The latest news about the Halo series of games from Microsoft
Author: Advanced 90
Office of Halo Intelligence, or OHI for short, is a semi-regular diary-type feature brought to you by various members of the Halo 4 development team. Kenneth Scott, Senior Art Director of Halo 4, kindly agreed to write the fourth entry. We hope you enjoy an inside look at the making of our next title!
From the 2.15.12 edition of the Halo Bulletin:
Big thanks to Jessica for dragging me gently into this week’s OHI. The 343 Art Team (and 343 in general) is thundering on all cylinders, and the seismic rumble has the neighbors all up in arms. When your landlord is the UNSC, you tend to giggle when the homeowner association mail starts to pile up!
With Chief making an appearance at the NY Toy Fair, the internet has bubbled with lots of questions around Chief’s design changes. Having cut my first game developer experience on Daikatana, I’ve developed a healthy respect and fear of the internet. I will step onto a message board with all the cautious ginger one would employ pulling lost forks out of a sink garbage disposal. I did want to risk mangled finger burger to talk a little about some of what brought us to our current design.
Above all, we wanted the player to really feel what it’s like to be the Master Chief. This manifests itself in a lot of ways, and for those who read the Fall of Reach, there’s a lot of character depth behind that helmet that has yet to make its way into the game experience. Every person who was allowed to touch him had to, HAD TO, understand his history as a person. The Chief’s origin is pretty sad and grim: A strong, vibrant child stolen from his parents, he underwent dangerous bioengineering that destroyed the weaker of his friends, and trained to stomp out human Insurrectionists. Pretty morally nebulous beginnings for someone who ultimately saved humanity. Of all FPS heroes, he is distinct in that his arc is aspirational and not a cynical view of the universe.
A big focus on the Chief’s armor was his physicality and putting the player in those mighty shoes. Getting that weight across in the design had us looking at a lot of contemporary military vehicles, and we pushed detail and form into the armor that implied that history. This is the bleeding edge of military technology.
A Spartan tossing his chest plate should feel like an anvil dropping….
A Spartan sprinting across concrete should be a stealthy whisper….
Putting on your helmet should feel like powering up an F-15E….
These are the sorts of experiences we want to give the players.
Kenneth
Last week, for our Friday Caption Fun festivities, you provided quips for an image featuring a precariously perched Spartan. Here are the top captions you left for that particular image!
“Suddenly, Blue Spartan realised that the question wasn’t ‘Why are we here,’ but
‘Why am I balancing on a gun in 1-inch deep water?’” –Sqartan1176
“Everybody was Kung Fu fighting, that ‘Hog was fast as lightning.” –RegulineSix
“It was only then that Caboose realized a tiny jet ski wasn’t the best thing to ride on….” –The Storm War
“The Water ‘Hog was rejected because it shrank when put in water.” –Aerohed
“Teaching Spartans how to swim was not met with much enthusiasm from the Spartan community.” –m3rkMS
“Aw, crap! Two inches of water! Sorry Reach, you’re on your own!” –Jedi Maddog
“Geoff from Achievement Horse finally managed to win a round when he stuck this landing.” –GunRunner48
“Didn’t I warn you that no matter what you do, tank beats EVERYTHING?” –AlfaSirius
“One small step for Spartan, one giant leap for…. OH -Yoink!-” –MLG SU11YDUD3
Now that we’ve wrapped up that picture, let’s start a new one. Up for your captioning pleasure this week is a picture featuring a rather infectious Spartan. Soak in the screenshot, then leave your witty and relevant quip in a comment. Off you go!
Author: shatteredwings
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From Paul B:
This is Episode 1 of my Map Walkthrough Guide series covering all the maps that launched with the Anniversary Map Pack. First up is Beaver Creek. Enjoy!
Beaver Creek Walkthrough – A Halo: Anniversary Gameplay and Commentary Video
From xorth:
Wow. Never thought we would see this day. The users of Halotracker have completed 10,343 challenges.
Why is this significant? It shows you how tight this community is, and how it pulls people together to enjoy and continue playing Halo. When you could be off getting credits for in-game challenges, you were out there getting ours. Ours, which were often a lot harder, and all you got was some player page awards, it really shows how talented and dedicated you guys are.
We should all give the the challenge producers one big curtsie, for they make these challenges every week. This feature is for you, by you, and I’m glad you enjoy it. Sabj got this program going little less then a year ago, and the Challenge Creators group took over from there. They get nothing in return for doing this work. This is all for you.
Some Stats
Firsties
• 10,343rd challenge submission: Hellraizer87.
• First challenge submission: sabj.
• First person to hit 100 Challenges: pimpumpam.
• My psychologist just hit 400 challenges complete!
You
• 658 people have submitted a challenge.
• Assuming an 8-minute game and one game to get the challenge, users have spent 1,379 hours getting challenges.
• 2,839 awards have been given out.
Fail
• 1,009 challenges have been rejected.
Other
• The busiest day was 2/13/2012 with 256 challenges completed.
• Rockin has processed 2,212 with Cyberdistortion not too far behind with 1,665.
• Yours truly, xorth, has dominated the scene with 98 challenges processed!
As you can see, this is a group effort. I hope you continue to enjoy our challenges. Cya at 20k!
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From SuperFastHD and submitted by Ben:
Helljumper is a fan-made web series based on Microsoft’s acclaimed video game franchise, Halo. Adapted from the short story, “Dirt,” by Tobias S. Buckell, it tells the story of a few human ODSTs as they fight through 27 years of brutal war with the Covenant. They evolve from a rag tag group of recruits in the UNSC to being cold battle hardened veterans that are shadows of their former selves.
In episode two, Gage and his team hear about the attack on Harvest by the Covenant, so he volunteers to be part of the evacuation team for the remaining civilians on the planet. By the time they arrive, Harvest is already overtaken by Covenant. They struggle to find their way through the mess.
Author: CorruptCovenant
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From DaItalianFish:
Forge Spotlight is a Forge series that highlights the unknown forgers out there and gets their maps some much deserved attention. Enjoy!
From Mauricechief:
This is my Halo: Reach Gamer Medipack. It’s the perfect thing for every gamer who need a snack or drink!
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From Alex:
This is a Halo: Reach community montage from Reddit’s Halo community, edited by Theorix and put together with help from ManWithoutModem. The gameplay is good, featuring clips from a large selection of maps and game types, including a ridiculous spinning ninja on Sanctuary. The editing is very good, showcasing a lot of very creative, well-done cinematography, a ton of spot-on syncing, and a strong flow. Enjoy!
Editor’s note: Language is mature. Proceed with caution.
Sometimes we ask you questions on Twitter. Occasionally you answer. This is one of those times.
Finish this sentence:
You know you play too much Halo when…
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From Rooster Teeth:
In today’s episode of Achievement HORSE, Geoff faces off against a special guest and they go for the record shortest episode ever!
All maps are available here.
Editor’s note: Language is mature. Proceed with caution.
Author: HeroSide
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From Alex:
This is a Halo 3/Reach montage from h0lmb0m, edited by himself, entitled “Express.” The gameplay is very good, featuring your traditional Multikills while also featuring your rarer sick single kills and low Multikills. The incredible diversity of this montage keeps it fresh throughout its entirety, and the bloopers/reactions do a fantastic job giving the video a light-hearted, fun atmosphere and conveying the enjoyment that h0lmb0m experienced as he was gathering the footage for this video. The editing is also very good. The syncing and flow are great, and there are some sweet transitions here and there. Overall, there aren’t many videos like this one nowadays, and it’s simply a marvelous experience all around. Enjoy!
Halo is a fictional universe. However, sometimes we catch sight of things in real life that remind us of our favorite science fiction video game franchise. This particular series, titled Halo in Real Life, showcases those very moments. Enjoy the subtle Halo references sometimes spotted when out and about in the real world, and if you have a picture you’d like to submit for possible future inclusion, send it to bsangel[at]halowaypoint.com!
As seen and captured by Brandon
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From ducain23:
This is one of my favorite SX tracks of all time. It was made by AustinCoop and xxWOMPxx. Enjoy!
From Kete:
The amount of Halo fan films in production are increasing but there is one that is upon us now. The first episode of Helljumper dropped (yeah, I said it) on the interwebs back in January with much fanfare. Tonight we will premiere Episode 2 before it goes public on YouTube later in the night. Following the premiere will be an interview with our guest of the evening, Helljumper’s Director Dan Wang. An amazing opportunity to chat with the creator of the series right after the episode is released.
Join us tonight! Green Room promptly at 7:45pm ET. Premiere and interview at 8!
by TheDrMouse
Small – http://halo.xbox.com/blogs/image.axd?picture=2012%2f2%2f14%2fGlassingHeart-2.jpg
Large – http://halo.xbox.com/blogs/image.axd?picture=2012%2f2%2f14%2fGlassingHeart.jpg
by Frankie
Small – http://halo.xbox.com/blogs/image.axd?picture=2012%2f2%2f14%2fheartsf-2.jpg
Large – http://halo.xbox.com/blogs/image.axd?picture=2012%2f2%2f14%2fheartsf.jpg
Small – http://halo.xbox.com/blogs/image.axd?picture=2012%2f2%2f14%2f343VDay1-2.png
Large – http://halo.xbox.com/blogs/image.axd?picture=2012%2f2%2f14%2f343VDay1.png
American International Toy Fair is the largest toy trade show in the western hemisphere, and scattered throughout the showroom floor are a variety of Halo figures. This particular line, which is scheduled to hit shelves in June 2012, can be seen at the SQUARE ENIX booth. Enjoy this look at what’s coming soon!
HALO: COMBAT EVOLVED PLAY ARTS –KAI-
SPARTAN MARK V [BLUE]
SPARTAN MARK V [RED]
SPARTAN MARK V [GOLD]
Author: blood viper RE5