STACK 132 October Issue

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GAMES FEATURE
065
How is everything recorded? Is there
a central archive that lists things
chronologically? Is the data stored separately
according to a specific game or character?
The Halo Universe Bible, or HUB as we call
it, is a digital asset we can share with staff and
external partners. It’s indexed, searchable and
can be viewed however the user likes. A TV
writer looking for dates can search that way, or
an artist looking for older versions of a game
asset can view by title. It’s very flexible. We also
include the ability for users to add requests and
notes as they use it, so if something is light on
data or simply doesn’t have any fiction yet, the
franchise team can quickly address it.
What’s the process for introducing new lore?
The process can be super organic. We do
plan novels and comic books quite rigidly –
‘Escalation’ (the comic series) being such a
direct companion piece to Halo 4 and 5 – but
we get the best work by letting smart creators
explore the universe themselves. It could be
something as open ended as saying to Joe
Staten, “Hey, we’d love a story that deals with
recent Elite events because we want to create
a better backdrop for the Arbiter’s faction,” and
Joe comes back and suggests a basic idea and
then we move to outline.
Sometimes a creation is much more tactical
and we create the fiction in parallel with its
intended purpose. But again, something like the
Forerunner Trilogy with Greg
Bear was so big yet so delicate,
it meant constant bouncing of
ideas. We very rarely say “No,”
with the mantra “Yes, but…” being
a cliché, but a valuable one.
And again, the game dominates
these conversations. The game is
the client in some ways.
How does authorisation for
spin-offs/books/TV shows/movies
work? Do they all have to adhere
to the canon? Can you make small
changes, or even change it completely?
First we look to the medium. What
works for that medium is going to define
what makes sense for its story, or rather, what
parts of our universe make sense for that kind
of storytelling. For some things, like The Fall
of Reach , it’s a pretty direct adaptation of the
source material with just a few tweaks here
and there. But for a live-action TV show, the
challenge is going to be focusing on the right
areas of the universe that can entice new
viewers while satisfying core fans. That’s a
tricky balance, especially when the source
material is a game with a single protagonist
whose face is never seen. We’re excited
about the possibilities, but nervous about the
challenges that lie ahead. Luckily the expanded
canon gives us lots of characters and scenarios
to explore in parallel. and as you saw with the
first season of Hunt the Truth, you’ll see in the
second season how closely and meaningfully
it connects to the Halo 5 game story. We think
of Halo as a “real” place and our partners and
collaborators can too.
Is weapon consistency a part of the lore?
How do upgrades fit in?
Taking a big step back – gameplay is king.
This is a game
universe at the end
of the day and things
that work in a game
setting, like running
around holding a
burning skull while your teammates shoot
you with rocket launchers, might not make a
compelling or believable narrative. So bluntly,
we kind of let it slide. We have built a leitmotif
of fiction around our Arena gameplay – that it’s
a simulation with tuneable parameters, but we
avoid shoving that in people’s faces. Sometimes
they just want to have a blast with their buddies
and not worry too much about the military
industrial complex.
When writing lore, is it important to cater for
the future at the same time? Or is that built
in at a later date?
Yes. Future is king. We have to make sure
we’re opening up fertile ground to explore
in later fiction and creating ingredients that
compound our fictional choice and make the
world a more believable one. We avoid painting
ourselves into corners, but we’re also not
afraid to do permanent things. In real
universes, people die, things
change, events have impact.
And so the same has to be
true in our fiction. Things have
to matter or people will stop
caring.
Shield Regeneration:
While its true origins can
be found in the '80s, Halo:
Combat Evolved did feature
the concept of shield
regeneration combined
with health packs. By Halo
2, regenerating health
became the standard
across most FPS titles.
Intuitive controls:
We take the twin-stick
system used in shooters
for granted, but it was
Halo: CE that designed the
control mechanics so one
stick is used for moving
and the second stick for
aiming.
Graphics: First-person
shooter fans were PC-
bound before Halo: CE
launched with the Xbox.
The quality of the graphics
was breathtaking – the
game established the
blueprint for the modern
FPS genre on console.
Melee weapon:
Before Halo: CE , killing
up close and personal had
never been so, er, personal.
The game also brought the
idea of limited weapons
to the FPS, driving players
to use strategy to decide
which two weapons to
equip.
Multiplayer: If Halo: CE
helped to expand the LAN
and the art of dragging
your console around your
mate’s house in a bag to
play, it was Halo 2 that
redefined multiplayer, with
the help of the burgeoning
Xbox LIVE.
Halo Influenced the Shooter Genre