On December 20th at 2am PST (Pacific Standard Time) the US English version of our next “ViDoc” went live. What’s a Vidoc, you ask? A Video-Documentary. What’s it about, you ask? It’s about Brutes in Halo 3, but before we say more, read the following caveats just so there’s no confusion:

· There are no finished graphics in the documentary, and everything you see is a work in progress.

· The first version of the Vidoc, US English, went live at 2am, PST.

· It runs for seven minutes.

· Standard definition and high definition (Xbox Live Marketplace only) variants will be available.

Download your chosen format of the ViDoc here (Right click to save-as):

Quicktime:

Et Tu Brute - small
Et Tu Brute - Large (640x480)

Windows Media:

Et Tu Brute - small
Et Tu Brute - Large (640x480)

 

 

The documentary runs for almost exactly seven minutes (coincidence? UNLIKELY!) and contains a first peek at the bad guy you will grow to love and hate in Halo 3. Well, mostly hate, but you will love fighting him.

You’ll see what amounts in a way to the first glimpse at Campaign content, but don’t get too excited. Everything you see here is a work in progress, and I’m afraid you won’t be seeing anything like finished graphics. This is just a chance to talk about the design philosophy and production behind what’s going to become a very important part of the next game. Anyway, here's some common questions, answered:

Et Tu Brute Update

After the release yesterday, of the seven minute documentary feature, we got a lot of questions (as expected) a lot of praise (always welcome) and a lot of criticism (on the internet! Who’d have thunk it?). Anyway, it was all expected so today we’re going to address as much of the rumor mongering and misconceptions as we can, without simultaneously ruining it for everyone. To spice it up visually, I have made some “in ur” memes to distract you from the lack of new screenshots.

1. Hay guys! What the hell is up with these graphics?

The graphics you see in the Vidoc are a mixture of things. For one thing, they’re months old. We started creating that doc quite a while back. You’ll see some near final models, some rough character rigs, placeholder lighting and a lot of “sandbox” locations. These are basically spaces that the designers, animators and artists place their models to play around with them.

That’s one reason why there are so many scenes of big empty rooms with crates in them. There certainly are some scenes from the game in there, but alas, none properly lit, textured or populated (yet). That’s why we call it a work in progress. If you’re looking for the final look of Halo 3 campaign, it’s not in there, except in the briefest of hints.

2. Four grenades in the HUD! Is that fourth one the Shield Grenade from the TV ad?

No. And like anything you see in the Vidoc, it’s based on early dev work, often months-old. I can tell you that the HUD shown in the Vidoc isn’t like the one in the current build. There may be more or less items in that “grenade” bar now. It may be gone entirely. I’m not saying this to simply distract you from the question, but rather truthfully point out that things can, do and will change. Don’t get too attached to, or too upset by anything you see here. It’s likely that almost every single element shown will look entirely different by the time the game ships.

3. Brutes! Does this mean I will only be fighting Brutes in the next game?

Not at all. The Covenant society has changed since Halo 2 – a civil war between the Elites and the Prophets has caused a deep schism. But Covenant politics are deep and dark and you will fight a wide assortment of villainy. As you saw in the doc, there’s a scene where Grunts are fighting alongside Brutes. Plainly then, the idea that the Covenant has split in cleanly definable ways, is out the window. It’s a religious society and one where passions and faith far outweigh any other consideration. The reason there are so many Brutes in the doc, is that it’s a doc about Brutes…

4. We saw some new weapons! What gives!?

Naturally there will be new weapons in the game. You certainly saw the Brute Spike Rifle being used, and hammers. As for the other snippets in there, you’ll have to wait and see. Put it this way, not everything will be recognizable in the final game.

5. How do I see this if I don’t have an Xbox 360?

If you haven’t found it already, you’re not trying hard enough. Try Gametrailers.com and all those sites. We’ll have a 640x480 version on Bnet tomorrow.

6. What about Brute behaviors? Is what we see what we get?

No. We show very little gameplay interaction with Brutes in this piece. When you fight them, their behaviors change dramatically and strategically. And of course, there’s more than one kind of Brute.

Feel free to ask more questions after the jump. I’ll address ‘em on Friday.