Throughout all of the Halo games, one of the things that has remained a mystery is Master Chief’s face. For more than 20 years, the Spartan has not once removed his helmet. However, Paramount’s new Halo TV show had no such qualms about dispelling the myths surrounding Master Chief. Despite fans’ disapproval, Master Chief actor Pablo Schreiber claims this is something that just had to happen for players to fully immerse themselves in the Halo TV series.
Why is seeing Master Chief’s face so important?
Schreiber states that it was really important for the show to establish Master Chief as a pre-determined personality rather than something that players had created in their own minds. Over 20 years, players had experienced Master Chief as a suit of armor and a voice. Because of this, the character is “never revealed in any excessive way” and players can “project your own personality onto him”. Schreiber told Polygon the show needed to break those preconceptions:
In a first-person shooter video game, the character is created very specifically for the purposes of the game, you’re meant to believe that you’re the Master Chief. But the character is never revealed in any excessive way, so that you can project your own personality onto him.
It was very important early on that the helmet comes off, you see the face, and you disassociate your version of who you believe the Chief was. Rather than being co-creator of the experience as you go along and believing that you’re Chief, we’re now inviting you to sit back on the couch and watch Chief start to discover elements of himself.
If you’re going to have bring an audience along with you for multiple episodes, and hopefully multiple seasons, you really need to imbue that character with empathy and understanding. And you have to identify with the character in a way that goes beyond thinking you’re him.
Fans’ opinions are divided on the show’s decision. On one hand, some believe Master Chief should have remained a mystery and the Halo TV series misses what players valued about the character. Others believe the show made the correct decision. What do you think?
In other news, a mod that remakes The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion within the engine used for Skyrim has received another trailer. Unfortunately the launch of Skyblivion is still “a ways out.” Elsewhere, the next Gran Turismo 7 update should fix credit payouts and will give players a token payout to apologize for the game’s issues.
