting out scenes. Now let's move on to Halo Reach.

Halo Reach was released in 2010, when the vast majority of people on YouTube were more interested in Gameplay Commentary videos instead of Machinimas, so it's easy to see that Bungie's last Halo game was tailored to the larger audience. We saw the same Theatre and Forge Modes return, but in different ways. Theatre mode was genuinely ruined, the slow motion looked horrendous and the announcer's voice could be heard whenever someone got a "Double Kill!" These types of small issues are what somewhat ruined the Machinima community. The maps in Halo Reach are based on campaign maps for the most part, which do not tailor to Machinima in the slightest, unless of course your making a Machinima based on the Halo story. Spartan models had noticeable battle damage like scrapes on their armor and they just look awkward when standing with a weapon lowered. One thing that Bungie, for whatever reason, decided to add was Resample, added motion blur. Motion blur is as it sounds, when something moves quickly it becomes blurry, presumably to make the engine run smoother. But if you compare Halo 3 and Halo Reach, Halo 3 honestly looks more appealing to the eyes, the color pallet is brighter and more colorful, when you capture game footage Halo 3 looks like it is in a higher resolution and the Spartans look stronger and more built. All of this is based around the story that was trying to be told with the campaign, I get that. Reach is under attack, Spartan units are on the ground fighting for the planet, the Spartans aren't Spartan IIs but Spartan IIIs. I GET IT, but Reach still felt like it was focusing less on Machinima community than Halo 3 did, which seems strange to me considering the connection between Bungie and Rooster Teeth, the creators of Red Vs Blue.

What do we need in Halo 4? Well that's simple; there are little things that neither game had that could make our lives as Machinimators SO much easier. A method of "Green Screening" would be fantastic! I mean Uncharted had an entire Machinima Room build into it, so why couldn't Halo 4? It'd be nice to see the Spartan models look a little cleaner, after all they are apparently in simulators. Forge could use an upgrade, is it too much to ask for a completely blank canvas? I'm no game developer, but could you image if we could be given the ability to make entire sets from scratch? Of course the chances of that happening are slim as there is only so much data that can fit on an Xbox 360 disc, but one can dream can they not? I would like to at least see maps that aren't based on campaign missions, or at least ONE map dedicated to Machinima in one form or another. We've been asking for it since Halo 3, but why can't we lower our weapons on Xbox Live? That would make directing SO much easier than doing it all myself, I mean even Halo 2 had it! It also be nice to have a much simpler method of lowering weapons instead of some ridiculous button combination. Hold down the left trigger with no grenades was perfect.

There is literally so many things that could be added to the game that could revive the Machinima genre, not that it's gone anywhere, like I said it's currently at it's prime in my opinion. There is just not as many people interested in making Machinima as there once was. I would like to see Halo Machinima become "Of Brand Interest," you'll understand that if you're a Machinima.com Director. All in all I do have faith in 343 Industries. From what I've seen there are many mechanics that suit Machinima well, we have yet to see anything of Theatre and Forge and the Spartans look a little odd but I refuse to judge ANY game before I have it in my own hands. Let us know your thoughts on Halo 4 as a Machinima Engine!

Have yourselves a wonderful summer!
-Brady