Bungie Presents: Halo Babies
By Matt Soell
April 1, 2002 After eleven years of producing
innovative games for Macs, PCs and the Xbox videogame console, we at
Bungie are thrilled to announce our first foray into the realm of
non-interactive entertainment: Halo Babies, a new animated television
series scheduled to debut this fall.
Halo Babies takes the basic concepts, storyline and characters of
Halo and replaces the bloody combat with a more playful variant suitable
for all ages. Backdrops are generated using the Halo engine, which
allows artists to quickly generate and animate photorealistic scenery,
while the characters will be animated in the more traditional 2D method
by professional animators. This groundbreaking marriage of old and new
animation techniques has resulted in a stunning visual look which set
off a bidding war between the four major TV networks. The visual look
and feel of the show is overseen by Lorraine McLees, whose previous
experience in the animation industry made her an obvious choice to head
up Bungie's first venture into the Saturday-morning cartoon business.
"Halo Babies is our chance to show that there's more to Bungie than
blood and bullets," says McLees. "It's also a chance to use Bungie's
talents for visual storytelling in a way that lets us reach children and
act as a positive influence in their lives."
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| Looks like our little Master Chief should pick on someone his own size. (from Episode HB7: "Little Cyborg, Big Heart") |
True to their action-game lineage, the kids of Halo
Babies find lots of time for rough-and-tumble horseplay during their
many adventures. But over the course of each 30 minute episode they'll
also learn important lessons about sharing, playing fair, and helping
others along the way. Additionally, each episode contains a musical
interlude composed by Bungie's own Martin O'Donnell, with lyrics
concerning the episode's theme or lesson by Joseph Staten. "I worked in
television for years," says O'Donnell, "so I guess you could say I'm
returning to my roots with Halo Babies. It's definitely a challenge to
compose a brand-new song for every episode, but I'm enjoying it
immensely. I can honestly say that Halo Babies contains some of my best
work."
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| Sarge informs a couple of rowdy crewmen that
"rough-housing in the armory is a good way to lose an eye!" (from
Episode HB19: "Real Marines Don't Cry") |
While there's no question of the show's artistic
merits, Halo Babies may seem like a strange project for a video game
developer. Perhaps the best explanation of this bold new move comes
from Alexander Seropian, co-founder of Bungie Studios: "Halo is the
biggest hit Bungie has ever had, but we always felt that it could have
been even bigger if the subject matter hadn't restricted the game to an
older audience. I know some of our long-time fans might wonder if this
is the right thing for Bungie to do, and I want to stress that we intend
to keep making great games. But it's always been a big part of the
Bungie philosophy to continually push ourselves and try new things; now
that we've got Microsoft's marketing muscle behind us, it makes sense
for us to take Halo to the next level and turn the franchise into
something the entire family can enjoy."
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| Cortana lets 343 Guilty Spark know that
fibbing about Halo's true purpose is wrong. (from Episode HB8:
"Truth...and Reconciliation") |
Doug Zartman, a one-time Bungie employee who now
works in Microsoft's Franchise Development Group, is equally
enthusiastic about the cultural and commercial aspects of Halo Babies.
"We think Halo Babies is going to be big for Bungie and Microsoft, and
we're going to support this project in a very big way. We've already
made deals for traditional action figures, plush dolls, clothing,
bedsheets, pajamas, school supplies, lunchboxes - you name it, I've been
signing deals with companies who want to manufacture and sell it. The
original Halo put off a lot of potential partners due to the Mature
rating, but everybody wants a piece of Halo Babies. The kids in the
focus groups are going nuts over the Halo Babies toy prototypes, and
it's safe to say those are going to be THE hot thing this holiday
season. It's definitely a creative leap for Bungie, but it's also the
best business decision they've ever made."
Look for more information about Halo Babies, including more stills
and video clips, on this site in the weeks and months to come.
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