According to 343, ”the Master Chief’s most notable physical characteristics is that he’s wearing 800 pounds of tank and jet fighter”, so the new armor has to reflect that. However, the development team also wants to stress the fact that Master Chief is human - and one with an extremely dark past.
”A strong, vibrant child stolen from his parents, he underwent dangerous bioengineering that destroyed the weaker of his friends, and trained to stomp out human Insurrectionists,” notes Halo 4 senior art director Kenneth Scott, ”Pretty morally nebulous beginnings for someone who ultimately saved humanity.”
343 Industries examined what was done with Master Chief in Halo: Reach, noting, ”We knew he needed to be understood as a nimble yet heavy superhero, and contrast that with Reach armor design that was more on the bulky side. Our goal is to hit that sweet spot where we represent what is fictionally true about the Chief while making sure you feel like you’re a super-powerful human being when you’re playing him.”
Therefore, the HUD is being redesigned to communicate that not only is the player controlling someone who is extremely heavy, but human as well, as if it’s a vehicle being driven by a soldier.
To put on Master Chief’s armor, ”the bleeding edge of military technology”, Scott wants players to feel the power of that suit, proclaiming, “A Spartan tossing his chest plate should feel like an anvil dropping… A Spartan sprinting across concrete should be a stealthy whisper… Putting on your helmet should feel like powering up an F-15E.”
Halo 4 will be released late this year for the Xbox 360, and will be the first shooter in the series not to be developed by Bungie Studios.
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