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Scrutinize Halo director's CV (with videos)
We know a lot of you probably had a sinking feeling in your stomach earlier today when you discovered the just announced director of the highly anticipated Halo movie, Neill Blomkamp, was some commercial director from South Africa of all places (apologies, Ludwig). But we remembered his short film about aliens struggling with integration in Johannesburg and thought the choice was really unique ... so we Googled him. We Googled the sh-t out of him. We came up with his Wikipedia entry (already updated with the Halo info, natch), his IMDb entry, his music video videography, a Canadian effects company he works with, the production company he works for, and all manner of links in between. In so doing, we've assembled a pretty exhaustive selection of all videos available online that Mr. Blomkamp has created over the past couple years, including some short films, commercials, and music videos.Notice any similarities? Yeah, the guy digs technology in a serious way: transforming Citroëns, third-world robocop androids, robotic crabs, and alien bodysuits packing some killer gravity-gun technology. We're all ready imagining Spartans and Covenant Elites duking it out in the sun-bleached streets of New Mombasa.[Update: Added in Tempbot. Thanks for the link Youri Zoutman. Anyone else have any or know of any videos by Neill Blomkamp that we didn't post?]
Halo director chosen, movie out summer '08
After months of speculation, Microsoft announced their choice for director of the film adaptation of their star property, Halo, this morning. After enlisting New Zealand's Peter Jackson to serve as Executive Producer last October, there has been little revealed about the secretive project. Mexican filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro seemed like a brilliant choice -- a proven storyteller with a knack for FX work -- but scheduling conflicts (apparently) couldn't be overcome. Enter South Africa's Neill Blomkamp, director of last year's exceptional short film Alive in Joburg, a futuristic commentary on Apartheid in South Africa where aliens have become refugees. The film, embedded after the break, blends photorealistic CGI with handheld, documentary style filmmaking. Described in his bio as "a new breed of director, [who] has harnessed the powers of technology, art and creativity to bring the world imagery never before possible" and by Microsoft as "one of the most innovative and original artists currently working in short films and commercial advertising," Blomkamp seems as unlikely a choice to direct Halo as ... well, as Peter Jackson was to direct Lord of the Rings. The film will be shot in Wellington, New Zealand -- to take advantage of Jackson's state-of-the-art Weta facilities -- and will see a worldwide release in the summer of 2008. [Thanks, Evan]
A Bungie with business sense would make Halo 4 and 5 and...
Recently there have been some rumblings that Bungie won't make another Halo game after Halo 3 which appear to be centered around a statement that Marty O'Donnell made in an interview with the BBC. In this interview, Marty says, "We all want Halo to be the great ending to an epic trilogy. We look at what Peter Jackson did with the Lord of the Rings films - which each film bettering the previous one and that is what we are aiming for." Does that mean we won't be seeing another Halo game in the future? To people who understand that making video games is a business, the rumors (which are already half-disproved) that Bungie would end the Halo franchise anytime soon are ridiculous. The first two Halo games combined have sold 14.3 million units. That puts the Halo franchise within the top 30 best-selling game franchises of all time. Without Halo, Microsoft might as well not have bothered with the Xbox; Halo and Halo 2 sold more units than the next six best selling games on the Xbox combined (if you're wondering, these games are Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell, Fable, GTA: Double Pack, Project Gotham Racing, and Need for Speed: Underground 2). With a Halo movie on the way, and the facts that Halo 2 sold more units than the first and is still the #1 game played on Xbox Live under Bungie's belt, it wouldn't be wrong to say that the Halo franchise is increasing in popularity. The bottom line is that Bungie and Microsoft would have to be stupid to end their most lucrative franchise ever after #3. We don't claim to have any insider information, we don't dispute Marty's statement and we don't deny the possibility that Bungie will create new franchises, but based on pure business logic we'd expect to see at least another two games based on the Halo universe. From a business perspective, for Bungie to dump the Halo franchise after 3 would be sheer stupidity. [Source for sales figures, Image from 1001 Fonts]
Halo faceplate is the real deal
Bungie has confirmed the existence and design of the rumored Halo faceplate. The more perceptive of you have probably realized that the faceplate in question is pictured above (click on it for an embiggened pic). The faceplate will be available sometime in October. Not bad, but as some have pointed out, it doesn't do much for vertically aligned 360s -- unless you enjoy the thought of knocking the Cheif onto his back. So, let's have a show of hands, who's planning on picking one up?
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Bungie: "We get a lot of death threats in this job"
Bungie's Frank O'Connor recently sat down with MTV to talk secrets, or rather, the art of keeping secrets. As Halo 3's content manager, O'Connor is constantly being prodded for information. Whether it's the guy working the Starbucks register or his wife, O'Connor fields questions like the pro he is: "What's a 'Halo?'"But not all Bungie employees are as adept at keeping secrets as O'Connor. One of the game's "biggest ticket items" was divulged to a "very, very, very attractive woman" during a recent interview. The Bungie rep was apparently "confused by her attractiveness" -- lucky for him, she agreed to remove the detail from her article. But it's not just sultry reporters that the Bungie staff must remain wary of. The team has also dealt with imposters posing as press and frequent death threats. But here again, O'Connor displays his cool: "The first couple of times you see it you're like, 'Wow!' The next few times you see it you're like, 'Whatever.'"
Halo Graphic Novel a "must read"
In the first of what Bungie assumes will be many rave reviews, IGN calls the newly released Halo Graphic Novel a "must read," and better still since we now have to run out and buy it, "a work of joy, rather than a marketing gimmick." It also summarizes the separate stories for those who do their reading in the store.How about putting this comic on XBLM in 720p glory?
Couch co-op gives way to internet teamplay
Co-op mode in video games is often a very popular feature, probably because of the added intensity of competing with A.I. in partnership with a friend. Games like Halo and Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory become entirely different (and better) games when played in co-operative mode. Of course, the early innovator was Contra, which, without a co-op mode, would have been just another side scrolling shooter. With the greats of the co-op gaming genre in mind, Vic over at Bits & bytes & pixels & sprites has written up a feature calling for a next-generation renaissance in co-operative games. Couch co-op has never been an assured feature with games, especially recently. Since 2000, developers on the PC platform have clearly ignored the co-op mode in favor of dedicated multiplayer modes with big name first person shooters like Half-Life 2, Doom 3 and Quake 4 skipping on the mode. Games with teamplay orientated multiplayer modes like Counter-Strike and Call of Duty have picked up the fundamentals of co-op based games and thanks to their easy accessibility over the internet, have become wildly popular as a result (especially in comparison to the limit of 2-4 players in a usual co-op game). There will always be developers that include couch co-op modes in their games (Bungie, Blizzard and Ubisoft come to mind), but there's unlikely to be a massive resurgence in the number of couch co-op games mainly due to an internet based takeover of team based gameplay. [Thanks, Daniel Zuccarelli]
Pre-order Halo 3 for $69.99 Canadian
Best Buy and FutureShop are willing to take your Halo 3 money -- $69.99 to be exact -- right now. Estimated release date November 30, 2007: Releases 30 Nov/07. A world in need of a hero. A mystery to unravel. In a time when the world needs him most, one man will step to the forefront to take his place in history. Product Features Action, adventure, suspense! What does this all mean? We haven't the slightest idea. Really - Bungie and Microsoft aren't saying a word. At this point you're either in or you're out anyway.Not sure where they got that price. Hopefully it refers to some fancy collector's edition, or else Best Buy is just squeezing suckers. Either way, you in? [Thanks Shylock]Update: Several readers pointed out that price is in Canadian Dollars. Duh.
"New" Halo 3 screens
Well, not really. They're just grabs (here and here) from the trailer that I haven't seen before. But they are hi-res enough to be decent wallpaper.
Bungie testing Halo 3 single-player
If you haven't it checked it out already, Bungie's latest Weekly Update finds the nerd gods gameplay testing Halo 3's single-player campaign and touting the 360's AI capabilities with the usual frustrating lack of detail. Among other Master Chief morsels (cribbed from Gamespot's summary): A new and "utterly" terrifying Halo 3 multi-player mode has been developed. The Halo 3 traller mini-documentary from E3 will hit XBLM this week. A few quotes from weapons designer Tom Doyle on how they're updating the Covenant Sniper Rifle. Halo: The Graphic Novel will be unveiled at the July 20-23 San Diego Comic Con and will go on sale this month. A revamped form of matchmaking playlists will be hitting Halo 2, and Bungie is looking for community contributions--because the playlists will be designed by Halo 2 players. That works. Don't miss the Bungie Waahmbulance either.
Bungie busy testing Halo 3 single-player
According to Bungie's most recent weekly update, the team has begun testing elements of Halo 3's single-player campaign. The testing is currently focused on gameplay, specifically, AI encounters.Bungie's Frank O'Connor details a run-in with a pack of Grunts who had wisely flanked Frankie while he was distracted by "something bigger than a Grunt." Frankie describes the Grunts' tactic as "quite a shock," given that their behavior in the past has been half-witted. Frankie reminds us, "Lots of folks focus on what technology can do for the appearance of a game -- but the 360's prodigious horsepower can also be applied to AI."
F$%# (bottle) rocket n00b!
Halo fan FyreWulff has created a replica of the SPNKR rocket launcher to celebrate US independence this year. The launcher -- still a work in progress -- takes on the trademark Halo design, including the "HOLD LIKE THIS" image on the side. Describing his project, FyreWulff said: "...This is not meant to be a 1:1 remake of the Halo rocket launcher. I'm basically "skinning" another (fake!) rocket launcher to look like it, as best as possible." The launcher will be used to fire holiday shells and bottle rockets this 4th of July. Whether you're a Halo fan or not, surely there is no better way to celebrate our country than by blowing up a small part of it. Follow the read link for more pictures. Anybody else have any cool holiday projects? [Via HBO]
Ultimate Halo Fanboy
Bungie.net has posted pictures of fanboy Namloco's Halo dungeon. Juggling his family responsibilities and a full time job, Namloco managed to convert his entire basement into some kind of Halo altar. Adorned with huge Halo posters, action figures, books, and even an oddball skull, the room is a Halo sanctuary. The crown jewel of his obsession is the hand painted mural on the rear wall. The technophiles among you will probably cringe when you see his TV lodged in the fireplace, though. Isn't he worried about soot?
Waste your money on more Halo toys
Joyride Studios has released Series 8 (they're up to 8?) of the Halo figurines. Among them are Spartan 117 with Flood infection form, a SpecOps Elite, a Jackal, and the Elite Heretic Leader. Why anyone would buy the Master Chief again just to get a Flood form is anybody's guess. Because I already have Master Chief. I mean, all of you have Master Chief, right? Right? Anybody?[Via Bungie.net]
Get a glimpse of the Halo graphic novel
Marvel is offering a sneak peak at the upcoming Halo Graphic Novel (that's HGN for those of us in the know). They're teasing the Halo-faithful with some panels from each of the four main stories -- "The Last Voyage of the Infinite Succor," "Armor Testing," "Breaking Quarantine," and "Second Sunrise Over New Mombasa" -- as well as a short strip titled "Shore Leave: Master Chief on Holiday." It also has the release date emblazoned on the back page: oh seven-twelve-oh six. That's less than a month away, fanboy. You can make it. We believe in you. Master Chief believes in you. *Registration is required so try user/pass: gimmewallpaper/gimmewpaper (Bugmenot). [Update: Forget Marvel's obnoxious, interactive, reg-required site. Check out Bungie.org for some regular, plain-ole JPGs and a little background on the preview. Thanks, supersloth!]
Halo 3 has a happy ending, or how I learned to love YTMND
The animated .gif addicts over at YTMND have been very busy lately revealing the truthiness behind recent video game rumors. Here are some of those OMIGOD NEWS FLASH! announcements from YTMND's gaming posse: The PS3's 100% official start-up screen REVEALED! Nintendo's bunker busted REVEALED! Halo 3 ending REVEALED! World of Warcraft in space REVEALED! Shiggy's secret N64 formula REVEALED! Half-Life 2's plotline REVEALED! (take that, suckas) YTMND's formula is never going to get old, simply because there will never be a shortage of fanboy ideas and rumors to make fun of. [Via Xbox360Fanboy] More: The Wii zeitgeist, via YTMND, Wiill Ferrell tests Wii accelerometer technology and Dick Hunt!
Halo 3 happy ending?
To all the haters who complain about frivolous blog posts and possible spoilers. Lighten up. It's the best day ever! [Thanks Joe]
Bungie behind the scenes nifty as always
Bungie says their behind the scenes look at the making of the Halo 3 trailer is a "nifty counterpoint" to that IGN documentary from last week. I guess when you're working on the world's most anticipated video game, and offering glimpses of next-gen Master Chief like hits off a crackpipe, "nifty" just seems like the word to use. If your beat up laptop (like mine) sucks at handling 720p video, don't worry. This niftyness is coming to Xbox Live Marketplace in the near future.[Thanks Nitin]
Behind the scenes of the Halo 3 trailer in 720p
As if you didn't have enough high definition E3 videos clogging up your hard drive, here's one more. Bungie is showing off the making of the Halo 3 trailer that closed Microsoft's pre-E3 conference. Beyond viewing the the developers of the game in high-def, you can also get a look at the music of the trailer and various pre-production shots, unused angles from the real-time cinematic and some hints about where they are going with what what is apparently the end of the Halo trilogy. According to Bungie you will also be able to download the high def version of this video to your Xbox 360 via the marketplace in a week or two. We like HD, we don't like waiting, head over and get the video in 720p in WMV or QuickTime format right now.
More Halo 3 footage for your Halo obsessed soul
Bungie has posted a video featuring a behind the scenes look at the creation of the Halo 3 trailer, complete with commentary from several Bungie employees and footage of the orchestra and choir that was used to create the backing music. If, for whatever reason, you can't view the video, here's a quick summary of the content: Amusing quotes if taken out of context: Marty shows early signs of dementia with his paranoid "Where are we? Who is this? What's happening?" sound bite. A few snippets of unseen footage, mainly from different angles of the Halo 3 trailer. This could possibly be proof that the trailer was rendered in real time, although it's very likely that the sound, AI and everything else was pre-rendered. Some more mystery surrounding cortana: dare we say she's gone rampant? A lot of meaningless marketing lines that amount to not much more than hype. Phrases like "dynamic", "real stuff" and "that epic feel" don't tell us much about how Halo 3 is coming along. Overall, there isn't that much new to see here, although if you're a fan of Halo (who isn't?) the video is probably worth a few moments of your time. [Image: Emily Fulford]
