Interview: Bungie's Lars Bakken on Halo: Reach and the franchise

Cory Banks — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 09:30:00 EST

Following my extensive hands-on preview of the Halo: Reach multiplayer beta at Bungie's Seattle area offices last week, I spoke with Lars Bakken, lead multiplayer designer, to discuss how Reach fits into the studio's long term strategy, how community feedback affects design decisions and the future of the Halo franchise.

Joystiq: What did you learn from how you conducted the Halo 3 multiplayer beta? What are you doing differently for the Reach beta?

Lars Bakken: I think one of the things we learned from the Halo 3 beta is that we want to keep this thing focused and that might mean less playlists initially. But that's really to keep the people focused and keep them playing the same thing, so we'll be turning on things and turning off other things as the beta progresses. And that's something we really learned from Halo 3, because we wanted to make sure that we were getting all the relevant information that we needed to get -- all the data -- and make decisions and changes on the final game.

Gallery: Halo: Reach (Multiplayer Beta)

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Interview: Bungie's Lars Bakken on Halo: Reach and the franchise originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 21 Apr 2010 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hands-on: Halo: Reach Multiplayer Beta

Cory Banks — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 09:00:00 EST

Compared to the clamor and congestion of downtown Seattle, Bungie's Kirkland offices are peaceful and serene. There's little outside distraction and certainly no incessant honking. It's a beautiful day. No one would ever guess that, in two unadorned conference rooms on the third floor, people are blowing each other up. Well, maybe they noticed the Battle Rifle in the lobby.

Bungie invited media to its offices for a Halo: Reach mulitplayer beta preview last week, introducing us to four new game types, Generator Defense, Headhunter, Stockplile and Invasion. I filled six hours with as many frags as my controller could possibly deliver and it simply wasn't enough. Reach's new team-driven game types are addictive and ambitious, focused on objective-based progression and strategic action.

Gallery: Halo: Reach (Multiplayer Beta)

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Hands-on: Halo: Reach Multiplayer Beta originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 21 Apr 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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