Halo 3 diorama goes interactive with new vids
by Dustin Burg 
{ Sep 14th 2007 at 3:15PM }
Wow, this Halo 3 battle diorama is really becoming something of its own marketing machine bringing out Halo 3's emotional underbelly. There's a lot of new news and content related to this rather large diorama, so let jump right into it.
Just launched is a brand new Halo 3 Believe website featuring an interactive view of the diorama which is being referred to as the John-117 Monument. The Believe website allows you to "fly through" the action, see all the models, take a look at the buildings and all the detail involved. Not only that, but along your journey you'll be able to capture screenshots to use as wallpapers, be able to read soldiers' battle stories, watch the recently released commercials and partake in full 360 views. It's crazy madness! We also noticed few videos that are locked until October ... we wonder what will they reveal.
The other exciting news is that a making of documentary was released (video embedded above) showcasing all the work, effort and time that was put into the diorama, but from a narrative view as if the Halo wars were real. You see, the documentary explains that the John-117 Monument diorama was created as a memorial to the numerous battles and Master Chief and took three years to build starting in the year 2607. It talks about how they accurately sculpted each figure using UNSC face scanning records, how they modeled Covenant figures after bodies they found after the battle and how they sculpted the terrain using blue prints of the area. This documentary video is simply amazing, simply creative, simply ... Halo 3. Watch it and you'll know what we mean.
Links to the first two commercials (including a lengthier 90 second Diorama TV spot), the online Believe fly through website, documentary video and other information about this Halo 3 diorama of awesomeness can be viewed over at Xbox.com. Honestly, we were skeptical at first and were unsure about all this diorama talk, but now we're in love and can't wait to finish this fight. We need a tissue.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
wei @ Sep 14th 2007 3:34PM
what's diorama?
wei @ Sep 14th 2007 3:34PM
what's a diorama?
Hockle @ Sep 14th 2007 3:34PM
pretty amazing...
wei @ Sep 14th 2007 3:34PM
crap, my bad.. i fail
Etchasketchist @ Sep 14th 2007 3:36PM
Do they have some kind fancy sci-fi grammar in Halo where they're allowed to use colons any way they please? That opening epigram is garbage. Who wrote that shit?
Edog Lost @ Sep 14th 2007 3:38PM
Were you writing this when I sent you the link?
Burg hearts the Haloz
Edog Lost @ Sep 14th 2007 3:39PM
does X3F hate posting my comments?
xenocidic @ Sep 14th 2007 3:40PM
i always thought a dioarama was when you took a shoebox and made like a house in it or something...
Chris @ Sep 14th 2007 3:42PM
That screenshot maker is fuh reaking awesome.
Swede33 @ Sep 14th 2007 3:45PM
The making of is just incredible.
TORO @ Sep 14th 2007 3:45PM
Man that Believe site is badass! I love the whole Believe theme, the piano playing in the background, the attention to detail, I can wait to finish the fight! Well done Bungie.
johnathon @ Sep 14th 2007 3:50PM
hm...intriguing.
maybe i will pick up teh haloz.
buy teh haloz i will.
johnathon @ Sep 14th 2007 3:50PM
and this all but promises Master Chief is gonna get CAPPED!
Peter @ Sep 14th 2007 3:51PM
I'm so confused what battle is this is Master Chief dying?
Stephan Slack @ Sep 14th 2007 3:58PM
...from fighting goofy aliens in Halo 1 to the most dramatic storyline in the history of gaming?
lothar @ Sep 14th 2007 3:57PM
The marketing guys doing this Believe campaign are GODs. From the concept through to the execution this is completely brilliant stuff. Makes you think that the Halo movie is just around the corner.
I hate to say it but the suits at Sony must freaking wishing they had guys this good working for them, crying doll, hovering ps3 LOL.
AfroCelt @ Sep 14th 2007 3:57PM
this is the battle for new mombasa...it happens at the end of halo 3.
A diorama is a 3d representation of a place or event. The biggest diorama I have seen is the one in the Gettysburg Civil War Museum...perhaps it was the source for this?
Master Chief IS shown and commented on as "captured", but he has a live plasma grenade in his hand, leading us to believe he's not done fighting quite yet.
Well done advertising team...way to push the "video games as epic movies" angle...just don't go too serious on us...non gamers will ridicule you...oh yeah...penny arcade and ctrlaltdel already did >
AfroCelt @ Sep 14th 2007 3:58PM
this is the battle for new mombasa...it happens at the end of halo 3.
A diorama is a 3d representation of a place or event. The biggest diorama I have seen is the one in the Gettysburg Civil War Museum...perhaps it was the source for this?
Master Chief IS shown and commented on as "captured", but he has a live plasma grenade in his hand, leading us to believe he's not done fighting quite yet.
Well done advertising team...way to push the "video games as epic movies" angle...just don't go too serious on us...non gamers will ridicule you...oh yeah...penny arcade and ctrlaltdel already did >
TORO @ Sep 14th 2007 4:01PM
Why are you so confused Peter? This seems to be an upcoming battle on Earth and a culmination of important events, from what can see in these ads.
MC dying??? Well that's for your own opinions, I personally think he will live...though barely.
Jonah Falcon @ Sep 14th 2007 4:14PM
It's called "John-117 Monument diorama", and the last video is due Oct 1 - AFTER release, with spoilers - and called "Gravesite".
He fucking dies.
Neeko @ Sep 14th 2007 4:21PM
Its says MC got every award but captured. So i beleive he does die but not in the scene we see. Or basically he sacrifices himself to win the battle at the end. Either wat we all need this in our HANDS NOW. The story seems incredible so far something HALO2 was lacking.
Psymon0666 @ Sep 14th 2007 5:58PM
I jus want to knwo if they will be released on Live so i can watch them, on my big screen you know what i mean.
Aero @ Sep 14th 2007 4:38PM
@18
When you are scrolling through the diorama and get to Master Chief, the description of the scene says that Master Chief let himself get captured to change the tide of battle.
Although even if he stuck that one Brute and ran away I don't see how it'd be a tide changing moment.
But at the moment I'm just hoping they make this battle a level in the game. That'd be freaking awesome.
Doug @ Sep 14th 2007 4:46PM
Stupid.
-too serious
-way too serious
-they're talking about the fight being over, we haven't even played it yet
-trivializes something that's, uh, going on right now in the world
Can't video games know they're video games?
I look forward to playing H3, but I'll pass on this.
Scott @ Sep 14th 2007 4:54PM
"-they're talking about the fight being over, we haven't even played it yet"
It's a marketing/literary/plot device to get you hooked into the story. Very effective when done right.
Everyone is now getting excited about:
- Finding out what leads up to a seemingly epic final battle.
- Finding out what MC does in the final battle.
- The aftermath.
Now we'll have to see if the game leads up to the hype.
Magic Whiskey @ Sep 14th 2007 4:54PM
I still bet he survives, but mankind is left believing he's dead..as if John-117 is somehow taken offworld permanently...
Why do I wonder that? $$$....
angryguy77 @ Sep 14th 2007 5:05PM
I believe they are going to lead use to believe that he dies, to only bring him back in a later instalement. Think about the hype surrounding that story!
Alijah Green @ Sep 14th 2007 5:16PM
Master Cheif dies sorry for the spoilers but get prepared
WTangoFoxtrot @ Sep 14th 2007 5:19PM
"17. ...from fighting goofy aliens in Halo 1 to the most dramatic storyline in the history of gaming?"
i couldnt agree more, theres a lot happening here that is gonna be beyond traditional games, even traditional games of the year !!
DjDATZ @ Sep 14th 2007 5:25PM
*waits for Fontez's comment*
This is freakin awesome. It took me almost 30 mins to go thru the whole thing...and read everything and absorb everything.
Again, I repeat, Halo 3 will be the BIGGEST game for a LONG time and it will out do $200 Million in sales in the first night.
0ldb0y @ Sep 14th 2007 5:31PM
As said somewhere before, the diorama, video shorts and misc. ads have no direct tie to the actual story line result from Halo 3. The marketing team is merely using their imagination.
Also, the memorial is (will be) created in 2607, 55 years after the current storytime, so Master Chief would probably be in his 70's-80's anyway.
Edog Lost @ Sep 14th 2007 5:32PM
"I asked Frankie about the concept, if they were worried about the reaction it would get from fans of the game. If people might think the ads are spoilers. He said that the ads were created by a marketing team who had no idea how the game ends and that it is not meant to be part of the game's canon. Instead the ads, specifically that 1200-square-foot diorama created for them, is meant to be a generic representation of a series of battles, perhaps a level's worth in Halo 3."
During an interview with Bungie, Brian Crecente from Kotaku, pulled this statement out of Frankie.
I wonder if Frankie is feeding bullshit.
Gemini Ace @ Sep 14th 2007 6:03PM
The music in the video reminds me of Firefly.
Marasai @ Sep 14th 2007 9:22PM
"It's called "John-117 Monument diorama", and the last video is due Oct 1 - AFTER release, with spoilers - and called "Gravesite".
He fucking dies."
You do realize there is a character called GRAVEmind in the game right? Hell, MC could have died form natural causes. He's like 50 as of Halo 3. So 30 year later he could have died. And i doubt MS is gonna wnat to kill their biggets mascot.
Marasai @ Sep 14th 2007 6:47PM
You read my mind gemini.
ccc @ Sep 14th 2007 6:48PM
Music reminds me of a slightly modified version of that song princess theona was singing in shrek 1.
Isnt anyone alittle concerned there is no demo of the campaign mode on the marketplace?
This game will be king of sales until Epic decides to release GOW2. And as far as this game getting game of the year I doubt it. Not unless it can out do the ratings Bioshock recieved. Which was perfects accross the boards.
Mike-453 @ Sep 14th 2007 6:57PM
LOL
GoW2, yea, maybe if they offer more gameplay. GoW has awesome gameplay, but it's extremely lacking any veriety.
LOL
Bioshock? Well, yea I love Bioshock, but in the end it is only a 14 hour singe-player experiance that could have been improved a lot. (better thought-through story nearing the end, minor gameplay enhancements, enemy variety etc.) It's a great experiance no doubt, i've played through twice and wil keep it and play through several more times over the years.
Only my opinions of course, but Halo 3 just offers so many features.
Mike-453 @ Sep 14th 2007 6:59PM
So yeah, I think Bioshock is overrated...
It's ok though, I think Halo 2 and Oblivion are overated too.
By overrated I mean by the game journalist reviews,.
savvydoc @ Sep 14th 2007 7:30PM
But back to the topic at hand...
This believe website with the diorama flythrough
MOST AWESOME THING EVER
I was totally glued to my screen for the duration. Incredible work bungie!
DjDATZ @ Sep 14th 2007 7:34PM
i agree with savvydoc...i was GLUED.
Mike-453 @ Sep 14th 2007 7:37PM
It really is amazing.
Drew @ Sep 14th 2007 8:12PM
If you have read the books, you know no Spartan is ever referred to as KIA. They are always MIA. So there is no way the public believes Master Chief to be dead.
Although I think he lives. But then again, Spartans are not invincible.
3D-C @ Sep 14th 2007 8:57PM
If you stand back and look at the storyline from start to finish you see many parallels to a spiritual and religious storyline. Why John 117? "For the law was given through Moses but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." John 1:17. You can argue many angles regarding Halo's story but it involves the most basic tale that has been told time and time again; a single man saving the world. While the advertisement is indeed targeted to appeal to your emotional journey with the Master Chief, no doubt many Gamers just don't care about that story and that emotion. Rather who can pwn who, how long one can keep a killing spree going and o the most medals earned in a single round? I don't feel that Bungie meant this to become too serious as others have commented, but what better way to bring full circle the journey each of us has been on with Master Chief. From his first “goofy” battles, to what is sure to be an epic event that will endure in our minds well after the story has been told. We may not again experience a Video Game that crosses so many plateaus of culture like Halo does. Sony should drop a load today after seeing what the marketing genius of what has become the mammoth hype machine called Halo. BELIEVE. Believe what you wish, but so far these guys have made me believe that there is no other way to know the story than to get this game. Just so I can find out what the hell happened at the end. Believe, as this marketing campaign pushes forward a renewed resolve will infect those that are fanboys and those that are not. If this is Neil Blomkamp’s idea for what could woe the Film Studios back from the dead, indeed this has that potential. For them it will be the bottom line, 200mil in sales in a single day is a hard thing to scoff at. Here’s to the Master Chief, BELIEVE.
ccc @ Sep 14th 2007 9:43PM
@mike
All Im saying is that if halo 3 dosnt get the perfect ratings like bioshock, technically its out of the running for the GOTY award.
GOW2 will dominate.
As far as halo 3 length goes, I'll bet I can pop the whole game in under 9 hours, hell maybe 6. And since I am someone that absolutly despises the multiplayer in halo the game has VERY little replay value to me. I'll play multi till I get the achievments and thats it.
bigmac375 @ Sep 14th 2007 10:56PM
this gave me chillbumps
Mike-453 @ Sep 15th 2007 5:41AM
There are lots of GOTY awards given out, i've no doubt Bioshock will get plenty. But I also don't think Halo 3 will get overlooked because of slightly lower scores, what with forge, saved interactive films, bungie.net, four-player coop metascoring; even if you aren't interested in any of it it's still a lot in comparison to the competition.
Why would GoW2 dominate?
Platinum_Skeet @ Sep 15th 2007 10:09AM
GOW didn't last as long as Halo 2. Halo 2 took 3 years to get tooken down by a next-gen title.
Halo 3's going to be a hell of a lot longer. Bungie's already creating maps and new game modes can be uploaded instantly. There will be virtually no cheating because XBL accounts cost $50 and will be banned instantly due to the replay system.
GOW2 is the Xbox Zelda. It sells but nowhere near the amounts of Halo. Because Halo's the Mario of Xbox...
Mike-453 @ Sep 15th 2007 10:59AM
Plus Epic Games is still primarily a PC supporter, proven from how they aren't going to release the extra content with GoW PC as DLC for Xbox 360, unfortunatly. Though fighting the Brumak will likely just be dissapointing and dumb much like the Corpser anyway.
marvin @ Sep 16th 2007 10:34AM