Halo Infinite: Why Craig the Brute Was So Damn Ugly Explained By 343

The team at 343 Industries recently explained why Halo Infinite‘s infamous Craig the Brute was so damned ugly, and the answer is both simple to understand and difficult to fix. So difficult, in fact, the deadpan Brute, whose rise to fame came during this summer’s ill-received campaign gameplay reveal, was likely partly responsible for the game’s initial delay in 2021.

It’s doubtlessly been an uphill battle for 343 Industries since, which only recently provided a Fall 2021 release window for Halo Infinite. With a general release window in hand (which could possibly align with Halo: Combat Evolved‘s 20th anniversary November 15), 343 has begun to open up more about Halo Infinite‘s status behind the scenes, what went wrong, and how it plans to make things right.

Yesterday evening, Halo Waypoint posted an extensive December update about the state of Halo Infinite. The post, which is structured as an in-depth interview with several key members of 343’s team, covered a lot of Halo Infinite development ground, including the “iconic” visage of Craig the Brute. When asked about the brutish Brute, Director of Art Management Neill Harrison at 343 Industries explained that the “facial animation on NPCs was not fully implemented in that [demo] build,” an omission that gave the world “Craig’s incredibly deadpan/lifeless look.” He says that the Brutes were “never intended to be seen in that condition” and seems to regret that the only moment Craig’s face was seen was enough for “the legend of Craig” to be born.

He was also asked about what 343 Industries has done since July’s demo, prompting Harrison to describe the processes being undergone to turn the game around visually since, stating:

“There’s been further work done on the material fidelity and more variety added for Brute faces, we’re also working to add some hairdos and beards which was something we hadn’t gotten to in July. So, whilst we have come to love our dear old Craig, he’s certainly undergoing a significant makeover. Craig isn’t the only model to see improvements though, there have been significant changes to other characters & 3D models as we continue to evolve and polish our content.“

November was a quiet month for Halo Infinite news for a variety of reasons, but it appears that 343 Industries used that time wisely, silently improving every aspect of the game. There has not been any new gameplay footage of Halo Infinite since the July demo, so it is hard to say just how much the game has improved since then, outside of a few officially released screenshots.

Halo Infinite was meant to launch alongside the Xbox Series X/S, it clearly was not as ready to launch in November. And while delays are never really what players want, consensus is that it is better to take the time necessary to improve a game, instead of releasing an unfinished product that has to be patched multiple times before it is playable.

Halo Infinite will be available for Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC in Fall 2021.

Source: Halo Waypoint

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