Halo Origins

Halo Origins is an edited version of Evolution of Halo (from Halo: The Movies), which is a commentary film on the early development of Halo: Combat Evolved featuring commentary from Bungie staff members: Martin O'Donnell, Paul Russel, Shi Kai Wang, and Robert McLees. Originally included on the Halo 2 Limited Collector's Edition. The video was later uploaded to Bungie's YouTube channel on April 15, 2010.

Transcript

HALO ORIGINS
_{MARTY O'DONNELL,
// Audio Director
PAUL RUSSEL,
// 3D Environmental Artist
SHI KAI WANG,
// Artist
ROBERT McLEES,
// Artist}

• Shi Kai Wang: Oh my god. (Laugh)
• Martin O'Donnell: I love that. See, you didn't know we're going to start from this far back.
• Robert McLees: Are those like newer guys or those the old guys?
• Shi Kai Wang: Those are the super old like, hundred-poly-guys.
• Paul Russell: Hey, that looks like the back of my dog.
• Martin O'Donnell: Okay, so this is Shiek, Rob, Paul, and Marty making sound effects.
• Paul Russell: Now we're out on the road. Who thought this was going to be cool?
• Martin O'Donnell: It looks like Myth.
• Robert McLees: Oh, yeah. Well, of course, because that's what it was. This is—this is Dan's. And there's like one of the old busted up bunkers.
• Martin O'Donnell: Now, was that made out of like igloo blocks?
• Shi Kai Wang: Oh, it's beautiful.
• Robert McLees: No, I think it was just busted up.
• Paul Russell: Okay. Is that the Hummer?
• Robert McLees: Yeah, the Hummer.
• Shi Kai Wang: That’s the first version of the Warthog, I guess. Huh.
• Robert McLees: And there's the old version of the Ghost.
• Shi Kai Wang: Yeah. The one right to the left corner in the gray right next to the Jeep.
• Martin O'Donnell: What year is this now?
• Paul Russell: 1948.
• Shi Kai Wang: This is '98, I think. (Laugh)
• Martin O'Donnell: This is—seriously, this is what, 1990?
• Shi Kai Wang: This is '98. Hey, we have detail objects back then.
• Paul Russell: What detail objects are you talking about?
• Shi Kai Wang: There. On the ground. See?
• Robert McLees: Ah, the broken Halo.
• Paul Russell: The railroad track.
• Shi Kai Wang: That’s a little prelude to what happens in the future.
• Robert McLees: The old Warthog is looking like the old Warthog.
• Shi Kai Wang: Oh man, that's the stealth tank that we never got in the game.
• Robert McLees: Well look, I mean, the guy still has the assault rifle across his shoulders.
• Shi Kai Wang: That still looks cool, man. I don't know why anybody said it doesn't look cool.
• Martin O'Donnell: See, that looks like a Warthog.
• Shi Kai Wang: Kind of—the textures are so low-res. I mean, that's cool, you know?
• Paul Russell: Yeah, I think we're using 128 bits or something at that point.
• Shi Kai Wang: People probably want to know why we switched from third-person to first-person. Because Jason, uh-
• Paul Russell: Well, he was the one that was dead set against first-person for a long time.
• Shi Kai Wang: Yeah. And then he's like, "Hey, wait. We can't make third-person work. Hey, let's change it back."
• Paul Russell: That's what happens when your lead is a crack addict.
• Shi Kai Wang: Oh, dang. That was Paul Russell, former Bungie employee. (Laugh)
• Martin O'Donnell: The control room.
• Robert McLees: The old control room.
• Martin O'Donnell: Yeah. I have a sense of awe.
• Shi Kai Wang: Dude, this is cool.
• Robert McLees: Oh... what's up at the—
• Shi Kai Wang: Oh, this is the first time we have the big mirror, right?
• Robert McLees: ...big mirror, yeah.
• Martin O'Donnell: Ah! Here we go. This is MacWorld '99.
• Robert McLees: Yeah, that's right.
• Shi Kai Wang: Oh, man. So, we actually tried to play, uh...
• Martin O'Donnell: Watch out for that tank!
• Shi Kai Wang: ...multiplayer in this thing with third-person once, and then it's just impossible.
• Paul Russell: It just turned into like a grenade juggling act.
• Shi Kai Wang: Yeah. Just 'cause you just can't—you can't aim for crap.
• Robert McLees: Yeah.
• Paul Russell: Now, does that— yeah, that actually had like the disintegrating belt. It created like twice as many particles as it should—
• Robert McLees: Oh, really?
• Paul Russell: ...needed to.
• Robert McLees: Oh, that was nice.
• Paul Russell: Transitioning between the exterior engine and the interior.
• Robert McLees: It's getting close.
• Shi Kai Wang: It's got the hologram thing.
• Paul Russell: What happens when you pan up at the Halo?
• Robert McLees: Yeah. Look at that hologram. Wow.
• Shi Kai Wang: Yeah. None of this stuff ever got used in the original one.
• Martin O'Donnell: Uh-oh. Getting closer.
• Robert McLees: Oh, this actually had the map up in the upper...
• Shi Kai Wang: Oh, this—this is the E3 one.
• Martin O'Donnell: E3—E3 2000. Yep.
• Shi Kai Wang: That's still on PC, though.
• Robert McLees: Yes.
• Shi Kai Wang: You know, I kind of like the old ones where the reflection maps weren't circular. It was just plainer. That was cooler.
• Martin O'Donnell: Boy, that's when the artist moved across skies, though.
• Paul Russell: Um, I feel moist.
• Shi Kai Wang: Oh man, I feel...
• Martin O'Donnell: There's the cannon off the back, though.
• Robert McLees: We would have had like 30 different guns in that thing...
• Paul Russell: That's right.
• Robert McLees: ... if it would have been up to me.
• Shi Kai Wang: Go in the water. Go in the water.
• Paul Russell: Well, you know, it's like, "Come on to Microsoft. By the way, you only have 5 months to make your game."
• Robert McLees: Well, it was either that or never release it and then, uh, go look for other jobs.
• Martin O'Donnell: All right, man. Here we are. Everybody out.
• Shi Kai Wang: Yeah. As you can tell, there's no AI at all. Everything was scripted in E3. (Laugh)
• Martin O'Donnell: Are you saying E3 was smoke and mirror?
• Paul Russell: We outsourced it to a post-production house... to Henson.
• Robert McLees: Yeah. There's the old—the alien sniper rifle. The plasma sniper rifle.
• Robert McLees: There's the old AR.
• Robert McLees: Oh, and there's the—the anti-air rocket launcher.
• Shi Kai Wang: It's got that magic pocket that didn't fill up with anything.
• Robert McLees: Yeah, there it goes.
• Shi Kai Wang: Doesn't explode.
• Robert McLees: There's the pistol.
• Shi Kai Wang: All the cool weapons we have before.
• Robert McLees: There's the—the anti-armor rocket.
• Shi Kai Wang: How much do we get to keep from all this? Like, five?
• Robert McLees: Yeah. Which one is that? That's—that's the shotgun.
• Shi Kai Wang: Yeah, it's all right.
• Paul Russell: Ah, the SMG. Holy... what the hell?
• Martin O'Donnell: Nice effect.
• Paul Russell: It's a fire hazard.
• Paul Russell: No, this is it?
• Robert McLees: What?
• Martin O'Donnell: This is it?
• Cortana: Bet you can't stick it.
• Master Chief: You're on.