Eric Will



The Halo universe is an incredibly diverse and detailed world, so it should come as no surprise that the people who hone, refine and work within this universe come from a broad array of different backgrounds. In this series, Inside 343, we’ll take a look at various individuals, faces both familiar and fresh, and their roles in helping to shape the world of Halo.

==Senior 2D Artist - Eric Will==

I came to 343 Industries by way of Id Software over 3 years ago. I’ve been a die-hard Halo fan since day 1 (Legendary on every game!), so when I heard about the formation of 343 there was no question it was where I needed to go for the next chapter in my career. Without doubt this was the hardest I’ve worked on a project and lost a lot of sleep hoping the fans would accept our evolution of the universe. I hope this gallery can expose some of that process and the obsession that I think all of us here at 343 have for Halo. -Eric Will

Halo 4 Graphic Design bible excerpts and descriptions
Early in the development of Halo 4, I was charged with establishing graphic standards and identities for a lot of elements throughout the universe. These images are a cross-section of that work. Inspiration varied widely, from NASA projects to cold-war fighter jets to vintage calculators. It all fed into these motifs, logos and color palettes. In addition to this, I leveraged the deep extended fiction of the Halo universe found in the books and beyond.

Player and Vehicle HUDS descriptions
More than any other game, Halo has always been delivered through the experience of piloting super-sophisticated armors and vehicles. At the center of this is the fantasy of wearing Spartan armor. It’s the coolest part about playing Halo and I really wanted to blow that up more than ever. The player should feel like they’ve just been strapped into 800lbs of wearable jet-fighter, fitting like a glove and bristling with intelligence and telemetry. The suit had to feel alive and dynamic. The HUD is the conduit through which the player interfaces with the Halo universe and it had to feel absolutely cutting edge and bad-ass.

The Halo universe is a high-tech future with sophisticated races warring it out on a galactic scale. It was important that the weapons in Halo 4 communicated this fiction whenever a player picked one up and looked through the viewfinder. A weapon HUD needs to relay the function of the gun, but it also should portray the character and individuality of the weapon. It should feel dynamic and smart and make the player empowered and capable when they wield it.

The Forerunners
I wanted to make the forerunner HUDs representative of the civilization. Technologically superior almost to the point of flamboyance, but alien and slightly incomprehensible. Hot hardlight and the feel of vector-precision drove the look of these HUDs.

The Covenant
When you really get down to it the Covenant are scavengers. They’ve built their tech on the bones of Forerunner scraps that they may or may not fully understand. I wanted some of the Forerunner design cues to be echoed in the Covenant weapons: The holography and hardlight feel, but somehow transmuted and changed through lost knowledge and kludgery.

The UNSC
These had to be familiar and identifiable like old friends. Sharing bits and pieces of tech from the Spartan HUDs, they had to be a direct evolution of current human weaponry. I tried to add telemetry, range, and other dynamic elements wherever I could to help make these weapons feel as if they could easily hold their own against advanced alien technology.