A former Halo artwork director of 17 years, who just lately made some fairly damning allegations in opposition to the studio, has now taken a Gravity Hammer to frequent misconceptions round the storied franchise. Top of the record are these “devs hate Halo” allegations that followers ceaselessly throw round.
Earlier this month, Halo Infinite’s artwork director and a former collection veteran Glenn Israel accused senior Halo Studio staff of “numerous unethical and/or unlawful acts,” together with blacklisting and “multiple harassment campaigns.” But he is now turned his gaze to followers theories in a tell-all social media submit.
First up, “devs hate Halo.” Israel says “this just isn’t true” as a result of Halo Studios, beforehand 343 Industries, “only hired fans, and while there may be truth to the idea that they hired some fans who were willing to express critical opinions on the franchise, or had ideas about how it might evolve or improve, that’s true of every single fan here,” over on Reddit. “No one works a sixty- or eighty-hour week out of spite. No one risks their health or their friendships or their sanity to spit in your eye.”
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The proverbial joke about no one hating on [x franchise] greater than its followers is very true with Halo, as every entry and every period has its combine of each passionate followers and detractors. Israel is correct to level out that, theoretically, you might plop 100 folks from the collection subreddit and nonetheless not come to a consensus about what Halo ought to be.
“I’ll reiterate, the studio I knew only hired fans,” Israel provides “They agree with you more than they’re allowed to say. I’ll also reiterate that, early on, super-fandom in the studio for the “extended universe” was a real problem – the narratives were too dependent on lore the average player did not know and would not be motivated to discover in a book or a comic.” Looking at you, Halo 4.
Finally, the long-time Halo dev then takes goal at allegations that DEI (variety, fairness, and inclusion) “ruined” the franchise. Israel explains that Microsoft had emphasised variety and inclusion throughout the firm, however folks should not “get lost in the fog of culture war” as a result of he was “never asked to raise one voice or silence another [and] never had a ‘quota’ to fill.”
“My interpretation of the policy (and the guidance I gave to my reports) was that D&I is as much about diversity in thought and inclusion in opinion as it is in identity, about recognizing and setting aside one’s assumptions about a group to engage with someone fairly as an individual,” he writes. “In practical terms, it might just mean making sure that the introverted genius in the corner who knows their manager is making a mistake feels safe enough to speak.”
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He then sums all of it up fairly succinctly: “Halo is stronger when all Spartans are welcome.” Hear, hear.
