Cursed From The Start - The Tragedy of Halo Infinite

finally great threats require great sacrifice I believe in taking down a trailer Halo 5 Guardians proved divisive amongst longtime fans who were disappointed that series protagonist Master Chief didn't serve as the sole playable hero out of the backlash came a lesson for developer 343 Industries resulting in the team establishing a new pillar for the brand going forward which centered on paying homage to the Halo that Xbox Gamers fell in love with years prior thus the shooter that later bore the name infinite returned Chief to the Forefront the studio acted upon a few other Ambitions as well primarily exploring a more open-ended gameplay structure and free to play multiplayer it all manifested courtesy of Engineers dedicating a good chunk of development to building a new set of proprietary tools the slip space engine however admittedly insufficient management and a rash of technical shortcomings nearly prevented Halo infinite from reaching its true potential evidenced by the ill-fated Ascension demo that debuted during Xbox's 2020 game showcase as opposed to the fast-paced gameplay 343 Industries focused on showing off poor visuals received the brunt of public attention giving rise to internet memes and the game's one year long delay out of the Xbox series X slash S launch window but even that delay and its subsequent improvements couldn't ensure Halo infinite left a positive and Lasting Impression on series diehards several post-launch woes plagued The Experience particularly on the multiplayer front yet again inciting discussions about whether or not Halo was in good hands this is the tragedy of Halo infinite [Music] this video has been brought to you in part by Rise of Kingdoms welcome to rise of Kingdoms the Epic cross-platform strategy game that will transport you through the annals of history with whether you're on mobile or PC prepare for an immersive Journey unlike any other with over 60 million players worldwide and more than 100 million downloads rise of 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an independent entity Microsoft had already begun forming a new internal Studio entirely dedicated to the Halo brand so when Bungie released its final installment with 2010's Halo Reach 343 Industries readily took the reins a remaster of the seminal Combat Evolved constituted 343's debut one lauded for its incredible fan service and preservation of the Beloved classic the crew's first original Adventure in the Halo Universe Halo 4 also fared well critically and among players despite some questioning why it's strayed from the storytelling formula of the Bungie era notably the concerns about quality most associated with the 343 developed titles didn't rise to the fore until the disastrous launch of the Master Chief collection on Xbox One the MCC hit store shows in November 2014 with several Halo games packed in supposedly providing the definitive onboarding point for Xbox One owners who'd never stepped into the boots of the iconic armored Soldier but technical difficulties riddled the experience the vast majority of them be setting the eagerly anticipated multiplayer Suite joining parties proved a pain contacting friends seemed to nigh on Impossible matchmaking was a nightmarish Affair and game chat regularly cut in and out these issues weighed on the collection and Xbox One's troubled early years like an albatross for months on end 343 at Microsoft pushed incremental updates to get the ball rolling every now and again yet the MCC wouldn't receive the Monumental fixes it desperately needed until an enhanced version for the Xbox One X console arrived in 2018 with a 70 gigabyte patch questions of 343's competencies sparked from these woes and were further Amplified by Halo 5's disappointing campaign community members pondered whether Microsoft should hand control of its Flagship franchise to another group some even argued that 343 had ruined the series all the while the studio had its head down laying the foundations for the narrative and technology that would carry Halo forward through the ninth console generation foreign [Music] a lot of heavy lifting when crafting Halo 4. most notably modifying the game engine previously built by Bungie the engine's native resolution capabilities were completely overhauled and new technologies ensured the shooter could keep up with contemporary lighting and frame rate standards during an IGN unfiltered sit-down then head of 343 Bonnie Ross described the old Halo engine as Berry technical engineering focused technology the kind that creatives struggle to manage Ross and other leaders assure developers the production Pipeline and tools would be much improved in time for Halo 5. however when development on the fifth numbered entry began nothing of note had changed according to Ross the crew wasted no time calling leadership on its Bluff unwilling to repeat past mistakes Studio bosses elected to break away from the usual three-year production cycle setting aside time for building the platform for the future of Halo in its nascent phases 343's vision for the next installment reportedly bore the resemblance of an open world Adventure which warranted the Necessary Technology to fully support it Engineers prioritized orchestrating an engine powerful enough for next-gen production but also kept in mind 343's need for something Nimble as to give creatives and Engineers the flexibility to work more efficiently across the board higher-ups within the office moved to enter full production on the new Halo Endeavor before all of slipspace's disparate parts were in place a short-sighted decision that later caused the final product dearly still the crew persisted letting lessons learned from Halo 5 serve as a Guiding Light along with the premise of returning the IP to its core roots in a June 2018 blog post 343 Industries head Chris Lee admitted that Halo 5 had strayed too far from Master Chief by splitting the focus between the franchise hero and Spartan super soldier Jamison lock Bonnie Ross echoed this sentiment elsewhere calling the lock Angle an interesting Side Story but not one worth telling in a numbered installment this thinking didn't prevent the development house from exploring new avenues with infinite it simply reinforced the idea that every change should constitute an extension of the main character as such the sandbox team designed the game world to make players feel like Master Chief countless wild ideas were thrown around during the ideation stage for example one of which birthed the all-new grappling mechanic exploring the grapple Hook's full range of capabilities required the introduction of verticality something developers hardly concern themselves with when producing previous Halo entries but despite an open-ended structure and increased verticality 343 maintained that it preferred not to view infinite through the lens of an open world game the push for exploration and a greater sense of Discovery were pivotal for paying homage to the past as side areas audio logs and other lore oriented points of interest littered the sandbox however character director Steve dick told VGC the studio intentionally avoided implementing the grind most associated with open World Adventures no one felt comfortable making players incessantly battle foes to gain XP and upgrade their character after all classic Halo Combat mandated that Master Chief always pushed the action forward all right you allow them selves just as Master Chief anchored the core themes of the production so too did he sit at the Nexus of the game's eventual reveal though 3-4-3 started conceptualizing the new chapter shortly after deploying Halo 5 in 2015. the public wouldn't receive its first glimpse of infinite until Microsoft's E3 2018 press conference Microsoft opened the briefing with a two-minute announcement trailer for infinite which amounted to a tech demo Above All Else and showcased a never-before-seen look at the new slipspace engine a series of stunning environments were the focal point threw out demonstrating the sheer beauty that 343's technology could capture in wildlife and natural light of course a brief shot of Master Chief drew the most Applause signaling to fans that he and he alone would return to the driver's seat for Halo's next outing developers and Xbox Executives drove that point home during E3 2018 interviews but wouldn't reveal much else outside of promising to deliver the boldest and most ambitious Halo to date speaking to Gamespot general manager of Xbox's marketing team Aaron Greenberg said the tech demo served two purposes for one Xbox wanted to confirm a new Halo had entered production with Chief back at the helm secondly the teaser provided a sneak peek at the wrong power of 343's new technology Microsoft and 343 followed up the cheese one year later with a longer cinematic trailer at E3 2019 the nearly six-minute showpiece hinted at the story that would unfold after the events of Halo 5 and to the Delight of prospective players developers also confirmed the much coveted return of split screen multiplayer support understandably the finer details remained Under Wraps but the Halo crew made one thing abundantly clear infinite would arrive in stores for the console codenamed Xbox Scarlet in fall 2020. gameplay footage shown during the Xbox game Showcase in July 2020 indicated that infinite's scheduled fall launch was wishful thinking at best unpolished low detail Graphics especially stood out to viewers who'd anticipated something grander the now Infamous gameplay reveal quickly became an internet meme too with social media giving the name Craig to one unfortunately flat-faced brute in particular thus what should have been a celebration of Halo and Xbox as a whole exemplified a massive misstep that resulted in even the staunchest fans questioning Microsoft's next-gen strategy head of Xbox Phil Spencer later admitted Microsoft should have withheld the July 2020 demo since all involved new infinite wasn't ready for the spotlight no one had any intention of deceiving the public he assured claiming hope served as the motivating factor behind the demonstration's premature appearance 343 employees shared similar sentiments elsewhere campaign art lead Justin Dingus noted in a VGC interview that developers were well aware of the Demo's unrefined qualities but believed Halo needed to be there for Xbox Studio boss Bonnie Ross offered an even more transparent explanation for the boss to reveal while speaking with CNET entering pre-production and production on the game prior to completing the slip space engine caused a lot of pain internally given that the backwards order of operations prolonged the time it took for developers to implement visuals audio and design content in hindsight Ross recognized the biggest issues stemmed from an overly ambitious initial creative direction that lost track of the primary goal paying homage to Halo she also acknowledged the flaws in studio leadership confessing that the crew had too much on its plate as one would expect revisiting traditional storytelling and offering unprecedented player agency in a Halo game proved overwhelming for a group additionally tasked with building a new engine exploring free to play and designing a more expansive world still the issues that plagued Halo infinite's 2020 gameplay demo didn't catch the developers by surprise Ross claimed the pressure to ship the title in time for Xbox's new console launch forced 343 to make a tremendous amount of cuts many of which engendered visual downgrades while some employees raised red flags about the extent of the cuts the public sour response to the gameplay reveal served as proof positive that trimming down the experience had taken a turn for the worst reportedly a few other internal problems precipitated their shortcomings scene in the July 2020 demonstration [Music] foreign [Music] report published in December 2021 recounted details given by over 20 then current and former 343 employees whose accounts painted a grim picture about the circumstances surrounding Halo infinite's lengthy production cycle according to these accounts the rampant issues weren't endemic to infinite's development either 343 inherited inadequate Tech tools which received substantial modifications for Halo's fourth and fifth numbered entries understandably the flaws embedded in the old technology necessitated the engineering of slipspace the all-new engine that Microsoft and 343 touted as a technical behemoth however Bloomberg sources divulged that slipspace owed many of its inner workings to a set of tools known as Faber whose Parts could be dated back to the early aunts Faber garnered a reputation at 343 for being buggy and burdensome courtesy of what programmers often dubbed Tech debt the term specifically references issues that Engineers begrudgingly abide because a code's previous creators cut Corners instead of developing stable Solutions apparently Faber's so-called Tech debt proved so costly that infinite Engineers derisively called IT Tech bankruptcy unsteady tools constituted just half the battle considering Staffing within the studio suffered from high attrition rates those familiar with 343's operations allege that contract workers comprised about 50 percent of the overall head count and since Microsoft would only employ contractors for 18 months maximum the workforce at the Halo dedicated firm experienced High turnover the Bloomberg report further indicated that infinite's creative Direction had waded through more pitfalls than the developers publicly LED on sources described a situation wherein the shooter hit crisis mode by the summer of 2019 with multiple people saying the game's Direction was burdened by the division of 343 into fiefdoms internal groups that vied for resources and contradicted one another's decision-making efforts one person recalled it feeling as if four or five games were being produced concurrently around mid-2019 then approximately two-thirds of the project landed on The Cutting Room floor triggering a period of time in which some staffers clocked in with nothing to do while higher-ups devised the next best steps supposedly one such decision involved reducing the scale of the game from a larger open World adventure to one smaller in scope compromises of this nature accomplished precious little in terms of preparing the title for its scheduled release alongside the new Xbox's launch lineup 343 recognized as much much yet Microsoft remained adamant that the series X slash S needed Halo infinite on day one and thus the ill-fated Ascension demo opened the Xbox game Showcase in 2020 replete with deficiencies that spawned ridicule memes and the game's eventual delay to late 2021. what's up everybody I'm Sydney Goodman and today's daily fix E3 has officially been canceled over concerns about the novel coronavirus also known as coven 19. but Konami said that production issues caused by the outbreak will lead to a delay kovitz been blamed for a shortage of the new Sony PlayStation 5. obviously we're all stuck inside quarantines around the world one of many ways that Microsoft has had to adapt with the current climate of no E3 and no Live Events they've been putting on live streams to give us gameplay like it did with countless other teams across the industry the coronavirus pandemic forced 343 into unfamiliar territory where developers suddenly had to navigate working from home the remote work mandates further complicated Halo infinite's already struggling production but the visceral reaction to the July 2020 demo a specially lit a fire beneath the seat of 343's pants after the gameplay reveal crashed and burned Bonnie Ross said the studio cleared the office's fourth floor and and used it as a base of operations for staff who were comfortable working on site in addition the teams set up monitors so those who remained at home could still participate in the day-to-day such efforts allowed infinite's creators to work closely as a group for the first time in months weekly evaluations targeting single player and multiplayer progress were also instituted during this period marking another step towards correcting the Project's ineffective management these changes began at the start of a new phase of Halo infinite's development evidenced by Microsoft postponing the release to 2021 what helped the publisher land on the relatively difficult Choice was guidance from series veteran Joseph Staton lead Rider on the first three Halo games and creative director on reach Joseph Staton left the brand in 2009 and spent years serving as Microsoft's senior creative director within a month of the Ascension demos disastrous Premiere stating rejoined Halo by assuming the role of creative director staton's first order of business homed in on raising morale reminding 343 developers that the flagship IP had experienced its fair share of less than favorable reveals in the past secondly the new creative lead put his energy towards persuading Microsoft that infinite needed more time in the oven Satan divulged in a Bloomberg interview that he compiled a list of all the things 343 could do to make infinite excellent then presented his findings to Microsoft this along with a reminder that no one wanted a redo of the MCC debacle convinced the publisher to remove Halo from the Xbox series launch window once he settled in on his new appointment Stayton spearheaded a host of noteworthy changes across the production one being a pet project wherein he ensured that ai-controlled Marines could join Chief in battle akin to Classic Halo Adventures of course the extra year of development made more significant adjustments possible as well the game had reached near completion at the time of the delay thereby requiring little in the way of new additions 343 instead prioritize touching up existing elements further refining the grapple mechanics and introducing tutorialization that encouraged players to use it as much as possible boss encounters similarly underwent an extra coat of Polish receiving intro segments that weren't on the dock at pre-delay what if it's a friend oh come on fresh story-based moments enter the mix too such that extra screen time was set aside for infinite's main antagonist in the lead-up to launch associate creative director Paul Crocker explained that while the narrative worked prior to these alterations the extended production cycle presented an opportunity for 343 to push things further the same held true with respect to other aspects of The Wider experience for instance the campaign's pacing underwent fine-tuning redundancies fell by the wayside and space between big moments was drawn out in hopes of making those moments feeling impactful last but certainly not least many of the post-delay improvements focused on drastically upping the quality of art gameplay and performance 343's efforts guaranteed Halo Infamous reintroduction during E3 2021 shined bright compared to its Infamous gameplay Premiere the campaign and multiplayer footage showcased upgraded visuals complete with crisper looking character models and better detailed environments such a display reignited anticipation for the game's late 2021 launch which arrived on December 8th while the free-to-play multiplayer went live on November 15th in honor of Halo's 20th anniversary to the dismay of many a fan however a long and winding bumpy road still paved the path ahead foreign please don't die please don't die yes yes we're going home the year-long delay kept Halo infinite out of stores in November 2020 yet the Sci-Fi shooter still made headlines amid the Xbox series rollout though 343 had previously confirmed infinite's free to play multiplayer would include microtransactions the announcement of vehicle weapon and character skins known as Coatings sparked concerns among community members Microsoft quickly clarified that the microtransaction store wouldn't constitute the only way to earn Cosmetics but the well-meaning message faded to the background once the free-to-play experience became available multiplayer's costly cosmetic items and unbalanced progression system essentially siphoned the positivity surrounding the favorably reviewed campaign that many called a welcomed return to form for the franchise 343 responded to the backlash by implementing price reductions in early 2022 however by the middle of the Year Halo's in-game purchases were back in the news for all the wrong reasons as the titles approach to monetization vacillated between acceptable and controversial fans patiently awaited the addition of forge mode and campaign co-op the studio posts phoned both on multiple occasions each delay whittling away at the excitement yet promising something genuinely special unfortunately the lengthy weight culminated in the split screen features cancellation though the forge level editor launched in November 2022 and surpassed an impressive 1 million user made Creations in a matter of months 343 asserted its intention of continuing to support the level editor even after Microsoft's Mass layoffs cost nearly 100 developers their jobs that commitment similarly applies to seasonal updates boasting new maps modes and battle past tiers in time Halo infinite may find itself headed down the path of redemption although the turbulent multiplayer launch and shelved split screen feature will undoubtedly linger in the minds of players for a long time to come when asked how 343 settled on the infinite subtitle now former Studio head Bonnie Ross noted that beginning a new console generation with a numbered entry sent the wrong message to series newcomers the infinite name Illustrated a fresh start for the company's vision of Halo a platform upon which to build his storytelling for the next 10 years disappointingly the platform was forged on Shaky Ground its very Foundation bolstered by mismanagement and faulty technology unsubstantiated reports suggests the studio may change course specifically by abandoning slipspace and working with Unreal Engine allegedly this supposed possibility hasn't gone over well with some staffers who fear abandoning proprietary technology will prevent future Halo games from feeling like Halo it would seem the shortcomings of slip space and infinite may have significantly upset 343's 10-year plan perhaps so much so that Master Chief's next major routing could once again prove wildly different than the Halo games of old [Music] fight for your civilization showcase your strategic prowess and claim your well-deserved rewards Download Rise of Kingdoms Now by clicking the link in the description or scanning the on-screen QR code rise of Kingdoms is calling you to forge your own Legend join millions of players around the world in this epic adventure will you rise to the challenge the choice is yours [Music] thank you for watching we'd like to take this time to thank by name the generous patrons who have pledged to our Hall of Fame rewards here Alex Moretti and those currently subscribe to our producer rewards here Brock pivoto get wrecked.com Jonathan Kira May Landy K Hayes Mario Herrera milkshake if you enjoy our content please consider subscribing to our Channel and backing us on patreon [Music] foreign [Music]

Channel: GVMERS

Views: 215,900

Keywords: Halo, Halo Infinite, Halo Infinite Behind The Scenes, Making of Halo Inifinite, Halo What Went Wrong, Halo Infinite Fail, Halo Infinite Explained, Halo Documentary, Halo Infinite Documentary, Halo Infinite Fixed, Halo Infinite Good

Id: F_Rb0IfWG1k

Length: 27min 43sec (1663 seconds)

Published: Sun Jul 23 2023