Maurice Camps

HALO SPARTAN ASSAULT

RELEASE: July 18, 2013
PLATFORM: IOS, Windows, Windows Phone, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Steam
FUNCTION: Lead Artist

Halo Spartan Assault is a top-down twin-stick shooter originally developed for Windows phone and Windows Tablets. Working together with Microsoft and 343 we got a ton of freedom developing this game. It was a true privilege to work on the Halo franchise and the team did an awesome job bringing it to the mobile platforms using our proprietary ‘Blue Engine’. Due to the success on the mobile platforms it was decided to port the game to Xbox and PC later on. 

TEAM SIZE: ~65 total, 16 Artists
ENGINE: Proprietary Blue engine

STORE LINK: Steam

MY CONTRIBUTIONS:
  • Accountable for all direction & direct communication with the art team (except concept art)
  • Art direction of all levels, menu, VFX, characters, assets, etc.
  • Prioritization, planning, and distribution of tasks for all artists
  • Modular asset & level setup
    Solutions for creative reuse of levels, without feeling too repetitive
  • Microsoft/343 asset reuse assessment
  • Hands-on work on finding solutions to technical and creative challenges
  • Hands-on work on ground textures, props, and several levels incl. lighting
INTERESTS & CHALLENGES:
  • After finishing Gatling Gears, we set out to continue into twin stick shooter territory. The team started some compelling looking prototypes which got traction with Microsoft. Not long after the team was tasked making a Halo game for Microsoft phones and tablets.
  • It was great to work together with Microsoft. They gave us a lot of freedom creating a new timeline for our game and new planets and locations to visit.
  • The main challenge was to get perform smoothly on the low-end devices.
  • Using the Blue engine had some ups and downs:
      • Since we were going to develop for Windows mobile devices, it was a real plus to have our own engine since other engines had no support yet.
      • We also managed to push things to the limit with our own engine, which was beneficial for the result of the project.
      • A downside was that, with a limited team, there was also limited support for the engine and tools. The engine team worked very hard and sometimes made the impossible possible, but it also meant that the art team sometimes had to use serious workarounds. I was closely involved flagging issues and suggesting improvements.

Launch Trailer

XBOX LAUNCH TRAILER

GAMEPLAY VIDEO