When Bungie completed its Halo trilogy, many gamers assumed that would be the end of the Master Chief Halo games. Sure, Bungie filled out some of the franchise’s backstory with Halo 3: ODST and Halo: Reach, but the developer was determined to let the Chief rest in peace for a while.

So, when Halo 4 was announced, the reaction from Halo fans was understandably mixed. On one hand, it’s always nice to see favorite characters and settings return in an updated form. On the other, a new developer might stray too far from Bungie’s vision, creating a first person shooter that was Halo only in name.

It’s good, then that 343 industries has been surprisingly open about the development of Halo 4, including their design philosophies and how much pressure they put on themselves to please Halo fans. A new video today shows Halo 4 Executive Producer Kiki Wolfkill (has there ever been a cooler name?) and Creative Director Josh Holmes discussing how 343 has managed to move the franchise forward and make Halo 4 their own, while staying true to Halo‘s themes and gameplay.