343 Industries has given fans an update on the progress made on Halo Infinite since the game’s much-criticised July gameplay reveal.
- READ MORE: When was ‘Halo’ ever about the graphics?
Earlier this year, the developer released gameplay footage from Halo Infinite for the first time during the Xbox Games Showcase. However, the campaign demo was soon met with backlash from fans over the less-than-stellar graphics, which also spawned a meme called Craig The Brute based on a poorly rendered character model.
However, the game seems to be in much better shape now, according to members from the Halo Infinite art and graphics team in a brand-new blog post. 343 Industries’ director of art management Neill Harrison acknowledged that the footage shown in July was not “at the bar we hold for Halo”, saying that the backlash pushed the developer to “look at additional opportunities for improvement”.
The team – also comprising art director Nicholas Bouvier and Graphics Team development manager Ani Shastry – noted that they have made improvements to everything from dynamic lighting to rendering and everything in between, while stating that “there is more to be done” in the coming months.
“We’re eager to show the progress the team has made in Campaign as soon we can, but we want to make sure we have all the right pieces coming together and this can be tricky with a lot of moving parts and an expansive world of this scope,” Harrison added. “We know everyone is keen to see more and we look forward to sharing more in future updates in the months ahead.”
Harrison also revealed that the character model for Craig, and other brutes, has also been given a “significant makeover” in response to the criticism. “There’s been further work done on the material fidelity and more variety added for Brute faces […] So, whilst we have come to love our dear old Craig, he’s certainly undergoing a significant makeover,” he said.
Elsewhere in the post, the trio also revealed the first glimpse of an interior space in Halo Infinite, as well as the team’s approach to the look and feel of the game. Read the full post here.
Recommended
The game’s creative director Joseph Staten also recently announced the new release window for Halo Infinite, following its delay back in August. The upcoming title will now launch sometime in Fall 2021.
Ryan Paradis, the Halo Infinite’s design director for the Live Team, has also confirmed that the upcoming game will not feature any loot boxes. However, the game will include “premium cosmetics” as the multiplayer mode is set to be free-to-play.