You talk too much.

Master Chief and the value of a silent protagonist.

Within the Halo community and fandom at large it is a generally accepted idea that, prior to Halo 4, the Master Chief had little to no character and showed little growth throughout the series. The idea that finally in 2012 we, as a community, finally bore witness to a more emotional and human side to the Master Chief but this isn’t one hundred percent accurate

    This belief has never sat too well with myself and with this post I’d like to dissect and explain exactly why this notion is damaging to not only the nature of Master Chief as a protagonist but also to the narrative direction Halo is taking.

         Master Chief Petty Officer Spartan 117 is deliberately obtuse as a character, his mannerisms exaggerated. This form of character development and storytelling is massively underappreciated in the modern industry, in a time where if the protagonist doesn’t quip every 5 seconds or constantly convey what is happening on-screen the player would lose interest. Trying to work this dialogue into sounding natural and not come across as patronising to those in control a is very delicate balance and I applaud those who manage to strike the perfect balance. The developers have to ensure the person holding the controller knows very clearly what is going on and what to do, it is with this need to spell it out and simplify the product with over expressive characters that the brilliance of the Master Chief is diluted.

Master chief is a character whose every word carries weight and significance; he rarely speaks so when he does you listen, the weight given to every word by the magnificent Steve Downes helps bring legitimacy to what Chief says, his deep booming voice hits hard whenever it is heard and unfortunately too much of a good thing can ruin it. We don’t need to hear Master Chief confirming orders during gameplay, responding like he is just another tool to help player’s along. That is the role Cortana, Chief’s Artificial Intelligence, plays, she guides the player while Chief just gets the job done, only offering insight when it is warranted or when the situation is begging out for a clichéd Eastwoodesque quip.  To have the giant hulking soldier chatter away like a gossip dilutes what makes him special in the first place, I get it, 343 Industries and the Halo community want more ‘depth’ to his character but it shouldn’t come from him, it should be informed by how the people surrounding him react to his presence, or his body language and the slight twitches he makes in response to situations.

Take for example the following scene from Halo 3.

The only words spoken by the Master Chief during this climactic scene are the reassuring ‘We’ll make it’, no screams or grunts to convey the action of the scene, that is all left up to the music and character animations, Chief becoming at ease after the excellently delivered ‘It’s been an honour serving with you John’ epitomise his character, there is no throwaway thank you line or small talk just a solider finally able to rest and no dialogue here could convey this feeling better than that animation.

  There are examples in Halo 4 and beyond of chief being more emotional and in line with what we have seen in prior games, the final goodbye with Cortana hits hard, as does his confrontation with Del Rio and the final biting line about being a machine. These are fantastic snippets of dialogue that help build his character in a great way, just leave the generic small talk out. Don’t dilute the impact Chief’s voice has to the player, they don’t need him blurting out the next objective or casually chatting, let Chief’s words remain few and far between, maintain the oomph that Steve Downe’s performance demands and don’t insult the player’s intelligence and rob them of what Chief, not just as a character but an example of the franchise, truly is. Commanding. Intense and Hard hitting.