The Making Of Halo Illuminated

Thanks to Gamesradar for their Edge-reprinted feature on the making of Bungie's seminal Xbox FPS, Halo. According to a Bungie producer, the team "...decided they wanted to go back to the roots of a game like Marathon, combining it with some of the things we learnt from Myth." Other topics include the originally impossible tutorial level ("I actually had several play testers decide they wanted to quit playing the game and go home, rather than go through the opening level"), and the relative disappointment of The Library level ("A lot of the little things like that added up to make the Library a lot less than what we wanted it to be.")

Comments

2 YEARS!!!

[Acidic_Diarrhea]

2 years later and we're still discussing the making of it and it's still being sold for $50 on the XBox? Come on...

Sure, it's a good game. But there are other good games that have been made in the two years since. How about a little interview with someone who's working on Halo 2? I'm sure people are a lot more interested in how that production is coming than how the creation of Halo has gone.

Re:2 YEARS!!!

[bigman2003]

True, it has been a long time. But people still buy it, and people still play it. It's good enough that they are still interested about how it was made. Another interesting thing- Halo sold about 10-20 times the number of most other Xbox games. But when you go into your used game store, it is rare to find used copies of Halo for sale. Is it the best game ever? Who knows...that changes all the time- but it really is a good game.

Sellout?

[Quixotic Raindrop]

Someone should do an article on how, when Bungie sold out to M$, Alex and Jason were quoted as saying that M$ wouldn't tell them what games to make, or what platforms to make them for.

So, after two years, Halo is the only thing Bungie made, and it was only available for the XBox. That sure is a big choice in platforms, and demonstrates how Bungie could tell M$ what games they were going to make. Sell Out indeed.

Re:Sellout?

[Mike Mentalist]

Well... how about fans who don't wat to support Microsoft by buying an Xbox?

Then, um, you don't get to play the game. It's that simple, and if you are going to let some sad little principle get in the way of playing a game that you really like then that is your problem.

If you want to play Monkey Ball, you buy a GC. If you want to play GT3, you buy a PS2. If you want to play Halo, you buy an Xbox.


Trust me, the Mac community is not overjoyed by the loss of the company that was once their best game developer.

Oh please. Are we supposed to be sympathetic about this?
The consoles makers get developers and games to be exclusive on their platforms all the time.

Re:Sellout?

[Mike Mentalist]

MS Apologist. Where has Microsoft let you go today?

I am not an 'MS Apologist', I am a realist. This stuff happens all the time.


Fact #1: Bungie started as a Mac-only developer.

Yes, and...? Developers changing platforms is hardly new.


Fact #2: Halo 2 was developed as a multi-platform game (Mac & PC, console ports to follow inevitably).

Who says that the console ports would inevitably follow...?
And again, this is not a new occurence. GTA3 was going to be multiplatform, but ended up being a PS2 exclusive for ages when Sony threw some cash at the developers. Halo is now out for the PC, and there may well be a Mac conversion at some point - so what is your problem?


Fact #3: Bungie founders made public announcements that Microsoft would have little influence over the availability of their titles.

Again, so what? Things change in the world of business, and the console business is BIG.


Fact #4: Halo, Bungie's sole product since the sellout, is now a Microsoft exclusive.

Erm, and since when is something like this a new occurence? Do you actually follow the games industry at all...?


Your comparisons to Super Monkey Ball and Gran Turismo are misleading and irrelevant, since the above sequence of events does not apply to either game series.

That is a totally and utterly irrelevant point. The point is that consoles are sold based on what games are available for them, and exclusive games are as old as the industry itself.


And if you can't see why people have reason to be angered over the Bungie sellout, surely your thinking is tainted by bias (as would mine be, from the opposite - and correct, mind you - standpoint)

Biased?!? How the hell am I biased if I see this 'sell out' as no different to what has been going on for years...?!?


Fact #5: Microsoft is still evil.

Oh please. Name me one multi national company that isn't 'evil'.


Fact #6: I will never purchase a Microsoft product.

Heh, how pathetic. You are like the people who still hold a grudge against Sony for killing the Dreamcast.


Fact #7: I'm not pissed off about Halo, I'm pissed off that more people aren't pissed off about Halo, and that some people don't know why others could possibly be pissed off about Halo.

The only reason anyone would be pissed off about Halo is because they are blinded by their own delusions and ignorance. If you refuse to play Halo because it is an MS product then that is your fault and your fault alone. You cannot pin the blame on MS unless you are a petulant child.

What's the fuss about, though?

[Txiasaeia]

As a PC-only gamer (okay, okay, I have a GBA SP, but that doesn't count right now), I really don't understand what all the fuss was about Halo. The opening level was impressive, I'll give you that, but the majority of the game was fairly bland. The Library level was the worst level of *any* video game I've ever played (all the way back to some of the later levels on Jumpman... were those ever freaking impossible!), the weapons were mediocre, the enemies were laughable (aliens speaking English, saying, "Oh no, here he comes, help!"), and the plot wasn't compelling.

Perhaps I'm missing something, but I thought that Quake I was much, much better than Halo, and that's even counting the visuals in both games. Of course, I didn't play it when it came out for the X-Box, I never played it in co-op, and I played it three years after it was released. Understandably, my view might be a bit skewered, but Deus Ex came out around the same time (as well as Max Payne), and I'd much rather play either of those two games right now than Halo.

Re:What's the fuss about, though?

[tf98]

Halo is worth the fuss.
There's so many good things about Halo but if I was to name the best I would say it was the vehicles. When you get in a vehicle the view moves from 1st person to 3rd person and the feel of the game totally changes increasing variety and pace. Other AI players on your side can hop onto a vehicle that your piloting and fight along side you.
Enemy AI is the 2nd excellent feature making combat so much fun. Each enemy offers a challenge which you have to tackle in unique ways.
The storyline is week, classic sci-fi. But it is full of twists and there's enough atmosphere in the game so that the storyline is able to be quite scary in places.

Re:What's the fuss about, though?

[Reapy]

I play both consols and pc games, though I've been playing pc games for much longer and more frequently then the consols. Halo was great. It should have come out on the pc first though as was oringally planned, those bastards.

In any event, I didn't play halo until a few months ago. I loved it, and I don't know why. Level design was so so, graphics weren't that good, most of the time you were going to one end of a level then fighting back out of it, yawn?

But, wow, I loved killing aliens. I would say the best feature of halo was not the vehicles, those bored me, but the grenades. I don't know how much fun I'd have giggling when a plasma grenade stuck to an alien and he ran around screaming "get it off get it off" then would blow up and fly into the air and send his buddies with him. Even better was when it would ignite a pile of grenades laying on the ground near by, I could do that all day.

I love the sound and feel of the pistol and the marine machine gun, they are just so fun to light aliens up with. I also love clubbing them on the head with it, it was just very cool.

And that's where it sold me, It was just very cool. My roomate was playing it the other day on the pc (we were disapoitned with the debacle, no co op, wtf?) but he said "i'm halfway through the game already and I dont even know why I'm playing it, it doesnt look good, I've already played through it 3 times, but I just cant put it down".

To me, that's what makes a good game. I dont care about theme, I dont care about story, I dont care about level design (unless its really bad), hell, I even had a pretty easy time with the xbox controler. I care about the gameplay, and halo's was great, and thats why I couldn't put it down, and that's why it deserves the attention it gets. It's just one of those rare games where everything clicks, and it plays like the developers intended, and is just FUN to be playing.

Re:gamesradar.msn.co.uk

[sebi]

Since the piece originated in Edge magazine I suppose that little factoid is meaningless. In case you have never read it: Edge is by far the best computer and video gaming magazine in existence. They writers are not always objective--they are fans after all--but they are independent. They might praise one system and condemn another, but it feels like they are doing it because they believe and not because someone paid them off. It also is, as far as I know, the only one you can safely read in public because of the fantastic art-direction.

Their web-presence is not really representative so I urge you to check it out on a news-stand if you ever have the chance. In the recent tenth anniversary issue they had a story on the origins of the magazine. According to official gospel it was not launched to make money, but to simply be the best gaming mag in existence. I cannot judge whether or not this is true, but it certainly feels that way. And yes, I am a fanboy, but a truly well done magazine is such a rare thing that I simply have to cherish it.

Seminal? My bass!

[E1v!$]

Halo wasn't original, it was a 'slightly' modified Larry Niven set with a terrible storyline and repetative, boring, levels. If it's seminal because they stole Niven's (admittedly cool) idea, or because they wrote a graphics engine that delivers lower fps at lower effects levels than more modern games on hardware that didn't even exist back then!

If it had come out 3 years ago I would have been impressed with the graphics, but even then... 'eh'.

Half Life was a better game. More variety, better action. I don't think the bots were as good (they seemed indecisive at times), but overall it was a much more enjoyable experience.

Yes, I was dissapointed with Halo. Maybe that's an appropriate name. You get everything at the edge, NOTHING in the core.

Re:Seminal? My bass!

[antin]

Why isn't the parent modded troll? WTF is up with mods these days. Halo was a great game, and anyone who says otherwise is either a troll, or in the minority. Don't mod things merely because they complain about what is popular or successful, and certainly don't do it just because it is associated with Microsoft.

Apart from anything else the sales speak for themselves. The people have spoken and they don't agree with the parent. In fact apart from a record number of sales, Halo kept the xbox alive nearly single-handidly, and Halo 2 is currently one of the most anticipated games...

Have you actually played the game or own an xbox? Halo is still graphically one of the most impressive games on the system - so I am not entirely sure what your gripe with the graphics is. As to the framerate, it keeps around 30 most of the time - although it does dip a lot in co-op (a feature more games do not have).

Speaking of co-op, has any other game delivered it in such a full and fun manner? Co-op really is double the people, double the fun in Halo.

Lets see about the other innovations - oh maybe a regenerating shield which really does rock. No more searching for health packs, or shield kits or whatever. And no more stupidly esay enemies just so your health doesn't run out. Halo provides a challenging experience and has tough enemies that will thrash you unless you properlly manage your shield. It is a much more elegant solution to a myriad of health packs, and I think it provides substantially more fun in the gameplay - you actually feel that you are up against a decent foe.

The 2 weapon idea worked very well - especially as you can switch at any time. Halo really isn't a game like other FPSs where the bigger the weapon the more useful it is. In every situation there are especially well suited guns in Halo and you will select them for that purpose - rather than lug along whatever the newest thing you have unlocked as in other games.

Oh should we mention the AI? Yeah seems that it was nothing special... back-up marines that are actually a help not a hindrance (as in all other 'team' games). Enemies that actually duck for cover, outflank your, or react to changing situations. Half-life really shone there didn't it... bring on the Doom style enemies any day.

The controls are perfect - up until Halo no FPS on a console played quite right. Sure everyone raves about Goldeneye, but play it today and you feel constrained. Halo really shone in this regard - in fact if this was the only thing it did right, it would still be a game deserving respect. Nearly every console FPS has copied Halo's control style.

Another feature that doesn't get mentioned much is a button dedicated to grenades... It actually makes them a useable weapon, rather than something that will get you killed while you try to scroll to them in your inventory.

Finally the vehicles. Other games have put in cars etc... but they always feel out of place. They don't control well, they aren't resposnive and they get you killed. Halo demonstrated how to integrate vehicles into your game.

I won't bother mentioning the physics (which is amongst the best in any game), or the story - which you might whinge about, but which was delivered through a great use of cut-scenes, terrific voice-acting and provided a lot of suspense and enticement to continue playing.

You sir, are a troll. In fact I think you are a PC playing troll - because nobody who owned the game on the xbox would agree with you. And BTW it did release nearly 3 years ago... (well 2 but who is counting).