Halo 4 Analysis

Halo 4

This document will look into the mechanics and build of Halo 4 released in 2012 by 343 Industries. The first mechanic noticed in Halo 4 is the health; it is the defining mechanic that the game was built around. The health adds an element of challenge but survivability. Playing through the Campaign the player is exposed to many short range fire fights, where the player is expected to be exposed to the enemy for long periods of time, watching as the AI struggle to take off the player’s health gives said player a sense of power. Due to this, the player will feel powerful and feel like a super soldier. However in multiplayer the player does not feel as powerful as they are playing against other super soldiers. The player will be given a sense of challenge as each opponent (online) will still feel difficult to kill however the player themselves will feel weak; this gives the player a sense of achievement when they successfully kill another player. The health system has 2 main functions, number 1 is the shields. The shields in must first be broken down before a kill is successful, once the shields are broken down, the player will come across the second function of the health. The player will instantly be alerted with the status of the shields, once they are depleted, with a red flashing light at the top of the screen along with an alarm; this alerts the player that they must be careful. Once the shields are down, a simple shot to the head, melee or a small amount of bullets will successfully kill the player. The shields themselves suffer from a big weakness; specific weapons can take off all the shields instantly. As well as weaknesses the shield has bonuses and can even be improved in the form of brief upgrades or even game mode specific setting changes that can give the player more shields or even remove them completely.

Halo 4 has a second major mechanic that was introduced. The weapon pickup mechanic allows the player to openly swap weapons during a single life. They player does not have to ‘respawn’, meet any specific location or requirement, all the player would have to do is come within a close vicinity of a weapon that is not being held by an enemy NPC or player, nor an allied player, (however they can with allied NPCs) with available ammo, the player will then be prompted with an option to exchange the weapon they are currently holding and drop it, for this new weapon. However there are exceptions to this rule. The player can carry any 2 weapons at one time but cannot carry 2 of the same weapon, this means that if the player is only holding one weapon, and chooses to pick up a new weapon, instead of dropping their previous weapon, they will simply pick up the new weapon and equip that one placing the weapon they were currently holding to one side, ready to be swapped over easily at any time. When a player comes across a weapon they are currently holding they player will simply automatically pick up the ammo from this weapon without being prompted, but the player will hear a ‘clicking’ sound, informing them that additional ammo has been acquired, this does not apply if the player’s weapon already has full ammo. There are no restrictions to picking up weapons; the player is free to pick up whatever weapon they come across without hassle or difficulty. This mechanic introduces a whole new fast paced gameplay, very rapidly altering the chances of the player’s ability to kill their opponent. Even shooting or being shot at, nothing will stop the player from being able to pick up a new weapon, resulting in a game altering mechanic.

Halo 4 incorporates a very unique mechanic. The vehicles in Halo 4 are very specialised and differ greatly from one another in regards as to each vehicle’s individual mechanics. The vehicle mechanic works very similar to the weapon pickup mechanic. Once the player sees an available vehicle and is within a close vicinity of the vehicle, they will be prompted to ‘pilot’ the vehicle and depending on which vehicle and whether there is already a player or enemy NPC in the vehicle the player may have a choice to pilot a second section of the vehicle that has its own mechanics. Most vehicles will increase the player’s survivability and mobility; also most alternate fire a vehicle provides will be more powerful than base weapons. As well as being able to pilot vehicles, take a secondary and tertiary position in a vehicle that is being controlled by an enemy, the player will be able to mount or hijack the enemy vehicle, this mechanism could completely alter the outcome of a battle and give the player a big advantage. This mechanic will allow the player to destroy the enemy vehicle, killing the enemy piloting the vehicle; or even steal the opponent’s vehicle and place the player in the piloted position in which they hijacked, and throw the opposing player out of the vehicle dealing enough damage to remove the shields of the opponent or even kill them. This specific switching mechanic can be stopped be killing the player who is hijacking/mounting the vehicle resulting in the original vehicle’s pilot unharmed and still able to pilot the vehicle.

This is a player mounting and destroying an enemy, player controlled, vehicle.

The final feature of Halo 4 that will be mentioned in this document is the medals. Medals in Halo 4 are the main drive for the player during multiplayer. Whenever the player accomplishes a task in multiplayer, from a simple kill, to a rapid succession of kills, to inventive kills, the player will be awarded a medal, of which the harder ones to acquire are accompanied with a loud voice telling you of the medal and a message to all players in the current battle announcing what medal the player has acquired. These medals are frequent and appear instantly and colourfully in the centre of the player’s screen. This is an instant sign of the game praising the player, making the player feel as though they have accomplished something commendable and driving the player to acquire more medals. The harder the medal is to acquire the more dramatic and lengthy the loud voice is in announcing it, and more dramatic the visual display is to the player; with “Double Kills” being a quick announcement solely to the player, to an assassination, where the player will witness a quick animation of themselves creatively killing an opponent instantly, followed by a very loud and long announcement of what you just witnessed. The feel of accomplishment and visual effect these medals and achievements give the player enhance the player's enjoyment of the game.

These rewards apply to many other rewarding features of the game. As the player acquires rarer medals, their score will increase (depending on whether they’re achieving their objective) and in turn so will their personal “SR level” ranging from 1 – 130, giving the player a goal. As a player’s level increases so does their ability to customise their personal Spartan with their own personal appearance with level based unlocks of armor pieces. To add even more of a sense of achievement, some of these personal armor pieces can only be acquired by completing certain tasks ranging from collecting, analysing in game videos for encryption codes and accomplishing a certain number of medals or kills. With all of these combined goals and achievements, the player is constantly bombarded with colourful imagery and sound effects informing them of what they have achieved; the game has be very well designed around making the player feel important and as though they are making a difference in the matches they play, and even keeping the feeling that the player is an individual.