Wikipedia

Covenant (Halo)

TheCovenantis a fictional military alliance of various alien species and serve as the one of the primary antagonists in theHaloscience fiction series. The Covenant are composed of a variety of diverse species, united under the religious worship of the Enigma ticForerunnersand their belief that Forerunner ringworlds known asHaloswill provide a path to salvation. After the Covenant leadership – theHigh Prophets– declare humanity an affront to their gods, the Covenant prosecute a lengthy genocidal campaign against the technologically inferior race.

Covenant
Halorace
Clockwise from left: a Covenant Mgalekgolo, Jiralhanae, Kig-Yar, and Unggoy as they appear inHalo 3(2007).
First appearanceHalo: Combat Evolved
Created byBungie
GenreFirst-person shooter
In-universe information
Other name(s)
  • Elites (Sangheili)
  • Grunts (Unggoy)
  • Jackals (Kig-Yar)
  • Hunters (Mgalekgolo)
  • Prophets (San’Shyuum)
  • Brutes (Jiralhanae)
Sub-races
  • Sangheili
  • Unggoy
  • Kig-Yar
  • Mgalekgolo
  • San’Shyuum
  • Jiralhanae

The Covenant were first introduced in the 2001 video gameHalo: Combat Evolvedas enemies hunting the player character, a human supersoldier known asMaster Chief.Not realizing the Halos were meant as weapons of destruction rather than salvation, the Covenant attempt to activate the rings on three separate occasions throughout the series, inadvertently releasing a virulent parasite known as theFloodin the process.

To develop a distinctive look for the various races of the Covenant, Bungie artists drew inspiration from reptilian, ursine, and avian characteristics. A Covenant design scheme of purples and reflective surfaces was made to separate the aliens from human architecture.

Overview

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In the primary26th centurysetting ofHalo,humanity and the Covenant meet for the first time in the year 2525. Searching for relics left behind by their gods, theForerunners,the Covenant stumble across humans at the colony world of Harvest. The Covenant leadership discovers that the Forerunners designated humanity "reclaimers" of their legacy, and that the Covenant religion is built on falsehoods; to prevent the truth from being uncovered, they instigate a genocidal war against humanity.[1]

The Covenant's superior technology gives them a distinct advantage in the war. In 2552, the Covenant discover and destroy Reach, one of humanity's greatest military strongholds. A human ship fleeing the battle discovers a Forerunner ringworld, Halo. The Covenant believe the activation of these rings are key to bringing about salvation, but the ring is destroyed by the human supersoldierMaster Chief.Soon after, the Covenant falls into civil war as the truth of the Halo rings' purpose is revealed: they are actually weapons of mass destruction built to stop the spread of the parasiticFlood.The disgraced Covenant commander known as theArbiterallies with the Master Chief to stop the Covenant and Flood, ending the Human-Covenant War. In the post-war era, various factions replace the power vacuum left by the Covenant; these include the Banished, who feature as primary antagonists inHalo Infinite.[2]

Game development

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Throughout much of the development ofHalo: Combat Evolved,very little concrete story details had been developed for the story campaign, and what trials the player character would face. WriterJoseph Statenand other Bungie staff came up with the idea of a coalition of alien races, subsequently deciding that the faction would be motivated by religion.[3]During the course of development ofHalo,the designers decided upon three "schools" of architecture, for each of the factions represented – humans, Covenant, and Forerunners. For the Covenant, the team decided on "sleek and shiny", with reflective surfaces, organic shapes, and use of purples. According to art director Marcus Lehto, the principle designs for the faction came from environmental artist Paul Russell,[4]: 86 while concept artist Shi Kai Wang was instrumental in developing the look of the various races within the Covenant. Armor color was used to denote ranks of enemies.[3]

Like the character designs, Covenant technology, architecture, and design continually changed throughout development, occasionally for practical reasons as well as aesthetics.[4]: 98 According to Eric Arroyo, the Covenant cruiserTruth and Reconciliation,which plays a major role inHalo: Combat Evolved,was to be boarded by the player by a long ramp. However due to technical considerations of having a fully textured ship so close to the player, the designers came up with a "gravity lift", which allowed the ship to be farther away (thus not requiring as much processing power for detail) as well as adding a "visually interesting" component of Covenant technology.[4]: 100 

The art team also spent a large amount of time on Covenant weaponry, in order to make them suitably alien yet still recognizable to players.[4]: 125 At the same time, the designers wanted all aspects of Covenant technology, especially the vehicles, to act plausibly.[4]: 143 In contrast to human weapons firing projectiles, many of the Covenant's weaponry are depicted as firingplasma.A few of the Covenant's weapons are not plasma-based, including the Needler, which fires razor-sharp pink needles capable of homing at organic foes. A weapons expert noted parallels between the Needler and ancient Greek Amazons painting their daggers pink as a psychological weapon.[5]Bungie designed the majority of Covenant technology to mirror the aesthetic of the Elites; the exteriors are sleek and graceful, with a more angular and complex core underneath hinting at the Forerunner origins of the technology.[6]: 60 

Species

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Covenant society is depicted as acastesystem composed of different species. Bungie's artists looked at live animals and films for inspiration; as a result, the species within the Covenant bearsimian,reptilian,avian,andursinecharacteristics.[4]: 51 Concept artist Shi Kai Wang focused on making each enemy seem appropriate to its role in gameplay.[7]: 47 The species within the Covenant include:

  • Sangheili(called Elites in Human language) who stand nearly 8'6''(2.6 m) and feature recharging personal shields. The Sangheili initially had simple mouths, which developed into pairs of split mandibles substituting for the lower jaws. Bungie concept artist Shi Kai Wang noted that project leadJason Joneshad been insistent on giving the Sangheili a tail.[4]: 37 While Wang thought it made the aliens look too animalistic, the idea was dropped due to practical considerations, including where the tail would go when the Sangheili were driving vehicles.[4]: 38 According to Paul Russel, when Bungie was bought by Microsoft andHalowas turned into an Xbox launch title, Microsoft took issue with the design of the Sangheili, as they felt that the Sangheili had a resemblance to cats that might alienateJapaneseconsumers.[8]
  • Unggoyor Grunts, are commonly depicted as basic foot soldiers. Squat and cowardly fighters, Unggoy panic and run if players kill their leaders.[9]
  • Kig-Yaror Jackals carry energy shields or ranged weaponry. In some cases, such as with the Kig-Yar, the overall design was honed once the enemy's role was clearly defined.[4]: 28 
  • Mgalekgoloor Hunters are collectives of alien worms encased in tough armor.[10]: 4–5 Initial concepts were less humanoid-looking and softer than the final shape, with angular shields and razor-sharp spines.[4]: 33 
  • San’Shyuumor Prophets serve as the supreme rulers of the Covenant, and were primarily designed by Shi Kai Wang and Eric Arroyo. Originally, the San’Shyuum were built in a more unified way, with the gravity thrones they used for flotation and movement fused with the Prophet's organic structures. The characters were also designed to be feeble, yet sinister. The three Prophet Hierarchs were each individually designed.[4]: 55–56 
  • Jiralhanaeor Brutes are even more physically imposing than the Sangheili, with their society organized around tribal chieftains. Inspired by the animators watching biker films, the Jiralhanae incorporated simian and ursine elements while retaining an alien look. Wang's final concept for the creatures inHalo 2,replete with bandoliers and human skulls, was simplified for the game.[4]: 37–38 Jiralhanae were meant to typify the abusive alien menace of the Covenant and in the words of design lead Jaime Griesemer, to serve as "barbarians in Rome".[11]

Other members of the Covenant include insectoid Yanme'e (Drones); the animators found the creatures challenging, as they had to be animated to walk, run, crawl, or fly on multiple surfaces. Old concept art fromCombat Evolvedwas repurposed in influencing the Yanme'e final shape, which took cues from cockroaches, grasshoppers, and wasps.[4]: 55 Cut fromCombat Evolvedwere floating support workers known as The Huragok (Engineers),[4]actually constructed machines rather than organic creatures.[12]They later made appearances inHalo Wars,Halo 3: ODST,Halo ReachandHalo Wars 2as well as various novels.

With subsequent games, the Covenant and their look were changed or refined to account for increased graphic hardware or gameplay needs. InHalo 3,the Jiralhanae became the primary enemy, and they were heavily redesigned. Concept artists took inspiration from rhinoceroses and gorillas, and armored them with buckles and clothing to represent a different aesthetic look compared to the Covenant. Weaponry was designed to reflect the Jiralhanae’s "souls" distilled to its purest form – conveyed by dangerous shapes, harsh colors, and objects that looked "dangerous to be around".[6]: 47 The more seasoned the Brute, the more ornate clothing and helmets; the armor was designed to convey a culture and tradition to the species, and emphasize their mass and power. Designs forHalo 3took cues from ancient Greek Spartans.[6]: 22–25 Character animators recorded intended actions for the new Jiralhanae in a padded room at Bungie. A new addition to the Jiralhanae artificial intelligence was a pack mentality; leader Brutes direct large-scale actions simultaneously, such as throwing grenades towards a player.[11]

Halo: Reachserved as a prequel toHalo: Combat Evolved,and creative director Marcus Lehto pushed for the team to revamp the Covenant. The aliens' translated English was replaced with untranslated, guttural alien sounds, and their look and weaponry was redesigned. The goal was to make the Covenant intimidating and more alien to players.[13]

Analysis

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The Covenant serve as one of a number of religious allusions inHalo.Their name refers to sacred agreements between the people of Israel and their God in Jewish and Christian tradition, and could be used to indicate the attitude of superiority complex the aliens have to the inferior and sacrilegious humans. The Covenant's ships bear names referring to elements of Judeo-Christian religion.[14]A review of religions and religious material in video games noted that the Covenant's invented religion had many similarities to those in similar games, and would likely be called acultin the real world.[15]The thematic parallels of religious zealots fighting an American military metaphor was not lost on Microsoft's content review team, who forced a name change of the holy warrior "Dervish"to Arbiter before the release ofHalo 2.[3][14]Theologian P.C.J.M. Paulissen notes that while on the surface theHalogames present a conflict between rational humans and religious alien fanaticism, the comparison is complicated by the technical superiority of the Covenant (they wield energy weapons compared to primitive human ballistics) and the games seem to reject the idea science and religion are rigidly disconnected.[14]

Cultural impact

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Merchandise

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Microsoft has commissioned multiple sets of action figures and merchandise featuring Covenant characters for each video game. TheHalo 3action figure sets have been made byMcFarlane Toys,and include Brutes and Jackals.[16]The Covenant's weaponry has also been adapted into large-scale replicas.[17][18][19]

Reception

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The Covenant were positively received inCombat Evolved,with their artificial intelligence praised and the different tactics needed to defeat each enemy type commended.[20]

The ability to experience the storyline ofHalo 2from the Covenant perspective was described as a "brilliant stroke of game design". Allowing the player to assume the role of a Sangheili who was described as providing an unexpected plot twist, and allowing the player to experience a "newfound complexity to the story".[21]In addition, some reviewers thought that this provided the series with a significant plot element –IGNreferred to it as the "intriguing side story of Thel 'Vadam and his Sangheili" – and its elimination inHalo 3was pointed to as responsible for reducing the role of the Arbiter within the series plot.[22]Guinness World Records Gamer's Editionlisted Covenant as 16th in their list of top 50 Villains.[23]

References

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  1. ^Lowry, Brendan (September 21, 2017)."Halo timeline: Beginning of the Human-Covenant War and the downfall of Harvest".Windows Central.Archivedfrom the original on July 20, 2018.RetrievedOctober 12,2021.
  2. ^Lennox, Jesse (October 6, 2021)."The story of Halo so far: What you need to know before playing Halo Infinite".Digital Trends.Archivedfrom the original on October 7, 2021.RetrievedOctober 12,2021.
  3. ^abcHaske, Steven (May 30, 2017)."The Complete, Untold History of Halo".Vice.Vice Media.Archivedfrom the original on March 15, 2018.RetrievedMarch 27,2018.
  4. ^abcdefghijklmnTrautmann, Eric (2004).The Art of Halo.New York: Del Ray Books.ISBN0-345-47586-0.
  5. ^Samoon, Evan (July 2008). "Gun Show: A real military expert takes aim at videogame weaponry to reveal the good, the bad, and the just plain silly".Electronic Gaming Monthly.Vol. 1, no. 230. p. 49.
  6. ^abcBoroumand, Shaida, ed. (2008).The Art of Halo 3.Random House.ISBN978-07615-6072-2.
  7. ^Robinson, Martin, ed. (2011).The Great Journey—Halo: The Art of Building Worlds.Titan Books.ISBN978-08576-8562-9.
  8. ^Jarrard, Brian; Smith, Luke, &c (August 21, 2008).Bungie Podcast: With Paul Russell and Jerome Simpson(Podcast). Kirkland, Washington:Bungie.Archived fromthe original(MP3)on February 3, 2009.RetrievedAugust 27,2008.
  9. ^Boulding, Aaron (November 9, 2001)."Halo: Combat Evolved Review".IGN.Archived fromthe originalon August 21, 2012.RetrievedFebruary 19,2009.
  10. ^Bungie(2004).Halo 2 Instruction Manual.Microsoft Game Studios.
  11. ^abViDoc: Et Tu, Brute?.Bungie.December 2006.RetrievedFebruary 15,2009.[permanent dead link‍]
  12. ^"Huragok: Species".Halo Waypoint.Archived fromthe originalon March 29, 2017.RetrievedOctober 21,2021.
  13. ^Sofge, Erik (October 2010). "The Halo Effect".Popular Mechanics.187(10): 88.
  14. ^abcPaulissen, P.C.J.M. (2018)."The Dark of the Covenant: Christian Imagery, Fundamentalism, and the Relationship between Science and Religion in the Halo Video Game Series"(PDF).Religions.9(4): 126.doi:10.3390/rel9040126.S2CID62790164.
  15. ^Bainbridge, William; Wilma Alice Bainbridge (September 2007). "Electronic Game Research Methodologies: Studying Religious Implications".Review of Religious Research.49(1): 41.{{cite journal}}:CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  16. ^Staff (April 2008). "McFarlane 'Halo' Figures".Game Informer.Vol. 1, no. 180. p. 34.
  17. ^Luna, Kevin (October 1, 2021)."The best gifts for Halo fans".Chicago Tribune.Archivedfrom the original on October 2, 2021.RetrievedOctober 19,2021.
  18. ^Pearce, Alanah (April 15, 2016)."11 of the Coolest Halo Toys Ever Made".IGN.Archivedfrom the original on April 17, 2016.RetrievedOctober 19,2021.
  19. ^Makuch, Eddie (September 21, 2015)."Halo 5 Gets Its Own Mega Bloks Toys".GameSpot.Archivedfrom the original on September 19, 2015.RetrievedOctober 18,2021.
  20. ^"Halo: Combat Evolved review".Edge.No. 105.Future Publishing.November 29, 2001. Archived fromthe originalon October 14, 2014.
  21. ^Kasavin, Greg (November 7, 2004)."Halo 2for Xbox Review ".GameSpot.RetrievedOctober 25,2007.
  22. ^Goldstein, Hillary (September 23, 2007)."Halo 3Review ".IGN.RetrievedOctober 25,2007.
  23. ^Nichols, Scott (January 24, 2013)."Guinness World Records counts down top 50 video game villains".Digital Spy.Archivedfrom the original on August 19, 2019.RetrievedOctober 19,2021.
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