When my daughter was dying in the hospital, I realized that I'd never get to play through HALO with her like I had when I was dating her mother, so I brought my guitar in and played her the HALO theme. She was baptized and confirmed under emergency form per the 1962 Missal (aka the Latin mass) by a priest of the Priestley Fraternity of St. Peter, who is now a dear friend. I wanted to experience the joy of introducing her to HALO as I had with my wife; Playing her some of the music, was cathartic for me. If you read this Marty, thank you for your work. Please know that everyone on my Latin rosary server celebrated when we saw the comments on your Kyrie video where you stated that you had been recieved into holy mother church. We will continue to pray for you.
the whole industry has no passion. My opinion micropayments in H5, Warsy and Infinite- Decision Microsoft (343i they didn't have anything to talk about all night) according to rumors Cortana in H5 it Decision Microsoft because Cortana = more $ but other studios. Ubisoft assassin's creed 2 very game far cry 3 now Assassin's creed with unicorn ($$$) Even Sony - Naughty dog, They are epic history epic story. The last years ? The last of us Online ($$$). Now apparently they are New IP, Open World. My opinion 343i/Halo Studios People are with pashion and love Halo but corporation - Microsof ($$$) and heads 343i/Microsoft. Bonnie Rosse, Frank O Connor and other (Heads 343i/Halo Studios) - ,,Dead" so Perrie Hintze (Head Halo Studios) and others a new Halo Era. My hope Epic Halo Era
My hometown Parish got a young 30 something priest to take over for our 80 something head priest and I can't help but wonder what would happen if he had Halo tournaments with the youth group, we'd probably grow!
Marty is so cool. He’s exactly the kind of personality you would want making games to play with your buddies. No creepy business, no agenda, honest with the world. Creative, curious, motivated. The perfect vessel for creating great art.
In-Between, don't get discpouraged. You might be the most interesting Halo youtuber right now. You give a completely different perspective on everything and you deserve all of the success you get
i had a spiritual experience watching this. hearing Marty explain why music is meaningful, it got me thinking, "im not religious, but i probably should be." because the halo theme blew my mind when i was a kid, and i never knew why; until now. music connects us, its a pretty big part of what makes us human. halo singlehandedly determined what my music taste would be when i was 8. and i think i have great taste! and i gotta say the story kind of pushed me away from religion, but i just dont think i couldve understood the nuance when i was a kid. but now i look at religion with an open mind. thank you guys for doing this video. hearing Marty talk about politics, religion, music, and business all in the same video is such a treat!
@@Timic83tc Never say never my friend. Best piece of advice I heard as a skeptic was, “Pray to God, even if you don’t believe in God. If He’s real, He’ll reveal Himself. If not, at least you tried.” No pressure, just solid advice that could change your life.
God keep you healthy Marty. Got into Halo at age six and without a doubt your music had its hooks in me right from the jump. Can definitely say its influenced my tastes and even how I take in and appreciate this creation. And an authentic man as always, able to see from the very beginning the creeping ideology in the industry. You've been done so wrong over the years, Halo, Destiny etc., but you know we all love you man. Stay safe.
Damn dude, Halo was my life from 2003-2012. Those are some of my most cherished memories. Lucky for you though, MCC still exists. Hopefully it stays alive for a long time yet.
2:20 Your sentiment of wanting to share Halo's story with people around you hits home for me man. I always tried to explain the amazing story of Halo to my mother, but I was just too excited to explain it properly to her. I wished for a movie and when the movie got announced by Peter freaking Jackson of all people, I got so excited because movies are so much more accessible than games. Sadly no movie, and a shit tv show. I still talk about Halo to my mom from time to time, and I'm 28 now. She understands a bit more now, about games having deep stories and she saw how important Halo was for me in my youth, so she tries to understand. But man, 15 year old me still wishes for a Halo movie I can watch with my mom.
There is no way you could listen to the songs Marty and Michael made and couldnt feel some sort of divine inspiration. Especially in Halo 3. Listen to Never Forget and tell me you dont always feel moved by this melody. Thank you Marty and Micheal for your works. Got to be the best modern composers of the 21st century
Halo 3 had a major flaw. In CE and 2, Cortana was the lady with the big guns--the Pillar of Autumn's MAC and Cairo Station's Super MAC. Ever since Halo 3, the Halo franchise has been iterating on 'rescue the little blue Navi'.
Well to be fair cortana was holding down the gravemind from finding the location of earth. She had to endure that for almost a month. Just like keyes had too. Would you have been able to bring the big guns when you went through that? Of course not.
@@jurassicarkjordanisgreat1778 Karen Traviss' short story was powerfully written, but the fact remains that Cortana is an Artificial Intelligence with a built-in delete and self-destruct function. I was not impressed at the Master Chief leaving Cortana behind on High Charity when there was the option of detonating the In Amber Clad, and taking the Phantom at the start of the level, along with all the marines rescued on Legendary, escaping to the keyship that way. She might be based on a human brain, but she does have advantages that Captain Keyes lacked.
@jurassicarkjordanisgreat1778 Also, I'm fairly sure, if I or you knew the stellar coordinates for Earth, the Gravemind could rip it out from either of us within a few seconds. The problem is that Truth, Mercy, and Regret already had that information, and thus so did the Gravemind.
I always loved the mythological and religious imagery in halo, don’t identify as completely catholic anymore as I’d call myself an ominist now but really cool to listen to this
@@climaksy1659 I couldn’t continue to be a Christian in good conscience without converting to the Catholic faith due to discovering the the 1st century church our Lord established on Pentecost was indeed the Catholic Church - most specifically, I wanted to receive as he intended us to receive him - in the Holy Eucharist - “Amen, amen I say unto you: Except you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, you shall not have life in you.”
For so many little reasons I picked up on in this interview, it is suddenly way less surprising how easily I passed off some Halo tracks as Christmas music to my wife a couple winters ago. There are many other comments I'd love to make too, but not enough time or space here. What an interesting guy, it seems like every 10 minutes I was surprised by what he said or where he went. Terrific interview. I myself happen to be investigating Catholicism and Orthodoxy too.
Just had to google Marty O'Donnell to check he knew how old he is, he didn't seem overly confident 😂. I can't believe he's almost 70, doesn't look (or sound) a day over 60. What an awesome guy...
At the end of all of this I can see Martin's character and I believe that he's a good man. We need more people like him in the world and as a creative.
Positive discussion on two of my favorite things - Christian Religion and Videogames. Not to mention with one of my favorite modern composers. Can't ask for more! Thanks for putting this together!
Extremely glad you entered the Church Marty. Very happy for you and your wife. Praying for you. Also, you may not understand it fully, but purgatory is a very important, logical, biblical teaching, and I am sure God will help you to understand it at some point.
Funny how this video came up a little after Xperia made a video that talked about Halo's connections to the Bible! If we could restore a little of that connection to Halo again, make it come back to the sort of retelling of the Biblical story (the grandest REAL story ever told), I think Halo could be revived to it's former uniqueness.
Just finished the video! I really liked the discussion on music as our first language as humans-the universal thread that pulls us together. Makes me think of how kids can dance and sing before they can talk.
I played Halo with it first came out. I was 5 then. Wasn't that good at first. Watched my dad play a lot. Now ive played all of them numerous times. It crazy that it's almost as old as me. Time is going by so quickly.
Fantastic interview, loved it from begining to end. Many things could be said from this, but for now I just want to say that both ends of the interviw itself were really interesting. Of course, Marty and his views go even beyond my expectations, but your questions and comments that complemented the disscussion felt genuine, fruitful and even cozy. A nice, tranquil discussion about topics that matter or have a good story behind it. Great job, gonna watch some videos from your channel. Keep it up, God bless!
Awesome interview! I had no idea Marty O'Donnell was a Christian. Who would have thought God would use Marty through Halo to share the gospel!? Imagine how many future generations might be impacted by Marty from those who seek to learn more about Halo's creators.
As always, i hope professing catholics may be saved in spite of the official doctrine of the rcc. Most people don't dig very deep and a simple faith is all that's needed. I just don't want to give anyone false encouragement. What's necessary is to know that Jesus is God and that his substitutionary atonement and perfect life on your behalf pays the penalty you deserve and transfers his righteousness to your account so that God can treat you as if you had been the one who earned heaven. There's nothing you can do on your own merits to obtain salvation, and nothing you can do to maintain it afterwards, it is all the mercy of God and your utter complete dependence on him alone that saves you. This is anathematized by the council of Trent, but if you identify as catholic and still believe this you can still be saved, because it's not what institution you adhere to that saves you. I would still encourage you to find a solid church but whatever you do, don't trust in your works or your goodness or your sincerity of heart, but on the underserved mercy of Jesus Christ alone. Thanks for reading.
As someone who; 1) is Catholic; 2) loved the original Halo games; 3) enjoyed many of the analyses of the religious themes in that series, two things; thank you for this interview, and congrats on interviewing one of the brilliant minds behind and centre to this great saga.
HOW TO: fix the Halo 2 anniversary graphics on Xbox series X: start, settings, video, Fidelity FX Super resolution, select "performance". It does work well in "ultra quality" mode thankfully but there might be the occasional slight stutter, still absolutely nowhere near as bad as with FFSR turned off completely. I assure you this is the legitimate fix, give it a try! Awesome video by the way 😊
Just a regular non denominational Christ follower here who loves halo and had no idea Marty was a believer! I create and compose music myself and Marty and Michael’s halo soundtracks had a huge impact on me and are part of the reason of why I love music so much. Now that I think of it, those soundtracks really did have a divine element to them, and it all makes perfect sense now. This interview was amazing man, definitely going to check out your other videos, keep it up!
Marty, Eric, Jo & Jaime hashing it out could be Awesome. Jackson on a Grav Throne to keep 'em on the rails.. or off! ;) Either way tysm this was incredible.
The fact that my favorite element of my favorite video game franchise was produced by a fellow believer makes me appreciate the creativity thereof even more. Love you, brother!
(Leaving this comment before I start watching the video, I am sure it’ll be quite interesting!) I’ve always adored any Biblical thing in any sort of media, Halo is a game I played as a kid and I grew up learning so much from it, as a non-native speaker, many of the words I first learned in English came from the campaigns and the poetic aspect of its script always stood out to me, as I became older and got more into the subtext/undertones of the story and the journey from each of the characters as well as the compositions that enhanced each moment, it was evident to me that the men behind the game were very faithful and passion-driven, the stories weren’t propaganda to convert people, they made fun games that also happened to have serious messages that push to you be a better man with yourself, your peers and the world surrounding you. Lost legacies, the dangers of misconstruing messages to push one’s agenda, camaraderie when faced with adversity, selflessness and inspiring others is some of the major things Halo has conveyed to me since the beginning and I’m so glad that these men’s faith inspired them to create one of the best franchises in history. P.s.: I’ve particularly always been fond of the way these themes are visually portrayed in the games, I did a rather lengthy dissection of these things focusing on Joseph Staten’s influence as well as what the old team from Bungie created to showcase their understanding of theology, I hope you can interview Joe as well, it’s be fascinating to hear his insight: www.reddit.com/r/HaloStory/s/BmVWXBnI1D
at the Washington Gaming Expo, I talked with Marty and Jeff about halo. Cool guys. And hearing the stories and excitement from Jeff Steitzer about the community was astonishing.
Really interesting conversation. Especially as someone raised Protestant and currently exploring Catholicism. (Wasn’t expecting such a very serious religious discussion in this) Love Marty, even if he blocked me on Twitter, lol.
HALO was about the HOPE, about the humanity, its not about shoot, you fight to save other humans, even you can continue the game you feel the urge to stop and help them, even later in the game, when you became alone, killing makes no sense because of that, how can be saved? you have not lost the FAITH, you will even mercy some enemies and at the end, understand who were enemies are sentient lifes like you and we all were on that small word against the adversity, and help them to fight the real EVIL, even when Halo gets destroyed, and the game ends, you still have FAITH that some of that sentient lifes human or covenant, survived... so you play another time the game!!! Halo is about being a good samaritan, the music and the ambience immersion make you have that revelation when playing, the urge to play the game saving others and forgiving others, its a big message, and the game dont say you nothing about do that, you will have that revelation when playing Halo, thats why halo is so "christian" all is about helping the neighbout.
I really appreciate and agree with the philosophy about communication and fostering friendship with people you don’t agree with. And while I think it’s a good goal and general rule to follow, I don’t think it gives anyone an excuse to say the terrible things like what I’ve been hearing from the people I look up to. I have seen Marty say some dehumanizing things about people he believes are a part of the problem. Though of course I would prefer him to the primary winner, I hope he can give some of those thoughts introspection. And the issue I see with using Jordan Peterson isn’t that you were endorsing his politics, it’s that even using him points to either an ignorance or a quiet acceptance of his statements. I wouldn’t mind if you used a quote from someone else who isn’t as vocal as Peterson, but the moment I hear his voice I have to reassess everything else I’ve heard in your videos with that perspective in mind. In any case, I continue to respect and admire the art that both of you create. I appreciate that this is a place where things can remain civil, and I’ll continue to follow you both in your endeavors
Halo 4 slightly but Halo 5 and 6(Infinite because i know theres THAT person in the crowd) definitely did Bungie/my girl dirty, Cortana didn need to be evil, didnt need to blow up the Zeta ring to not kill anyone, hell its like she called a 500kg bomb on Atriox/Bile Titan and she only does minimal damage to him, like Isabella from Halo Wars 2 got the Sentinels to rip a Carrier out of the sky in 2, Cortana has the most advanced AI Braind thanks to the Domain but goes BOOM instead like WHAT!? So she runs away from consequence that she caused in Halo 5 and we're expected to feel bad for her? You know what i do because 343i hates Bungies actual main character 😅 and adds her to Bungie hate but the weapon is the allegory for please accept us as the shepards of Halo Bungie is gone and evil 😂 come on why couldnt i of gotten a Halo 2 where she is tactically helping the UNSC fight the Covenant!? She needs to die in Halo 4 and turn bad in Halo 5 and die again in Halo 6 who needs the adventure first then drama, 343i methos is drama all the time and maybe an adventure o AND RETCONS, long story short i miss the Didact and Warden Eternal/Prometheans and Guardians but slide them under the carpet and make something new
@TheMartyODonnell: "Musical 'manipulation' " Wouldn't be the right words, I think. I believe you wrote musical score that invokes emotions, memory, and inspiration from a personal place, dare I say even from an intimate place inside each of us... something and somewhere pure. It means something different to each of us... something personal.😊
Having a lot of the Bungie OGs come together and remake Halo CE over the next few years would be interesting, but I do wonder how well it would be received. Halo from 2001 (or even 2010) is not the same as Halo in 2024. With how much the franchise as a whole has changed, how would the original Bungie guys even go about doing the remake? Marty mentioned pulling from the old archives of things that got scrapped, and while I personally love that approach, how much of those old ideas conflict with the Halo universe today? I'm a pre-343 fan of Halo and CE is my favorite, and that's because Halo today is not what Halo used to be, both in terms of gameplay and narrative. For example, in the first level of CE when Keyes hands Cortana's chip over to the Chief and he slots it into his helmet, Cortana remarks that the architecture of his armor isn't too dissimilar from the Pillar of Autumn, indicating that this is the first time she's ever been connected to it. However, lore that came out years later contradicts that, where the Chief and Cortana took part in testing the Mark V armor with AI integration while on Reach. This is just one small change to the original CE narrative that would need to be addressed, so just imagine the rest of them. This lore change was also while Halo was still in the hands of Bungie and is something that is only learned outside of the games. Then there's the gameplay side of things. Halo CE is very simple compared to Infinite-just look at the plethora of movement options you have today. I think none of that should be added to a CE remake. It raises a question, however: how much of a dichotomy is there in the Halo fan base? How many people prefer the fast-paced, run-and-gun style of modern Halo compared to the slower paced and more deliberate style of classic Halo? Thus I can't say how well a CE remake with simplified gameplay and a re-retconned story would be received. I imagine some number of current Halo fans would feel alienated. How should that be handled? Something to consider.
The fanbase feels already alienated with 343's handling of the IP and it's story (just look at "Remember Halo" video, from Crowbcat). I feel that making a reboot of ALL of Halo is being redundant with things that don't need fixing (most of Bungie's original Halo) without fixing the REAL problems with the franchise (343's misunderstanding of what made Halo good in the first place, despite some of their good efforts to make things right). I don't know. Even with the old devs, it feels like another move that does not actually adress what needs to be fixing with Halo. But maybe, and hopefully, they find a way to make it work, create something new and unexpected and surprise everyone, including myself. I hope it happens, but the key for that is to let them work as it is, freely and maybe put some new blood in the ranks that actually cares about the franchise and the work that is being made so new, fresh perspectives come in without them feeling alien or disrespectful to the core esscence of Halo. In the end, just let them develop their ideas, refine them, and juxtapose them all together to create a new, wonderful peace of art, storytelling and of course, gaming. Hopefully, it may happen.
This was a very interesting interview done with Marty. I found this video recommended to my feed and decided to give it a watch. I did not know the faithful background to Marty and it was so refreshing & exciting because I’m a Lutheran and I felt so connected knowing that I’m not the only faithful person in this world that still loves Halo, even 4, 5, and Infinite. I pray and hope to everyone to keep hope and push through these trying times and the gaming industry. As much as gaming content sucks or disappoints, we must never let go of our faith to the Lord. Even if we all disagree with each other about what Halo game is the best. We know that it’s Halo and we still love it. Amen brothers. ❤ 🙏
The story is explicit where religion fits into Halo , it's directly overt. Religion is the tool by which the Covenant (insert any religion you like) are useful dupes and are waging a genocide while also trying to activate 7 machines which will destory every living soul in the galaxy. The Covenant are useful pawns of the Hierarchs who understand the truth about the genocide and Halo and are going to do it anyway because their entire power structure is built upon it. Saying Halo is religious , on a story level is about as stupid as saying JFK enjoyed that sunny day in Dallas.
Thank you for going into all the talk about god and jesus, religion. Nobody does that or maybe theyre afraid of how their fans will react, which is sad.
Looking forward to watching this. Have some thoughts on Halo as a cultural product, mostly that it is both Nietzchean and transcendental(taking inspiritation from the divine) in its makeup, while being explicilty American, as well as militaristic (these are positive things). Curious to see how this relates to Catholicism, although I can suppose elements of it, namely the hero worship, the character archetypes of Chief, Cortana, Arbiter, and others could fit Christ, Mary, the Apostles, other figures and Saints, and lastly its overall transcendental feeling, but I hesitate to go all in to say this is "Christian". Halo in my view much more resembles a European Hero story of the Bronze Age, translated to American science fiction, perhaps with quasi-biblical/Christian aesthetics at times. Anyway, will be listening. Big fan of Marty's music over the past twenty five years and it's good to see more of him.
I prefer the term Christian-influenced but it means the same thing as what others intend by it. When you examine different cultures and philosophies it becomes very evidently clear that a story or culture is influenced by Christian theology. It doesn't require the individuals in question to be Christian, profess Christianity, be conscious of the influence, etc. That might be your objection
I would not say the characters are allegorical. Chief and Cortana are a masculine and feminine archetype. The influence from Christianity is that femininity is supportive of the masculine mission. It is in conflict with egalitarianism and F-nism.
@@cosmictreason2242 Thanks for the input. My objection isn't as surface level as what you suggest. My primary contention is that Halo portrays too much of a vitalistic, militaristic, and almost primeval/primordial kind of hero-worship sensibility than it does Christian influences. I see it as Indo-European in origin, but married with a heritage American's (Old Bungie's) worldview. Chief is a Bronze Age Achilles transported to 2552 AD with the personality of an American gunslinger, at least that's how I'd put it. Cortana is a woman demi-God, like Athene to Odysseus, and the whole nature of the war is approached in a fairly ancient way (it's uncritical) and so on. I've heard some people say that Halo is Gnostic (Gnostic Christianity) but no one has ever explained how(and I can't find a good explanation as to what Gnostic Christianity is, anyway). Could you provide some examples as to what you see as the Catholic influences? I actually agree with your second comment in that Halo is anti-egalitarian and, aside from its portrayal of Miranda Keyes as a leader, is not feminist(Miranda clearly worships and follows after her father, and it's why she's there as a Captain, not because she is a feminist character etc.). But I can't see the other pieces. Maybe some symbology--the Halo 3 Believe Ad from back in the day DEFINITELY has a revelatory feeling and I would accept as Christian inspired, but I don't see it throughout the series per se.
@@RingworldTyrant i don't see why it would be necessary to rank the degree of the influences. Halo doesn't have to be PRIMARILY a Christian story to still be ' Christian' or as i would put it, to have Christian influence. LOTR is primarily a fantasy medieval epic and its Christianity is in the superplot and themes, not the dialogue or characters or basic plot. Of COURSE halo is most apparently a derivative of previous sci fi verses, with the biggest influences coming from Starship Troopers (the militarism and political egalitarian meritocracy (before i meant that it's not egalitarian in the view of men's and women's nature)), Ringworld (the halo itself and also chief being lucky), and The Culture (specifically the way the AIs are conceptualized). Starship Troopers also influences the suit of armor, via Warhammer 40k aesthetic. This is all in the setting and characterization. It is Christian in its THEME. And I'll acknowledge that the STYLE in which the theme is depicted is very Americana, but the idea of good and evil is more primary than the incidental USA versus Shia/Wahhabi Muslims. That aspect also wasn't as evident in the first game. To your notion of Nietzschian philosophy, chief is certainly an ubermensch but rather than conquering those weaker than him he serves them and acts on their behalf as their representative and that's a Christian motif. Jesus is the kinsman-redeemer, only able to save us because he was one of us and therefore could stand in our place and act AS us in dying the death we deserve. Every case of a person representing a brother (Katniss: Hunger Games), family (Mulan, Triton in The Little Mermaid), a tribe or nation (Hidalgo, Mortal Kombat, Captain America) or world entails a Christian motif/ethic, even though it would not strictly be a ' Christ Figure' unless they absorb some calamity on the behalf of people who would otherwise suffer it. In this sense Chief isn't really a "space Jesus" until the end of halo 3, so it's not his primary role. Gnosticism is seen in two things: the claim of secret knowledge available only to those on the inside - that's visible in the metoo and buy large mansions movements among others, today called "standpoint epistemology" - that you have unique access to truth based on your position, that is why aD'oE'uI' requires the 'elevation of marginalized voices.' It's a form of Gnosticism. But Gnostic mysticism specifically refers to the claim that the creator of this world is actually not the top god but an evil and incompetent demiurge who gets mad at humanity and tries to destroy us but satan intervenes to thwart his plans. It casts the devil/serpent as the good guy and Elohim as a toddler god who's basically mistreating his toys in his bedroom while mom and daddy god are busy until they come back to spank him. As a Christian i see it as a boringly obvious ploy by Satan to cast himself as the good guy like Prometheus, but it's sadly very compelling to some people who just want to reject the official narrative whatever it is. Anyway, if people are calling halo gnostic they probably mean this aspect. The fallen angels being golems, imprisoned in bodies of matter. Oh that's another major aspect of Gnosticism: seeing physical matter as evil and spirit as pure and good. In Gnosticism Adam and Eve were entirely spiritual until they fell and were encased in corrupt fleshly bodies. In Christianity we were physical from the beginning and the body was also very good, and our spirits were also corrupted when we fell. Anyway the Gnostic goal is to escape fleshly existence. You can see some platonic influence and some ironic similarity in the final goal with Buddhism, which was invented at a similar time. I wonder if these people were in contact and sharing ideas. I don't think halo is Gnostic. Assassin's Creed, by comparison, ABSOLUTELY is. Interpreting what those folks man would depend on whether they're referring to the new 343 lore about forerunners or not. In the original, i just don't see it. Just having a guy realize his religion is wrong doesn't cut it, that's stretching too much. Or finding out that your hope of salvation is actually damnation.
@@cosmictreason2242 Thank you I really appreciate the detailed reply. That's exactly the level of discourse I'm looking for. I disagree with your interpretation of Nietzche's ideas about the Ubermensch--the Overman is just the guy who's able to actualize morality within himself and therefore impose order upon chaotic modernity; he is not a "might makes right" figure as Ragnar Redbeard would have put it, nor does Nietzche's master in master-slave morality necessarily imply a type of cruelty to the weak, but that's irrelevant. I just wanted someone to concisely give some examples from an AWARE position as to what Christian influences there were within Halo. And you explained Gnosticism to a layman in layman's terms! I appreciate you taking the time to type that all out, thanks.
I do hate it when publishers make it nearly impossible to experience the original product the way it was when it came out. Star Wars is a prime example. I hate that the MCC is the best way I have to experience Halo anymore, simply because -- while I do still have my original physical xbox discs -- I no longer have an original xbox or CRT TV to plug them into.
It's a petty what has happened to today modern world marty is a gem it sucks what the gaming industry has done to ya I wish you luck for congress still to this the halo theme one of the most iconic music ever made
would it be better in our heads...? One could argue (as long as it was ALL OF THE ORIGINAL people who worked on the 1st 3 OG games) it could be like Peter Jackson's LOTR theatrical release and his Extended versions.
The story of Halo describes the dangers of religion. However it describes rather lightly the dangers of Fascism. I am speaking about the Covenant and the UNSC respectively. I wish American Christian’s would stop co-opting stories and characters to their benefit.
I'll flip it around: I wish atheists would stop co-opting stories and characters to their benefit. Saying the story describes "the dangers of religion" shows a rudimentary understanding of religion at best. It's about as sophisticated as saying "money bad" or "power bad."
@@Jassu323you don't know Halo and are a clown if you think Halo isn't a cautionary tale on religion. The Covenant are dupes to 3 Hierarchs that know the truth that their religion is complete bullshit with an end result that will wipe out the galaxy. You have to be desperate or a dupe to believe otherwise.
34:36 Marty is exactly right about reboots and why they're failing so much right now. The new IP owners too frequently don't understand the source content, much less the "magic conditions" in which it first took hold, and end up milking the IP in all the wrong ways. You can't buy the Halo franchise and expect to recreate the "another Halo CE". It just won't be that. That's why I'm not interested in a Halo 3 remaster. There's just too much that can go wrong. Let it live on in honor, and move on to create NEW stories with deep lore and gobbles of thoughtful writing. Care about the story, not the cool factor. Look forward, not backward.
It’s so cool to hear that Marty is a believer and is open and honest about not only his faith but his struggles in it and how Jesus walked him through it to strengthen his faith. There was always something about Marty in how he communicated with others that reflected Christ without him having to explicitly talk about his faith which is super cool to see. This was an incredibly encouraging video to listen to and makes me appreciate Marty and his contribution to Halo even more.
Hey Meeting! I stumbled across your channel by chance. Also a Church of Christ (still) discerning my faith. Shocked me when you said that. There are dozens of us! 😂 Hope you are having a blast exploring the treasure trove of The Church.
Wow! Great job Jackson. Thanks for spending so much time with me. Looking forward to see what you and your wife do in the future.
Thanks, Marty! It was a great conversation and a lot of fun getting to hear your story!
You are the goat marty!!
he really did a good job, I'm glad he gave recognition to a composer of a small indie game franchise 🔥
@@T405_MNhaha
Hey Marty, when are you and Mike releasing your new album? The world's waiting for your guys next great hit!
When my daughter was dying in the hospital, I realized that I'd never get to play through HALO with her like I had when I was dating her mother, so I brought my guitar in and played her the HALO theme. She was baptized and confirmed under emergency form per the 1962 Missal (aka the Latin mass) by a priest of the Priestley Fraternity of St. Peter, who is now a dear friend. I wanted to experience the joy of introducing her to HALO as I had with my wife; Playing her some of the music, was cathartic for me. If you read this Marty, thank you for your work. Please know that everyone on my Latin rosary server celebrated when we saw the comments on your Kyrie video where you stated that you had been recieved into holy mother church. We will continue to pray for you.
Thank you for sharing your story. Thank you for your prayers and so sorry for your loss.
Our hope is in Christ.
Keep the faith.
I'm so sorry for your loss. May your daughter rest on peace.
Thanks for sharing your story. I’m an FSSP parishioner and big Halo fan. Seems to be not uncommon.
@@bumponalog5001 which parish? Phoenix by any chance?
“Wait, you mean Halo was a religious reference??”
“Always had been.” *grunt holding a plasma pistol
Has
This is what 343 is missing. Bungie had PASSION
It happens when you hire a company that hates halo
@@Yeshua_is-Cool Yep. It’s disgusting to think that studio has dragged Halo through the mud since 2011. 13 YEARS
@@Yeshua_is-Cooland people that hate god. Half of their staff are lgbtq+
the whole industry has no passion. My opinion micropayments in H5, Warsy and Infinite- Decision Microsoft (343i they didn't have anything to talk about all night) according to rumors Cortana in H5 it Decision Microsoft because Cortana = more $ but other studios. Ubisoft assassin's creed 2 very game far cry 3 now Assassin's creed with unicorn ($$$) Even Sony - Naughty dog, They are epic history epic story. The last years ? The last of us Online ($$$). Now apparently they are New IP, Open World. My opinion 343i/Halo Studios People are with pashion and love Halo but corporation - Microsof ($$$) and heads 343i/Microsoft. Bonnie Rosse, Frank O Connor and other (Heads 343i/Halo Studios) - ,,Dead" so Perrie Hintze (Head Halo Studios) and others a new Halo Era. My hope Epic Halo Era
Marty is just so cool. Long time halo fan, and very devout Catholic. This is one of my favorite Marty interviews. Thank you!
That means a lot to hear! Glad to know there are some more Catholic Halo fans out there!
Right there with you buddy.
Same here. FSSP Parishioner and also a giant Halo fan.
My hometown Parish got a young 30 something priest to take over for our 80 something head priest and I can't help but wonder what would happen if he had Halo tournaments with the youth group, we'd probably grow!
Marty is so cool. He’s exactly the kind of personality you would want making games to play with your buddies. No creepy business, no agenda, honest with the world. Creative, curious, motivated. The perfect vessel for creating great art.
Marty’s “Kyrie” is really gorgeous to listen to, I hope he can compose some more sacred music!
He is working on an entire Requiem!
In-Between, don't get discpouraged. You might be the most interesting Halo youtuber right now. You give a completely different perspective on everything and you deserve all of the success you get
Thank you! That means a lot
i had a spiritual experience watching this. hearing Marty explain why music is meaningful, it got me thinking, "im not religious, but i probably should be." because the halo theme blew my mind when i was a kid, and i never knew why; until now. music connects us, its a pretty big part of what makes us human.
halo singlehandedly determined what my music taste would be when i was 8. and i think i have great taste!
and i gotta say the story kind of pushed me away from religion, but i just dont think i couldve understood the nuance when i was a kid. but now i look at religion with an open mind.
thank you guys for doing this video. hearing Marty talk about politics, religion, music, and business all in the same video is such a treat!
Funny you mention Halo determining music taste because it was that way for me but with Halo *and* Linkin Park
fire
Come to Latin Mass sometime. It sounfs like you'll feel right at home
I'll never be religious but yeah Halo makes me wish I could be
@@Timic83tc Never say never my friend. Best piece of advice I heard as a skeptic was, “Pray to God, even if you don’t believe in God. If He’s real, He’ll reveal Himself. If not, at least you tried.” No pressure, just solid advice that could change your life.
Martin O’Donnell’s work has inspire my own as a filmmaker and storyteller. Halo being one of my all time favorite video game franchises ever made.
I fell in love with Marty’s music as I fell in love with my now husband. Such a big inspiration and I love hearing about the meaning behind the music.
God keep you healthy Marty. Got into Halo at age six and without a doubt your music had its hooks in me right from the jump. Can definitely say its influenced my tastes and even how I take in and appreciate this creation. And an authentic man as always, able to see from the very beginning the creeping ideology in the industry. You've been done so wrong over the years, Halo, Destiny etc., but you know we all love you man. Stay safe.
I will never forgive myself for not getting into Halo back in the 360 days.
still a lot of fun to be had on mcc if you have a pc, it supports steam workshop now so luckily we don't really need 343 on that one
Damn dude, Halo was my life from 2003-2012. Those are some of my most cherished memories. Lucky for you though, MCC still exists. Hopefully it stays alive for a long time yet.
I’m a traditional Catholic and big Halo fan, this interview was amazing! Thanks for making it happen.
Same here!
Ditto!!
Real
47:26 343 wanted to replace Steve Downes and Jen Taylor. Blasphemy!
Never heard that before. Good grief those r*tards have literaly found every way imaginable to f$%# Halo up.
Nay. It was *heresy*
2:20 Your sentiment of wanting to share Halo's story with people around you hits home for me man. I always tried to explain the amazing story of Halo to my mother, but I was just too excited to explain it properly to her. I wished for a movie and when the movie got announced by Peter freaking Jackson of all people, I got so excited because movies are so much more accessible than games. Sadly no movie, and a shit tv show. I still talk about Halo to my mom from time to time, and I'm 28 now. She understands a bit more now, about games having deep stories and she saw how important Halo was for me in my youth, so she tries to understand. But man, 15 year old me still wishes for a Halo movie I can watch with my mom.
Haha completely feel that, my friend!
This is the interview I had been waiting for...
Someone needs to get Marty on Pints with Aquinas!
Dude, I’d love to see that!
There is no way you could listen to the songs Marty and Michael made and couldnt feel some sort of divine inspiration. Especially in Halo 3. Listen to Never Forget and tell me you dont always feel moved by this melody. Thank you Marty and Micheal for your works. Got to be the best modern composers of the 21st century
Halo 3 had a major flaw. In CE and 2, Cortana was the lady with the big guns--the Pillar of Autumn's MAC and Cairo Station's Super MAC. Ever since Halo 3, the Halo franchise has been iterating on 'rescue the little blue Navi'.
Well to be fair cortana was holding down the gravemind from finding the location of earth. She had to endure that for almost a month. Just like keyes had too. Would you have been able to bring the big guns when you went through that? Of course not.
@@jurassicarkjordanisgreat1778 Karen Traviss' short story was powerfully written, but the fact remains that Cortana is an Artificial Intelligence with a built-in delete and self-destruct function. I was not impressed at the Master Chief leaving Cortana behind on High Charity when there was the option of detonating the In Amber Clad, and taking the Phantom at the start of the level, along with all the marines rescued on Legendary, escaping to the keyship that way. She might be based on a human brain, but she does have advantages that Captain Keyes lacked.
@jurassicarkjordanisgreat1778 Also, I'm fairly sure, if I or you knew the stellar coordinates for Earth, the Gravemind could rip it out from either of us within a few seconds. The problem is that Truth, Mercy, and Regret already had that information, and thus so did the Gravemind.
@@jurassicarkjordanisgreat1778
Yes, and that said we should’ve rescued Cortana sooner in Halo 3.
@@3mpt7 Is It me or some or your comments are just foucesed on Marty being Christian and Right-Wing? If Im wrong tell me
I always loved the mythological and religious imagery in halo, don’t identify as completely catholic anymore as I’d call myself an ominist now but really cool to listen to this
what a fuckin gem, marty o donnel interview with 4,600 views, this deserves way more
Alsa devout Catholic(former Protestant)and massive halo fan !
Mind if I ask, what made you switch?
@@climaksy1659 I couldn’t continue to be a Christian in good conscience without converting to the Catholic faith due to discovering the the 1st century church our Lord established on Pentecost was indeed the Catholic Church - most specifically, I wanted to receive as he intended us to receive him - in the Holy Eucharist - “Amen, amen I say unto you: Except you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, you shall not have life in you.”
This was great. Martin your my favorite composer! I listened to the sax solo in Overture probobly 1,000 times while I was at CRAS.
The Guy that shaped alot of our early years. Even after over well a decade the music he gave us is still moving and bringing up good memories
For so many little reasons I picked up on in this interview, it is suddenly way less surprising how easily I passed off some Halo tracks as Christmas music to my wife a couple winters ago. There are many other comments I'd love to make too, but not enough time or space here. What an interesting guy, it seems like every 10 minutes I was surprised by what he said or where he went. Terrific interview.
I myself happen to be investigating Catholicism and Orthodoxy too.
It’s so cool to see how many halo fans have been discovering the Catholic Church! I never expected to be looking into it
Marty is easily my favorite person in the gaming industry. The Halo soundtrack is my childhood’s soundtrack.
Awesome interview
Just had to google Marty O'Donnell to check he knew how old he is, he didn't seem overly confident 😂. I can't believe he's almost 70, doesn't look (or sound) a day over 60. What an awesome guy...
At the end of all of this I can see Martin's character and I believe that he's a good man. We need more people like him in the world and as a creative.
Marty music always give me inspiration for making cinema
Positive discussion on two of my favorite things - Christian Religion and Videogames. Not to mention with one of my favorite modern composers. Can't ask for more! Thanks for putting this together!
Extremely glad you entered the Church Marty. Very happy for you and your wife. Praying for you. Also, you may not understand it fully, but purgatory is a very important, logical, biblical teaching, and I am sure God will help you to understand it at some point.
some of my best memories were almost 20 years ago waiting for my dad to set up his surround sound so we could play halo on the OG
What a pleasant surprise! Great interview and conversation! I will definitely keep both of you and your families in my prayers.
At work but Marty, any new halo by you guys would be a masterpiece compared to what we get now
Gonna have to re-read Fall of Reach now.
Also loved the religion and politics talk. Always neat to hear the thoughts of the man behind the magic.
Funny how this video came up a little after Xperia made a video that talked about Halo's connections to the Bible! If we could restore a little of that connection to Halo again, make it come back to the sort of retelling of the Biblical story (the grandest REAL story ever told), I think Halo could be revived to it's former uniqueness.
343 games aren't canon in my eyes. the problem is alot of the people at 343 and Microsoft want to gaslight and destroy bungies history from halo
Just finished the video! I really liked the discussion on music as our first language as humans-the universal thread that pulls us together. Makes me think of how kids can dance and sing before they can talk.
Incoming annoying people from Twitter to hate on Marty
Aka 343 bootlickers
Every time
Always a delight to see Marty in interviews. Good to see you again Marty! Great topic too.
I think many of us knew the religious feel to halo
The crossover we didn't know we needed
I played Halo with it first came out. I was 5 then. Wasn't that good at first. Watched my dad play a lot. Now ive played all of them numerous times. It crazy that it's almost as old as me. Time is going by so quickly.
I am a Muslim and I don't think that the "Dervish" is an insult.
Marty, my bros and I still rock out to a lot of your work on the halos! You are awesome
Fantastic interview, loved it from begining to end. Many things could be said from this, but for now I just want to say that both ends of the interviw itself were really interesting. Of course, Marty and his views go even beyond my expectations, but your questions and comments that complemented the disscussion felt genuine, fruitful and even cozy. A nice, tranquil discussion about topics that matter or have a good story behind it.
Great job, gonna watch some videos from your channel. Keep it up, God bless!
Awesome interview! I had no idea Marty O'Donnell was a Christian. Who would have thought God would use Marty through Halo to share the gospel!? Imagine how many future generations might be impacted by Marty from those who seek to learn more about Halo's creators.
As always, i hope professing catholics may be saved in spite of the official doctrine of the rcc. Most people don't dig very deep and a simple faith is all that's needed. I just don't want to give anyone false encouragement. What's necessary is to know that Jesus is God and that his substitutionary atonement and perfect life on your behalf pays the penalty you deserve and transfers his righteousness to your account so that God can treat you as if you had been the one who earned heaven. There's nothing you can do on your own merits to obtain salvation, and nothing you can do to maintain it afterwards, it is all the mercy of God and your utter complete dependence on him alone that saves you. This is anathematized by the council of Trent, but if you identify as catholic and still believe this you can still be saved, because it's not what institution you adhere to that saves you. I would still encourage you to find a solid church but whatever you do, don't trust in your works or your goodness or your sincerity of heart, but on the underserved mercy of Jesus Christ alone. Thanks for reading.
Awesome interview. Marty is a golden goose himself. We love you Marty and god bless!
As someone who; 1) is Catholic; 2) loved the original Halo games; 3) enjoyed many of the analyses of the religious themes in that series, two things; thank you for this interview, and congrats on interviewing one of the brilliant minds behind and centre to this great saga.
HOW TO: fix the Halo 2 anniversary graphics on Xbox series X: start, settings, video, Fidelity FX Super resolution, select "performance". It does work well in "ultra quality" mode thankfully but there might be the occasional slight stutter, still absolutely nowhere near as bad as with FFSR turned off completely.
I assure you this is the legitimate fix, give it a try! Awesome video by the way 😊
Thanks! Yeah I’ll have to try that, I appreciate the advice!
Just a regular non denominational Christ follower here who loves halo and had no idea Marty was a believer! I create and compose music myself and Marty and Michael’s halo soundtracks had a huge impact on me and are part of the reason of why I love music so much. Now that I think of it, those soundtracks really did have a divine element to them, and it all makes perfect sense now.
This interview was amazing man, definitely going to check out your other videos, keep it up!
Thanks so much! More to come soon!
Marty, Eric, Jo & Jaime hashing it out could be Awesome.
Jackson on a Grav Throne to keep 'em on the rails.. or off! ;)
Either way tysm this was incredible.
Marty is the goat
The fact that my favorite element of my favorite video game franchise was produced by a fellow believer makes me appreciate the creativity thereof even more. Love you, brother!
This was awesome. Listened to it at work and then turned on my 3 hour halo playlist.
(Leaving this comment before I start watching the video, I am sure it’ll be quite interesting!)
I’ve always adored any Biblical thing in any sort of media, Halo is a game I played as a kid and I grew up learning so much from it, as a non-native speaker, many of the words I first learned in English came from the campaigns and the poetic aspect of its script always stood out to me, as I became older and got more into the subtext/undertones of the story and the journey from each of the characters as well as the compositions that enhanced each moment, it was evident to me that the men behind the game were very faithful and passion-driven, the stories weren’t propaganda to convert people, they made fun games that also happened to have serious messages that push to you be a better man with yourself, your peers and the world surrounding you.
Lost legacies, the dangers of misconstruing messages to push one’s agenda, camaraderie when faced with adversity, selflessness and inspiring others is some of the major things Halo has conveyed to me since the beginning and I’m so glad that these men’s faith inspired them to create one of the best franchises in history.
P.s.: I’ve particularly always been fond of the way these themes are visually portrayed in the games, I did a rather lengthy dissection of these things focusing on Joseph Staten’s influence as well as what the old team from Bungie created to showcase their understanding of theology, I hope you can interview Joe as well, it’s be fascinating to hear his insight: www.reddit.com/r/HaloStory/s/BmVWXBnI1D
Definitely putting time aside tomorrow to watch this
60 views isn’t enough. Thank you for this
Did you do it?
at the Washington Gaming Expo, I talked with Marty and Jeff about halo. Cool guys. And hearing the stories and excitement from Jeff Steitzer about the community was astonishing.
Marty is finishing the political fight and that's amazing
Really interesting conversation. Especially as someone raised Protestant and currently exploring Catholicism. (Wasn’t expecting such a very serious religious discussion in this) Love Marty, even if he blocked me on Twitter, lol.
Man...marty always looked like he was 30 until a couple years ago.
Fantastic interview. So many great areas you guys explored. Really glad to see Mr. O'Donnell doing these interviews and being active on TH-cam
Incredible stuff. As a practicing Catholic and a gamer, this is a breath of fresh air. Looking forward to your future content!!
Great interview with a lot of fun facts and interesting thoughts I have never heard before. I wish you and Marty all the best.
47:32 wild how history repeats itswlf
Welcome home Marty.
Wow this is very cool! Talking Halo and religion!
HALO was about the HOPE, about the humanity, its not about shoot, you fight to save other humans, even you can continue the game you feel the urge to stop and help them, even later in the game, when you became alone, killing makes no sense because of that, how can be saved? you have not lost the FAITH, you will even mercy some enemies and at the end, understand who were enemies are sentient lifes like you and we all were on that small word against the adversity, and help them to fight the real EVIL, even when Halo gets destroyed, and the game ends, you still have FAITH that some of that sentient lifes human or covenant, survived... so you play another time the game!!! Halo is about being a good samaritan, the music and the ambience immersion make you have that revelation when playing, the urge to play the game saving others and forgiving others, its a big message, and the game dont say you nothing about do that, you will have that revelation when playing Halo, thats why halo is so "christian" all is about helping the neighbout.
I really appreciate and agree with the philosophy about communication and fostering friendship with people you don’t agree with. And while I think it’s a good goal and general rule to follow, I don’t think it gives anyone an excuse to say the terrible things like what I’ve been hearing from the people I look up to.
I have seen Marty say some dehumanizing things about people he believes are a part of the problem. Though of course I would prefer him to the primary winner, I hope he can give some of those thoughts introspection.
And the issue I see with using Jordan Peterson isn’t that you were endorsing his politics, it’s that even using him points to either an ignorance or a quiet acceptance of his statements. I wouldn’t mind if you used a quote from someone else who isn’t as vocal as Peterson, but the moment I hear his voice I have to reassess everything else I’ve heard in your videos with that perspective in mind.
In any case, I continue to respect and admire the art that both of you create. I appreciate that this is a place where things can remain civil, and I’ll continue to follow you both in your endeavors
I love interviews with Marty! Thank you so much for this ☺️
Nice video, dude! Never realized Halo was so deep.
Hearing Marty's thoughts on religion was really interesting. Thanks for doing this.
Halo 4 slightly but Halo 5 and 6(Infinite because i know theres THAT person in the crowd) definitely did Bungie/my girl dirty, Cortana didn need to be evil, didnt need to blow up the Zeta ring to not kill anyone, hell its like she called a 500kg bomb on Atriox/Bile Titan and she only does minimal damage to him, like Isabella from Halo Wars 2 got the Sentinels to rip a Carrier out of the sky in 2, Cortana has the most advanced AI Braind thanks to the Domain but goes BOOM instead like WHAT!? So she runs away from consequence that she caused in Halo 5 and we're expected to feel bad for her? You know what i do because 343i hates Bungies actual main character 😅 and adds her to Bungie hate but the weapon is the allegory for please accept us as the shepards of Halo Bungie is gone and evil 😂 come on why couldnt i of gotten a Halo 2 where she is tactically helping the UNSC fight the Covenant!? She needs to die in Halo 4 and turn bad in Halo 5 and die again in Halo 6 who needs the adventure first then drama, 343i methos is drama all the time and maybe an adventure o AND RETCONS, long story short i miss the Didact and Warden Eternal/Prometheans and Guardians but slide them under the carpet and make something new
Thank you guys for such a wonderful discussion! God bless and cheers to all your hard work on youtube and music making!
this is awesome! Love listening to Marty.
This is awesome. It reminds me of how I got to talk with Raphael Colontonio and a few other devs through my channel and both podcasts.
@TheMartyODonnell: "Musical 'manipulation' " Wouldn't be the right words, I think. I believe you wrote musical score that invokes emotions, memory, and inspiration from a personal place, dare I say even from an intimate place inside each of us... something and somewhere pure. It means something different to each of us... something personal.😊
Did not know Marty became Catholic! Super cool! Welcome home brother! @TheMartyODonnell
Having a lot of the Bungie OGs come together and remake Halo CE over the next few years would be interesting, but I do wonder how well it would be received. Halo from 2001 (or even 2010) is not the same as Halo in 2024. With how much the franchise as a whole has changed, how would the original Bungie guys even go about doing the remake?
Marty mentioned pulling from the old archives of things that got scrapped, and while I personally love that approach, how much of those old ideas conflict with the Halo universe today? I'm a pre-343 fan of Halo and CE is my favorite, and that's because Halo today is not what Halo used to be, both in terms of gameplay and narrative.
For example, in the first level of CE when Keyes hands Cortana's chip over to the Chief and he slots it into his helmet, Cortana remarks that the architecture of his armor isn't too dissimilar from the Pillar of Autumn, indicating that this is the first time she's ever been connected to it. However, lore that came out years later contradicts that, where the Chief and Cortana took part in testing the Mark V armor with AI integration while on Reach. This is just one small change to the original CE narrative that would need to be addressed, so just imagine the rest of them. This lore change was also while Halo was still in the hands of Bungie and is something that is only learned outside of the games.
Then there's the gameplay side of things. Halo CE is very simple compared to Infinite-just look at the plethora of movement options you have today. I think none of that should be added to a CE remake. It raises a question, however: how much of a dichotomy is there in the Halo fan base? How many people prefer the fast-paced, run-and-gun style of modern Halo compared to the slower paced and more deliberate style of classic Halo?
Thus I can't say how well a CE remake with simplified gameplay and a re-retconned story would be received. I imagine some number of current Halo fans would feel alienated. How should that be handled? Something to consider.
The fanbase feels already alienated with 343's handling of the IP and it's story (just look at "Remember Halo" video, from Crowbcat). I feel that making a reboot of ALL of Halo is being redundant with things that don't need fixing (most of Bungie's original Halo) without fixing the REAL problems with the franchise (343's misunderstanding of what made Halo good in the first place, despite some of their good efforts to make things right).
I don't know. Even with the old devs, it feels like another move that does not actually adress what needs to be fixing with Halo. But maybe, and hopefully, they find a way to make it work, create something new and unexpected and surprise everyone, including myself. I hope it happens, but the key for that is to let them work as it is, freely and maybe put some new blood in the ranks that actually cares about the franchise and the work that is being made so new, fresh perspectives come in without them feeling alien or disrespectful to the core esscence of Halo. In the end, just let them develop their ideas, refine them, and juxtapose them all together to create a new, wonderful peace of art, storytelling and of course, gaming. Hopefully, it may happen.
District 9 had props from the remaining remnants of a Halo themed movie I had seen before in a interview or something similar
Quality Halo content :)
This was a very interesting interview done with Marty. I found this video recommended to my feed and decided to give it a watch. I did not know the faithful background to Marty and it was so refreshing & exciting because I’m a Lutheran and I felt so connected knowing that I’m not the only faithful person in this world that still loves Halo, even 4, 5, and Infinite.
I pray and hope to everyone to keep hope and push through these trying times and the gaming industry. As much as gaming content sucks or disappoints, we must never let go of our faith to the Lord. Even if we all disagree with each other about what Halo game is the best. We know that it’s Halo and we still love it. Amen brothers. ❤ 🙏
Always knew it was religious. Didn't know it was specifically Catholic. Explains why it's so good. Just like Tolkien.
The story is explicit where religion fits into Halo , it's directly overt. Religion is the tool by which the Covenant (insert any religion you like) are useful dupes and are waging a genocide while also trying to activate 7 machines which will destory every living soul in the galaxy. The Covenant are useful pawns of the Hierarchs who understand the truth about the genocide and Halo and are going to do it anyway because their entire power structure is built upon it.
Saying Halo is religious , on a story level is about as stupid as saying JFK enjoyed that sunny day in Dallas.
What was specific catholic
Thank you for going into all the talk about god and jesus, religion. Nobody does that or maybe theyre afraid of how their fans will react, which is sad.
based marty
Marty reminds me so much of Father Daniel Reehil.
Looking forward to watching this. Have some thoughts on Halo as a cultural product, mostly that it is both Nietzchean and transcendental(taking inspiritation from the divine) in its makeup, while being explicilty American, as well as militaristic (these are positive things). Curious to see how this relates to Catholicism, although I can suppose elements of it, namely the hero worship, the character archetypes of Chief, Cortana, Arbiter, and others could fit Christ, Mary, the Apostles, other figures and Saints, and lastly its overall transcendental feeling, but I hesitate to go all in to say this is "Christian".
Halo in my view much more resembles a European Hero story of the Bronze Age, translated to American science fiction, perhaps with quasi-biblical/Christian aesthetics at times.
Anyway, will be listening. Big fan of Marty's music over the past twenty five years and it's good to see more of him.
I prefer the term Christian-influenced but it means the same thing as what others intend by it. When you examine different cultures and philosophies it becomes very evidently clear that a story or culture is influenced by Christian theology. It doesn't require the individuals in question to be Christian, profess Christianity, be conscious of the influence, etc. That might be your objection
I would not say the characters are allegorical. Chief and Cortana are a masculine and feminine archetype. The influence from Christianity is that femininity is supportive of the masculine mission. It is in conflict with egalitarianism and F-nism.
@@cosmictreason2242 Thanks for the input.
My objection isn't as surface level as what you suggest. My primary contention is that Halo portrays too much of a vitalistic, militaristic, and almost primeval/primordial kind of hero-worship sensibility than it does Christian influences. I see it as Indo-European in origin, but married with a heritage American's (Old Bungie's) worldview. Chief is a Bronze Age Achilles transported to 2552 AD with the personality of an American gunslinger, at least that's how I'd put it. Cortana is a woman demi-God, like Athene to Odysseus, and the whole nature of the war is approached in a fairly ancient way (it's uncritical) and so on.
I've heard some people say that Halo is Gnostic (Gnostic Christianity) but no one has ever explained how(and I can't find a good explanation as to what Gnostic Christianity is, anyway).
Could you provide some examples as to what you see as the Catholic influences? I actually agree with your second comment in that Halo is anti-egalitarian and, aside from its portrayal of Miranda Keyes as a leader, is not feminist(Miranda clearly worships and follows after her father, and it's why she's there as a Captain, not because she is a feminist character etc.). But I can't see the other pieces. Maybe some symbology--the Halo 3 Believe Ad from back in the day DEFINITELY has a revelatory feeling and I would accept as Christian inspired, but I don't see it throughout the series per se.
@@RingworldTyrant i don't see why it would be necessary to rank the degree of the influences. Halo doesn't have to be PRIMARILY a Christian story to still be ' Christian' or as i would put it, to have Christian influence. LOTR is primarily a fantasy medieval epic and its Christianity is in the superplot and themes, not the dialogue or characters or basic plot. Of COURSE halo is most apparently a derivative of previous sci fi verses, with the biggest influences coming from Starship Troopers (the militarism and political egalitarian meritocracy (before i meant that it's not egalitarian in the view of men's and women's nature)), Ringworld (the halo itself and also chief being lucky), and The Culture (specifically the way the AIs are conceptualized). Starship Troopers also influences the suit of armor, via Warhammer 40k aesthetic. This is all in the setting and characterization. It is Christian in its THEME. And I'll acknowledge that the STYLE in which the theme is depicted is very Americana, but the idea of good and evil is more primary than the incidental USA versus Shia/Wahhabi Muslims. That aspect also wasn't as evident in the first game.
To your notion of Nietzschian philosophy, chief is certainly an ubermensch but rather than conquering those weaker than him he serves them and acts on their behalf as their representative and that's a Christian motif. Jesus is the kinsman-redeemer, only able to save us because he was one of us and therefore could stand in our place and act AS us in dying the death we deserve. Every case of a person representing a brother (Katniss: Hunger Games), family (Mulan, Triton in The Little Mermaid), a tribe or nation (Hidalgo, Mortal Kombat, Captain America) or world entails a Christian motif/ethic, even though it would not strictly be a ' Christ Figure' unless they absorb some calamity on the behalf of people who would otherwise suffer it. In this sense Chief isn't really a "space Jesus" until the end of halo 3, so it's not his primary role.
Gnosticism is seen in two things: the claim of secret knowledge available only to those on the inside - that's visible in the metoo and buy large mansions movements among others, today called "standpoint epistemology" - that you have unique access to truth based on your position, that is why aD'oE'uI' requires the 'elevation of marginalized voices.' It's a form of Gnosticism. But Gnostic mysticism specifically refers to the claim that the creator of this world is actually not the top god but an evil and incompetent demiurge who gets mad at humanity and tries to destroy us but satan intervenes to thwart his plans. It casts the devil/serpent as the good guy and Elohim as a toddler god who's basically mistreating his toys in his bedroom while mom and daddy god are busy until they come back to spank him. As a Christian i see it as a boringly obvious ploy by Satan to cast himself as the good guy like Prometheus, but it's sadly very compelling to some people who just want to reject the official narrative whatever it is. Anyway, if people are calling halo gnostic they probably mean this aspect. The fallen angels being golems, imprisoned in bodies of matter. Oh that's another major aspect of Gnosticism: seeing physical matter as evil and spirit as pure and good. In Gnosticism Adam and Eve were entirely spiritual until they fell and were encased in corrupt fleshly bodies. In Christianity we were physical from the beginning and the body was also very good, and our spirits were also corrupted when we fell. Anyway the Gnostic goal is to escape fleshly existence. You can see some platonic influence and some ironic similarity in the final goal with Buddhism, which was invented at a similar time. I wonder if these people were in contact and sharing ideas.
I don't think halo is Gnostic. Assassin's Creed, by comparison, ABSOLUTELY is. Interpreting what those folks man would depend on whether they're referring to the new 343 lore about forerunners or not. In the original, i just don't see it. Just having a guy realize his religion is wrong doesn't cut it, that's stretching too much. Or finding out that your hope of salvation is actually damnation.
@@cosmictreason2242 Thank you I really appreciate the detailed reply. That's exactly the level of discourse I'm looking for.
I disagree with your interpretation of Nietzche's ideas about the Ubermensch--the Overman is just the guy who's able to actualize morality within himself and therefore impose order upon chaotic modernity; he is not a "might makes right" figure as Ragnar Redbeard would have put it, nor does Nietzche's master in master-slave morality necessarily imply a type of cruelty to the weak, but that's irrelevant. I just wanted someone to concisely give some examples from an AWARE position as to what Christian influences there were within Halo. And you explained Gnosticism to a layman in layman's terms!
I appreciate you taking the time to type that all out, thanks.
I do hate it when publishers make it nearly impossible to experience the original product the way it was when it came out. Star Wars is a prime example.
I hate that the MCC is the best way I have to experience Halo anymore, simply because -- while I do still have my original physical xbox discs -- I no longer have an original xbox or CRT TV to plug them into.
It's a petty what has happened to today modern world marty is a gem it sucks what the gaming industry has done to ya I wish you luck for congress still to this the halo theme one of the most iconic music ever made
Marty questioning precatory kinda based
Also makes him not catholic lol
Also makes him not catholic lol
Also makes him not catholic lol
would it be better in our heads...? One could argue (as long as it was ALL OF THE ORIGINAL people who worked on the 1st 3 OG games) it could be like Peter Jackson's LOTR theatrical release and his Extended versions.
John 1:17 says, "For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ
Awesome interview, love Halo and love religion no matter from where you come from.
Catholic Halo fans WYA?
They're the Covenant in Halo's story.
The story of Halo describes the dangers of religion. However it describes rather lightly the dangers of Fascism. I am speaking about the Covenant and the UNSC respectively. I wish American Christian’s would stop co-opting stories and characters to their benefit.
I'll flip it around: I wish atheists would stop co-opting stories and characters to their benefit. Saying the story describes "the dangers of religion" shows a rudimentary understanding of religion at best. It's about as sophisticated as saying "money bad" or "power bad."
@@Jassu323not religion but a cult. They are more like heavens gate then any religion.
@@Jassu323 I am not an Atheist. But, I am glad that you think you know me. Go back to the Protestant southern state where you came from.
@@Jassu323you don't know Halo and are a clown if you think Halo isn't a cautionary tale on religion. The Covenant are dupes to 3 Hierarchs that know the truth that their religion is complete bullshit with an end result that will wipe out the galaxy. You have to be desperate or a dupe to believe otherwise.
Neither the UNSC during the Bungie games or the covenant were fascist, dum dum.
34:36 Marty is exactly right about reboots and why they're failing so much right now. The new IP owners too frequently don't understand the source content, much less the "magic conditions" in which it first took hold, and end up milking the IP in all the wrong ways. You can't buy the Halo franchise and expect to recreate the "another Halo CE". It just won't be that. That's why I'm not interested in a Halo 3 remaster. There's just too much that can go wrong. Let it live on in honor, and move on to create NEW stories with deep lore and gobbles of thoughtful writing. Care about the story, not the cool factor. Look forward, not backward.
fantastic interview and awesome wisdom from him
Your music was written out of love.
I honestly think they wanna reboot so that it can fit their mediocre retcon 343 Halo and get rid of the old community
It’s so cool to hear that Marty is a believer and is open and honest about not only his faith but his struggles in it and how Jesus walked him through it to strengthen his faith. There was always something about Marty in how he communicated with others that reflected Christ without him having to explicitly talk about his faith which is super cool to see. This was an incredibly encouraging video to listen to and makes me appreciate Marty and his contribution to Halo even more.
Hey Meeting! I stumbled across your channel by chance. Also a Church of Christ (still) discerning my faith. Shocked me when you said that. There are dozens of us! 😂
Hope you are having a blast exploring the treasure trove of The Church.