Halo 3: The Bungie boys reveal more…

With less than two months to go before Halo 3’s worldwide release we sat down with Bungie’s Frank ‘O Connor, Halo’s Content Manager and Brian Jarrard, Director of Franchise and Community Affairs to talk about the making of one of 2007’s most hotly-anticipated videogames.

We began by asking if there were there any features Bungie had to reign in or scale back due to technical considerations. “We really accomplished everything that we set out to with Halo 3,” explains Jarrard. “We approached the game with a list of things we wanted to implement if technology wasn’t an issue but at the same time were very conscious that these had to fit within Halo’s core gameplay: one guy versus an army.

“There wasn’t really anything we had to drop because of technical imitations, which was liberating but also brought its own challenges. It’s easy to think that creating more enemies or bigger playing areas is always going to make a game better but in fact it’s often a case of scaling back the scope of the experience to ensure it’s always manageable and, crucially, fun for players.”

Some fans found that they preferred the on-the-fly battles of the first Halo game over the sequel’s emphasis on dramatic gameplay set-pieces. We wondered if this feedback affected Bungie’s approach to the third game in any way? “We have definitely made a gameplay decision to follow the feel of the first game more closely,” explains ‘O Connor. “While we are building on Halo 2’s many achievements there there’s also a feeling that we’re returning to the series roots.

“For example, in Halo 2 there was one section where you took on a huge Scarab enemy. This section was a scripted encounter as the Scarab’s movements were on-rails. By contrast, in Halo 3 the Scarab is now an AI entity that will be seeking out Master Chief by clambering over buildings while choosing to take its own cover. This brings the dynamic sense of unfolding action closer to the first game again.”

Bungie has famously talked about how its designers worked hard on the first game to make a typical 30 seconds of gameplay as compulsive as they could before creating the game by repeating this building block many times over. With new moves, items and features being introduced into Master Chief’s repertoire, we wonder how the team has managed to maintain the purity of experience?

“We’ve been very careful to ensure that everything we’ve added into the game fits into the 30-second balance rule,” explains Jarrard. “For example, when players first saw the bubble shield there was outrage that this might upset the balance of the game. But in effect, while it gives you protection you can’t actually fire out. With all of these things it’s a case of adding to the player’s toolbox to increase the sense of immersion while simultaneously maintaining tight control over the balance of gameplay. Thankfully, it’s something I think we’ve achieved very well in Halo 3.”