Halo: Outpost Discovery, Building a World That Had Never Existed Before
3D design, cross-disciplinary oversight, and manufacturing consulting for Halo: Outpost Discovery, a touring fan experience that took the Halo universe off the screen and into five U.S. cities. Falcon's Creative Group completed its work in 2017, and the tour opened in summer 2019.
- Role
- Led the 7 person 3D modeling team, with oversight across concept, CAD, effects, animation, and post-production
- Company
- Falcon's Creative Group
- Client
- Herschend Live & 343 Industries
- Recognition
- MUSE Creative Awards 2020, Platinum (The Ring Experience)
A universe that had never left the screen.
The goal was to take a video game universe and turn it into a physical, walk-through experience, where fans felt like soldiers inside the world of Halo instead of spectators at a themed event. There was no playbook for turning a game's characters, creatures, vehicles, and environments into life-size builds and CG content that could travel to five U.S. cities.
A production with no precedent to build from.
Story, concept art, 3D modeling, animation, lighting, sound, post-production, and CAD all had to come together on one schedule. Halo fans know this universe in detail, so everything had to hold up close, from the texture on a helmet to the scale of a ship.
Working across disciplines, not just within one.
I led a core 3D modeling team of seven people responsible for every character, creature, vehicle, and environment in the experience. I was also hired into a hybrid role, so I oversaw how our work moved through concept, CAD engineering, effects, animation, and post-production. When it came time to build, another company manufactured the physical statues and set pieces. I worked on the consulting side between Falcon's and that manufacturer, making sure our digital models translated into life-size pieces that could be built, shipped, and set up in five cities. My team also built or rebuilt every 3D model in The Ring Experience, the dome show that went on to win Platinum at the 2020 MUSE Creative Awards.
Designing for two realities at once.
Every design decision had to work in two completely different contexts at the same time, as a digital model that read correctly on screen and in CG, and as a physical, engineered, life-size build that could tour five cities and survive real-world handling.
"Nothing about this had been done before. Every discipline had to hold up on its own and still connect seamlessly to everyone else's."
Moving fluidly between digital and physical.
I moved between the digital models and the physical limits of the build. A model that looked right on screen still had to work as a statue that could be engineered, shipped, and assembled again and again on tour.
Why did craft need to hold up across every discipline?
Halo's fan base is deeply familiar with every detail of the universe. Any inconsistency between the narrative, the physical build, the animation, and the lighting would have been immediately obvious to the audience the experience was built for.
Why the dome-based Ring Experience?
The Ring Experience was a 360 degree dome theater where guests rode along with a reconnaissance drone called the Honeybee across Halo's ringworld. The screen was pitched 12 degrees down so the horizon sat at eye level, and the content was rendered at 7K. My team built or rebuilt every 3D model in the show, and it went on to win Platinum at the 2020 MUSE Creative Awards.
One touring production, many moving parts.
The tour reached Orlando, Philadelphia, Chicago, Houston, and Anaheim in summer 2019. Falcon's work spanned story, film, CG animation, visual effects, motion graphics, and sound, all built to feel like one connected world.
Recognition and scope.
The tour reached five U.S. cities, and Falcon's Ring Experience won Platinum at the 2020 MUSE Creative Awards.
- Cities Toured
- 5 U.S. cities (summer 2019)
- Team I Led
- 7 person core 3D modeling team
- Disciplines Contributed To
- 3D Modeling, Concept Design, CG Animation, Lighting & Effects, CAD consulting with the manufacturing partner
- Recognition
- MUSE Creative Awards 2020, Platinum, Experiential & Immersive (The Ring Experience)
- Timeline
- Falcon's work completed 2017, tour opened 2019
Project details are publicly documented.
Craft has to hold up in every direction at once.
This project meant designing for two realities at once, the screen and the physical build, for fans who would notice every detail. Getting both right came down to keeping every discipline connected from the first model to the final install.
This project taught me how to work across disciplines under real physical constraints. It wasn't enough for something to look right on screen. It had to be built, lit, animated, and toured, and still feel true to a universe millions of people already loved. That range has shaped how I approach every complex system I've designed since.