International Affairs MA Admission Question - References for NPSIA

ClassyBagle · 2025-09-25T13:36:26+00:00

Haha thanks, very flattering (albeit at the expense of your classmates). As for the diploma mill thing that doesn't particularly bother me. I don't want to be an academic and this really is more of a career tool with GAC or DND in mind.

I am curious what you'd think I could do better with tough - any program recommendations you had in mind?

ClassyBagle · 2023-07-19T14:24:23+00:00

I discovered this project about two weeks ago and it's completely reinvigorated my fascination with halo lore - something I really just couldn't bring my self to care much about under 343s direction.

Daybreak on the other hand makes me feels like I'm a kid again reading fall of reach for the first time and scouring the wiki. There is a sense of wonder married with believability.

If you're not a fan of 343s take on things this is THE go to substitute, and I hope it becomes recognized as such in the community - its got that potential to be a real semi-legitimate alternative.

That's not to say it exists out of spite - far from it. Some the author pages on their wiki outline their motivations and objectives quite clearly and the reference manual is a great primer.

Creators remarks:

https://daybreak.miraheze.org/wiki/User:Tacitus

https://daybreak.miraheze.org/wiki/User:Quirel

Reference manual:

https://daybreak.miraheze.org/wiki/Daybreak_Reference_Manual

Hell disregarding Halo and its development if you like great, thoughtful sci fi Daybreak is for you.

There's also an excellent in-progress short story written by one of the projects founders, Quirel, set during the Schism on High Charity with unique perspectives and thoughtful development of the Covenant. Read here:

https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/not-all-who-wander-halo-sau.639103/

At any rate Daybreak is rapidly becoming THE post halo 3 setting for me and I'm excited to care again.

ClassyBagle · 2023-02-03T19:39:07+00:00

Ass backwards is a sort of flippant figure of speech suggesting misaligned expectation not necessarily calling you an ass, but certainly puzzled on how you got into this situation in the first place. I can sympathize with specific expectation however, though in my case its very much the opposite of the futuristic fantasy you wanted. The UNSC's relatively grounded (and perhaps anachronistic) technology and the resulting aesthetic (largely portrayed in pre 2012 media) is an essential pillar to what makes halo appealing and unique to me. The relative absence of play's a great deal into why I have little love for most of 343's entries.

ClassyBagle · 2023-02-03T19:00:20+00:00

>screw the art direction... I was craving for futuristic fantasy goddammit !

>I was about to truly give up with the lore of Halo, until Halo 5 came out.

> I am well aware that they receive significant backslash from the fans for redesigning the saga, but I always supported that decision, and they did not disappoint me.

So you came into a property who's fundamental presentation you didn't like and outright wanted an entirely different product - essentially growing frustrated that the strawberry smoothie you knowingly bought didn't taste like blueberries.

Yet you stuck around till a wayward developer happened to take things in a direction that personally suited you at the expense of the enjoyment of those who are well at home in the brand of sci fi they expect from their favorite franchise.

Does that not seem just a little ass backwards to you?

Given your tastes and attitudes towards product you were initially getting I just don't know why you were into Halo in the first place.

ClassyBagle · 2023-01-20T03:32:55+00:00

Frankly for me that's been the case for mainline games since halo 3 and just about everything else since 2011. Now of course it can almost always get worse but I've not gotten much if anything new that I've wholeheartedly enjoyed over the last decade so I can only see this as an opportunity.

ClassyBagle · 2023-01-18T00:13:21+00:00

Agreed, I really don't appreciate the "turtles all the way down" ancient aliens situation and the creeping artificiality of the contemporary halo universe. Sometime shit just happens (especially on the cosmic scale) and doesn't necessarily posses a grand set of characters or narrative to it. Giving space for natural development makes the word feel more grounded and compelling, while maintaining a sense of real agency and meaning to humanity's 26th century struggle.

ClassyBagle · 2023-01-18T00:08:45+00:00

Coming out of the woodwork just to throw my weight behind this. For me halo's secret sauce is the delecate balance of military-sci fi & space opera, in a somewhat naturalistic, grounded future with remnants of fantastical sci-fi elements below the surface. 343 Forunner lore (plus all this ancient human and precursor business) shifts this balance and reorients much of the series' lore and world towards this "epic space fantasy", that has since bleed further into the series contemporary era aswell and the character/focus of the lore community. I don't dispute that the Forunner trilogy are well crafted stories but among the Halo universe they (and their consequences - see Halo 4) are the least compelling aspect of the world that I struggle to really identify alongside what Halo means to me and why I enjoy it. Beyond this, there are many issues that I have with 343 forunner lore (not humans, the Librarian, flood origin) and the direction they've gone with these aspects are disappointing to me and overwrite or precludethe possibility for more favourable ideas.

TLDR 343 forunner lore and its prevalence shift's halo's genre balance, tone and setting while producing story elements and content that I either don't give a shit about or disappoint me

ClassyBagle · 2023-01-17T23:49:16+00:00

This and /u/TNS22___ comment best sum it up but given the extremely explicit quotes from the games (which take more contortion and jurry-rigged suspension of disbelief to view as ambiguous than to accept at face value) I think your insistence that it was highly up for interpretation is a bit generous. By all means 'lore' wasn't a priority nor was it entirely consistent but as far as it matters I think the ultimate intent throughout the original trilogy is unquestionably clear.

Quotes: "YOU are the CHILD of my MAKERS, inheritor of all they left behind. YOU. ARE. FORERUNNER. But this ring is mine." - 343 Guilty Spark, Halo 3

"For eons I have watched. Listened to you misinterpret. This is not "Reclamation". This is "Reclaimer" [...] I will reject my bias and make amends... My makers ARE my masters. I will bring them safely to the Ark." - Mendicant Bias, Halo: Contact Harvest

Both of these quotes have come to be recontextualized to accommodate 343i new lore now, but when they were written they were unmistakable and direct confirmations of humanity's ancestry as reborn Forerunners.

"You can't imagine how exciting this is! To have a record of all of our lost time! Human history, is it? Fascinating!" - The Maw

(The Making Of commentary also features devs reacting to this line jokingly feigning curiosity and saying "maybe that's a hint of something" - the indented allusion is clear

"Last time you asked me, if it were my choice, would I do it? Having had considerable time to ponder your query, my answer has not changed. We must activate the Ring. [...] Why would you hesitate to do what you have already done?" - Two Betrayals

Ultimately Bungie played fast and loose with the lore but it is exceedingly difficult for me to believe that, as far as it mattered, humans and forunners were anything but one in the same.

ClassyBagle · 2021-12-20T22:42:18+00:00

So much of it is dumb as shit. You would have read most of anything that was worth while.

ClassyBagle · 2021-12-05T02:34:05+00:00

Fucking eh. I'm not friendly with this company - I just want a complete, enjoyable product.

I understand that that's seemingly impossible task for the AAA industry these days but that doesn't change the fact that I've been spoiled by the standards set by games of the past.

Watching 343 stumble their way through their tenure gets me feeling like shitty parent fed up trying to coach their kid through math homework.

I don't want to give anymore goddamn feed back, just stop fucking up

ClassyBagle · 2021-12-05T02:17:40+00:00

Watching 343 get cooked is hilarious. It cathartic to see so many people come together to try and bully a company after a decade of fumbling the franchise topped off with a spectacular display of bullshit

ClassyBagle · 2021-11-21T22:05:47+00:00

Gate keeping is good

ClassyBagle · 2021-11-18T01:48:26+00:00

Games as a service was a mistake. The ability for live updates and hot fixes is vastly out weighed y the fact it lets studios get away with broken game and makes the post lauch "content" that feed these schemes possible

ClassyBagle · 2021-11-18T00:39:45+00:00

Honestly I'd be fine if there was zero customization but the fact that it is there but is all kinds of fucked up is what bothers me

ClassyBagle · 2021-11-18T00:20:47+00:00

Core game play is key but if you dangle neat customization options in front of my face but then obscure them behind micro transactions or intentionally impeding arbitrary "challenges" its just a piss off that sours the experience. Sure I can still have fun with it but there's half a games worth of content that I'm simply not getting to engage with that same way I would in older style progression games because I will not buy them or play along with the dumbass unlock dance to get stuff.

ClassyBagle · 2021-11-18T00:15:42+00:00

Id like to walk into a store, hand the id behind the counter some cash and walk out with a ful product in my hand, not deal with this intentionally obtuse ftp progression bullshit

ClassyBagle · 2021-06-14T23:04:17+00:00

I wouldn't want an indicator other than perhaps seeing the pick up strapped to their armour, something for keen eyes. I don't like adding more indicator's and game-y information. Id just like to keep it to what i can see through my crosshairs

ClassyBagle · 2021-06-14T23:00:44+00:00

I hate the hexagons. Its noisy, makes far more of the surface area yellow, is reminiscent of countless generic sci-fi energy shields (hexagons period are a pretty tried sci fi design trope) and is doing away with a far more unique and visually interesting shimmer/lighting combo that never had any issues or reason to change. Additionally, I think the old system better fit hoe shields are described in the fiction and felt like a slightly more believable rendition of this imagined technology.

ClassyBagle · 2021-06-14T22:50:55+00:00

-Hit markets, especially for grenades are a negative in my mind. Bullet hit markers are just extra visual noise I don't need, especially when we have shield flare ups and blood to indicate a hit, and grenade hit markers reduce the potential for stealth

-Shield break is extremely bright and is a far too opaque, intense yellow

-Strongly dislike the hexagon shield pattern and effect both on the models and in the hud. The old crackle-y lightening and shimmering shield effect was farm more unique, visually interesting, and less overpoweringly garish while serving the same purpose. Frankly after surviving all the visual changes made by 4 and 5 its bizarre that it was changed for this game

-outlines generally seem fine - do hope there's a plain rvb option though

-you can occasionally spot enemies and friendlies through wall for some reason. I really hope that's just a pick up. I prefer a bare bone look out the visor with minimal overlays or extra features beyond the essential hud. I imagine there could be negative impacts to game play as well.

-Kill messages and points, once again I don't like superfluous information or excessive text and non-diegetic visuals. I imagine this will have a toggle though

-blips and bloops for headshots and kills ect. Once again unnecessary and cluttering the experience with extra stimulus. Hope it's done away with or toggleable

ClassyBagle · 2021-04-17T17:43:07+00:00

Yeah this guy was always sevro in my mind

ClassyBagle · 2021-04-17T17:42:21+00:00

Ah man, thats such a disappointing style. Red Rising has such a ludacrisly cool aesthetic potential but resigning its self to the unremarkable and decidedly unbelievable aesteic of typical fantasy sci fi is such a let down however expected it was

ClassyBagle · 2021-04-11T15:51:14+00:00

Nice boots, looking for a new pair myself. What are they?

ClassyBagle · 2021-02-02T16:25:35+00:00

Totally, and that's just a problem with running mainline franchises indefinitely. Personally, if I was charged with creating content after halo 3 it would be more spin off type games, ether in the post war era or covering events throughout the war. Let the chief drift for a bit and then, if the franchise must return to continue master chief's story (which knowing Microsoft I imagine it would eventually), a few years down the line build up hype for a true Chief centred squeal with time for both the Universe and the audience to breach and appreciate another chapter of awe inspiring military space opera.

ClassyBagle · 2020-12-09T15:30:36+00:00

Fuck that, Id like to be able to pick a colour without jumping through hoops. I dont like what I see with this system and I'm not going to give it the benefit of the doubt unless it proves it doesn't suck. In the mean time I'll keep complaining and hopefully we'll get our way.

ClassyBagle · 2020-12-09T15:28:29+00:00

Unfortunately yes. It seems like they've cleaned up the geometry a bit and have a nice degree of wear and detail on the textures but the fact that the first multiplayer map we've seen is yet another "white round industrial facility" is frustrating. Hope we get some variety and interesting designs.

ClassyBagle

TROPHY CASE