Halo Outpost Discovery — Scott Walker

A belated but heartfelt post about the Halo Outpost Discovery experience that toured the U.S. over the summer. I managed to catch the final installation in September at the Anaheim Convention Center.

As someone who has played Halo since its release in 2001, it’s a bit of a surprise to realize I’ve had the Master Chief, Cortana, and the Covenant rattling around inside my head for nearly two decades. Also surprising is that it’s taken this long for Microsoft/343 Studios to give Halo fans a dedicated convention experience solely focused on the outstanding franchise.

It was worth the wait.

You can check out details of the whole convention at the official website…er, scratch that. You USED to be able to check out details at the official website, but some reason, it’s been stripped down to a bunch of News posts/updates (the most recent one dating back to July 10th) and an email signup page.

Happily, the Wayback Machine has some cached versions you can check out.

The Good

Considering this was their first outing with Outpost, I thought 343 did a great job. A lot of very cool stuff, a nice variety of things to do and see, and clearly a lot of money sunk into props and exhibits (looking at you, Warthog).

For me, the highlights included the Hall of History, the laser tag game, the VR shooter experience, the Ring experience, and the Pelican Trainer.

The Hall of History was full of amazing artifacts, props, and - yes - history about the Halo world. All done in an immersive way, too, as if we really were touring a museum of the future (that documented the past…of a fictional world…it was both meta and a little surreal, in a good way).

There was a somber tone to this exhibit. Hard to explain, but it reminded me of visiting war memorials. It amped up the immersive aspect of the exhibit.

UNSC colors on display in the Hall of History

Nearly teared up at this, as Reach continues to be my favorite Halo installment (which sounds a little heretical even to me). So glad they included this in the Hall of History.

The laser tag game was one of my last stops that day, and it was awesome. Not only were we equipped with actual assault rifles, they made the same sounds we’ve all come to know and love: blasts, shield hits, and the all-too-familiar warning when your shield was tapped out.

Add to that the frenetic pace of trying to defend your base while pushing the other team into their respawn corner (yes, that’s right - if you died, you had to book it back to your base to respawn), and it made for a heart-racing experience. The only way it could have been better would have been if we’d actually been dressed up in Spartan suits.

The VR simulation was fun, though a tad disappointing in that our avatars were a cross between the robot Eve from WallE and the little figures from the Wii. We were also limited to the Covenant energy pistol, which was a little of a let down. But instead of a static map to battle in, every minute or so, the arena walls would shift around. The tactics you just finished learning were no longer valid, and you had to think quickly to adjust to the new arena. I liked that component a lot.

Every VR round was tabulated. Happily, I was on the Red Team!

The Ring Experience was an audio tour narrated by Gabriela, an AI constructed for use at Halo Outpost Discovery. We each got a pair of large headphones that made Gabriela’s voice feel up close, and it helped keep me immersed in the experience. The rest of the convention floor’s noises dropped away. So much better than a talking docent droning on and on (“and we’re walking, people, we’re walking”).

We went through a handful of room, each with various artifacts and displays, all while listening to Gabriela give us the history and chronology of the highpoint of the Halo world. I expect Gabriela will appear in the Halo-verse in another medium. At least, I hope so.

On the Ring Experience audio tour narrated by the Halo Outpost Discovery AI Gabriela.

The Pelican Trainer “instructor” gave us a very military-sounding brief which really helped put me in the proper mindset for the training exercise. At its core, this was an escape room, but skinning it as a Halo experience made all the difference in the world. I wasn’t thinking “I’m solving puzzles in an escape room.” I was thinking, “Shit, this bird is going down, and we’re all going to die!”

The Pelican Trainer required everyone in the simulation to cooperatively respond to “emergencies” that could only be fixed by flipping switches, spinning dials, and pushing buttons on a complex panel. Each of us were seated for “take off,” but not long after, the problems started, and we manned our assigned panels.

One minute, our O2 systems were failing, the next it was our power plant, then our engines.

If any of us took too long to take the proper corrective measure, the Pelican would lose integrity. Fail too many challenges, and the Pelican - and your team - were virtually disintegrated in a catastrophic failure. No surprise that most teams failed the exercise, even after going through it multiple times.

And yes, my team died. Twice.

The Awesome

The Armory was a dedicated area crafted and staffed by some local 405th members, which was great. Giving the 405th a large and official exhibitor space was a smart move. The cosplayers really enjoyed talking about their designs and sharing their techniques, and I met a handful of super cool folks at the exhibit. Tip: I learned industrial magnets can work a lot better than snaps (well, for foam armor - not sure my TK armor would benefit similarly).

Some of the 405th armor builds were insane.

[side note: some of the cosplayers at The Armory were also members of a local prop and armor building cosplaying group, Anvil Station. Their website says they have a much more relaxed approach to armor building than, say, the 501st, and the three guys there I talked to - Austin, Chris, and Ben - couldn’t have been nicer. If you’re in SoCal and at all interested in Halo and/or cosplaying, be sure to check out their site and Facebook page]

Also cool? In a nod to SXSW, 343 allowed anyone to propose and run panels at the convention. If I’d been paying more attention to that, I definitely would have put my hat in the ring!

Props to 343 for acknowledging the value fans can bring to the table.

I was only at Outpost for the last day of the last installation, and while I packed a ton into those eight hours, I still missed a lot. There were panels, signings, gameplay, and a ton of other stuff I wished I had time for.

There was plenty of merch available at the Halo Outpost PX.

The Future

As awesome as Outpost was, there are many ways 343 could raise the bar and draw an even bigger crowd next time around. Here’s a couple off the top of my head:

LARP experiences (both limited and persistent)
More vendors (there were only a few at Anaheim, and some didn’t seem to have a strong connection to the video game franchise)
Live drawing (I’m thinking about SDCC and all the artists who talk about their work as they are literally drawing/painting, often with a large TV above their booth so folks can watch from the aisles)

Fingers crossed we’ll get a 2020 repeat of Outpost, as I would easily go back. Plus, with Halo Infinite just around the corner, a touring live experience seems like a marketing no-brainer.

Your move, 343…