PAX 2011: A guided tour of Halo Fest
Matt Hawkins Right across the street from last weekend PAX 2011 was a loving tribute to Halo and gathering place for those who worship at the alter of Master Chief. For those who couldn’t make it, here’s a taste…
First off, I guess it’s worth pointing out how the building actually contained two separate things: a place for Halo fanatics, and a place for Magic The Gathering diehards. Just tables and tables and tables to play, nothing more, nothing less. And since I don’t concern myself with such pursuits…
That’s not to say I’m a diehard Halo guy either, but I at least know how to play it (theoretically). Yet walking around made me really appreciate the franchise and go “you know; I really need to get back into it, ASAP” which is I’d like to assume is the intended effect: to get more people into playing Halo.
You had all sorts if displays and exhibits dedicated to every tiny bit of the franchise, like a museum. Like the actual Warthog that Weta had built for the now abandoned Halo live action flick…
… And yes, it really moves…
You also had examples of fine Halo inspired art…
A look at the various Halo inspired toys one can find at toy and hobby shops, even stuff that’s on the way…
Though naturally, one could also play the actual games. There was numerous stations set up for Halo 3, ODST, and Reach…
They also had folks involved in the game talking about the past, both the creative challenges and the technical ones…
Plus, not surprisingly, the upcoming Halo 4, which was the clear centerpiece of the gathering…
The game was talked about, but not much new game footage was actually shown. But this smattering of concept art did help paint a picture (excuse the pun)…
They even provided a behind the scenes look at the process of recording sound effects!
My fave part of the showfloor was the corner in which… basically, they were giving out these super deluxe Halo Lego sets for totally free, with the catch being, you had to actually put it together if you wanted to actually walk away it it…
In another corner of the place were a Kinect and a special version of Forza 4. The game allows one to virtually explore one of the numerous real world vehicles, but for Halo Fest, they had a virtual Warthog…
Naturally there was a gift shop…
… Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get a decent enough pic of the guy walking around in a Brute outfit, scaring little kids. It was insanely cute!
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