These days, most advertising campaigns for games take the video route, with commercials, live broadcasts and other video content that ties in with a forthcoming project. However, with Halo 5: Guardians, Microsoft has taken a unique turn with its Hunt the Truth podcast series, which provides some rich back story that ties in with the world of Master Chief, as well as various components within the Halo series.
Hunt the Truth has already gone through one successful season, and the second has just launched, bringing with it a number of talented actors, including Mark Hamill and more. We managed to catch up with the series’ creative director, Noah Eichen, to get an idea of what we can expect this season, as well as what newcomers can expect from Hunt the Truth.
First off, what inspired you to create an audio-based series for the game, rather than taking the usual video format that most companies prefer
The format of the series was really born out of the creative ask. At the time, we were tasked with coming up with a campaign to socially support the Halo 5: Guardians TV commercials that were going to air in March. As we ideated around the themes of those commercials, we were struck by the idea of a journalist investigating the questions raised by the commercials about the Master Chief. The idea of audio storytelling in the NPR style was just the perfect fit conceptually and from a production perspective fit our budget and timeline constraints.
For those who are unfamiliar with Halo: Hunt the Truth, how would you best describe its place in the Halo universe
Hunt the Truth takes place in the fiction of Halo. It s an in-lore story produced by a character named Benjamin Giraud, a journalist hired by the government to write a story about the Master Chief. Ben is faced with unearthing the truth or toeing the company line as inconsistencies in the story emerge. The second season takes that construct and flips it on its head. But both seasons exist in the fiction of Halo, in the lead up to the events of Halo 5: Guardians.
You seem to attract a lot of top-notch talent for Hunt the Truth, and season two is no exception, with Mark Hamill and others coming on board. How did they manage to get involved
The caliber of talent that we were able to bring into the series has been amazing. I think great actors love great characters and writing that they can sink their teeth into, and I think this show is an actor s dream. It certainly doesn t hurt that it s also for Halo. But because of the format, the show lives and dies on the writing and the performance. Along with the teams at 343 and Xbox, Andrew Volpe, Ian Tornay, and I poured ourselves into crafting the most realistic and dramatically rich story and characters possible and I think actors and fans alike can feel that.
Hunt the Truth has a very big following within the Halo universe. Do you feel that will grow with Halo 5: Guardians set to release next month
Hunt the Truth has a big following within the Halo universe because there are a lot of people who love Halo. 343 Industries and Xbox have done an amazing job of building out the world around their games with novels, comics, and television. I think audio is just going to be another way that they tell stories in that universe now. Because of our approach with telling a relatable story, from a civilian perspective, Hunt the Truth has worked extraordinarily well in bringing new people into the lore of the franchise and build hype in the lead up to release of the game.
Where exactly will season 2 of Hunt the Truth tie in with the forthcoming Guardians
Thematically, we tie in to the story. There s some cross over with the timeline and events but I can t get into specifics. When you re creating stories like this you want them to support each other, but I think it s important that the stories live on their own so no one is missing out if they don t listen to Hunt the Truth.
Do you think more game development teams would be wise to take the podcast-based route for tying in to a video game s universe Or do you feel that video has its advantages as well
If you re a developer making a story based video game, and you want fans to invest into your game s universe emotionally, then I think it s crucial to tell great stories around your game. In my career, I ve almost exclusively created video but I m platform agnostic; whether it s video, audio, a novel, comic book, etc. There are numerous benefits to each. You ve got to tell a compelling story first and foremost.
Finally, would you like to see Hunt the Truth expand into new seasons down the road I m pretty sure there are more tales to tell within the Halo universe…
There are countless stories to tell in the Halo Universe, and HTT has become an exciting and vibrant way to bring some of those to life. We look forward to working with 343 and Xbox in the future to further support the franchise.
Halo 5: Guardians will release on October 27th for Xbox One. Meanwhile, Season Two of Hunt the Truth just started, and can be found here.
