GRIM: So, let’s start off by talking about scale. We’ve seen Halo products come in all sorts of different sizes over the years; what made you decide on the final scale for Halo: Ground Command?

NEIL: When we first looked at creating a ground warfare game for the Halo universe a number of miniature scales were discussed. After some fascinating, and not too heated conversations between Spartan Games and 343 Industries, it became clear that we all wanted the same thing: a mass-battle game that would allow infantry, armored and aerial units to come together in the same gaming space. Our guiding theme is “Ever thought how cool it would be to have an entire army of Scorpion tanks or massive aerial duels with Banshee flyers?... You have?... Well you’ve come to the right place!

GRIM: I mean, you had me at “Banshees.” Also, especially for folks who might be new to tabletop gaming, can you explain what it means to say that the game is at “1:100 scale?”

NEIL: Sure! Halo: Ground Command is designed to be an inclusive game that brings together video gamers and wargamers alike. 1:100th scale is the best way to do that, giving you the best of both worlds: excellent detail levels and affordable collectability.

To give you an idea of size: at 1:100th scale a UNSC Pelican Dropship comes in at just over 12 inches and is playable and affordable, but at 28mm scale this model would be around 24 inches and much too costly for the average gamer! It is also the case that a Covenant Scarab would be so large at 28mm as to make it almost un-gamable. That's no problem if you want to simply stand it on a (reinforced) shelf... but we want to make models you can show off AND game with too! We, however, want to game with our Scarabs…

GRIM: Can’t really argue with that logic. Speaking of games, we see some pretty large battles in Halo 3 and Halo: Reach, but the focus in the video games typically, and understandably, is a more personal – dare we say ‘visceral’ – experience revolving around a single Spartan or small group of soldiers. Was it difficult to adapt the look and feel of the video games when you decided to develop army-versus-army conflicts in Halo: Ground Command?

NEIL: We wanted to create a game that acted as a counterpoint and complement to the first person video game that people around the world are very familiar with and enjoy. Whereas the video games are laser-focused on individual Spartan heroes, our inspiration comes from the novels – in particular, Halo: The Fall of Reach – that look at the wider course of the Human-Covenant War and the actions of generals and field marshals at the army level. The stories are just as compelling on a larger stage, and in our opinion Halo: Ground Command helps showcase just how exceptional the Spartan super-soldiers really are, while simultaneously letting you appreciate the true power of the Covenant war machine!

GRIM: So, just to be clear, it’s safe to say that Spartans are not the focus of the game?

NEIL: Spartans (and their Zealot counterparts in the Covenant) play a very important role in the new game, but so do Warthogs, Scorpion Tanks, ODST Drop Pods, Falcons, Siege Engines, Phantoms, Wraiths, Ghosts, Hunters and Scarabs! The scale of Halo: Ground Command allows us to do things that are not easy to do in the games; it is entirely possible (even encouraged) that you could have hundreds of vehicles and thousands of infantry battling it out with bombing runs, MAC gun strikes, Banshee swarms, and reinforcements being ferried in on Pelicans – which we’ve been told is a bit challenging to do in the video game realm!

GRIM: Were it so easy, indeed. Now, considering the scope of the encounters in your game, was Halo Wars or Halo: Reach the inspiration for the game mechanics?

NEIL: Yes. <laughs> When designing the gameplay for Halo: Ground Command, we spent literally hundreds of hours ‘researching’ (read: playing Halo in all its forms) and it became clear to us that we had a real opportunity to create a wargame that mirrors the intense action of a tactical FPS with the strategic nuances of a RTS. So in a way, it’s both.

To achieve this, we have created a system for Reaction that allows everyone to be involved in a game turn, right from the off, even if the opponent is activating! This hasn’t been done before in modern massed battle wargaming, and we are delighted to have the chance to give Halo players a chance to be the first to play with this FPS-inspired tabletop innovation. Along with the tactical considerations of Reaction, we have created a strategic method of Force Building that has lots of adaptability and uses easy building-block principles to give players control over their forces and combine units in ways that is new and extremely interesting – exactly as if you were playing Halo Wars.

GRIM: Sounds awesome, Neil. Thanks so much for the passion your team pours into the universe, and for taking the time to answer our questions – we know you are super busy preparing for the Salute 2016 wargames convention in London this weekend!

NEIL: Our pleasure. We can’t wait to show people the game and demo the new models, which will be in stores later this Summer!