343 Industries hosted a panel at San Diego Comic-Con this week, where Halo franchise director Frank O’Connor shed some light on the studio’s approach to game length and reaffirmed its commitment to 60fps.
Reflecting on the age-old game length debate, O’Connor stated, “”The reality is that length is a really weird metric because people play the game so differently…So [instead], I think about things like replayability and scale. It’s a much bigger game [than Halo 4].”
O’Connor elaborated on these comments by mentioning Halo 5’s brand new four player co-op mode. Levels have been specifically designed to accommodate more players and to encourage multiple playthroughs.
“It’s definitely, definitely bigger,” he said. “And for some of the players in this audience, the [Halo] games do seem to be getting shorter, but that’s because you’re getting much, much, much better at the game as well. And if you’re like me, you’re going to grab a Warthog and drive it places it’s not supposed to go.”
“It’s currently longer for me right now; your mileage may vary,” he added. “But for me, it’s much longer because there’s more places to explore and much more open, sandboxy stuff.”
O’Connor also provided the reasoning behind the studio’s decision to develop the title in 60 fps, stating “Some people are fine with 30fps; we’re not discounting that…But our simulation, the way your controller works, the way that you move through the levels; the way that four players move through those levels; they’re all actually tied into a 60fps simulation.
“So the reality is, if it was visuals, what we’d do is we’d just overload everything at 30fps; higher fidelity textures and lighting and so on. The reality is 60fps is gameplay.”
What do you think of O’Connor’s comments on game length? How do you feel about the Halo franchise’s transition to 60fps? Let us know in the comments below.