Monthly Archives: June 2012

Interview: Frank O’Connor on why 343 Industries changed Halo

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Reposted from venturebeat.com, by Rus McLaughlin:

http://venturebeat.com/2012/06/10/interview-frank-oconnor-on-why-343-industries-changed-halo/

Or read the full text here:

Interview: Frank O’Connor on why 343 Industries changed Halo

If you want to see continuity as the Halo franchise moves from original developer Bungie to 343 Industries, Microsoft’s in-house studio, look to Frank O’Connor. Right from Halo’s very beginning, he’s served as the keeper of the keys, in many cases creating the very secrets he holds. When it comes to the Master Chief, Cortana, and the universe they live in, O’Connor knows everything. He’s just not allowed to tell you much.

Now, as Franchise Development Director, O’Connor’s in charge of launching a new chapter of the saga with Halo 4…a new setting, a new threat, a new perspective on the central characters. So when I sat down with O’Connor in a secluded corner of the Microsoft booth in the middle of the Electronic Entertainment Expo, I opened with a fairly obvious first question.

If this is a new beginning for Halo, why bring the Covenant back?

O’Connor: The Covenant are honestly an important part of the Halo sandbox and the fiction, and in our fiction, the Covenant is still a huge problem for humanity. We reached a semi-stable peace with them at the end of Halo 3, but it wasn’t built on a very strong premise. They’ve lost their religion, they’ve lost a war, they’ve lost their leadership, and they’re doing what any nation in chaos would do…they’re splintering and falling into factions. The Covenant you’re fighting in the game is one of those factions, and in some ways they’re a more dangerous aspect of that former Covenant.

So where do the new bad guys fit in?

O’Connor: The Promethians make up the bulk of your encounters. There’s a limit to what I can say, but ostensibly, they’re the warrior sect of the long-vanished Forerunner society. The ones that you encounter appear to be artificial and remotely controlled. We’ve seen the Crawlers, these fast-moving pack creatures…they’re pretty easy to kill on their own, but they do swarm and cause you significant difficulties. But it’s definitely worth it for the rare time where you get to assassinate one and ride it like a bucking bronco before you pop its head off.

The Knights are the main foe, but Knights can also spawn Watchers, which are a tactical assistance units, shielding and respawning and even generating new enemies onto the field. It’s incredibly important that when you enter into a big encounter that you pick the right targets and deal with them in a very specific order, depending on your play style.

We’ve got a really good high-res picture of a Knight. It looks like there’s a small organic creature locked into a huge set of armor.

O’Connor: Promethian Knights have existed — and will continue to exist — in our fiction in a huge variety of forms. There are different types of Knights, but I can’t say more than that.

Will the Halo 4 campaign be a complete story unto itself? One of the first things we see in the campaign is the USNC Infinity crashing into the planet Requiem. But six months later, when the fiction for [co-op multiplayer mode] Spartan Ops takes place, it’s back up in the sky. And isn’t that a little spoilery?

O’Connor: That is a little spoilery, and it’s a necessary spoiler. But the game will end with the universe having changed pretty dramatically. It’ll be a satisfying ending, and you’ll have achieved a lot, but you’ll lose stuff, too. We’re trying to tell a much more emotionally resonant story this time.

What prompted that move to delve deeper into the Master Chief as a character? Isn’t it a little risky messing with an icon?

O’Connor: He was always kind of an interesting mix. And people missed him, right? They didn’t say ‘I miss being the Master Chief,’ they said ‘I miss the Master Chief.’ He always had a bit of a personality — he’s stoic, and brave, and a great leader. I think sometimes people think of him as a vehicle for their own heroism, and so they miss that, too. We’re not suddenly going to have the Master Chief spouting long monologues. Most of the storytelling and depth is going to happen contextually. He’s still going to be stoic, brave, and heroic, and actually fairly quiet. The events around him will define what you learn about him.

You guys also made a very specific decision to add narrative to the multiplayer. It’s never really needed one before…why do it now?

O’Connor: We made a philosophical decision to make everything count, to make everything matter. The [player-vs-player multiplayer mode] War Games fictional wrapper is a really simple conceit…you’re training in a simulator for live-fire ops that you’re gonna do in [the story-based] Spartan Ops, and that’s why you’re fighting other Spartans. And of course, it’s not necessary, but it also ties directly into the fact that you’re building a real career this time. You’re not just customizing the appearance of your Spartan, but you also tune the way that he plays and feels for you as a player, which is connected across the different parts. If you unlock something in War Games, you can use it in Spartan Ops and vice versa. That’s another reason to connect those dots.

Given there’s a lot of overlap in personnel, what unique factor does 343 Industries bring to Halo that differentiates that team from Bungie?

O’Connor: There’s a few ex-Bungie people at 343, but the vast majority of people are new, but they’re all old to Halo. Every single person came to the interview because they had some passion for Halo. Normally you can’t chose your family, but in this case, we could. And they also bring in different cultural experiences, different technological experiences, different design ethics and visions. So we have this incredible melting pot of passionate Halo fans with incredible new ideas and brilliant new approaches.

Aside from the Chief and Cortana, was there something you said absolutely had to be in Halo 4?

O’Connor: I think the number-one thing, and there was unanimous agreement in the studio, was that sense of exploration and awe and wonder that you had when you first tumbled out of the Bumblebee onto the surface of Halo in the first game. And it was deliberate, of course…you’d been playing this pretty awesome sci-fi shooter in a very claustrophobic starship, which is a pretty normal thing to do in a video game. And then you find yourself in this incredible alien place, and you look up in the sky, and you see the other side of the Halo, and you think, ‘I want to go there.’ That’s what we wanted to bring back.

As you were developing the game, did you have a Hell Yeah! moment where you personally said to yourself “This is it. We nailed it.”

O’Connor: A moment I remember very vividly…it was just this one game of Slayer we were playing months ago, and it all clicked. Even my new control scheme. And I felt this is totally Halo. But the stuff that’s new is perfectly attached, and it also feels like Halo. And we were planning it and building it, but it’s not real yet, right? But the second it’s real, and the second all the pieces are together, and you play a mission with real fiction in it, you’re like, I get it. I get why this did this. This was the right call.

 

Halo 4 multiplayer: Skulls are out, Battlefield-style Assists are in

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From OXM.co.uk: http://www.oxm.co.uk/42982/halo-4-multiplayer-skulls-are-out-battlefield-style-assists-are-in/

Or read the full text here:

343 has confirmed that Halo’s beloved Skull multiplayer modifiers have gone the way of the Dodo, for the sake of the new weapon and gear levelling system. Speaking to OXM at E3, lead multiplayer designer Kevin Franklin also shed a little more light on the game’s multiplayer scoring system. In brief, this is the first Halo game where you’ll score points for making a bloody spectacle of yourself.

Well, that’s what I’m calling the new “distract assist”, of which you’ll read more in a mo. But what’s all this talk of Skulls? “No, we’ve moved away from that,” Franklin stated. “We’re looking at the Infinity experience very specifically as a new one.”

“The only way to make things work across all the nodes to your progression, like if you’re playing with or without your friends you’re still earning the same armour and experience points and levelling up the same character – to get that shared progression we really needed to unite the different experiences. So we went in a different direction which we’re really happy with.”

 

Click to view larger image

First glimpsed in Halo campaigns, Skulls later appeared in Halo 3: ODST and Halo: Reach’s Firefight modes, allowing players to alter the odds for the purposes of masochism or humour. Halo 4 lacks a Firefight mode, but does offer an extensive Spartan Ops co-ops component that’s designed to scratch a similar itch. We’re still waiting to hear whether the campaign will feature Skulls.

 

The game’s competitive modes take place on the deck of the aforesaid Infinity, a hyper-advanced UNSC starship. Its co-op component sees Infinity crewmates venturing out on planetside missions. The idea in both cases, we’re told, is to give multiplayer a sense of permanence and narrative logic.

And what of these new Assists? Well, 343 wants to foster the sort of mutual gain mentality that governs Battlefield 3, with its roster of rewards for supporting actions. Thus, “if you’re running and an enemy starts stars shooting at you, but gets killed by a teammate because he was distracted by you, you’re rewarded for distracting the enemy.

“This came straight from players in our feedback sessions who felt they should have been rewarded for that. There are all sorts of assists. For instance, the King assist in Regicide is the first ever assist in a free-for-all game, so even though you’re all playing against each other, we’ll still give you an assist for helping kill the score-leader, even if you kill the other player a few seconds later.

“All of these things wrap up into our assist spree so you can get a Wingman spree. We found lots of ways to reward players for doing things other than kills. We’re really stoked to show off our objective games because that’ll come through even more.”

—End Copy/Paste

Okay, I’m a little sad to see skulls go, but it won’t kill this for me. I DO like that you get some kind of reward for assisting now. If you’ve ever heard the term or been a “meat shield” you’ll be happy about this. I have no doubt this will cause others to complain about the game. Why bother? Really. This little reward doesn’t change gameplay all that much. Not having skulls to track down is okay. Hopefully there will still be campaign modifiers, just that we won’t have to look for them.

-HFF

Halo LAN Party: Houston June, 2012; Part One preparation and liftoff.

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I had the absolute privilege to attend my gaming group’s first annual LAN. It was held in Houston, Texas on the weekend of June 15-17.

The gaming group I belong to is Rated Mature or “RM” for short. We can be found at: www.ratedmature.NET. The group has been together for a little more than 3 years now. The group is an 18 years of age and over group, though we’ve made 2 exceptions. (And they were exceptions, definitely not the norm) The group is a competitive group, though not to the point of MLG. We like to win, but can have fun just pwning in multiteam. We prefer to play with a mature tone, though of course like many we have our silly (jokes), gross (burping), and vulgar (swearing) moments. This is one reason why we prefer “adult” gamers, so we don’t offend younger gamers or their parents.

Okay so enough about the group you say, let’s get to the LAN part. Last year, one of our members, “RM Samurai” stepped forward to say he would hold a LAN at his place in Houston, TX. We started a thread on our forums for the LAN and planning begun. As the months dwindled down to weeks various members made their travel plans and things were set. Weeks turned to days, then hours, then finally, I was on my way to Houston. Some of these fellows I’ve known for almost 4 years, since before the group was even formed, while others I’ve known for almost a year. Still, we’re all like extended family to one another, likely knowing more about each other’s family than some of our other friends. So the day before I am to leave comes and I’m excited and nervous. I had myself psyched out on flying. (I wasn’t thrilled with having to fly for various reasons which I won’t go into.) I didn’t sleep at all the night before leaving. Instead staying up to 3:30am then just resting in bed until 7:30 when I got up and blogged a little before final preparations to leave.

Midday approaches and my wife drives me to the airport to catch my flight. She wishes me a safe trip and to have fun and off I go.

Here’s the standard pic from the plane showing non-descript clouds.

That greyish streaking thing near the middle is just dust on the camera, no alien ship. Darn.

Stay tuned for the next part where I discuss the events of the different days and show some pics of the LAN in action.

-HFFL

We CAN haz fileshare!!!

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HaloWaypoint.com has finally added Fileshare to your Halo career! Woot, now you can once again create screenshots and download them to your computer. I’ve been waiting for this. So far it doesn’t look like you can render films though. Hopefully this will be rolled out soon.

Go to www.halowaypoint.com. Log-in, click on the tab at the top that shows your gamertag. From there click on the tab for fileshare and view.

-Sal

Spectator mode in Halo 4, needed?

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The ongoing debate between MLG and casual/competitive (non-MLG) gamers rages on.

In the article at the link below there are veiwpoints from both the MLG community and a non-MLG gamer regarding Spectator mode in Halo 4.

http://www.thespartanforce.enjin.com/home/m/3799499/article/811599

For the record, I could care less if Spectator mode is in or out. As a competitive/casual gamer I see it as something fun, though also a crutch and “cheating” in a sense. My take on MLG players wanting it tells me that they want that crutch to get any advantage they can over their opponents. Granted everyone would have this ability to use, but still, isn’t it really cheating? If you’re SO pro, then you should NOT need Spectator mode.

MLG, please, do the rest of the Halo community a favor and quit trying to change a game to your liking. You are a small portion of the overall gamers out there. You have no relevance to this gamer’s longevity in Halo.

Yes, all the other games in MLG may have spectator mode. So what? That doesn’t make Halo any lesser of a game because it doesn’t have it. In fact, it makes it even MORE of a competitive game because you have to have better situational awareness rather than relying on a mode that allows you not to think as much or prepare for any situation the other team may be throwing at you.

Kudos to gunn3r11 for once again writing a great article.

New pics of McFarlane Micro Ops revealed.

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The official blurb from HaloWaypoint:

MCFARLANE TOYS IS BRINGING THE ENTIRE HALO UNIVERSE HOME WITH HALO MICRO OPS!

McFarlane Toys expands its long-running, best-selling line of Halo collectibles this fall, with the addition of Halo Micro Ops. This all-new series consists of miniature figures, vehicles, and locations from the entire Halo universe, at roughly 1:100/15mm scale.

With such a wide range of product sizes to cover, Micro Ops is available in three different packages. Small carded sets include vehicles like the Warthog and Ghost. Larger carded sets offer bigger vehicles such as the Falcon, or smaller buildings like the bunker from the Halo 3 multiplayer map High Ground. Larger buildings, including the tower or gate sections of High Ground, are packaged in a Micro Ops small box.

Halo Micro Ops delivers the whole package, with all of the amazing detail and game accuracy that McFarlane Toys is famous for. Take a look for yourself!

And now my take on the pics…

Hello folks, I’m back from my gaming group’s LAN party in Houston and raring to blog. First up are some new images that have surfaced, showing the McFarlane Micro Ops line, due out later this summer.

I’ve already shown my own pics of these from New York Toy Fair this year. However, these new shots are clearer and closer and “official,” form McFarlane Toys themselves.

First up is the ODST Drop Pod.

As you can see by the Quarter next to it, it’s quite small, hence the “Micro” part. It looks good. Lots of detail. The only thing I’m left to wonder about is why a seating ODST wasn’t included? Beyond that though, it’s cool to see the braking antenna is removable as well as the front door plate.

Up next is the Banshee.

A nice little set, it comes with an Elite. It’s such a shame though that the full size action figure version of this was never mass produced. It was outstanding to see at Toy Fair. Alas, we’ll have to live with having it’s much smaller cousin. (Which is quite nice in it’s own right)

Ah, the iconic Warthog and mongoose.

A really good looking set. A Spartan Driver each for the vehicles, with an ODST at the gun mount. This set looks to be a multiple purchase! Now I wonder just how long it will be before we get the Gauss and Rocket versions of the Warthog?

It’s not Millennium, but it is the Falcon!

With spinning blades, opening cockpit to reveal a pilot as well as a marine and another Spartan, this set is well done. This could potentially be a multiple purchase.

I see dead vehicles, er it’s just a Ghost, oh and a Wolf Spider Turret!

This set comes with the Ghost, and Elite driver, the Spider Turret, and…EMILE! Woot! Not sure if anything is articulated on the Ghost, however, as you can see the turret at least opens and closes.

Next are two High Ground related sets. The lower portion is the Bunker with a Shade Turret.

The Shade turret looks fantastic. I hope we see this again in another set. The Bunker however? Well from the angle of the shots it’s hard to tell if there are the appropriate “windows” on the front side. Though it does look like it in the lower right portion of the right pic. This does show that the trap door is facing the wrong direction though. It should be 180° turned around so that the door opens away from the corner, rather than to it.

The High Ground Gate.

A big set for the Micro Ops, this set also includes a Warthog from the looks of it. The Gate opens and closes, though it doesn’t look as impressive from the other side (I know as I saw it at Toy Fair). Still, if you want to build a scene of High Ground, this is a great place to start.

All in all, I’m looking forward to this series. I hope it does well enough so that I can get certain vehicles. If you check my post about Micro Ops from Toy Fair, you’ll see a LOT more upcoming sets!

-Sal

McFarlane Halo 4 box set pics.

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We’ve seen the single carded figures from this series so far. Now we have the boxed set. This set is exactly the same as the single carded figures, with the notable exception that the red spartan is now blue. Same armor, just different color.

The good thing about this is that if you just want to get one of each, you can get this handy box set and then buy one of the red spartans.

I’ll likely do that. However, being that I like multiples of enemies, I’ll get an extra Elite and a few grunts. The blue Spartan looks just as good as his single carded colleague.

I can’t wait to see this hit store shelves.

-HFFL

Going to Houston Halo LAN tomorrow.

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I’ll be going to Houston, Texas. From tomorrow afternoon, until Tuesday morning, posts on the blog may be infrequent. I’ll try to blog from the LAN.

The LAN itself is being hosting by one of my friends “RM Samurai” from the gaming group I belong to.

The group is “Rated Mature.” Most of the members use a “RM” tag in front of their names. I’m a special case, yeah yeah, I know… Anyway, if you’d like to learn more about the group, feel free to check us out at: ratedmature.net  (Be CERTAIN you have .NET and not .com. I’m not responsible if you go to the .com site. That’s not ours and is NSFW.) We have fellows comign from all over the country. One from Philly, another from Chicago, one from San Antonio, another from New Orleans, the three already in Houston, one very special guest from Montreal, Canada and yours truly coming from Pittsburgh.

I’ll be taking lots of pics and will blog those when I get back. We’ll be playing Halo of course all weekend, with breaks for eating. On that note, I’m making the lunch and dinner for this Friday. On Saturday, we plan to see the Alien prequel, “Prometheus.”

In the meantime, please check out more older articles if you’re a newer reader here and get caught up on, with HaloFanForLife.

Upcoming, I’ll have another article on “The Science of Halo, Fact versus Fiction” after I get back from the LAN. Also, I’ve got a whole new series of articles coming titled, “The Races of Halo.” This series of articles will delve into the different races humanity has encountered in the Haloverse. Of course those will mostly be Covenant races, however, I’ll go back further and take a look at the earlier incarnations of human races, as well as the Forerunners.

Have a great weekend folks!

-Sal (HaloFanForLife)