See, for me, I was all about the story, so while 'burned out' to some means "I don't play it like it used to", I already don't - I'm not a huge multiplayer fan, so I feel I've completely enjoyed the game, and it's enhanced my enjoyment of the Haloverse. So when I hear "burned out", then see examples of people just not playing much any more, I generally just think the persistent gaming element is waning.

But the way the direction of this thread was going, 'burned out' was sounding more like "the original creators were done with the story, so that means it should have ended when they left" - with which I completely disagree. From the story standpoint, I think Bungie had just gone as far as they wanted to (so it would have to change hands, naturally), but from the gaming standpoint, yes I think they burned out - perhaps they took it as far as they could take it and still feel it was the solid, unique game they envisioned. In which case, they rightly stepped back.

Whether 343 gets better at the gaming portion, we'll see. But the storyworld? I'd rather 343, about the best chance of its continuing, take it and continue it than Bungie effectively not really care about that.

Improvements in storytelling need to be made, but this "burn out" I sense from people on all sides really seems more like gaming than fiction. And if it's fiction, it's more due to frustration with 343 than Halo, in general, just being basically uninteresting any more. That's the way it seems to me at least.

IMO, 343 either needs to solidify their gaming skills to keep the players coming, or dramatically improve their storytelling skills to keep the core fiction fans entrenched and wanting more.

Burn out? meh.

: Right, I agree with you. Halo isn't 'done' by any means, but the original
: author was. So now there is a new author, except that author is a group of
: fans just like us. They have the control to take the story in a direction
: they want (in fact, I think it was Frankie that wanted to delve more
: into the Forerunners IIRC....so maybe in a way Halo 4 is.... Frankie's
: Halo??) and a lot of people here weren't happy with that direction.

Yeah, and the nice thing is, the stories many of us would have loved to see aren't necessarily voided, it's just they decided to focus on something for this game and/or trilogy that might not appeal as much to us as another aspect of the 'verse. So, there's still plenty of potential (and in a way, it may be better that they 'learn' the storytelling process on stories that don't quite hit the spot for us ;P)

: For me I hit a stopping point. I know I needed a break. Aside from the LAN I
: threw a couple weeks ago I've been all Halo'd out. The weather is nice
: outside, I've got boring adult responsibility to take care of, I've got
: projects I want to work on (some Halo related even) and Halo 4's MP just
: didn't grab me like past incarnations did.

See my comment above re gaming vs story. My gaming ended long ago - I enjoyed the game, enjoyed the story, and essentially moved on; already went outside and am doing more :) I'm not burned out, I just got what I came for, and am still impatiently awaiting more!

: I'm still reading the books and coming here because I'm still very much
: interested in Halo but I'm not interested in playing it at this current
: time for the above reasons. There are probably a few others who feel the
: same. I also kinda feel like that Halo 4 is 'done' at this point in its
: life cycle due to the pending release of a new console generation. Wu did
: point out that there are typically lulls in activity between a game being
: out for X long until the announcement of a new game.

Yeah, and as per the next comment:

: Maybe 'burned out' is carrying too much of a negative connotation with a few
: here- that's understandable. Maybe I need a rest or a recharge would sound
: better- to me it means the same thing.

'burned out' has a connotation, though I guess it depends who you talk to. It does feel like in a general sense, it means the Halo brand is 'growing old' - and with that I disagree. But from a gaming standpoint, I can understand the 'burn out', especially in comparison to the lasting activity of previous Halo game incarnations.

It just gets dangerous when the core fans start getting fiction burn out - that's when the franchise curators start to "milk" the fans. That's when there needs to be a break in the franchise for a while (sort of as what happened to Star Trek with all the TV series).