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EspañolMASTER CHIEF (HALO)
'Master Chief Petty Officer SPARTAN-117', commonly referred to in-game as 'Master Chief', is the fictional protagonist within the Halo universe. He is the main character of the video game '', and one of the two playable characters in ''Halo 2''. Additionally, he will appear in the soon to be released game ''Halo 3''. In addition to video games, the Master Chief appears in the novels '', '', '', '', and has cameos in both '' and the ''Halo Graphic Novel''. He is voiced by Steve Downes in the video games in which he appears.
The Master Chief is one of the most visible symbols of the ''Halo'' series. Originally designed by Marcus Lehto, Rob McLees, and Shi Kai Wang, the character is a silent protagonist, towering but faceless, never once removing his armor. The character has been referred to as an "icon", and is one of a few recognizable game mascots, a relative newcomer joining established characters such as Mario, Lara Croft, and Sonic the Hedgehog; ''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' named the Master Chief as the eighth greatest video game character ever.
Character design
Shi Ki Wang's sketch which became the basis for the Master Chief.
The task of developing the Master Chief for the character's first appearance in '' fell on the project's Art Director, Marcus Lehto, and Rob McLees. Eventually, Shi Ki Wang was hired for conceptual art. The Art of Halo, , Eric, Trautmann, Del Ray Publishing, 2004, One of Wang's sketches was accepted and became the basis for the Master Chief. However, upon importing Wang's version into 3-D model form, it was decided the Master Chief looked too slender, "almost effeminate". The Master Chief was subsequently bulked up to the version currently found in the games. Similarly, the Chief's armor went through various changes, such as adding (and later in development losing) an antenna as well as gaining a green tint.[1]
Bungie's Joseph Staten noted in an interview on creating believable video game characters that until the Master Chief was created, Bungie had not considered how to make people immersed in the world of ''Halo''. "Master Chief is really what kicked off the creativity," he said, "in terms of how people react to him. He's a space marine in really cool green armor."[2]
The Master Chief's voice is provided by Steve Downes, a disc jockey and voice actor who had never played video games before ''Halo''. He was recommended for the part by Martin O'Donnell, who had done work with Downes for another video game.[3] Formal appearances of Downes at Bungie or Microsoft events have never occurred. Downes believes that the main reason the Master Chief is left masked is that "[the Master Chief's identity] is really in the eye of the player".Downes, Steven. Interview with "Xerxdeej" (Part 2). ''tiedtheleader.com'' . (2005-08-23).[4]
Attributes
Personality
Steve Downes said that his voice acting for the Chief was based entirely on a written character description provided by Bungie, which specified a "Clint Eastwood"-like character of few words. The actor noted in a podcast interview that during the recording he was given a fair amount of creative leeway in terms of developing the Chief's personality.Downes, Steven. Interview with "Xerxdeej", ''tiedtheleader.com''. (2005-08-23). In the games, the Master Chief never speaks during player-controlled gameplay, making him a silent protagonist. Even during cutscenes, the Master Chief generally speaks sparingly. This aspect, combined with the perceived "genericness" of the character as an action hero, Team Freemont: Halo 2 review Team Freemont has led to complaints that the Master Chief is not fleshed out believably character-wise.[5]
In the official novels, the Chief's personality is expanded upon. Before awakening from cryosleep before the events of '', the Chief experiences a nightmare in which he is a powerless child, suggesting some physiological issues or trauma.[6] Being entirely encased in heavy armor and seven feet tall, the Chief inspires awe and terror in friends and foes alike.[6] Despite his cold exterior, the Chief cares about his fellow soldiers, especially the Spartans he trained with.[6] At one point, the Master Chief risks being caught in a massive explosion in order to save a fellow Spartan,[9] and withholds combat information on the threat of the Flood after realizing its disclosure would mean the death of Sergeant Avery Johnson.[9] Despite his excellent combat record, many in the United Nations Space Command view the Master Chief with distrust. Antonio Silva, an ODST, exemplifies this attitude,[9] regarding the Master Chief as a freak product of an experiment that should never be repeated. , , William, Dietz, Ballantine Books, 2003, While the Chief resents Silva's dishonor to his fallen comrades' memory, he is also loyal to the chain of command, and stays quiet despite being demeaned.
Outward appearance
In the video games, the Master Chief is never seen without his armor. In the last cutscene of '', the Chief takes off his helmet, but the camera pans and his face is never seen; this intentional action on the part of Bungie Studios is to allow the player to better become the Master Chief. The only physical description of the Master Chief comes from the expanded universe. In the novels, the Chief is on one occasion briefed by Major Silva, and is told to come without his armor. During the briefing in '', the Chief is described as being tall with short hair, serious eyes, and strong features. His skin is "too white", testifying to the amount of time he spends in his armor. , , William, Dietz, Ballantine Books, 2003, Inside his armor, the Master Chief stands about seven feet tall and weighs half a ton;[12] without it, the Chief still stands 6 feet and 6 inches tall and weighs 287 lbs.[13]
Appearances
''Halo: The Fall of Reach''
The Master Chief's backstory is never explained in the video games. However, the novel '', which serves as a prequel to the events of '', reveals much of the character's history. In the Halo universe, this is the Master Chief's first chronological appearance; the book itself was released in 2001 as a companion to ''Halo''. The Master Chief, originally named John, was born in 2511 and spent the first part of his childhood on the human colony planet Eridanus 2, where he lived with his family. John was large for his six years of age, approximately a foot above his school peers. At this age he is described as a typical boy, having brown hair, freckles and a gap in between his two front teeth.[13] In 2517, John and seventy-four other children his age are covertly taken from their homes and replaced with flash clones to hide the kidnapping. The original children are brought to planet Reach, one of the UNSC's headquarters, to train to become SPARTAN-II supersoldiers.[13] On Reach, the children begin intensive physical, mental and psychological training as part of the Spartan program by Chief Petty Officer Franklin Mendez, and are assigned new identification numbers instead of last names; John becomes known as John-117. Approximately eight years later, John, along with the other children, are biologically and cybernetically augmented and enhanced. These procedures had substantial risks,[13] and only John and thirty-two other Spartans survive.[13]
Following the Spartans' first successful operation, John-117 is briefed on the Covenant threat, witnessing the utter devastation wrought by a single ship.[13] The Spartans are first sent to the Damascus Materials Testing Facility on the planet Chi Ceti 4 to retrieve the MJOLNIR Mark IV armor, in the process boarding a Covenant vessel and plant a bomb; John is forced to leave one of his fellow Spartans (who is also his best friend - Sam) to die.[13]
In 2552, the same year in which '' begins, the Covenant launch an invasion of the human world of Sigma Octanus and occupies one of the human cities, Cote D'Azure.[13] John-117 and three teams of Spartans are sent in to destroy the Covenant force with a nuclear warhead following a failed Marine assault. While in the city, John and his team discover the Covenant were scanning an ancient stone artifact in the city's museum, and recover it before detonating the nuclear warhead.[13] The Spartans then return to Reach, where the UNSC High Command as has developed a last-ditch plan to capture a Covenant High Prophet, who they hope could be used in order to barter a truce.[13] The Master Chief's armor is upgraded, and he first encounters the A.I. Cortana during a training mission.[13] At the climax of ''Fall of Reach'', the planet Reach is attacked by a massive Covenant armada of 750 ships.[24] Despite the best efforts of the Spartans and other UNSC forces, the Covenant begin to destroy the planet. Knowing Reach is lost, Cortana plots a random course as per the Cole Protocol. ''Halo: Combat Evolved'' Instruction Manual, , , , Microsoft Game Studios, 2001, The Master Chief, seemingly the last Spartan alive, goes into cryogenic sleep along with the ''Pillar of Autumn''
''Halo: Combat Evolved''
The Master Chief's first appearance in the games is as the protagonist in ''Halo: Combat Evolved''. In ''Halo: The Flood'', the 2003 novelization of the video game, the Chief is likewise the main character. The Master Chief first appears being awoken from cryosleep during the opening cinematic of ''Halo: Combat Evolved''. Upon coming out of slipspace, the ''Pillar of Autumn'' is attacked by the Covenant and crash lands on Halo. Master Chief escapes the ship via a lifeboat. Upon landing on the surface of the ring, his first task is finding survivors from the crash. During the midst of fighting the Covenant, Master Chief and Cortana discover that Halo was created by the Forerunners as a last line of defense against an alien parasite called The Flood. The Flood is accidentally unleashed by the Covenant and begin to spread across the ring.[25] On behalf of the installation's resident A.I. 343 Guilty Spark, the Master Chief retrieves the Index, a device which will activate Halo's defenses and wipe out the Flood. However, Guilty Spark neglects to inform Master Chief that Halo would accomplish this by destroying all sentient life in a vast radius, essentially starving the Flood to death.'Cortana': You have no idea how this ring works, do you? Why the forerunners built it? Halo doesn't kill flood, it kills their food. Humans, covenant, whatever. We're all equally edible. The only way to stop the flood is to starve them to death. And that's exactly what Halo is designed to do; wipe the galaxy clean of all sentient life. You don't believe me? Ask him. / 'Master Chief': Is this true? / '343 Guilty Spark': More or less. Technically, this installation's pulse has a maximum effective radius of twenty-five thousand light years. But, once the others follow suit, this galaxy will be quite devoid of life, or at least any life with sufficient biomass to sustain the flood. (pause) But you already knew that. I mean, how couldn't you? - Cortana intervenes to prevent the activation of Halo, and the Master Chief and A.I. plot to destroy the ringworld,[26] detonating the ''Pillar of Autumn''
''Halo: First Strike''
'', the 2003 novel by Eric Nylund, picks up the Master Chief's story soon after the events of '' and serves as a bridge between the events of ''Halo'' and ''Halo 2''. Floating in Halo's debris field, Cortana and the Chief discover there are in fact other human survivors.[9] The Master Chief and fellow soldiers, manage to capture the Covenant flagship ''Ascendant Justice'', and return to Reach to contact Earth's High Command. At Reach, the Master Chief discovers that the Covenant had not eradicated the planet's biosphere in the usual manner, and that a few other Spartans are still alive. The Chief retrieves his fellow soldiers, as well as Dr. Catherine Halsey, the creative genius behind the SPARTAN-II project. The Spartans then attack a massive Covenant command station, the ''Unyielding Hierophant'', preventing a Covenant assault on Earth.[9]
''Halo 2''
The Master Chief lands on the surface of Delta Halo.
The Master Chief returns as one of two playable characters in ''Halo 2'', the 2004 sequel to the original video game. Upon arriving back on Earth following the events of ''First Strike'', the Master Chief's heavily damaged Mark V MJOLNIR armor is replaced by the newer Mark VI model, recently field-tested by SPARTAN-062 Maria. Armor Testing, , Jay, Faerber, Marvel Comics, 2006, The Master Chief attends a brief awards ceremony aboard Cairo Station defense platform, which is interrupted by a Covenant invasion force. Master Chief is given the mission of protecting the station.[31] The Covenant are repelled, and the Master Chief links up with ''In Amber Clad'' and fights the Covenant at New Mombasa. As the Covenant depart using a slipspace jump within the city, the ''In Amber Clad'' follows them to Installation 05 - another Halo. Master Chief and a small squad of ODSTs land on "Delta Halo", and subsequently the Master Chief assassinates the Covenant High Prophet of Regret. Upon emerging from a structure, the Master Chief is fired upon by orbiting Covenant forces, but is rescued by the Gravemind, an intelligence of Flood origin, who sends the Master Chief to High Charity in an attempt to capture Delta Halo's Index.[32] Subsequently, the Master Chief boards a Forerunner ship which heads to Earth.
''Halo: Uprising'' and ''Halo 3''
The Master Chief was only briefly featured in the ''Halo Graphic Novel'' story ''The Last Voyage of the Infinite Succor''; his cameo serves to tie the events of the story to around ''Halo: Combat Evolved''
Appearances in other media
Team Ninja originally approached Bungie Studios asking to use the Master Chief in their upcoming game ''Dead or Alive 4''. While the Chief was not used, Bungie's interest in the idea resulted in the development of Nicole (Spartan-458).[34]
Master Chief is mentioned in the first episode of Rooster Teeth Productions' ''Halo''-based machinima parody series ''Red vs. Blue''. While talking to Simmons, Grif says, "I signed up to fight some aliens. Next thing I know, Master Chief blows up the whole Covenant Armada, and I'm stuck in the middle of nowhere, fighting a bunch of blue guys."[35]
Cultural impact
In an article in ''TIME'', Lev Grossman noted that the Master Chief represents a "new kind of celebrity for a new and profoundly weird millennium", The Man in the Mask Grossman, Lev and that the Master Chief is a symbol of the increasing legitimacy of video games as an art form. ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' simply described the Chief as "iconic".[36] ''BusinessWeek'' pointed to the Master Chief as one of several video game characters who has been branded beyond the respective video game, "helping them transcend the very medium in the process";[37] the Master Chief has been used in marketing on a variety of products, from 7-Eleven Slurpees to t-shirts, Xbox 360 controllers, and Mountain Dew.[38][39] ''EGM'' noted that the Master Chief, in half a decade had become the de facto symbol for the Xbox, and a new generation of gamers to boot.[40] The recognition of the Master Chief has spread to mainstream culture; Madame Tussauds is rumored to be developing a wax statue of the Chief.[41]
References
1. One Million Years B.X. Bungie
2. E3 Report: Developing Better Characters, Better Stories Cifaldi, Frank
3. Interview with the Master Chief KLind
4. A Visit from the Master Chief Himself XerxdeeJ
5. ''Halo 2'' vs ''Half Life 2'' Bear, Erik
6. , , William, Dietz, Ballantine Books, 2003,
7. , , William, Dietz, Ballantine Books, 2003,
8. , , William, Dietz, Ballantine Books, 2003,
9. , , Eric, Nylund, Ballantine Books, 2003,
10. , , Eric, Nylund, Ballantine Books, 2003,
11. , , Eric, Nylund, Ballantine Books, 2003,
12. ''Halo 2'' Instruction Manual, , , , Microsoft Game Studios, 2004,
13. , , Eric, Nylund, Ballantine Books, 2001,
14. , , Eric, Nylund, Ballantine Books, 2001,
15. , , Eric, Nylund, Ballantine Books, 2001,
16. , , Eric, Nylund, Ballantine Books, 2001,
17. , , Eric, Nylund, Ballantine Books, 2001,
18. , , Eric, Nylund, Ballantine Books, 2001,
19. , , Eric, Nylund, Ballantine Books, 2001,
20. , , Eric, Nylund, Ballantine Books, 2001,
21. , , Eric, Nylund, Ballantine Books, 2001,
22. , , Eric, Nylund, Ballantine Books, 2001,
23. , , Eric, Nylund, Ballantine Books, 2001,
24. 'Cortana': Fifteen Covenant capital ships, holding position just outside the killzone. / 'Lord Hood': Something's not right. The fleet that destroyed Reach was fifty times this size. -
25. '343 Guilty Spark': Greetings. I am the Monitor of installation 04. I am 343 Guilty Spark. Someone has released the Flood. My function is to prevent it from leaving this installation. But I require your assistance. Come. This way. -
26. 'Cortana': We can't let the monitor activate Halo. We have to stop him. We have to destroy Halo. -
27. , , William, Dietz, Ballantine Books, 2003,
28. 'Master Chief': Did anyone else make it? / 'Cortana': Scanning. (Pause) Just . . . dust and echoes. We are all that's left. -
29. , , Eric, Nylund, Ballantine Books, 2003,
30. , , Eric, Nylund, Ballantine Books, 2003,
31. 'Lord Hood': They're going to try to take our MAC guns offline, give their capital ships a straight shot at Earth. Master Chief…defend this station. -
32. 'Gravemind': If you will not hear the truth, then I will show it to you. There is still time to stop the key from turning, but first it must be found. You will search one likely spot... ...and you will search another. Fate had us meet as foes, but this ring will make us brothers. -
33. , Book 1, , Brian Michael, Bendis, Marvel Comics, 2007,
34. Dead or Alive 4 Q&A Staff
35. Rooster Teeth Productions (2003-04-01). ''Red vs Blue'' episode 1: "Why Are We Here?".
36. Prepare for an All-Out War Moses, Asher
37. Game Icons We Love Snow, Black
38. Halo 3 Box Arrives at IGN Offices Brudvig, Erik
39. Reserve Halo 3 at 7-11 TODAY!
40. Top Ten Video Game Characters EGM Staff
41. Master Chief is Getting Waxed for Madame Tussauds Swilinski, Alex
External links
★ The Master Chief's profile at Bungie.org.
★ Halopedia's entry on the Master Chief
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