I became a Halo war journalist in ArmA 3

A new perspective outside of the Spartan armor.

If I had to describe what it feels like to play Halo in one word, it would be "empowering." Master Chief is covered from head-to-toe in titanium alloy armor plating, can effortlessly move throughout environments in a supersoldier-like fashion, and is capable of caving in the skulls of aliens several feet taller than him with nothing more than the blunt end of a rifle. One thing many fans have always wondered, though, is what would it be like to be in the shoes of a normal human on a Halo battlefield?

This is the question that led to the development of Operation: TREBUCHET, also known as OPTRE), which is a mod for the popular realism-focused military shooter ArmA 3 that adds in weapons, armor, vehicles, and Insurrectionist AI enemies all based on and from established Halo lore. Recently, I was approached by the 12th Marine Division, a large group of players that use OPTRE to design, plan, and play weekly operations.

I was able to tag ...