You’re going to have to see “Homecoming” – it’s about Spartan origins, and it’s just too spoiler-filled to describe it. It’s all fun, lots of parody and no gunfire, along the way poking fun at all the macho archetypes that inhabit the Halo universe. ![]() We worked with Toei Animation to create an episode that Halo fans and responsible parents could show their kids. “Origins Part 2” deals with the current Halo universe and everything from the advancement of human space travel to contemporary Halo fiction. Part I of “Origins” is the forerunner of civilization, and the advent of the flood threat that led to the creation of the Halos. At the same time, for Halo fans, we wanted to go really deep and show them things they’ve imagined but never seen before. The Halo universe is big and expansive, and “Origins” gave us the chance to take Halo newbies through that universe one step at a time. ![]() Ultimately, it’s the introduction of a prototype of Spartan equipment that’s never been employed, and played out in the very pure anime style of Muraki Circus. Still, we really wanted to make it a human story, so we worked with Muraki to blend those two ideas. He has created an anime sub-genre called Muraki Circus, which features a lot of flying, mecha fighting, weapons, explosions, dog-fighting – and that fit perfectly with the creation of a Halo prototype weapon. “Prototype” is very Japanese in style as we worked with Bones and director Yasushi Muraki – both the studio and Muraki are huge in Japan right now. We used “The Package” to present a story that not only featured the Master Chief but had multiple Spartans fighting together.Ĭan you give a quick breakdown of what fans can expect in the other Halo Legends stories? “The Duel” gave us the chance to delve into the pure civilization and the futile aspects of that society. For “The Babysitter,” we were interested in the rivalry between the ODSTs and the Spartans, so we wanted to put them together and see what happened. ![]() We came up with dozens of topics, but these were the hot button stories. Normally you see one Spartan in battle – the question came up, “What happens when you have that force multiplier?” Our story for “The Package” fits that neatly – fans want to see more about the Spartans, and they wanted to see them fighting in a group. The second, but equal part of the equation was that we wanted to provide backstory about what fans are curious about. We wanted to investigate what shaped the Elite civilization, their solidifying of the Covenant, and their place in it. First, there were things we were curious about. There are really two driving forces behind our creative development. How did you decide which stories to tell in Halo Legends? If you’re a Level 50 player, that number goes up geometrically. Most of our mid-level players, say those at Level 33, have logged more than 2,000 games just on Halo 3. You might’ve watched Star Wars 20 times, but Halo fans have played the game hundreds and hundreds of times. This is a world that people come to know with great, detailed intimacy. So in an episode as distinctly different visually as “The Duel,” it may take a while before you actually see that energy sword and it’s apparent that this is Halo, but the sounds might bring you into this story much earlier as being from the Halo universe. ![]() When you’ve played these games for six or seven years, and you hear a Warthog engine, you instantly recognize it. There are so many elements involved in playing the game, including the audio, the music, the sound effects – it’s all part of the experience. The wonderful thing about a completely immersive world like Halo is that it’s not just the visuals that are instantly recognizable. It withstands all sorts of interpretation and is still recognizable Halo, rather than just diluting and becoming generic sci-fi. The brand really lends itself to comics and animation beautifully. When you look at a Warthog that’s drawn by a Japanese artist or a Spartan that’s animated in a way you’ve never seen it before, it’s still intrinsically Halo. Halo iconography is recognizable in virtually any form. The Halo brand is strong enough to survive and even thrive through interpretation. Was there any worry that going anime would make the production unrecognizable as a Halo brand? Halo Legends not only shifts from interactive game to animated film, but also to a variety of anime styles. Here are a few reasons why you should be watching Halo Legends anime. Since Frank is such a great guy (I fortunately had the chance to talk with him during Comic-Con), I thought I should post his words. An interview with Frank O’Connor, Halo franchise development director, was included with the press release I received yesterday from the Halo team.
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