Behind the Scenes - The Making of Halo 2
The making of Halo 2 examines the production process behind a major "triple A" title console game (released in 2004).
This is how bad things had gotten at one point of Halo 2's production according to WIRED Magazine:
"It was a disaster in the game-story campaign," admits Harold Ryan, the studio manager. "We looked around the room going, 'I don't want to play this. I don't want to make this.'" They threw out 80 percent of the work they'd done and started over. But they now had barely a year and a half to reconstruct the entire game.
1) Jaime Griesemer, game design lead on Halo 2 suggests that if you have 30 seconds of fun, this can translate into _______________?
30 Seconds of fun can translate into an entire game.
2) The cinematic script for Halo 15 levels long with 2 protagonists that drive the 20 hours of action, the feature film length.
3) Marcus Lehto of the art department talks about artwork such as the "sentinal headquarters". What is the challenge of this interior for the player?
The challenge of this interior for the player is to traverse an area that is meant for robots that don’t need floors.
4) Why is E3 so important?
E3 is so important, because it is the biggest event in the video game industry where all the developers, publishers, retailers and games journalist get together to generate interest in new games.
5) What is a danger with the desire by a team to add graphical richness?
The danger with the desire by a team to add graphic richness is that the overall performance and frame-rate drops which effects gameplay.
6) Nathan Walpole (senior animator) discusses animating the brute character. What new feature has been added to Halo 2 in terms of the relationship between characters like the Brute and vehicles such as the warthog?
The new features that have been added to Halo 2 in terms of the relationship between characters like the Brute and vehicles such as the warthog are that characters can board the vehicles and swipe other characters off of vehicles.
7) a) What is 'framerate'?
Framerate is the number of still frames per second that generate animation when played at normal speed.
b) What elements can affect the framerate of the game?
The number of assets and the amount of particle effects can affect the framerate of the game.
8) a) The producer cares about the retailers and the fans at E3. Why bother about these things so early in the game's development?
The producer cares about the retailers and the fans at E3 so early in the game’s development, because the retailers make decisions of what games to get behind and the fans get to see what the game is really going to be like when they finally get to play the game.
b) How does the team generate enthusiasm among the fans at E3 in the demo booth?
The team generates enthusiasm among the fans at E3 at the demo booth by having a video of the in-game character Sgt. Johnson introduce the demo with emphasis that the demo is real-time
9) What features of the game were the fans most enthusiastic about at the E3 demo?
The fans were most enthusiastic about the game’s E3 demo’s features of being able to duel wield weapons which is not in the first game, the new ability of hijacking vehicles and the sense that it was more of a battle compared to the first Halo.
10) a) How did the decision to go with the more detailed real-time graphics (stencil shadows, real time reflections etc.) affect completion deadlines?
The decision to go with the more detailed real-time graphics affected completion deadlines, because the team kept pushing the deadlines back after trying to figure out if the goals that they had set were even possible.
b) What did the US marines demonstrations of guns etc. in South Carolina do to assist with the game?
The United States Marines demonstrations of guns etc. in South Carolina assisted with the game by enabling the Space Marines in the game act more like how real life Marines would.
11) What were the main functions of the LAN game sessions held in the private house in Connecticut?
The main functions of the LAN game sessions held in the private house in Connecticut were to allow Internet forum posters to meet-up in real life and in person.
12) Why were (parts of the) game called the 'matrix of doom'?
Parts of the game were called the “matrix of doom”, because the amount of surfaces in the game versus the amount of objects in the game creates thousands of sounds that need to be in the game.
13) According to the lead producer, how did the Halo 2 team ultimately mess up? How was this issue ultimately dealt with?
According to the lead producer, the Halo 2 team ultimately messed-up by not having the story and design locked early on, planning the time. This issue was ultimately dealt with by prioritizing and cutting unnecessary parts from the game’s development.
14) Why are the level diagrams called 'commitment' by the level designer?
The level diagrams are called commitment by the level designer, because they are the plan for the development team.
15) The time line showing the schedule to shipping allows a lot of time near the end for what?
The time line showing the schedule to shipping allows a lot of time near the end for finding any game stoping bugs in order to fix them before release.
16) How do the two audio directors differ in terms of how they obtain performances from the actors?
The two audio directors differ in terms of how they obtain performances from the actors, because one wants to give the actors clear and concise feedback, and the other wants the actor to understand the background and motivations of the characters.
17) What do the team members argue is the advantage of a totally fixed deadline?
The team members argue that the advantage of a totally fixed deadline is that it forces them to finish their parts of the game.
18) What do you think is meant by the phrase "assembling a cathedral in a hurricane" (in relation to making Halo 2?
The phrase “assembling a cathedral in a hurricane” refers to the fact that all of the separate parts of a game are broken until the very end when everything is put together.
19) Have you played Halo 2? What did you think of it in relation to the first Halo?
I have played Halo 2. I hated the first game, because of the over-use of repeated level design. Everything felt the same to me and it felt vary copy and paste. The second game improved on the first in almost every way. The level design showed more effort and the multiplayer was now online. The story was much more interesting than the first game, because it gave two opposing perspectives of the same war. The ending was not as strong as the first game, because where the ending of the first game had a pay-off, the second game’s ending felt like more of a commercial break in the middle of a story arc. Some argue that Halo 1 is better, because of the simplicity and purity of the gun-play. They’re wrong; the game is boring.
20) Were any of the problems that faced the Halo 2 team enough to affect its enjoyability as a game from the player's point of view?
The problems that faced the Halo 2 team did not really affect its enjoyability as a game from the player’s point of view. There were the post-release exploits that players online eventually take advantage of that effected player experience, but this happens with just about every game with online.
HOMEWORK - Read
this article from Wired Magazine about Halo3:
Then answer the question for next week:
How did Bungie ultimately overcome the problem of 'featurism' that had plagued the Halo 2 game?
Bungie ultimately overcame the problem of featurism that had plagued the Halo 2 game by monitoring and analyzing hundreds and hundreds of hours of the moment to moment actions of players to improve gameplay.
