Halo Maps Forum

So I got assigned a little school project that all the students at my school have to do. (I go to a charter school) I had to pick a career and answer how math in general applied to it. Pretty lame, but yeah.

Of course, I picked game development.

I was told to find someone to interview and ask them about how math applies to the industry. Of course, I picked Hardy because I mod Halo CE and he was a person well involved in the development of the game. (He was already following me on twitter too, so neat)

You can skim through this if you want, question 3 and onward are really insightful, especially into the work environment for Halo CE. And that last question I asked was pretty interesting.

I edited this a bit for my teachers.

Me: Hello, I am contacting you to learn more about how math is used in the game industry, this is for a school project I am doing, and i'm a huge fan of Bungie and Halo CE especially so its a huge honor to contact you. My first question is are you still in the gaming industry? My second question is how did math get used during the development of Halo 1? My third question is (assuming you know) how has game development changed since Halo 1 and how easier has it gotten to make games using mathematics?

Hardy: Q1: My last game job was at Industrial Toys, where I was the Executive Creative Director. I'm not full-time anywhere right now. Q2: Math is at the heart of most computer development. Advanced math is used in 3D physics calculations, lighting and rendering, but we even used math in our level design scripting. Q3: It's gotten easier with the rise if licensed game engines and tools. A lot of the more common complex mathematical problems have already been solved and included in those tools. But even when you're using licensed tools, teams still need to use math for all sorts of common problems like interface etc.

Me: I have a couple more questions, What was the Development enviroment like for Halo 1 and what steps did you take when starting the development on the game? This is something i've wanted to know for my projects and in general.

Hardy: Are you curious about how the offices were physically set up, or are you asking about the work flow?

Me: I'm asking more about how everything was planned out, currently I'm using a bunch of documents for my mod and I am filling the blanks of everything I want in it.

Hardy: It varied, depending on which designer was involved in the work. Jaime Griesmer liked to write short pieces of microfiction that described how each of the enemies would behave in a fight. John Howard loved spreadsheets, and he tracked lots of numbers - how long levels would take to build, playtest etc Jason Jones is a mechanics guy - he loves to write documents that describe his game mechanics in meticulous detail, but he also loves to write snippets of fiction in between the game rules Designers use a variety if techniques to capture and communicate the "intention" of their design I've used all of those techniques, and more to try and define what I'd looking for in a design

Me: That's very interesting, I have one more question, and its more of a personal one i suppose, but if you were to make Halo 1 in 2015, what would be some of the biggest things you would change?

Hardy: that's a tough question. games are like other forms of art for example - music I love the Beatles music, but I wouldn't want them to re-write the same stuff today that they wrote back in the day Game designers continue to evolve, and get interested in new things - ideas, challenges, genres So my short answer would be: I wouldn't make Halo 1 again - I'd make something newer and fresher, based on how I've grown since then

Me: Alright, thank you for your time, it was really hard for me to get up and do this since i could consider you a huge idol of mine, but i'm glad I did it. Thank you so much for responding as I didn't expect anything really.

Hardy: It's my pleasure. Drop me an email if you have any more questions :-)
Edited by MEGASEAN2812 on Oct 7, 2015 at 02:54 AM