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 Halo2'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.
CUT AND PASTE THE QUESTIONS BELOW INTO SIMPLE TEXT OR MS WORD.
ANSWER THEM ONSCREEN AS YOU WATCH THE FILM. SOME TIME WILL BE ALLOWED AFTER THE SCREENING TO FINALIZE ANSWERS. THEN PASTE BOTH QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS INTO YOUR INDIVIDUAL GAME 130 STUDENT BLOG
As you watch answer the following questions:
1) Jaime Griesemer, game design lead on Halo 2 suggests that if you have 30 seconds of fun, this can translate into _______________?
2) The cinematic script for Halo 15 levels long - 2 protagonists - drive the 20 hours of action. 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
4) Why is E3 so important?
5) What is a danger with the desire by a team to add graphical richness?
6) Nathan Walpole (senior animator) discusses animating the brute character - what new feature has been added to Halo2 in terms of the relationship between characters like the Brute and vehicles such as the warthog?
7) a) What is 'framerate'?
b) What elements 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?
b) How does the team generate enthusiasm among the fans at E3 in the demo booth?
9) What features of the game were the fans most enthusiastic about at the E3 demo?
10) How did the decision to go with the more detailed real-time graphics (stencil shadows, real time reflections etc) affect completion deadlines?
10b) What did the US marines demonstrations of guns etc in South Carolina do to assist with the game?
11) What were the main functions of the LAN game sessions held in the private house in Connecticut?
12) Why were (parts of the) game called the 'matrix of doom'?
13) According to the lead producer, how did the Halo2 team ultimately mess up? How was this issue ultimately dealt with?
14) Why are the level diagrams called 'commitment' by the level designer?
15) The time line showing the schedule to shipping allows a lot of time near the end for what?
16) How do the two audio directors differ in terms of how they obtain performances from the actors?
17) What do the team members argue is the advantage of a totally fixed deadline?
18) What do you think is meant by the phrase "building a cathedral with a hurricane" (in relation to making Halo2)?
19) Have you played Halo2? What did you think of it in relation to the first Halo?
20) Were any of the problems that faced the Halo2 team enough to affect its enjoyability as a game from the player's point of view?
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 Halo2 game?
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