Halo Infinite (343 Industries)
Narrative Technical Designer
Feb 2020 - May 2022
Available on Steam
and the Xbox Store
About the Game
Halo Infinite is an FPS title for PC and Xbox consoles, with a massive online playerbase.
Infinite features open world gameplay for the first time in the history of the franchise, as well as seamless transitions between cutscenes and gameplay.
It is developed in the Slipspace engine by the several hundred people working at 343 Industries. It launched in Dec 2021, and receives regular updates, following the "games as a service" model.
Player's Voice Award 2021 (The Game Awards)
Game of the Year 2021 (Game Informer)
Shooter of the Year 2021 (IGN; PC Gamer)
What I Did
I was a part of the narrative team, which directs the experience of the story within the campaign.
I was a technical designer, which means I dealt with the more pedantic details of the design implementation (e.g. bug prevention & fixing).
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Implemented cutscenes and voice-overs into the game world to help realize the campaign's story
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Utilized a variety of studio custom tools, such as the Slipspace engine and its cutscene editor
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Took ownership and maintained narrative implementation for various levels over multiple stages of their production
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Collaborated with members of other teams to find solutions in which everyone's goals are met
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Made design adjustments to improve the union of narrative voice-overs and gameplay
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Updated narrative implementations to allow for networked co-op sessions
Some notable levels I worked on
Warship Gbraakon (Opening level)
This is the one I've worked on the most, and certainly the most cinematic one.
Infinite starts strong with this level!
Outpost Tremonious (First outdoor area)
This is the first introduction to the 'islands', the open world of this game.
It also introduces and tutorializes capturing bases, and ends with the game's first pelican flight sequence.
The Nexus (Late-game level)
This dungeon (interior level) is filled with backstory. It features a lot of voice lines and a handful of hologram vignettes.
Both of the Spire levels
These two dungeons take place in tall towers and each features a boss battle.
The first introduces a new character, while the second is very combat heavy.
Excavation Site (Open world mission)
This enemy base is a proper island level which can be approached from any direction.
Some scenes I worked on and examples of my work
I can't take credit for the beautiful artwork and animation, but I can take credit for the technical consistency.
Transitions between cutscenes and gameplay, particularly for HUD and weapons.
Looping behaviors, timing for vfx, and audio spatialization for the Atriox hologram vignettes in the first level.
AI behavior when transitioning into and out of cutscenes.
Managing when selective UI elements are shown during first person moments.
Dealing with objects that stick around after the scenes end, such as this scrap door.
Controlling the timing of devices that activate during scenes, such as doors and gravity lifts.
A lot of the work you're not seeing here is on the non-cinematics: Voice lines that play at certain locations or times. While the cinematics look more impressive (and certainly require more upkeep), unattached voice lines outnumber them and help bring the world to life.
I had a great time working on all these narrative moments! I'm delighted that fans now get to experience these scenes as well!