1) Jaime Griesemer, game design lead on Halo 2 suggests that if you have 30 seconds of fun, this can translate into
stretching the fun out for an entire game.
2) The cinematic script for Halo 15 levels long - 2 protagonists - drive the 20 hours of action. Feature film length.
120 minutes. 160 pp. game script. Too much work for the time allowed, and the story overshadows the gameplay.
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
Traversing a gamespace designed for creatures that are not constrained by gravity or walls.
4) Why is E3 so important?
It is the biggest event in the video game world. Every publisher, reporter, critic is present. When retailers get promo material and decide which games to (pre-)order.
5) What is a danger with the desire by a team to add graphical richness?
Technically, lowered framerate. Practically, less time put into smoothing gameplay.
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?
Boarding vehicles.
7) a) What is 'framerate'?
Framerate = FPS (frames per second), the rate at which the display refreshes.
b) What elements can affect the framerate of the game?
Particle effects, polygon count, shadowing, calling sound files. Anything that uses processor power and system memory.
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?
Developers need to generate buzz for the game's release. Building discussions about the game encourage players to pre-order copies.
b) How does the team generate enthusiasm among the fans at E3 in the demo booth?
Make the preview exclusive and with limited capacity, use characters within the game to mimic interaction with the presenter and the fans. Highlight the best new features of the game to build buzz.
9) What features of the game were the fans most enthusiastic about at the E3 demo?
Jumping on characters backs, exploding vehicles with characters crawling out alive.
10) How did the decision to go with the more detailed real-time graphics (stencil shadows, real time reflections etc) affect completion deadlines?
It greatly added to the complication of development. The team had to throw out the previous version and restart production.
10b) What did the US marines demonstrations of guns etc in South Carolina do to assist with the game?
Showed how guns look, sound and react in a real-world environment (recoil, flash, smoke, shell ejections. Showed combat communication, formations and stances.
11) What were the main functions of the LAN game sessions held in the private house in Connecticut?
Meeting people from within the community. Attaching a face to an internet personality. Having fun. Learning which parts of Halo were most/least enjoyable for the players, to know what to reproduce/refine in production.
12) Why were (parts of the) game called the 'matrix of doom'?
Hundreds/thousands of sound effects required to adapt to the multitude of textures and shapes. Every texture in the game was used in a high polygon-count environment, stressing the limits of the system.
13) According to the lead producer, how did the Halo2 team ultimately mess up? How was this issue ultimately dealt with?
By returning to the home planet, the missions became too expansive. The options were too plenty. the gameplay wasn't fun. Design kept lagging on. There wasn't nearly enough time to commit to the decisions being made. To solve the problem, the team threw out the old game plan and started anew, focusing on exciting gameplay.
14) Why are the level diagrams called 'commitment' by the level designer?
Because of the time required to create the levels, the missions for traversing them, the script, the texturing, etc. Once a level is decided on, the entire production team must work on material for it. If you leave your options open, new ideas keep coming up without any decision on what to keep.
15) The time line showing the schedule to shipping allows a lot of time near the end for what?
QA, then sleep.
16) How do the two audio directors differ in terms of how they obtain performances from the actors?
Marty: More direct, intuitive, time-conscious
Joe: Talks with the actors, keeps them loose and inspired, explains how their character ties in with the game, performance-minded
17) What do the team members argue is the advantage of a totally fixed deadline?
Some of the best work comes from nearing the tight deadlines. Forcing to finish projects. Raising excitement when the deadline is within sight.
18) What do you think is meant by the phrase "building a cathedral with a hurricane" (in relation to making Halo2)?
The flurry of work from all departments at the end stage of development, everybody using every second of available time to add/refine features and put it all together. All the departments see their work assembled in a small time window. "…all the disparate pieces come together in this glorious game…"
19) Have you played Halo2? What did you think of it in relation to the first Halo?
I quit playing Bungie games after Oni. Microsoft kicked out several programmers I respected (from the Marathon trilogy) when they bought the company.
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?
Not that I know of.
