Halo Infinite brought an emotional end to Master Chief's ongoing story last year, but it turns out it wasn't just fans who were moved by the game's narrative.
In an exclusive interview with TechRadar Gaming, we spoke with several staff members at CounterPunch, a Virtuos studio. For those unfamiliar, CounterPunch worked as a support studio alongside 343 Industries during the development of Halo Infinite, stepping in to help with the game once motion capture and cinematic development were complete.
Asked if CounterPunch had any development ideas to share, team animation supervisor Kyle Renteria shared a little tidbit about Jen Taylor, who is best known for playing Cortana, The Weapon, and Dr. Halsey. .
Rentería explained how the cast of Halo Infinite, including Taylor, put their all into their performances.
"Something fascinating to us that Halo fans may not realize is how invested the actors are in their roles. Jen Taylor, for example, shed tears during some of the most moving moments," Renteria said.
Lead animator Mason Gardner also shared that the team wanted to make sure those powerful moments were rendered effectively in the game. "We did everything we could to try to capture their performances and translate them into the characters," Gardner said.
loaded with emotions
Speaking further with Gardner and Rentería, we asked what technology CounterPunch uses to convey the compelling facial expressions of The Pilot, who is arguably one of the most emotional characters in gaming.
"The Pilot was one of our favorite characters to work with! He was such an expressive character. He gave us a nice range of emotions to play with," Gardner said. "Our company is highly trained in FACS (Facial Acting Coding System) facial animation and this basic skill has allowed us to truly understand facial movement."
"Because the character's rigging used a FACS-based rigging system, we were able to create realistic movements and expressions that helped us achieve realistic and believable performances," Renteria explained.
The team shared some great insight into the behind-the-scenes technical process of Halo Infinite with TechRadar Gaming, so be sure to stay tuned for details. We'll be bringing you our full interview with CounterPoint soon.