GamesBeat: Do you find that people can rack up higher scores generally?
Longo: I don’t think we’ve seen too many numbers change there. The rule set for Slayer still says the same, as far as 50 kills, and the time for matches is within the ballpark we’re always shooting for. There’s definitely aim assist, as there always has been, and our tuning intends to maintain the same amount we’ve had before. We’re still tuning that stuff, though, so we’ll take that feedback. We want it to be like Halo’s been in the past.
GamesBeat: It seems to be a challenge to do much better graphics and also run it at 60 frames per second. Do you find that you have a lot of headroom?
Holmes: At this point, our focus on the game is around the core gameplay. We’ve been honing and focusing on that. The beta is about getting the game in the hands of fans, letting them play with the new systems, getting us more feedback and information on tuning those systems. Optimization and polish and things that elevate the visual look of the game is something we generally do toward the tail end of development.
The Xbox One is an amazing system. There’s a lot of capability in that box that we’re excited about as a team. We’re looking forward to what we’ll be able to do as we continue to polish.
GamesBeat: It seems like some players have a hard enough time just running and shooting. These new moves seem to reward expert players. You have to train yourself to get really good at the charge and ground pound.
Longo: We’re intentionally going after skill-based combat in the arena mode. One of the cool things about Halo, though, is the world-class matchmaking. That’s the key. In a demo situation like this, you guys are all playing together with different skill levels, but when the game comes out you’ll be matched with people of similar skill who are learning those abilities at the same time you are. The experts will be matched with people on that same level.
There’s still that onion layer approach we use a lot. There’s a lot of suite there, but you’ll ease into each one. You’ll try a new one in each match, maybe, and get better and better at it. Your CSR rating will go up as you’re doing that.
Holmes: As we see people get familiar with the game, they play it how they might play a traditional Halo experience. Then they start to add a new move in their repertoire and focus on that, and then another one. Pretty soon they’re able to start improvising and playing all these instruments we’ve put at their disposal.
GamesBeat: Like the instruments of death.
Holmes: There you go. The many instruments of death in Halo 5.
GamesBeat: In Breakout mode, it looked like you were trying to get more use of voice, more people talking to each other. In a lot of the matches I’ve played, there are always a lot of lone wolves fighting who don’t talk. Is that purposefully encouraging people to interact and team up more?
Longo: Absolutely. There’s two main goals. One is a simple one, an immersion into the world. You feel like you’re part of a team. You hear Spartans talking to each other. It’s fun to have voice actors doing that content. But another one is just awareness. The locations around the map all have names, and we still have traditional text callouts there, but now the V/O will call out those same names. Through the V/O, if players listen, they’ll start identifying those places on the map and strategizing. When they start coming out of their shells, like you said, they’ll know what to call things.
For the people who just want to be quiet, hopefully it feels like you’re playing on a team. With the V/O lines we’ve written and the way that we’ve designed the system, it’s intentionally designed around what it’s like to play as a team.
GamesBeat: It’s fun to see some of these 1-on-1 duels going on in Breakout.
Holmes: That’s one of the most exciting parts of the mode. When it gets down to that 1v1, especially in a final round, your heart starts racing.
Longo: You’re rooting for that person. “Hey, he’s over there!” Calling out where the enemy is. It’s super tense.
Holmes: We’ve been watching people play all week in these sessions. I still find myself glued to the screen, watching teams as it goes down to the wire. We’re trying to get this beta out as early as we can, and I’m really excited to see the reactions when it goes live.
