Halo 3: ODST | A Retrospective

halo 3 odst's development dates back to an episodic peter jackson game before eventually becoming the film noir inspired detective story we know today created in half the time of any previous halo odst fearlessly experimented with new mechanics while sporting an expertly crafted narrative so my name is same token and today we'll be reflecting on what made it a fan favorite in a retrospective of halo 3 odst [Music] [Music] as the story goes director peter jackson was lined up to make a halo movie complete with replica props accurate enough to excite any halo fan for a brief period it was making headlines but then it all fell apart and the project was scrapped now while the movie's cancellation was big news a related but smaller project also collapsed around the same time peter jackson's wingnut interactive was working with bungie to create a game called halo chronicles jackson described this as being the filmiest game revealing its story in interactive episodes perhaps in the vein of telltale's the walking dead joseph staton writing director for halo 3 had developed various concepts for taking halo in this new direction that he was excited to explore but then of course the plug was pulled bungie were in the process of separating from microsoft and as part of this agreement they had to produce two new projects one was a fourth halo installment that would become reach and the other was supposed to be halo chronicles before it was cancelled this left a talented team without a project and a contractual obligation to come up with another game realizing that they had a very narrow window before halo reach's development ramped up and consumed the entirety of bungie studio head harold ryan came to joseph staton and told him that if he had an idea for a game they should go ahead and make it it had to be simple fast and based in the halo 3 engine it should be around 2 hours long there would be no help from engineering and they only had a year to develop far shorter than bungie's usual three of course stayton jumped at this opportunity [Music] joseph staton feels that as a creative person you never want to do the same thing in exactly the same way again a belief that he carried over to this project making a halo game with a unique spin staton and paul bertone a campaign design lead for halo 3 were tiring of master chief's perceived invulnerability it was becoming hard to ratchet up the stakes when he's already saved the galaxy from an insurmountable threat they were ready to tell a more human story orbital drop shock troopers or odsts were a natural choice for their new protagonists hardened enough to make for exciting gameplay recognizable enough from their striking armor and yet vulnerable enough to tell a character-driven story as a huge fan of film noir staten wanted to somehow integrate a gritty detective story into the halo universe martin o'donnell director and composer for halo 3 wasn't quite sure this would work film noir and halo an unusual concoction but as soon as he saw the early concept art he was on board instinctually he felt this needed a lonely jazzy vibe something more intimate and personal so he sat down at the piano and just started playing the piece he came up with was called rain and it made it into the final product o'donnell's early involvement throughout development processes has resulted in games with tightly connected musical and visual styles halo has always been renowned for its excellent soundtracks and this new project would be no exception [Music] as a detective story there had to be a mystery to solve set within the events of halo 2 as a slipspace portal consumes the city of new mombasa odst team alpha 9 are knocked off course waking up hours after events have already unfolded the player would explore the dark streets of a lonely yet hostile city attempting to figure out what happened to their squad objects scattered around the map would activate flashbacks where the player would see the city from the perspectives of their squad mates set earlier in the day bungie had quickly developed their concepts and felt ready to share their ideas with the world planning to reveal their project at e3 2008 a countdown timer was displayed on bungie's website to drum up excitement however this was ultimately cancelled by microsoft xbox senior vice president don matrick wanted to reduce the length of their conference deciding that it was halo that had to go fans were disappointed but their patience would eventually be rewarded paul bertone had become fatigued on building linear story missions halo games are generally comprised of connected corridors pushing players through various battle theaters to the tune of its story this had worked really well for the franchise offering a compelling combat loop and halo isn't alone in thriving on linear gameplay but as with the film noir inspired story bungie wanted to try something slightly different as a smaller project bertone felt that this game was perfect for experimenting with open world elements rather than going all in it was decided that the campaign would be split into two parts one would be flashbacks which are your standard linear halo levels with hectic combat and thrilling vehicle battles and then there would be the hub an open space that players returned to between those flashbacks bertone felt that games always pushing you forward can get tiring after a while and so it's sometimes better to just allow the player to live in the world a little some games accomplish this pacing through regularly mixing between combat exploration and puzzles in this case it was the hub that was used to slow everything down between the blockbuster firefights of the flashbacks in creating the hub they experimented with various building shapes and layers as they had to contort the halo 3 engine into doing things beyond its initial scope like making open world spaces they used various tricks to sell the atmosphere for instance to conserve resources they sectioned off the map using doors so that previous sections could be unloaded from memory to further contrast between the flashbacks and the hub o'donnell and michael salvatore used different musical styles switching between solo saxophone mixed with orchestral instruments to elicit feelings of jazz and electric guitar with heavier percussion for those blockbuster sequences of course new elements were introduced too silenced versions of the smg and magnum were added to the odst's arsenal along with a new covenant enemy type the engineer which provides an extra layer of shields for its allies in place of a motion tracker visor mode was created which paints outlines around enemies highlights secrets and acts as a kind of night vision with players free to explore a big city hub they wanted to provide optional narratives that would enhance staton's main plotline for this they contacted an old partner they worked with during halo 2. [Music] alternate reality games are interactive narratives told using the real world often used as marketing campaigns they can involve hundreds of thousands of players completing activities like deciphering a puzzle to unlock new elements of a story to promote the release of halo 2 in 2004 42 entertainment created the award-winning alternate reality game i love bees this saw players locating and answering phone booths across the us solving complex puzzles and crowdsourcing the direction of an abstract story set in the halo universe in seeking to create optional narratives for odst on a tight schedule bungie brought in the staff that worked on i love bees who are now working at 4th wall entertainment staten kept thinking what if some of the phones in the city rang what if the ticket kiosks began spitting tickets what if the city itself was trying to communicate and so sadie's story and the city's ai superintendent were born as players traversed the city to solve the mystery of what happened to their squad mates an optional story would be available for players to access by locating fully voiced audio logs scattered across the map from these the player would learn the story of a young woman's harrowing journey during the covenant invasion of earth created as a spin-on inferno a poem about dante's journey through hell guided by the ancient poet virgil sadie is initially trapped on a train representing the first circle of hell limbo each new person she meets is a reference to another circle of hell such as lust gluttony and greed during her journey she is protected by one of the superintendent subroutines created by her father called virgil this then links back to the main story as the superintendent would go on to guide the player on their own journey their own form of dante's inferno ultimately this story within a story would infuse a great deal of life into the lonely streets of new mbasa by september 2008 fans were very eager to find out more about bungie's game that microsoft canceled at e3 and so bungie started their timer again and this time they managed to deliver publishing a teaser trailer that announced their new project to the world it was being called halo 3 recon and had a release date of fall 2009 though the name was soon changed to halo 3 odst one because they felt it was more representative of the game and two because the tom clancy's ghost recon team were apparently not very happy so there wasn't long to wait for a great little addition to halo 3 which bungie planned on selling for only 30 dollars but of course it wasn't quite that simple at this point their original plan for a two to three hour mini campaign basically wasn't happening somewhere down the line they effectively started building an entirely new game initially they wanted to under promise and over deliver when talking to the press they'd say it was just a small campaign expansion and to expect some extra little fun in the halo 3 engine but as the game continued to expand in scope microsoft took notice and started to feel that they were actually sitting on a big 60 release and so they decided to push it to their christmas 2009 release window not all at bungie were keen on this change now they were worried they were over promising with the threat of under-delivering in response joseph staton said that if it's gonna be worth 60 dollars they want to be able to polish it more compared to halo reach staton describes halo 3 odst as the scrappy little project and yet the team felt it was the most fun they ever had making a halo game development initially got off to a surprisingly fast start thanks to having a stable engine already available usually they'd be developing alongside the creation of a new halo engine but odst had the benefit of the work they had done on halo 3. with the price going up in addition to shipping the game with halo 3's multiplayer which included three exclusive maps they had just one more feature to create firefight bungie have always been passionate about playing games with friends dating all the way back to their 1992 release of minotaur odst was already set to ship with halo 3's multiplayer but they still wanted to introduce a new cooperative feature enter firefight firefight essentially takes the encounters in truth and reconciliation from combat evolved which was basically wave after wave of enemies and matches it with halo 3's campaign scoring and skulls although many compared this to gears of war 2's horde mode bungie had mocked up firefight during halo 3's development years prior even though it was ultimately cut from early on in odsd's development they knew they wanted to include some form of wave defense mode but they didn't have the time to work on an entirely new set of maps so instead when designing the maps for the campaign they integrated spaces that they thought would work well in firefight thus some areas that players pass through really quickly in the story are intricate and highly detailed as they double up as isolated wave defense arenas for firefight a clever use of resources that also serve to improve the campaign [Music] as odst neared its release date now set for september 22nd 2009 microsoft began ramping up its marketing efforts a website was launched with an interactive 360 degree video experience which attracted hundreds of thousands of visitors and on september 4th an award-winning live-action advertisement was revealed the life follows the journey of tarkov from the moment he was inspired to become a soldier to his experiences as an odst and finally his development as a leader using bungie's in-game models legacy effects created accurate replica props of the new silenced smg odst armor and even a full-sized brute miner initially debuting on the myspace and ign websites the life was very well received drumming up a great deal of excitement for odst after an accidental early sale at a french retailer and some positive press releases by microsoft justifying its 60 dollar price tag a free public launch event was hosted in seattle around 800 halo fans queued around the block to gain access many of whom were planning on heading straight to game stores hosting midnight launches afterwards and then finally after an incredibly short yet smooth development cycle halo 3 odst was released [Music] while the hub was a world apart from the halo everyone knew critics praised the campaign's use of flashbacks feeling that they played out like a greatest hits compilation essentially bringing back the caster firefly including nathan fillion the flashbacks begin with squad leader buck rampaging through new mombasa streets as he searches for veronica dare an oni officer with whom he had a romantic past next is dutch as he speeds through the nature reserve on a warthog destroyed wraiths in his wake then mickey who drives a tank through central plazas and romeo sniping on the rooftops of the police hq every element that makes an amazing halo experience is distilled and laser focused on delivering the high points fans were missing after they had finished the fight after each flashback vignette players returned to the lonely hub to explore at their own pace bungie's desire to tell a human story is fully realized as the player becomes the rookie searching for beacons in the form of various items like a helmet smashed into a monitor successfully evokes that feeling of being a detective equally rewarding is locating sadie's audio logs across the city telling an interesting companion narrative it's easy to imagine still enjoying the game without following sadie's story at all but to do so would be a huge shame as they greatly enhanced the experience of odst's campaign and then there's the city's superintendent ai helpfully guiding players to their next objective while playing a central role in both sadie's story and the main plot line while some players who are only here to kill some coveys may miss the superintendent's hints observant players are often rewarded ultimately the hub works exceptionally well with critics praising its ability to weave together the plot in a more interesting way than a linear series of levels halo 3's engine was starting to show its age yet odst still managed to look fantastic thanks to its brilliant artistic direction from the thrilling drop from space to a colossal space elevator plunging to the ground it was a visual treat new mombasa looks great at night too with its striking architecture flickering video signs and dramatic sky boxes visor mode allowed them to keep the city believably dark without sacrificing gameplay and when it's turned on you really feel like you've donned a futuristic high-tech helmet exploring the city is incredibly atmospheric a truly unique experience for halo that has aged incredibly well this is in large part thanks to the phenomenal audio design building tension with the careful use of ambience and for odst martin o'donnell and michael salvatore created perhaps the best halo score ever from the powerful beats that complement the blockbuster vignettes to the eerie sounds crafted for the city [Music] hub odst plays slightly different to halo 3 as players are now more vulnerable though some elements are reminiscent of combat evolved for instance rather than having recharging health beneath your overshield odsts must replenish their health using health packs scattered around the map otherwise a frustrating red glow consumes the screen while a maddening beeping sound grows ever louder that is until you die of course odst retains halo's core gameplay mechanics the classic 30 seconds of fun combat loop returns ensuring the experience is always at its peak as does the golden triangle of guns grenades and melee we do lose dual wielding specifically because some bungee staff hated it and we also no longer have player deployable equipment though you can always squat in a brute's bubble shield equipment was a unique addition to halo 3 but its removal certainly doesn't detract from the gameplay here and you still do have a couple of new weapons to enjoy the silenced versions of the magnum and smg feel and sound fantastic really selling the feeling that you're one of the elite odsts while the hub works terrifically in terms of storytelling and atmosphere some critics suggested that it was less successful as a non-linear gameplay mechanic though arguably it was great for the completionist with plenty of audio logs to find and achievements to unlock and that's important to consider because if you ignore the extras halo 3 odst only clocks in at around 6 hours on normal difficulty which itself is probably too easy for many players sticking it on heroic and immersing yourself in the hub is when odst really shines heightening that feeling of loneliness and tension however that sentiment is quickly lost as soon as you add a friend to your game [Music] cooperative play is a halo staple nothing is more fun than teaming up with a friend and mowing down the covenant like blades of grass but here this is a double-edged sword by increasing the number of buddies shouting down their mics for you to get behind the hunter or that they're out of ammo you end up reducing odst's atmosphere and immersion during the hub but honestly as long as you play solo in your first playthrough co-op can only serve to increase the life of the game offering many hours of replayability and if you're still looking for more which for 60 dollars you couldn't be blamed firefight was a blast wave defense game modes such a simple concept yet for anyone who enjoys kicking back and massacring some grunts and brutes it could easily triple the amount of time you spend in odst firefight's gameplay is dynamic turning on and off skull modifiers with each wave some rounds see you pelted with an uncanny amount of grenades while others force you to melee to regain health it shifts between high difficulty and goofy fun while halo is generally known for its linear forward progression firefight is proof that its smooth gameplay loop still works in a closed arena as was the case with co-op up to two players could play locally on the same xbox but firefight was at its best when playing over xbox live with four players now although addictive this would eventually become a little repetitive and because there's no matchmaking if you don't have any friends playing odst you'll be fighting solo sooner or later you'll be heading back into halo 3's multiplayer the included second disc where you'll be enjoying three timed exclusive maps longshore heretic and citadel and when these maps were eventually released as standalone dlc they were sold for 800 microsoft points which is worth about 10 dollars this still wasn't quite enough to prevent frustration at the 60 price tag but it did go some way in providing value for those who either didn't have the base halo 3 or really wanted to jump into the latest maps either way odst came with access to the halo reach beta which made the package worth it for many die hard fans halo 3 odst was a fantastic package a marvelous action-packed campaign that succeeded in telling a more human story effortlessly expanding on the wider halo universe truly wonderful storytelling a soundtrack that will go down as a fan favorite for its jazzy atmospheric themes firefight filled to the brim with exciting encounters is an excellent addition to the franchise and is fortunately something that would return in halo reach despite having a relatively small development team with an even smaller development window they managed to pull off an instant classic odst's fearlessness in experimentation yet ability to incorporate the best of halo 3's action ensured that it was a standout halo experience even 343 recognized its potency after the initial serious teething issues with the master chief collections matchmaking they provided odst for free when they brought it to the package at the end of 2014 rendered for the first time in true 1080p and more recently 4k we were given an even clearer look at the longevity of its gameplay and art direction [Music] a bizarre journey starting as a peter jackson game that eventually became a noir detective story set in the halo universe halo 3 odst really is one of the greats so thank you so much for watching if you enjoyed please leave a like and subscribe and hit the bell icon for more stay safe out there and i'll catch you next time you

Channel: SameToken

Views: 278,941

Keywords:

Id: TogaJSEMKZI

Length: 25min 45sec (1545 seconds)

Published: Sat Mar 06 2021