The three soldiers stood in front of the crowd, making sure that no one got past them and broke into the facility. The people screamed and ran forward as they were handed food rations.

However, no one was being threatened and the soldiers were only wearing costumes.

Microsoft held the second biggest launch event in the country for “Halo 4” on Monday night at the Domain in Austin. In attendance were developers from 343 Industries, local studio Certain Affinity and members of the famous machinima group Rooster Teeth, who make a webseries called Red Vs. Blue using the Halo graphics engine.

 

Five students from St. Edward’s University attended the event and they all appreciated how well-organized it was.

“The event was the most organized launch of a video game I’ve ever seen,” Zach Wichman, a senior studying bioinformatics, said. He said that playing the game at the event was the highlight of the night.

Microsoft has spent more money on “Halo 4” than any other game they have ever produced, and it showed at the event. Organizers handed out burgers and fries while fans waited in line outside. Once inside, fans were given autographed high-quality posters, bags full of Halo memorabilia and there were monitors set up to play the game before midnight.

The Halo franchise has strong ties with the city of Austin. Certain Affinity helped work on “Halo 4” along with “Halo 2,” which released in 2004 and “Halo Reach” in 2010. Members of Rooster Teeth were signing autographs at the event. Rooster Teeth, which has been using Halo games as its engine since 2004, is one of the most popular machinima groups in the U.S.

“That was my first midnight launch for any major game. It was a really fun first experience,” Lan Anh Van-Dinh, a junior biology major, said.

Van-Dinh really enjoyed talking to the local machinima group Rooster Teeth, whom she has been a fan of since her freshman year.

“I’m a big fan of Rooster Teeth. I just really like their sense of humor and they always keep their fans in mind,” Van-Dinh said.

“The game is huge. We got to meet the people who made it happen. I even talked with a guy who worked on multiplayer in ‘Halo 2,’” Aaron McLellan, a senior studying computer science, said.

When comparing this launch event to others he had experienced, McLellan enjoyed that the organizers kept the crowd so entertained the entire time.

“[At] other launch events I’ve been to, I just sat in line and got the game,” McLellan said.

Rob White, a senior majoring in computer science, appreciated the atmosphere and mood of the night.

“Everybody was happy. Last time I went to a midnight launch, it was at Gamestop and everyone seemed miserable,” White said.

Students appreciated how the organizers kept the fans in mind when putting on this event.

“There was so much they did for the fans,” White said.

“Halo 4” launched on Nov. 6 for the Xbox 360.