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Re: Shield and Sword - Part One *IMGs*
Posted By: Stephen L. (SoundEffect) <soundeffect@hotmail.com>	Date: 2/11/12 9:14 a.m.
In Response To: Shield and Sword - Part One *IMGs* (Leviathan) : : Part One: Warming Up : An Introduction : Halo: Shield and Sword is a title that I’ve given to my Halo 4 “What If?” : project. For every coming Halo game, I’ve always imagined what the game : could be like: the story, the characters, the environments, the set pieces : – heck, even the musical themes. : I thought I'd put a little more effort into it this time around, because, : well... it's fun, and I've gotten the feeling you guys would like to see : my doodles. :) : This is nowhere near the ambition of A Fistful of Arrows, nor is it even a : comic book, this is a sort of... design document-brainstorm. This first : entry will be a little different, but usually Shield and Sword posts will : contain a lot of ramblings about where the story could go as I provide : character designs, concept art, storyboards, and maps to illustrate my : narrative. : Before I get into the campaign proper though, I'm warming up with the menus, : and that's what this first entry is all about. : Halo 4’s Core Components : To know what menus to illustrate, I needed to know which menus would be : needed for Halo 4. I listed everything out, and not-surprisingly, not much : has changed. But I like to keep my thoughts organized in game design, even : if it's something everybody already knows. So I created a flow-chart! : : (Click image to enlarge) : -I selected a variety of colors to distinguish the menus on this diagram, : which correspond to the colors I used in the menu mock-ups. I think after : 6 games, most folks might be sick of blue in their menu, so I thought it : would be fun to mix things up a bit. : -This diagram would be far more filled-to-the-brim with content, but Shield : and Sword focuses on the campaign portion of Halo 4, so that's what I : emphasized. : Alright, now that that's taken care of, let's get to it... : The Menus : All of the menus take place on or deal with the ship, Forward Unto Dawn . : They show us where we’ve been, and also hints at the coming reveille for : the player and Master Chief… : These would all be 3D environments that can be glimpsed from the campaign. In : the menus themselves, you’ll only see them from a fixed viewpoint. But : there will be machines moving, lights flickering, ambient sounds, and : other subtle things to keep your attention while you navigate through the : interface. : Main Menu : The mysterious ‘Legendary’ Planet spins on a horizontal (from this viewpoint) : axis in a distortion of space. Lights twinkle on the surface, dotted lines : connect to other pathways of light, and all the while the planet is : swiftly tilting. Is it strange that it’s moving so fast? ... It’s almost : unnerving. : The Gregorian chants are missing. The beginning track is a pattern of low : notes and one ominous voice singing a hymn so slow and subtle, you can : hardly grasp it. : : (Click image for 1920x1080 .jpg with no titles) : After a few moments, the title and menu selection (which you scroll through) : would fade in. : *Special thanks to Stephen Loftus for the Legendary Planet’s surface texture. : ------- : Campaign Menu : We glimpse the Master Chief in his cryo tube, where we last left him in Halo : 3. It’s hard to see him, but you can just make him out through the ice. : Steam is hissing around the contour of the tube’s hatch, as it prepares to : awaken John. : : (Click image for 1920x1080 .jpg version) : And after some time, Cortana makes an appearance. You can’t see much, but : she’s frowning… Perhaps some red ‘rampant’ lines make their way across her : code. : ------- : Matchmaking Menu : The Matchmaking Menu is a little different from the rest of the menus, simply : because almost everyone, even the more campaign-interested, will be : staring at this screen a lot while they wait to be match-made. : I’ve always personally gotten pretty bored with the MM menu in the past, so : it’s time to put some extra work into this one so it’s still interesting a : year down the road! : : (Click image for 1920x1080 version) : So. You get a glimpse at Cortana’s thoughts. In the example above, we see her : designs for modifying and upgrading Master Chief’s armor. Little comments : appear near the relevant areas explaining some of the augmentations. It’s : a 3D model too, so you can rotate it left or right after you begin : searching for a game. : As you progress through the campaign, more models are unlocked, like the : Forward Unto Dawn, Sentinels, Cortana herself, and other characters, : ships, vehicles, and weapons you may encounter. Each model comes with its : own set of comments revealing interesting facts about it. Basically, : Stephen Loftus would love this. : ------- : Versus Menu : A bit more straightforward like the Campaign Menu, we see Master Chief’s Mark : VI armor as Cortana runs a diagnostic on it. Machine arms from FUD’s : vehicle depot have been requisitioned to make adjustments on the MJLONIR : armor (ideas that Cortana has come up with during the slow drift). : : (Click image for 1920x1080 .jpg) : ------- : Firefight Menu : Here we would see more machine arms gathering and stockpiling various weapons : that were aboard the Chief’s half of the ship. Perhaps they remove the : magazines and check the rifles, or possibly even modify the guns with more : of ‘Cortana’s improvements’. : Oh, and I thought it would be nifty if you press right on a player in your : party’s name, then the player list would slide left and reveal their : Spartan model and some basic stats, sort of like in Reach. : : (Click image for 1920x1080 .jpg) : *Background image uses a screenshot of Halo 3: Arm’s Race live-action : short. : ------ : Forge Menu : What’s an AI going to do with 10 years of boredom? Scrap every unnecessary : piece of metal and equipment from the ship and use such resources, : combined with her own ingenuity, to upgrade all of Master Chief’s toys, : and prepare him for his coming journey... : : (Click image for 1920x1080 .jpg) : Here we see a Warthog in the vehicle depot being worked on. Sparks fly and : bounce off the ground; the machines twirl and spin to complete their : tasks; the sounds of a racetrack pit-stop echo across the garage. : ------- : Theater Menu : This is sort-of a variation on the Matchmaking Menu. We get a close-up shot : of one of the AI holographic projectors, which cycles through the 3D : models you’ve unlocked. The difference between this menu and the MM menu : is that these are fully rendered and will perform one of their animations : (if a character model), but do not show any of Cortana's comments, and : cannot be rotated. : : (Click image for 1920x1080 .jpg) : The default model is Cortana though, with her hands behind her back, and her : face looking downwards. Something is coming, and she might just have an : idea what... : And those are the menus! Of course the settings menu has its own pop-up : interface, but being very similar to Reach’s, doesn’t require any special : art or 3D environments. : Next Time… : We dive into the heart of what Shield and Sword’s all about, the walkthrough : of the campaign levels! The Howling Dark, Shield World, Hub Station 42, : Signal to Noise, The Monitor, The Reconciled, UNSC ... Well, I'll probably : only get through those first two or three in the next post. :) : Hope you enjoyed! : ~Leviathan Love it. Well thought out. Awesomely visualized. Like some of the character choices. :)

My HBO Articles

Message Index

Shield and Sword - Part One *IMGs*	Leviathan	2/11/12 4:29 a.m.
Whah! Crazy cool man. *NM*	Sqorck	2/11/12 4:55 a.m.
Looks pretty cool. *NM*	Gravemind	2/11/12 5:31 a.m.
Still reading, minor typo in matchmaking (trhuster *NM*	scarab	2/11/12 5:31 a.m.
And "Plalist." *NM*	Gravemind	2/11/12 5:41 a.m.
Yep. Caught it last night...	Leviathan	2/11/12 12:55 p.m.
And Scale Master *NM* *NM*	ZackDark	2/11/12 1:00 p.m.
Hmm? *NM*	Leviathan	2/11/12 1:28 p.m.
Re: And Scale Master	Stephen L. (SoundEffect)	2/11/12 1:57 p.m.
Typos fixed. *NM*	Leviathan	2/11/12 7:44 p.m.
Re: Shield and Sword - Part One *IMGs*	scarab	2/11/12 6:00 a.m.
Re: Shield and Sword - Part One *IMGs*	Stephen L. (SoundEffect)	2/11/12 9:14 a.m.
Re: Shield and Sword - Part One *IMGs*	GrimBrother One	2/11/12 9:19 a.m.
Re: Shield and Sword - Part One *IMGs*	SonofMacPhisto	2/11/12 11:48 a.m.
Re: Shield and Sword - Part One *IMGs*	Leviathan	2/11/12 1:41 p.m.
Moving JPGs? SORCERY AND SHENANIGANS!	MoltenSlowa	2/11/12 11:23 a.m.
Amazing!	Hyokin	2/11/12 12:21 p.m.
Re: Amazing!	Leviathan	2/11/12 1:39 p.m.
I don't think you should do this.	General Vagueness	2/11/12 12:21 p.m.
Re: I don't think you should do this.	Stephen L. (SoundEffect)	2/11/12 12:36 p.m.
Re: I don't think you should do this.	General Vagueness	2/11/12 1:03 p.m.
Re: I don't think you should do this.	ZackDark	2/11/12 1:05 p.m.
Re: I don't think you should do this.	General Vagueness	2/11/12 1:12 p.m.
Re: I don't think you should do this.	Kermit	2/11/12 1:23 p.m.
Re: I don't think you should do this.	Leviathan	2/11/12 1:26 p.m.
What's going on!?	uberfoop	2/11/12 1:27 p.m.
Re: What's going on!?	General Vagueness	2/11/12 4:40 p.m.
Re: What's going on!?	Leviathan	2/11/12 4:58 p.m.
Re: What's going on!?	General Vagueness	2/11/12 6:34 p.m.
This I agree with.	Hyokin	2/11/12 6:57 p.m.
Re: This I agree with.	Hedgemony	2/12/12 12:26 a.m.
Re: This I agree with.	padraig08	2/12/12 12:44 a.m.
Re: This I agree with.	Hyokin	2/12/12 11:24 a.m.
I have a little more faith in 343 than that.	padraig08	2/12/12 12:39 a.m.
Uhhh, okay...	Leviathan	2/11/12 1:18 p.m.
Re: Uhhh, okay...	Stephen L. (SoundEffect)	2/11/12 2:01 p.m.
Re: I don't think you should do this.	Hyokin	2/11/12 1:36 p.m.
Re: I don't think you should do this.	General Vagueness	2/11/12 4:50 p.m.
Re: I don't think you should do this.	Hyokin	2/11/12 5:08 p.m.
Legal status of fan fiction	RC Master	2/11/12 1:42 p.m.
OMG, should have used preview! *NM* *NM*	RC Master	2/11/12 1:43 p.m.
Re: I don't think you should do this.	padraig08	2/12/12 12:26 a.m.
+eleventybillion *NM*	JDQuackers	2/13/12 10:06 a.m.
Re: Shield and Sword - Part One *IMGs*	pete_the_duck	2/11/12 12:44 p.m.
Haha	Leviathan	2/11/12 1:34 p.m.
Very much enjoyed *NM*	Beckx	2/11/12 1:01 p.m.
You're crazy and I know it	ZackDark	2/11/12 1:03 p.m.
Please hire this man! *NM*	Kermit	2/11/12 1:25 p.m.
Re: Please hire this man! ( I second this!) *NM* *NM*	The Woaf	2/11/12 1:32 p.m.
I third this! (wait... can I do that?) *NM*	Leviathan	2/11/12 1:40 p.m.
Re: I third this! (wait... can I do that?)	Stephen L. (SoundEffect)	2/11/12 2:03 p.m.
I fifth this!!! *NM*	Lawnmower172	2/11/12 3:56 p.m.
There's a petition somewhere that says this	padraig08	2/12/12 12:46 a.m.
Re: There's a petition somewhere that says this	HotIcePhoenix	2/12/12 12:19 p.m.
Hired!	The Lionheart	2/16/12 12:28 a.m.
Re: Shield and Sword - Part One *IMGs*	VAVA Mk2	2/11/12 6:41 p.m.
Re: Shield and Sword - Part One *IMGs*	MoltenSlowa	2/11/12 9:44 p.m.
OMG I just got it	padraig08	2/12/12 12:48 a.m.
My Levi-copter goes "WINWINWINWINWINWIN"	The Lionheart	2/12/12 2:51 a.m.
Re: Shield and Sword - Part One *IMGs*	stabbim	2/13/12 3:54 p.m.
Re: Shield and Sword - Part One *IMGs*	Leviathan	2/13/12 5:00 p.m.
Re: Shield and Sword - Part One *IMGs*	Joony Joon	2/13/12 6:33 p.m.