When we see screenshots of video games, we don't think of the time and effort that went into them all. However, this story about the inception of one Halo: Combat Evolved screenshot puts things into perspective.
As shared by Joseph Staten, the head of creative on Halo Infinite and director of cinematics on the original trilogy, it seems creating marketing materials for games isn't as easy as it looks. Staten's account of working on Halo: Combat Evolved allegedly had him sleeping under his desk for a week, with his sleeping bag melting under the heat of his PC.
The screenshot in question was intended for Computer Gaming World Magazine, and the one shared by Staten was his favourite of the bunch.
To line everything up, Staten had to position every character perfectly, while also firing their weapons for the shots. Back then, the tools weren't as simple to use as they are today, and had Staten using his stopwatch and a pad of paper to time everything perfectly.
Staten described it all as a "painstaking" process, ensuring the position was revolved around the Elite in the foreground to create a striking image.
All of this took an entire day just to create the whole shot, with the rest of the screenshots taking the better part of a week to create. All in all, it ended up with Staten working some late nights and sleeping under his desk to ensure he met the deadline.
It's an eye-opening insight into the development of video game marketing and how teams work tirelessly to ensure their games look the best they possibly can. While we don't condone developers working all hours and sacrificing their personal lives to create such art, we appreciate the effort and dedication that goes into their creation.
What do you think of Staten's story? Drop us a comment and let us know.
[source twitter.com]
Comments 5
Hope there aren't many stories like this following Halo Infinite's development.
Fascinating stuff. Pretty much every story from the wild west days of game development in the '90s is loaded with something interesting, back when they had to make their own tools for literally everything and the concept of engines and dev kits wasn't solidified. Just some mad lads doing their best. The most exciting and most innovative time for gaming, man...
That's some dedication and makes me appreciate the image a whole lot more.
Videogame photography is becoming a real thing now.
I imagine it to be a great deal easier these days, as the ability to video, then rewind that video to select the perfect moment to then screenshot is vastly improved. Obviously you still need everything you want in the shot, and the angle to be just right, but the ability to move frame by frame makes everything much simpler...
I made a small game about 10 years ago and remember coding in a screenshot taking piece that would trigger on every “action packed” situation. Enemy deaths, explosions, that sort of stuff. Then I had to play the game for hours and later browse through hundreds of screenshots until I found that felt good enough for marketing.
Thankfully the game was a 2d game, had it been 3D I would have had it take screenshots from a bunch of angles and distances and then have to scroll from oh so many to pick exciting ones….
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