There was a time when there was a video game fair called E3in Los Angeles, and where it was possible to see a lot of content about the news that was going to arrive in the following months. One of those prototypes, or demos that were shown at one of those appointments had to do with Halo 2 and, now that two decades have passed since its launch, there are those who have remembered that incredible demonstration that attendees at the Convention Center were able to see.
Those closed-door demos were some of the most precious treasures for which we went to the fair year after year since, sometimes, it was not only that we could see the game or play it, but that we accessed content that for whatever reason. then it was eliminated. So those let’s give They remained like relics kept in a trunk that would never see the light of day and could never be tasted again. Although Microsoftin the case of Halo 2has decided to do archeology work and recover it.
An unforgettable Halo 2 demo at E3
As some of those who are working on the recovery of that demo of the E3 2003 “The excitement and anticipation around that event was incredible, and the stakes were higher than ever,” says Brian Jarrard, Halo’s community director. “I have fond memories of many playtests and practices, internal challenges to see who could eliminate all the enemies in a perfect match.”
Now, that demo It will arrive in the form of a complete game for PC and you will have it available in Steam: “The response to the demo at E3 was electrifying, and almost all fans of Halo remember that demo and where they were when they were dazzled by its majesty. Best of all, none of us would have expected that more than 20 years later, a group of passionate modders of the community gave life to this demo like a full-fledged mission.”
The demo It has been the work of the community, and that is why since Microsoft They wanted to thank those responsible: “Steven García (known in the community as General_101) was vital to getting this scenario up and running and even improving on the original. He was a one-man army and did a significant amount of work developing tools, updating scripts and even designing the levels.”
A demo not without problems to recover it
If the recovery of this is news demo It is because it was left in a drawer and because, furthermore, as they confess on the blog of Microsoft“several problems with the technology have kept this demo blocked for many years”, but thanks to the support of the archeology data archive of Digsite “The original resources and files could be recovered.” Even so, not everything was so simple because “the demo was created in a version of the engine Halo that no longer exists and the resources were not compatible with any other existing version of Halo 2«.
According to Kenneth Peters, senior writer for the franchise Halothese problems put them in a dilemma since “the original executable was difficult to manage, since a development kit of Xbox to get it started, something that is increasingly rare even within the studio. But now, in 2024, we have the tools developed by Digsite to analyze and automate the updating of old assets, and the knowledge gained to know why Bungie He created things as he did in the demo”.
So soon in Steamthe demo of Halo 2 that we could see some in the E3 2003. 21 years ago.
