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MS/Bungie say good riddance to Fox
Bungie opens their weekly update by posting Microsoft's official response to Universal/Fox's decision to drop the Halo movie following a failed attempt at an 11th hour shakedown:"We are disappointed that Universal and Fox wanted to significantly renegotiate the financial points of the deal. But the Halo franchise is hugely popular and our goal remains the same - to find a partner that shares our passion and will creatively collaborate with us to best represent the story and spirit of the Halo franchise. Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and the rest of the creative team are dedicated to ensuring the Halo movie becomes a reality. We are already in discussions with potential partners who recognize the value of the Halo brand and its appeal to consumers worldwide."The Bungie team themselves remain highly optimistic that a less stingy and more creatively aware financial partner will be found in short order. Yes, when the Hollywood bean counters who practically ruined the Fantastic Four and X-men 3 back out of your movie deal, it's a good thing.
Halo movie denied, Hollywood pulls out
Variety, paragon of gaming news, is reporting that Fox Studios and Universal have pulled funding for the Halo movie. Hearing the nightmare chorus of fanboys screaming, "Why God? Why!?" into the heavens, I can only give you one answer. Money. Amid rumors that the film's budget would reach $200 million -- originally projected at $135 million -- the studios demanded at the last minute that the filmmakers reduce their deals. This demand was also made in light of the fact that Microsoft had already been promised $5 million up front and 10% of the gross.This turn of events has led some to speculate that Halo's director -- newcomer Neill Blomkamp -- is too inexperienced. This was, however, dismissed by Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh's representative, Ken Kamins,"Everybody is supremely confident in Neal [sic]. Part of what excited Peter and Fran was Neal's [sic] vision. We're very confident this film will move forward with the creative partners intact, who will take the film to production."We're a little concerned that Variety managed to misspell both Neill's name and Bungie Studios' name (they spelled it Bungee), but hey, that's Hollywood for you. So, with Halo's fate hanging in the balance, how do you feel? Did you even care about it the first place?[Via Joystiq]
"Halo 6" now playing on Xbox.com
Reader Delerious brings this interesting phenomenom to our attention. Go to "My Xbox" tab on Xbox.com An interactive window with a bunch of gamerpics will show up. Click on any one of them, except for the middle one, to bring up a point-and-read tutorial of XBL basics. Notice that each one says "Playing Halo 6, Death Island, 2 minutes left." Is this somone's idea of Halo humor? Don't they know that the mere mention of the world Halo followed by a number could launch a thousand phony ilovebees knock-offs.
Halo, the Latin epic
To what extent is Halo an extension of the interactive storytelling of old? The latest issue of The Escapist has a thought-provoking piece comparing Bungie Studio's Halo with Virgil's The Aeneid. The theme of a revered, super-human warrior protecting his home world against two enemies (one with whom we can sympathize, in the case of the Covenant / Greece) is prevalent through each tale. The interactivity, according to author Roger Travis, is an illusion for both the gamer and the Roman audience: we are immersed within the story but have no say over its outcome. Master Chief as Aeneas notwithstanding (no word on where multiplayer fits into the comparison), to what extent could one design a game where the progression is wholly determined by the user? Could the lore of World of Warcraft be expanded through the present-day actions of its masses? Even open-ended games like Fable and Oblivion have main quests and endings. To play devil's advocate to our own question, perchance a central plot is required in story-driven games in order to give the wandering avatar an initial feeling of purpose. Could there be a cutoff point where the user is left to his or her own devices, or must we always be in pursuit of some tangible outcome laid before us?
EGM dry humps Halo 3 before Nov. 14th issue
Consider this teaser a preliminary dry humping, because next month, we'll get to see venerable video game mag Electronic Gaming Monthly "f***ing Halo 3!" Those are their words, folks. We're not sure what form this issue will take, but we imagine centerfolds of Cortana, with her accompanying likes and dislikes (likes: holographic projectors, dislikes: Gravemind's grabby tentacles), wrapped up neatly in an opaque brown sleeve, and tucked away on the tallest shelf of your local convenient store. The December issue -- in which Bungie "breaks their silence" -- oughta hit newstands November 14th, which means we should hear all about the naughty goings-on well before then ...... on second thought, I'm not sure we read that right.
Halo Wars trailer gives us goosebumps
Okay, so you missed the X06 briefing and the Halo Wars trailer. Your 360 crapped out on you and you couldn't download it from Marketplace. To top it all off, your slavish devotion to X360F prevents you from looking it up on one of the internets. It's okay, friend, we understand your pain. You need merely click "continue" to see the video embedded after the break. And by the way, that headline is not a joke. It gave us goosebumps (well, maybe not Ken, but he is made of sterner stuff than I). So, who wants this game? Raise your hand.
Bungie podcast, hear the waaambulance live [update 1]
Bungie has posted their very first official podcast. While it's kind of short on Halo 3 tidbits, the show should be interesting to any Halo fans out there. For example, the podcast reveals that the composer of the Halo series, Marty O'Donnell, used to make his living writing jingles. You might know his work for either Mr. Clean or Flintstones vitamins (which the podcast's theme song is based on, incidentally). The podcast also let's us hear some of the placeholder dialogue from Halo 3 and some never before heard sound effects, though it's not as interesting as you might think. In the end, though, the best part of the show is the live reading of Bungie's now infamous Waaaaambulance. For those who don't know, the wambulance is Bungie reading letters from some of the dirty cheaters that have been banned from Live and are now begging to get their accounts back. Good stuff. We look forward to future episodes. Follow the read link to download the show.Update: Corrected spelling mistake. Cuz I'm a moron.
Jackson talks about Halo film
Over at Ain't It Cool News, there's a lengthy interview with Peter Jackson, covering the director, script and visual effects for the upcoming Halo movie. Jackson's enthusiasm shines through, and it's clear he's aiming at something better than your average "video game movie": It is original and new and has not been seen before on the screen. It's not Ridley Scott, it's not James Cameron, it's not what we've seen before, but it's something new and fresh and it's cool.The interviewer suggests the concept of an "adult" Halo movie; fortunately, there's an older interview with director Neill Blomkamp to take your mind off the thought.[Thanks, WebPimp]
Halo 3 has revised controls, panic abounds
It's a rough time for Halo fanboys. Every week Frankie gives us an update with almost zero information. It is our job as fanboys then to take this information and blow it way out of proportion. So what is it this week? Bungie is changing the controls! Egad, it can't be true. What's more, Bungie is toying with the idea of adding plenty of new setups ranging from hardcore to grandma friendly. The end result of all this is that we'll have a setup that makes more sense on our 360 controllers -- especially now that the black and white buttons don't exist. Basically, all we know now is that the bumpers will receive more logical actions than turning on the flashlight and teamspeak. The only other tidbit of news this week: the AI is coming along nicely. As an example, the AI of a warthog gunner has been changed significantly. In the words of Frankie: "In previous Halo games, the gunners were smart and would pick off targets in a logical fashion, but this time around, and it could be my imagination, the gunners are more precise and easier to influence. You can target individual bad guys by steering the Hog and even 'convince' your gunner to pick a more relevant target and have him stop trying to blast a lone grunt hiding behind a rock when a bigger menace approaches." Hey, as long as we can still stick a sniper with infinite ammo in the passenger seat, we're cool. Other than that, it's all quiet on the Halo front -- unless you'd like to read what Peter Jackson has to say.
MS shuts down Halogen mod ... why now?
The story so far: for three years, a group of eight modders came together to create Halogen, a C&C: Generals mod based on Halo. The mod gained popularity, and just recently Microsoft and Bungie decided to shut the mod down -- a decision that is very much in their right, as explained by this forum post. However, as the mod would neither be detrimental to the Halo image (it was very well made, as the images show) nor profitable for the team, why is Microsoft serving a cease-and-desist now?1UP's Luke Smith puts on his tinfoil hat and speculates that Bungie might be returning to the real-time strategy genre. If memory recalls, Bungie's first post-Marathon title was the 3D strategy title Myth: The Fallen Lords. And Halo was originally going to be a strategy game, as revealed on the Halo 2 Limited Edition DVD. Smith connects a few key Bungie members to Texas-based Ensemble Studios (Age of Empires) and concludes that they might be working together.It's all massive speculation, although more Halo titles seem very likely. As an RTS, though? We'll hold our breath, hoping Bungie can break us from our real-time cynicism; in the meantime, mourn the passing of Halogen with a trailer for the mod, embedded after the break.
2010: A Halo 3 Pre-Order Odyssey
A certain big box store is taking pre-orders for Halo 3 with a listed release date of December 30, 2010. The whole idea of pre-ordering video games, which hardly ever sell out, is pretty stupid to begin with, but this stretches a tired ploy to the limit -- no matter how low the rate of return on your junior savings account. Not that anybody puts stock in retailer release dates, but let's hope Bungie works a little faster than than the slow minds at Best Buy. [Thanks WickedOwl]
What'll Bungie do after Halo?
Xbox boardroom biographer and industry observer Dean Takahashi wonders what's next for Bungie. They're currently holed up in their fancy new headquarters working (tirelessly we imagine) on the third installment of Microsoft's Xbox-selling secret weapon, Halo 3. But what else are they working on in their Dr. Pepper and Dorito encrusted fortress? Takahashi's inside sources tell him they're working on not one, but maybe two other projects. Just like Xbox's J Allard disappeared suddenly from the limelight, only to turn up working on another not-so-secret project, Bungie's general manager, Pete Parsons, is mysteriously no longer their general manager. Takahashi intimates that Parsons is now leading a secret second team at Bungie while other Bungie all-stars, like "Jason Jones, the project lead on the Halo games, and Chris Butcher, the top programmer," are working on yet another project "beyond the Halo universe."If Halo 3 is to be the final installment of a Halo trilogy, is Microsoft going to sit back and let their most lucrative franchise go out in style or continue to milk it for all it's worth? With a Halo movie in the works, what about the inevitable tie-in game? After all, a Bungie with business sense would make Halo 4 and 5 and ... we'd also take LEGO Halo. Seriously.[Via Xboxic]
Fallen soldier remembered for Halo ownage
U.S. Army Pfc. Nicholas Madaras was killed last week in Baqubah, Iraq when a roadside bomb detonated while he stood outside his Humvee. Madaras was only 19.In a series of remembrances published by The Advocate, Pfc. William Tyrrell reflected on Madaras' Halo skills: "I used to always love to play Halo, the video game, with him because he was the best and he always beat me. And I would tell him that one day I would beat him and he would just laugh and say, 'OK.'"Madaras was looking forward to pursuing a career in the medical field after his tour of duty, which was scheduled to end October 21. A public memorial service at Our Lady of Fatima in Wilton, CT is being planned for the coming days.
Eric Nylund talks Ghosts of Onyx
In Friday's weekly update at Bungie, there's a nice interview with Eric Nylund, author of the good Halo novels, The Fall of Reach and First Strike, as well as the upcoming Halo novel, Ghosts of Onyx. He chats about the Halo story bible, how he became involved with the Halo franchise in the first place, and he discusses the differences between writing a novel and writing a game. This is the man who's writing Gears of War, lest you missed that info. It's worth a read for those that like to learn about what goes into making video games. You can also check out Franky geeking out over some schweet ground textures. He also asks an important question: what's that weird non-Spartan armor on the lower right hand side of the cover? Any guesses?
MS to announce new Bungie game at X06?
Dean Takahashi, the San Jose Mercury News scribe who wrote The Xbox 360: Uncloaked, blogs about Halo 3 happenings and a new Bungie game that will supposedly be announced at Microsoft's X06 event in Barcelona later this month:Halo 3, meanwhile, is well underway and just went through a script rewrite. The game is slated for 2007 still. Spong.com recently went out on a limb and talked about how Halo 3 will be the last game in the Halo series and that Microsoft is likely to announce a new non-Halo Bungie game at the X06 event in late September in Barcelona, Spain. Spong says various tidbits suggest that Halo 3 brings the story to its close. That makes sense since others have told me that Jason Jones is "not a sequel kind of guy" before. I wrote in my latest book that Jones toyed with other games such as a "castle siege" game and another game that involved Minotaurs, a subject of an early Bungie game, but both were canceled. Jones wound up returning to help finish Halo 2 while it was in midstream. If the title ends up being Minotaur Castle Siege, Dean should win some sort of award. Keeping in mind this thing is supposed to be non-Halo related, what kind of game would you like to see from the gods at Bungie? X06 kicks off on September 25 by the way.[Via Xboxic]
Mac Halo now with Universal Binary
Inside Mac Games has announced that a Universal Binary edition of Bungie's Halo: Combat Evolved is now available. Intel Mac owners looking for a native performance boost over the original Halo release can download the upgrade for $5. If you're new to the whole Master Chief experience, the complete shrink-wrapped game is $30.See also: Mac Quake 4 now shipping Mac UT2004 Universal Binary released
Bungie: Halo 3 "feels" more like Halo
In Bungie's latest weekly update of the Halo 3 development process, we learn that the Halo 3 single player will feel very much like the original Halo. Bungie's Frankie had this to say of the campaign mode: I have been playing through Campaign mode purely for kicks. Exploring, in fact. There's lots of the feel of the original Halo, where you'll find yourself in a huge (dangerous) and intrinsically fascinating environment and just want to go tool around and check things out. At this stage in development, the encounters are very carefully placed. Sometimes that means you're in frantic firefights (on a significantly bigger scale than in Halo 2, although all I will confirm numerically is at least one more Grunt.) but there's also time for exploratory reflection and the, "Oooh, maybe I can climb up there and check that thing out," sort of play. If that sounds like a Grand Theft Auto style in the Halo universe to you, then Frankie dismisses that claim very quickly: Don't get me wrong. It's not GTA -- it's still Halo, but there's a bigger feeling scope to some of these levels that has me reminiscing about the original game. And yet, conversely, I'm super excited about the new stuff. Seems like this thing is getting very fleshed out. We wonder how long until Bungie gives us a taste via a demo on Xbox Live. Wouldn't Nov. 17 just be the perfect date for that?
Halo Graphic Novel video review
Here's a well done video review of the widely praised Halo Graphic Novel from GameTrailers. I still think Bungie should put the whole thing on Marketplace.[Via GameBreak]
Halo 2 run makes the record books
Halo 2 player, Cody Miller, has reportedly been entered into the 2007 Guinness Book of World Records. His accomplishment? A speed run of Halo 2 with no deaths -- on Legendary difficulty. There is no mention of his actual clear time, but no deaths is impressive all by itself. Anybody with a copy of the Guinness care to send us a scan? It should be on the only page with Master Chief. And anyway, how the hell does anyone make it off of Cairo Station on Legendary without dying once? Cody explains it himself right here (there's even a video here). [Via Joystiq]
Master Chief's armor to be revised for Halo film
Newly anointed Halo director, Neill Blomkamp, has indicated that the iconic armor housing Master Chief will be slightly altered for its appearance in the 2008 film adaptation. Speaking to Ain't It Cool News, a confident Mr. Blomkamp successfully justifies a decision which, in the hands of a typical Hollywood hotshot, could quickly become a nightmarish reimagining of a beloved character into something supposedly more enticing to mainstream sensibilities. "Master Chief is certainly something that I do not want to change too much at all, there are certain things inside the Halo universe that are sacred and he's the main one. Having said that, there is a need to revise certain parts of him, just from a purely technical standpoint, he has to actually be able to move, like a human, and the game design right now does not allow for full motion freedom, which we will have to achieve."The interview sees the director affirming his love for the games, for the universe they depict and for "infected humans and covenant." He fails to provide definitive answers regarding the removal of Master Chief's helmet or the use of Bungie's original soundtracks in the film, but the inclusion or exclusion of either one is likely to fuel fan debate until well after the movie has come and gone. Rejected (and generally horrid) titles for this post: Master stroke: Master Chief armor changing Master Chief suit changing: oh no they didn't Master Chief: borg to be wild Master Chief armor change: Massive damage Master-ious costume change for Chief Master Chief says Halo to new armor Halo movie chief masters armor change Halo armor to be remastered [Thanks for the image, Ross. You'll go to hell for this one.]
