: 1. A lot of posters here, and those who have left, cite a feeling of being
: "burned out" on Halo. Question: how much of this fatigue was
: avoidable, or could have been avoided with different decisions/directions
: on the part of 343i?

I do not believe any part of this could have been avoided by 343 as of this date, I believe on the MP component of the game, Bungie started trending us towards more modern approaches to game design, and 343 (imo) did a very good job of taking Reach and creating a well put together transitional system.

(I like H4 MP, I play all the time)

That said, they did add things like Mods, but to be completely honest, since I have been a 130 since the first couple weeks they have never affected me, and I could argue that on a whole, they do not matter.

There is one "design decision" that I believe 343 needs to explore to continue the Halo series. that is the campaign space, they have handled the fictional aspects of the Halo Universe better than I could have ever hoped, but when the controller meets hand, "Campaign" as it has existed for 12 years, is no longer good enough.

The linear mission based, 6 hour campaign, is not enough anymore, and from a quality aspect, they dont have the replayability anymore.
I love the campaigns, I play them religiously, but I have such a hard time wanting to go back now.

I feel like Bungie knew this, and the biggest part of Destiny I can see so far, is making the type of "Campaign" that Halo deserves.
The only thing is, they had to leave Halo to make it.

343 will need to innovate on the SP/COOP Campaign gameplay in the future

: 3. 343i doesn't come around here very often. Question: how much of this do
: you think is a result of 343i taking a different direction with respect to
: HBO/fan communities in general, and how much is due to HBO being an
: unwelcoming and sometimes hostile environment for them?

I will admit, I dont "expect" anything from the developers..
That said, I really admire how lucky places like HBO and HaloGaf are to have devs drop by and chat, kick the tires on certain topics.

Personally I remember around the time of the new trilogy being announced and I said how silly Halo 5 and Halo 6 would sound, and Frankie was right there to comment on how they have would obviously have to think about it.
It was so satisfying for me to just throw that answer out in the universe, and boom, an answer comes from the top.

The second part of your question is I think the point, I followed HBO and GAF to the letter leading up to release, everyone was posting, fans and devs alike, excited for a new game...

then there was just such a monumental and incredibly hyperbolic (imo) negative reaction directly pointed at 343, what was once a place for collaboration and conversation became a warzone. I stopped following HaloGAF for probably 5 months, and admittedly didnt check in on HBO either, it just disgusted me to see the level of negativity everyone was spewing towards Halo (my most beloved scifi franchise) and 343.

I dont blame them for not coming around as much, if I spent years working on a project that I love, and then immediately upon release all the communities that have supported you for years, completely, utterly AND VERY LOUDLY turn on you, I would be beyond discouraged and highly upset.

Either way it saddens me, I play Halo 4 with my playgroup all the time, and we have a blast, we have been playing for 3 games now together, and no matter the changes, because I love Halo and my friends, we will continue to support Halo

Halo to me has never been about the BR, or Battle Creek, its been about the experience with my friends, and enjoying the universe.
Sure things have changed, I remember how different Halo CE --> Halo 2 --> Halo 3 --> HALO REACH were, but we ran with it, because its a tradition.

To all the sudden completely disregard Halo 4 and 343 because of its changes (certainly not more than 3 --> Reach) is a bit ridiculous