‘The entire studio was burning the candle at both ends’ – Two of Halo 2’s most important designers reflect on working conditions on the beloved sequel

Halo 2’s development has hit some snags, and now several key designers have shared their thoughts on the game.

It’s no secret that Halo 2 struggled a lot at this point – the first game was a huge success and Bungie was growing, but wasn’t supporting it in all the ways it needed to be. The developers have previously spoken about their experiences working on the sequel, and now in a recent interview with Rolling Stone , iconic designers Robert and Lorraine McLeese have shared their own experiences. As can be seen from their last names, the developers are actually married and have a strong influence on Halo as a whole. First off, Lorraine is the designer behind the Halo logo as well as various other iconic key art, and Robert describes himself as “a bit this

But Lorraine explained, “Halo 2 was really tough for the team. The whole studio was burning at both ends.” Robert shared that until Halo 2’s infamous E3 demo, Bungie “never had a good Manager. Their creatives were forced into management roles while still retaining creative roles – basically doing two jobs, which worked fine when we had 30 people. It wasn’t great; when we got to 60 people, it fell apart.” Robert also noted that “it felt like every subject leader thought they were in control,” and communication between departments was difficult, saying “it was just a bunch of people. There are different voices saying, ‘This is what we’re doing.'” A lot of people are scratching their heads and wondering, ‘When was this decided?’ ‘”

This was especially frustrating for Robert, as he was still writing some of the basics of the game while being asked to design a new weapon just as the game was about to enter its polishing phase, only to have the same weapon removed from the original version. The last game. Lorraine said, “At the time, we really didn’t know what was going to happen — whether we were going to be successful. this Times of success or failure for the young Bungie team. So much burnout. ”

At least, Lorraine does say she looks back on these games with fondness – “these are stories about people staying in touch with their friends even though life took them to different parts of the country or the world, meeting up in the lobby and doing Halo 2’s games are about bringing people together and having fun, that’s the power of these games.”

Rolling Stone’s full story is worth a read, as the pair also explores some other, more light-hearted Halo history, including how Flood was inspired by a children’s book.