343 industries executive producer dan ayoub described the challenge of adapting "halo" for a portable device as crafting the right experience for the device. "if we'd gone down the first-person shooter route, we might have built something compelling, but it couldn't on its own merit play as well as a traditional "halo" game," o'connor recalled. while focusing on optimizing the game for touch controls, the developers wanted to make sure the elements that made "halo" distinctive—its weapon sandbox, abilities, and look—remained. the focus on a mobile game experience also meant that the developers broke up the game's missions into smaller chunks for short playthroughs. during development, the game was known by the codename "bootcamp".