|
TM: What was your role in the game?
NW: I came on board as an animator and I moved onto become the senior animator. In Halo 2, I was responsible for making the characters, move, breath, and come to life before gamer's eyes on the Xbox. I did about 90 percent of the Master Chiefs animations in the game and I wore a lot of different hats.
TM: What is it like working on what might turn out to be one of the biggest titles in gaming history?
NW: Obviously it's very exciting and very humbling and it's a great experience. I was a Halo fan when I came to Bungie and now I am an even bigger Halo 2 fan. Even if I weren't working on the game I would be in line snuggled up in a sleeping bag waiting until midnight to get a copy of the game.
TM: As a gamer why would you play Halo 2 on the Xbox?
NW: I loved the single player experience of Halo and I know we put a lot of work into balancing the single player experience with the multiplayer experience to ensure that both areas of the game were as balanced as the other. Playing Halo 2 on Xbox Live has changed my life and my relationships. I have spent a lot of time playing online with other people around the world and I have learned a lot of expletives (swear words) in other languages especially after I kill someone. On November 9th, I am looking forward to playing against other people from around the world in the coming months.
TM: Which mode did the team work harder on: single player or multiplayer?
NW: Nothing was stressed or worked harder on; both single player and multiplayer were worked on equally. It wasn't about what we were told to do or make one experience better than the other. We wanted to make a well-balanced game in both single and multiplayer and we wanted to give fans of the games and all gamers their moneys worth and that was our primary motivation. It's not about what we liked best, it was about creating a well-balanced and entertaining total package. We went over and redid a lot of single player missions to make sure the experience was as much fun as it was in multiplayer.
TM: Can you talk a little bit about the weapons?
NW: I can tell you that the dual needlers are as fun as hell as are some of the new weapons. One interesting thing in Halo 2 as far as the weapons are concerned that gamers might be interested in is that in Halo the energy sword was only available for the Covenant Alien to use and now it is available to the Master Chief as well. You have the standard B button melee attack and then you can also use the right trigger to lock on individuals and go in for one hit kills. Now besides the shotgun you have something else to blow a person away with. Our goal with the weapons is that we wanted to add new ones, but we wanted each of them to bring their own balance and reason for being included to the game and have them add something to the overall gaming experience and just not add weapons for the sake of it.
TM: How much input did gamers have in Halo 2
NW: Bungie has a lot of respect for its fan base and we invite them to the studio sometimes to hang with us and play early versions of the game. We do have a lot of focus groups and we do listen to the fans. We are all gamers as well and we try to bring in elements of the games we like and add them into the mix. I cannot really point to one feature or one gameplay element that we were given feedback on that we added to Halo 2. We all knew what people liked about Halo and we tried to make things more robust and more over the top in Halo 2. We tried not to step on the toes of what people liked the first time around and we tried to build on the story and the overall gaming experience and I think we accomplished that!
TM: What about Halo 2 are you the proudest about?
NW: I am very proud of my involvement with the game. Bungie is a family and Microsoft is a great place to work. It's been arduous at times, but it's been really fun. I love being able to hop on a 16-player multiplayer game and get all of the stress of the day out with my colleagues. Right now I am just loving life and enjoying the success that Halo 2 is receiving. It proves once again that hard work and listening to the folks who play your games pays off!
TM: The icemakers put Loonies in the ice during the Olympics, did the Canadians on the Halo 2 team add anything distinctly Canadian to Halo 2?
NW: We added a few things, but I want Canadian gamers to find them for themselves. I can tell you that we added a few hidden maple leafs and I suggested we added snow in one of the multiplayer maps and the snow is in there!
TM: As a Canadian working in the United States do your colleagues tease you?
NW: Absolutely and its part of the fun of working in a different country. Every time I say about, one of my colleagues from New Zealand, who has a distinct accent of his own teases me. When you live in another country you are always identified as being from that country and that's a good thing. I drive the point home on a daily basis as I have a Canadian flag hanging in my cubicle. I want to emphasize though, that at Bungie we are one big happy family and after work we spend time together either playing 16-player games of Halo 2 online or playing paint ball!
TM: What are your favorite Xbox games and why!
NW: Well for the last two years I have been chained to my desk and haven't had that much of a chance to play very many games. But I am trying to get caught up a little bit. I am playing a lot of Fable right now. The production values are great, and even though we were promised one game and another one was delivered. The overall experience is good. I especially enjoy being able to run around and grow your character to me that is a lot of fun. I am also playing a lot of ESPN 2K5 on the Xbox and I like it better than NHL 2005 from EA Sports. The control set up is different and I like the controls better. The online action is also tighter. I have friends at EA and I love them all but as a gamer ESPN 2K5 is my preference. Last but not least I have been playing a lot of X-men Legends as well! |