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Bungie Weekly Update
Posted by Frankie at 10/20/2006 4:33 PM PDT
Ha, so you saw the movie news did you? As a story in Hollywood newspaper Variety noted, Universal and Fox wanted to renegotiate the Halo movie deal at the 11th hour and Microsoft and its partners, Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh refused. Well, there’s lots of stuff going on behind the scenes that we simply can’t talk about, but Microsoft’s official statement on the matter goes something like this:
“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 reality here at Bungie towers is a feeling of optimism, satisfaction and happiness for reasons we can’t go into. Frankly we’re interested in making the best movie, and it’s possible that a partner who’s more concerned with numbers, might not be the best partner for what’s more vitally a creative process. Suffice it to say that Peter, Neill, Fran and Microsoft are as excited and dedicated as ever and WETA continues the pre-production process. Actually, when you do finally get to see the stuff WETA has already made, you will probably pee a little.
I wish this was Bnet’s story to reveal to you, but it has lots more to do with what Microsoft biz guys and the powerful and influential Mr. Jackson are up to, than with yours truly. Hopefully however, we can share excellent news with you in the next few weeks.
EGM, Halo 3 and the first sightings!
You’ve probably already heard some buzz online about a little event we had here at Bungie Towers several weekends ago. We invited a few close friends in the media to come and get some hands-on time with an early “Pre-Alpha” multiplayer build of Halo 3. Naturally the game isn’t done by any means, and this was very much still a work-in-progress, but the guys here have put a lot of hard work into the build and we have enough cool things implemented that we were comfortable giving the press a look behind the curtain.
Although the graphics are waaay early (lots of placeholder textures and default lighting, so bear that in mind when you do finally see the shots) the gameplay is polished enough that we were confident the players would have fun.
On Saturday, we were joined by the crew from EGM and 1up.com along with a few visitors from Famitsu Japan and Gamer Magazine in Mexico. On Sunday we hosted a variety of game journalists from all over Europe – about 15 total if I recall, ranging from Finland to France to Sweden to Portugal. We had extra security on hand in case anyone got out of line or refused to abide by our no camera policy, but much to Jerome and Laszlo’s dismay, they never had to step in and “regulate.” Maybe next time.
Over the course of the day we showed them all sorts of neat things, while of course keeping way more things secret. I can’t really tell you what we showed them (or didn’t show them) but you shouldn’t have to wait too much longer. In the U.S., EGM should be arriving in the mailbox for subscribers in just about two weeks, followed by a flurry of tidbits and teases on 1up.com. Once the cat is out of the bag, you’ll be hearing a lot more from us. Promise.
For now, I can tell you that we had a blast and didn’t mind giving up our weekend to stay at work and pwn, I mean schmooze, the press. We played a variety of games on three different maps (NEWS FLASH – HALO 3 WILL HAVE AT LEAST 3 MP MAPS!) and some of our guests were actually really good and picked up Halo 3 in no time at all. One of the best things about working on and releasing a new Halo game is that initial period of time when nobody knows the game as well as we do. For those few days/weeks/hours (depending on the player), it’s pure bliss as we use our advanced knowledge to dominate noobs. Heck, at this early stage, even Marty can unleash a can of whoop ass on outsiders (seen in the photo below along with Rob and Craig, partners from MGS).
It’s always great to host a group of people from all over the world, all drawn together by an interest in Halo and Bungie. We put a lot of work into getting things prepared for that event and now we’re all eagerly awaiting the stories to see how it all pans out. In the name of journalistic integrity, none of the reporters would really tell us much about their impressions of the game or the overall visit. Just like you, we’ll have to wait and read it ourselves. Regardless of what EGM and 1up actually writes about us and the game, we can at least take some comfort in the fact that we totally destroyed them in a late night humpday rematch. (regular readers will recall that last year EGM spanked us handily on two occasions in Halo 2 challenges)
Lastly, we will leave you with one additional tease from this event –a word that was heard quite often over the course of our daily matches – “Brokeback.” It’ll all make sense soon. Trust me.
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