This thread is inspired by another: view original post
Maybe I'm just a horrible Halo fan but I really haven't "understood" the story of Halo since Halo:CE. Can someone please explain this shit to me.
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13 Replies in this Sub-ThreadDon't even bother. Give up. As a nerd big into expanded universe stuff, I honest to God gave 343i and Greg Bear (Forerunner trilogy author) the benefit of the doubt and read the first book, Cryptum. It was so hard to read, and this is coming from a freak who is currently binging all nine novels of The Legacy of the Force in a week. I love to read and I am GOOD at it, and I couldn't freaking understand the new canon 343i created for Halo. Between that and piss-poor Reach TU gameplay decisions, I've given up on Halo and I will never give 343i another dollar.
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[quote]The Forerunner Saga is written from the point of view of a Forerunner. Having Greg explain every detail about Forerunner Civilization is ridiculous, especially if the main character is one. it would contradict believable characters.[/quote] But when we as readers don't know anything about the Forerunner civilization outside the Terminals of Halo 3 and some vague nonspecifics from Halo: Legends episode Origins, we as readers need some explanation of the civilization from an outside perspective that, despite all the political and sociocultural complexities of said civilization, is easy to grasp for newcomers. Then relate the events of the novel to that perspective, so it is understandably to readers why events are (or in some cases are not) significant to that civilization. I didn't get that from Cryptum. When introducing an entirely new universe, being able to have a comprehendible and brief exposition is imperative in order for the plot to move on to larger events. Look at Christopher Paolini's Eragon, JK Rowling's Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Look at Star Wars Episode IV. All were able to explain the civilization (in the case of Star Wars, even token references like dissolving the Senate) and while introducing these elements, assign a certain significance to actions around them (even if we never quite catch the true significance until much later in the series). Cryptum constantly exposed brand new elements to Forerunner society and never made clear what was and was not important. Cryptum was an accurate depiction of how confusing it would be to just wake up in the Forerunner civilization and be thrown headlong into both introducing the Forerunners while taking them on a journey of galactic significance. The plot got completely tripped up and eventually lost in explaining the intricacies of the setting. And that is an amatuer style of writing, in my humble opinion.
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Most of it was really easy to understand. Besides, there was a glossary in the back of the book. But I actually find that the author explaining everything is an amatuer cliche. In response to your Star Wars example: One of the reasons Star Wars is the most popular Sci-Fi franchise of all time is because it appeals to the masses. There were no hard to grasp concepts, and everything in Star Wars was designed after human culture. And if you still can't grasp society in Star Wars, you still had thrilling action scenes with lots of bravado and explosions. That's why Star Wars is popular. It applies to the masses. Now, if the main character in Cryptum was a human, and constantly asking Forerunners questions we'd have two problems: 1. Humans shouldn't be able to ask complex questions that involve what needs to be asked because Humanity is just at the level of the Agricultural Revolution and Hunter-Gatherers. 2. Everything the Forerunner would be saying would be more directed at the reader, thus causing the main character to not grasp anything. Writing Cryptum in this way ensures a story focused on the characters and not explaining Forerunner society. In fact, they do explain lots of things in Cryptum, but they are incredibly different from our society and thus hard to grasp. This is essentially culture shock. Writing the book in this was is actually wonderful because it ensures that you get the raw, unfiltered Forerunner Society and culture. This allows the reader to interpret the society in there own way. Many Europeans thought Native-Americans were savages because they couldn't understand their way of life. It took quite a long while until that idea of them being savage was broken. Being introduced to a new culture with different words can be a slap in the face, but once you get past that initial burn and sting of the slap, it's wonderful.
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