Halo: CE designer says the Warthog is the reason Halo wasn't an RTS

One upon a time there was a game called Halo, but it wasn't always the gun-toting action fest it is today. Before it evolved into the excellent Halo 5: Guardians, Master Chief's debut was so ambitious it even echoed Bungie's future Destiny. "It was a huge world,” reveals art director Marcus Lehto, "comprised of a block of islands that you could travel to. It was a top-down, ‘lead your troops from the sky’ type of thing."

And as more members joined the team, that original design concept began to evolve into a more action-focused. "As the tech and art made things look cooler, we began to pull the camera closer to the action," says Alex Seropian, co-founder of Bungie. "The strategy game became a third-person game, which became a first-person shooter."

The latest issue of Official Xbox Magazine, with Call Of Duty: Black Ops 3 on the cover, is out now. Download it here or subscribe to future issues.

GamesRadar+ was first founded in 1999, and since then has been dedicated to delivering video game-related news, reviews, previews, features, and more. Since late 2014, the website has been the online home of Total Film, SFX, Edge, and PLAY magazines, with comics site Newsarama joining the fold in 2020. Our aim as the global GamesRadar Staff team is to take you closer to the games, movies, TV shows, and comics that you love. We want to upgrade your downtime, and help you make the most of your time, money, and skills. We always aim to entertain, inform, and inspire through our mix of content - which includes news, reviews, features, tips, buying guides, and videos.