Editing Guardian Sentinel

{{Status|Canon}}
{{Callsign}}
{{disambig header|the Forerunner Sentinel|other uses|Guardian (disambiguation)}}
{{Forerunner infobox
|name=Guardian Sentinel
|image=[[File:H3 Digsite Guardian.png|300px]]
|role=Defense of [[Forerunner]] installations
|length=
|width=
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|armament=
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}}
'''Guardian Sentinels''' are a [[Forerunner]] construct created prior to the firing of the [[Halo Array]].{{Ref/Map|Id=H3Epitaph|H3|Epitaph}}

==History==
===Holograms===
Holograms of these constructs were displayed in structures on [[Installation 00]]{{Ref/Reuse|H3Epitaph}} and the [[Silent Auditorium (location)|Silent Auditorium]] of [[Installation 07]].

===Cortana{{'}}s interpretation===
By [[2556]], when [[John-117]] and [[Cortana]] was stranded in space after the [[Battle of Installation 00]], Cortana interpreted these constructs around [[Strato-Sentinel]]s, and as escorts for a [[Keyship]] at the [[Portal at Voi]] during the Forerunners war against the [[Flood]].{{Ref/Film|Id=HLO|Halo Legends|Ep=Origins}}

==Production notes==
The Guardians have a storied history with the ''Halo'' series, with their core idea dating back to the development of ''[[Halo 2]]''. Notably, the Guardians were heavily developed for ''[[Halo 3]]'', with many pieces of concept art created for their design. The Guardians were to feature in the eponymous level ''[[Guardian Forest]]'' as enemies, with a model and animations being created for them, and the in-game character in iteration. In the level, the player would have been able to rip out the Guardian's "eye" and use it as a laser weapon.{{Ref/Site|Id=GDC|D=01|M=6|Y=2020|URL=https://www.gdcvault.com/browse/gdc-09/play/1284|Site=GDC Vault|Page=Building Your Airplane While Flying: Production at Bungie}}{{Ref/Site|Id=Powerpoint|D=01|M=6|Y=2020|URL=http://downloads.bungie.net/presentations/gdc_bungieproduction_march2009.pptx|Site=Bungie.net|Page=Building Your Airplane While Flying: Production at Bungie|Detail=Original presentation download}} Unfortunately, the level and the Guardian enemy had to be cut, with the level being repurposed as the ''[[Guardian (map)|Guardian]]'' multiplayer map and the Guardian enemy model itself used on ''[[Epitaph]]'' in holographic form. While not seen in the final game, their design was later used in ''[[Origins]]'' for two Forerunner constructs seen escorting a [[Keyship]] to the [[Portal at Voi]].{{Ref/Reuse|HLO}} The Guardian hologram reappears in ''[[Halo Infinite]]''.{{Ref/Site|Id=InsideApril|D=30|M=4|Y=2021|URL=https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/news/inside-infinite-april-2021|Site=Halo Waypoint|Page=Inside Infinite - April 2021}} The ''[[Halo Encyclopedia (2022 edition)]]'' reveals that the holograms of the Guardian Sentinels were repurposed as in-universe holographic representations of [[Offensive Bias]].

Additional information provided by Halo 3 Campaign Environment Lead [[Chris Barrett]], who is cited as being the creator of the Guardians, reveals that the Guardian had two states, a regular and a "deployed" state, the deployed state being ultimately repurposed as the Epitaph hologram in the final game. {{Ref/Site|Id=Barrett1|D=11|M=6|Y=2023|URL=https://twitter.com/cgbarrett/status/1639168845536722944|Site=Twitter|Page=Christopher Barrett}}  [[Jaime Griesemer]] would also provide information comparing their intended movement design to that of the Compilers from Marathon. {{Ref/Site|Id=Greisemer1|D=11|M=6|Y=2023|URL=https://twitter.com/32nds/status/1639161407534170112|Site=Twitter|Page=Jaime Griesemer|Quote=My recollection is that they moved like the Compilers from Marathon.}} [[Vic DeLeon]] has suggested that the Guardian was intended to be similar in size to the similarly-cut [[Strato-Sentinel]]s;{{Ref/Site|Id=Vic1|D=01|M=6|Y=2020|URL=https://twitter.com/vicdeleon/status/1304910772313575424|Site=Twitter|Page=Vic DeLeon|Quote=Fwiw this is almost exactly what the Guardians looked like back when they were first imagined on Halo 2, only they were much larger, almost like the Strato-Sentinel.}} however, the model used on Epitaph is much more reasonably sized closer to a standard Sentinel - something which matches their suggested use in-game. This is supported by the ongoing work of the [[Digsite]] project Guardian restoration - indicating DeLeon may have misremembered these details.{{Ref/Twitter|Pyrosocial1|1638998958293897230|Krevil|Quote=@game_fabricator Hi Marcus, the Digsite team is working on remaking the Guardian and we were wondering if you might know if it was able to fly or hover? We don't have the original tags, only the source data. Here's an image of our WIP if that helps|D=13|M=06|Y=2023}}

Information provided by the [[Digsite]] team's efforts to restore the Guardian indicate that the Sentinel was capable of teleportation and a repulsion field similar to [[343 Guilty Spark]]. {{Ref/Site|Id=DigsiteDiscoveries|D=17|M=9|Y=2023|URL=https://www.halowaypoint.com/news/digsite-discoveries|Site=Halo Waypoint|Page=Digsite Discoveries}}

Design documents uploaded online by campaign design lead Rob Stokes indicated the Guardians were considered at various stages of development to appear in some form in the levels [[The Ark (level)|The Ark]], [[Guardian Forest]], [[Alpine (cut Halo 3 level)|Alpine]], [[Forerunner City]], and [[Halo (Halo 3 level)|Halo]].{{Ref/Site|Id=Stokes|URL=https://rpstokes53.wixsite.com/work-of-rob-stokes/halo-3|Site=Work of Rob Stokes|Page=Halo 3|D=25|M=05|Y=2023}}

According to ''[[Art of Halo 3]]'', ''"The Guardian evokes memories of Compilers (from one of Bungie's previous games, [[Marathon]]) and the robes of a High Court Judge -  which is fitting because, as anyone who has encountered them can tell you, their judgments are swift and final, and their logic utterly alien."''{{Ref/Book|Id=AoH3P31|AoH3|Section=With Friends Like These|Page=31}}

==Gallery==
===Concept art===
<gallery>
File:H3 Guardian Concept 1.jpg|Early ''Halo 3'' concept art.
File:H3 Guardian Concept 2.jpg|Early ''Halo 3'' concept art.
File:H3 Guardian Concept 3.jpg|Early ''Halo 3'' concept art.
File:H3 Guardian Concept 4.jpg|Near-final ''Halo 3'' concept art.
</gallery>

===Halo 3===
<gallery>
File:H3 Epitaph Hologram.png|The Guardian hologram on Epitaph.
File:H3 Modded Guardian.jpg|A Guardian enemy [[Modding|modded]] into ''Halo 3'' using the model found on Epitaph. Notably, this fan-made restoration is described by [[Vic DeLeon]] as looking almost exactly like the intended Guardian enemy in the original game.
File:GuardiansH3.jpg|A series of Guardian models from various stages of development recovered by the [[Digsite]] team using assets found in 343 Industries' internal archives.
</gallery>

===Halo Legends===
<gallery>
File:Origins H3 Sentinels.png|''Halo 3''-styled Guardians alongside several Strato-Sentinels.
File:Origins_Guardians_Keyship.png|''Halo 3''-style Guardians escorting a Keyship in ''Origins''.
</gallery>

===Halo Infinite===
<gallery>
File:HINF GuardianHoloStructure.jpg|The ''Halo 3'' Guardian design has since been re-used again in the campaign of ''[[Halo Infinite]]''.
</gallery>

==List of appearances==
*''[[Halo 3]]'' {{1st}} {{C|Hologram only}}
*''[[Halo Legends]]''
**''[[Origins]]''
*''[[Halo Infinite]]'' {{C|Hologram only}}

==Sources==
{{Ref/Sources}}

{{Forerunner|sentinel}}

[[Category:Sentinels]]
[[Category:Deleted material]]
[[Category:Halo 3 deleted material]]