According to Halo’s co-creator, the developers tried many things before settling on the character’s iconic look.

Projects can change significantly during development. Marcus Lehto, co-creator of Halo, recently provided a striking example of this when he revealed that Master Chief’s design was modified nine times before Bungie finalized his appearance. Lehto, a Kent State University graduate, spoke with Kent State Magazine about how his studies influenced his career. In the interview, he recounted the process Bungie went through in designing Master Chief’s armor. Some of the early designs have made their way onto the internet, including Shi Kai Wang’s initial concept of Master Chief.

Bungie found these designs too stylized, so Lehto’s later concept took on the lines of the M1 Abrams tank and the Apache helicopter. Master Chief’s helmet was inspired by a BMX helmet, which is quite obvious when viewed from the side. According to Lehto, his illustration training at Kent State helped him break the design down into its most basic visual elements. Ultimately, the design underwent nine iterations before Bungie found the right one. Lehto recalled that, as with Bungie’s previous FPS series Marathon, Halo was originally developed as a Mac game before Microsoft acquired the company.

“The creation of the Master Chief is something that I went through so many wringers to try to find the right look, the right feel, the right stature for such a character. We tried a lot of things. It took forever, but I wasn’t going to stop because I learned through the program that you don’t stop after the first iteration. We got up on stage with Steve Jobs at Macworld, where we discussed it. Then, Microsoft said, ‘Steve Jobs can’t have that. We’re going to buy you, move you to the Pacific Northwest, and have you build this game for the Xbox,'” Lehto said.

It’s strange that Halo and Marathon are on opposite sides again. Microsoft continues to develop Halo games, while Bungie is working on a Marathon reboot for Sony. The two franchises have one thing in common, though: a turbulent recent past. Microsoft seems uncertain about how to proceed with Halo after Halo: Infinite and has instead struck a nostalgic note with the second remake of Halo: Combat Evolved.

Source: PCGamer, Kent State Magazine