In the latest issue of Edge Magazine, original Halo developers, including Alex Seropian and Chris Butcher, spoke about the challenges of making the first game - which was initially planned as a Mac-exclusive shooter. The key developers of the game explained that Halo: Combat Evolved - as we know it now - only came together in the final year before its ambitious launch date alongside the 2001 release of the Xbox, and many sacrifices had to be made to make it happen.
"We canceled [other] projects, we combined three teams together, we compromised on scope, [and] we shipped at least one level that we probably shouldn't have."
In the Edge feature, Seropian stated that eight months before the release, Bungie only had the "idea of a game" for Halo and that it only had the broader features and mechanics nailed down - all without a broader vision that pinned them together
"Four weeks before ship, [designer] John Howard decides we're cutting the tank, because it's not ready," stated Chris Butcher, lead programmer on Halo: Combat Evolved. "The designer Paul Bertone was basically like 'fuck that, I'm not gonna listen to you, John - without the tank, this game sucks'.
They must be talking about The Library but Two Betrayals should have been cut too, fucking awful level, Lol. The entire back half of CE is pretty bad, now this explains why the whole back off is just an annoying backtrack. We go from awesome level design in the first half then get whiplashed by awful level design in the 2nd half.
