Bungie Sightings

Marathon Terminal in Action

As reported earlier, Blayne Scott AKA Ernie created a working Marathon Terminal. He now has a video available that shows it in action. Check this sucker out.

Bungie remembers Brian Morden

We received the following message from Bungie today:

The team at Bungie would like to take a moment to remember one of our biggest fans. We had the opportunity to meet Brian during the production of Halo. Each one of us has been touched by his strength and spirit. It was an honor to meet such a dedicated fan and amazing individual. A donation was made earlier today on behalf of Bungie in Alta Harmann's name. We send our most sincere condolences to the family and friends of Brian Morden. He will be remembered by all of the Bungie Community.

I'm sure Brian's family is thankful for their support, most importantly the emotional support they gave Brian during his ordeal.

I had the honor of attending Brian's memorial this past Saturday, along with Have Blue and Frogblast. I am writing up my experiences and hope to have something up soon. I'm also waiting for permission from Brian's family to include some pictures that I took while there.

I can't say it enough, so I'll start saying it now: Having Mark and Robert there with me was an awesome help in getting me through that memorial. I am an emotional man and I think if I had been there by myself I would not have made it through the night. But Mark and Robert's firm resolve to properly represent the online community kept me anchored.

It is a great thing to be surrounded by good people.

<3

Those who attended Brian Morden's funeral are now on their way back home. We have a report from guy who doesn't post....too often on how things went. It's worth a read.

We will post more links to the day's activities as they become available.

Brian Morden Memorial Today

Today is the day of Brian Morden's funeral and memorial service. We'd like to encourage those who knew him to set aside some time to play a game in memory Isi and wish the best to his family.

Remember, from now on when you put an Xbox controller down and it spontaneously throws a grenade, it probably was Isi who did it - he's a member of the Guardians now.

Many thanks to those who showed up last Thursday night on MariusNet to help raise money for the Brian Morden Memorial Fund. The peak attendance was 67 players which means MariusNet is donating $67 to the fund.

[B.Net] Curt Chiarelli, Sculptor, Interview

Curt Chiarelli, Sculptor
02/20/03

Bungie gives up more Halo toy details when they interview Curt Chiarelli, the artist behind the sculpting of the Cortana and the Covenant Elite toys. Yes, that's right, the Covenant Elite is coming too.

Also, on Chiarelli's site, you can find an exclusive scuplture of Yeroen!

Myth Night for Brian

This Thursday night on Marius.Net will be a special night of Myth gaming in memory of Brian Morden. Marius.Net will contribute dollars equal to the peak number of players that are online Thursday night to the Brian Morden Memorial Fund. For example, if the maximum number of people on Marius.Net hits 777 then they will donate $777.00.

Help us break Conner financially; once the Marius.Net donations fund is drained, Conner has promised that he would make up the difference out of his own pocket. If you aren't a Marius.Net member then you need to register tomorrow before 5 PM EST! If you are a member then you need to pull out either of your Myth CDs. If you don't own Myth:The Fallen Lords or Myth II:Soulblighter then get out of my sight; you disgust me.

Since Thursday nights on Marius.Net is usually Myth:TFL night, I'll be there playing TFL co-op. Plz dont make me cap!

[b.Net] Doug Zartman: He's Everywhere!

Despite the fact that your kind benefactors here at Bungie Sightings were dealt a crushing slight by Mr. Zartman, if that is his real name, you may find something of interest in this interview with The Voice of Bob.

[I'm glad I'm not alone noticing the sneer in his squeaky voice when he condescendingly referred to our fine publication. Well, I'll just cross his name off the interview list. Actually, the fact this interview even exists shows our presence is affecting Soell and Co. They've already stooped to imitating us! -pd]

Congratulations to Marty

While Bungie is mostly ineligible to win any game awards for the year 2002, there is one small nomination this reporter noticed. Music4games.net has reported that Marty O'Donnell was nominated for Best Game Audio Article, Publication, or Broadcast in the first annual Game Audio Network Guild Awards for the article "The Use and Effectiveness of Audio in HALO: Game Music Evolved." Way to go, Marty!

[b.net] It's alive....ALIVE!!!

It's alive....ALIVE!!!
02/17/03

The devilishly clever Achronos updates Bungie.net's infrastructure, adding a slew of new features!

Ar-Isildur, Gone

With heavy heart it is our sad duty to report Ar-Isildur AKA Brian Morden passed away this morning after a lengthy battle with cancer. You can read the HBO news story here. We invite all that remember him to post thoughts of him and condolences to his family here. Our feelings of Brian's passing are best summed up in this post by his father:

The sound of heaven is increased. A new trumpet player has joined Gabriel in God's magnificent band. Our beloved, courageous, dear son, Brian Andrew Morden, age 19, lover of music (especially John Coltraine), computers, his family, friends, and good movies, was taken by his God at 5:55 am, Saturday, February 15, 2003. His earthly struggle has ended. He died peacefully while holding his mother's hand and his father laying beside him. He was a warrior to the end as he had wished to be. Against all odds, he survived the ambulance ride from Pittsburgh to Altoona. He was enthusiastically welcomed home by his dog, then most of his aunts and uncles, a few family friends, and finally later his two best friends. Brian's buddies stayed all night with him, his mother sleeping on a mattress beside him. Like Parsifal, he was true to his quest and pure in his faith until the end.

(And now, our precious boy, you will receive your reward as promised to you by your living God. There will be no more pain from any of life's disappointments. You have earned your peace. The pain that remains is ours, our grief and sense of emptiness in losing you. May the timeless music of God's creation welcome you into heaven and my God help us to live up to your example of courage and steadfast, unwaivering faith.)

As we struggle to deal with our loss and make preparations for his memorial, we ask for your mercy and prayers. When plans have been finalized, we will post them here. We appreciate and love all of you for your continued prayers and love. We could not have made this journey without being carried by God and you, God's angels sent to help us.

The Mordens (Fred, Dawn, Brian, and Jamin)

For those of you who didn't know Brian, he was a big Halo fan. In fact, Brian so loved Halo that when the Make a Wish Foundation asked him what he'd like to do, he told them he wanted to go see Bungie. His wish was granted and Brian even ended up being the voice of the Dropship Passenger ("The Autumn! She's been hit!"). You can read the account of Brian's trip here.

Brian's father was kind enough to post Brian's obituary:

Brian Andrew Morden, a.k.a. *Ar-Isildur to his world-wide Internet friends, 2809 Columbia Dr., Altoona, died early Saturday morning, February 15th at his home after a more than 2 year battle with Ewing's Sarcoma, a bone cancer.

He was born at Altoona Hospital on January 10th, 1984, son of Fred and Dawn (Suckling) Morden.

Brian graduated from Altoona Area High School in June 2002 and received the Verneda A. and Leo J. Wachter, Sr. Foundation Academic Scholarship for outstanding achievements and dedication to family, church, country, education, and enterprise. He was accepted at Penn State University where he hoped to major in film and video. While in high school Brian loved playing his trumpet as a member of the marching, concert, and jazz bands as well as the orchestra and pit orchestra. He also enjoyed playing his trumpet at area churches including First Evangelical Lutheran, Altoona, of which he was a member.

Brian loved working with computers and was an avid online gamer and forum participant. During his "Make-a-Wish" trip to the Bungie company in Redmond, Washington, he contributed voiceovers in the production of HALO, X-box's 2001 Game of the Year. Brian also loved Italian food, loved to cook and was a fanatic Tolkien fan since he was in elementary school.

Brian is survived by his parents Fred and Dawn, his 15-year-old brother Jamin, grandparents Bob and Mary Lou Suckling, many loving aunts, uncles, cousins, numerous friends, and Ali, his four-legged nurse.

Brian is preceded in death by his paternal grandparents, H.C. "Pete" and Bernice Morden.

A memorial service for Brian will be held at First Evangelical Lutheran Church, 1401 12th Ave., Altoona, PA, on Saturday, February 22, 2003, at 5 PM by the Reverends Fred Romig and Jaime Olson.

In lieu of flowers, the family respectfully suggests donations to the Brian Morden Recovery Fund that will provide funding for a "Brian Morden" higher education scholarship, funding for Ewing's Sarcoma research, and contributions to patient care at Children's Hospital 8 North where Brian was lovingly cared for during his battle with cancer. Contributions may be mailed to Altoona Area Employees Federal Credit Union , 908 Pleasant Valley Blvd., Altoona, PA 16602.

If you wish to contribute to his memorial fund, you can also do so through PayPal. Louis Wu of HBO has thoughtful set up an account to handle the donations. Go here for more information.

For those who cannot attend the memorial service, it has been suggested that we play Myth and Halo in memory of him on the day of the service. We heartily concur and will post a reminder as the day approaches.

[b.Net] The Weasel Gits Jiggy Wit' It

Skip Weasel, the man, the myth, offers advice on matters of love in this painstakingly formatted article on BungieNet. We here at Bungie Sightings think Skip is on to something - unfortunately, whatever it may be, it's moldy and has tentacles. Stop it Skip, you're making the Soul jealous!

Sorcha Reveals Heart

I'm standing somewhere in the Nevada desert and it's cold as hell. The sun isn't due up for another half hour and I neglected to pack a parka. I'm beginning to wonder if this is some sort of cruel hoax or will I actually get so meet Kathy Tafel face to face. The last message I got from the dwarf mime was to meet her here. Of course, I could have easily misinterpreted, after all, he didn't say much. Bungie Sightings would mark down yet another reporter lost on a dangerous assignment when they find my body partially eaten by wild horned toads.

To think all I was trying to do is find Sorcha Payne, winner of Bungie's St. Valentine's Day Massacre five years ago.

Shortly after the sun comes up I see a glint on the western horizon. The dot slowly resolves into a brilliant ball and then finally comes into focus as a chromed solar powered three wheeled vehicle. The car slowly circles me at a distance, no doubt checking to make sure I wasn't followed. After a bit the car silently glides up next to me and comes to a stop. A gull-wing door rises and out steps Kathy Tafel AKA Sorcha Payne dressed in a brightly colored patchwork jumpsuit.

Seeing Kathy up close I can tell that the past five years have changed her dramatically. Her face has started to show worry lines that shouldn't have been there. She is still a beautiful woman, but there is a gravity behind her eyes that you don't usually see is someone so young.

"Hey, Kathy, nice to meet you," I say, "Jason Beach [AKA stinger of Civil Order] says, 'hi'."

The worry lines disappear as she lets loose a dazzling smile. "Yay, hi back to stinger!!!!" she exclaims. Then she's back to business as the interview starts.

It's been 5 years since you won the St. Valentine's Day Massacre. What was the tournament like and how hard did you have to fight to win?

Well of course the first Myth tourney was the stuff of legends. I made it through round one, but actually lost my second - it does happen. My Civil Order-mate, Fly MoLo, had a swim meet and couldn't do his second round so asked me to take his place. After much bribing, the judges said my being his champion would be okay. I thoroughly trounced the competition in round two - and there was much whining. Round three was more exhilarating. I especially remember the last battle, I forget the name of the map, but it's the one where there's a huge crater in the middle of a large hill where the flag is, you get soulless, thrall, a dorf or two and mebbe some knights [For Carnage Apply Within. - ed]. As I climbed the hill, I managed to pick off Mercy's soulless, so he was at a disadvantage. The other two finalists [Gwydion #CP#g and someone we can't remember. -ed] were duking it out on the other side of the hill. I occasionally would pick off some of their peeps with dorf or soulless. I watched clock carefully, and timed my army of thrall to end up at flag as time went out, but not before so they wouldn't be sitting ducks.

Now, usually how that map plays out is that two people would get to the flag at timeout, and thus the flag would be contested until last man standing, so you'd save your reserves until after the time actually ran out. But Mercy didn't send anyone down, and the other two players were fighting amongst themselves on the ridge of the hill, and didn't send anyone down either. I was surprised that no one tried to bomb my thrall, and that they didn't have to fight their way to the flag. Too late, people noticed my thrall but they blocked the other players from being able to contest the flag. Game over, with many WTFs. I think I might have lost one or two of my men, and grieved desperately at their loss.

So on the last game I didn't really fight much at all. Myth is strategy game. I have unfair advantage because I speed read, and process input quickly. So I've already made my moves before others take in the surroundings. And mistakes made early in the game compound themselves later.

How is the Trow statue is doing?

Since I was Fly's champion, I gave the Trowphy to him. My sole memento is the picture. You'll have to ask Fly about it. He retrieved it from the MacAddict office, and I haven't seen it since.

Bungie seems to inspire a fanatical fan base. What was your impression of the Bungie community in the goode ole Myth days?

I have to admit that one of my favorite parts of a Macworld expo was the rabid fans chomping at the bit for the doors to open to rush to the Bungie booth. ...seeing the trail of stickers for a particular game. Bungie inspired loyal fans because of quality and attention to detail. ...and inciting to riot. As far as the community in the Myth days, there was nothing better than sitting in a game room shooting the breeze with my Civil Order mates. Ah, those were the days. It was really fun to watch the jerks who do exist online get creamed by us "civil sissies." It didn't seem to occur to them that being able to trust your teammate not to WOL could actually help you win.

You've been at Apple for some time now. What have you been up to lately there?

I make bad puns in marketing. But this isn't about my job [she grins a big grin] Other than standard disclaimer, these views are my own, have nothing to do with Apple, I don't by any means speak for Apple here, Apple doesn't endorse what I say, etc. etc.

How are your personal affairs progressing?

Hmmm, now that would be telling, wouldn't it? Suffice to say that there is currently no man in my life who has declared his everlasting love, devotion, and desire to raise a brood of free-spirited geniuses bent on world domination. For some reason, I seem to intimidate people and it is difficult to find playmates who can keep up with me. [She bats her eyelashes coyly.] I do have a wonderful circle of deep friendships.

What do you do for fun these days?

The most regenerative thing that I do is attend Burning Man. It is home. In 1999, I participated in my friend Mike's Freezing Man project. We raised money to buy ice cream, and gave it away in the hot desert sun. We were very popular.

I imagine so!

Last year, I made a statue of Aphrodite that was installed in the center camp cafe. "Aphrodite Arrives" was a life-size visualization of Botticelli’s Venus, except Greek is better than Roman. The clamshell had waves of electroluminescent wire and white (bottle) caps; the clamshell itself was lit from within with fiber optics that changed color. Participants could stand in the clamshell, read inscriptions on the inside of the statue and be the goddess for a moment or two. Learning to solder was fun. It took less than five minutes to set up and tear down, which was a primary design consideration along with withstanding the elements.

My friend Liz helped me make the statue, and we are about to embark on her project, an installation of the Morrigan from the Tain Bo Culaigne, perhaps juxtaposed with the scene of the Bhagavad Gita in the Mahabharata where Arjuna asks Krishna, "how can I fight this war against my uncles and cousins and teachers?"

Still a Master Gamer or on to something totally different?

Yes, to both. I have discovered the ultimate real time strategy game, though it's actually been on the market for quite some time. It's called "Life." You can play by many rules, but my favorite is "Leave the planet a better place than you found it and have fun in the process" along with the corollary "I don't win unless everyone else wins, too."

To get on a soapbox, the planet is in sorry shape, and if present trends continue, I imagine it will be a cesspool in fifty years. The current administration is filled with neens intent on entrenching the plutocracy at the expense of everyone else. Wealth is getting more concentrated in the hands of the super-rich. Corporations who do not pay taxes have bought our federal representatives and legislation. Overpopulation will use up and pollute the world's water supply. The planet currently produces enough food so that people needn't starve, but politics diverts it and famine ensues. Mega-corporations plunder from the common wealth and do not return the seed so the next generation can flourish. Education is a joke, and rarely do people learn critical thinking skills. In the US, it is a vibrant middle class which is the soul of innovation and invention, and it is disappearing, with a whimper. Also sprach Kassandra.

I woke up to the need September 12, 2001. That's when I found out that one of my sister's dear childhood friends, Alicia Titus, was a flight attendant on United #175, which crashed into the World Trade Center. I can only hope that she died quickly, but I wonder what it feels like to have one's throat slit with box cutters. Is it like a massive paper cut? Did her almond eyes watch others get the knife first and did she wait in dread, or was she mercifully first? Blood and gore isn't so fun when it hits so close to home, and I really haven't played video games since then, other than Pikmin.

My quest has been to remain awake ...to seek out that which keeps me fearless and free ...to encourage others to wake up to the planet's plight. I have some thoughts on the matter. First, turn off your television. Throw it away. Get your news from independent media. Spend less than half your free time on "entertainment." Write letters to your congressional representatives. I actually think the US system is the best one available, just needs a simple reboot to get rid of some bit rot, such as the notion that a corporation should have the same rights as a person.

Sorcha's recruiting autonomous lieutenants. I would welcome teammates who agree to play the game with my rules. Watch "The Matrix" and "Fight Club." Read "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress," "Ender's Game," and "Letter from a Birmingham Jail." Visit CrimethInc, but don't take it too seriously. Know thyself. It is a far greater challenge to create civilization than it is to destroy it. It will be fun and exhilarating. There will be random captains, so you must be willing and able to lead. If you are game, and you know what your next move is, tell me. Maybe we can get to the next level together.

Thanks for the interview, Kathy. Anyone you want to say hello to?

Gosh, my civil mates, of course, and Doug Z and Yeroen.

With those last words she slides back into the faux purple velour interior of her car and quietly slips away. The sun's been up for a while now and the chill has left me. The only trouble is I can't remember the way back home. Wish me luck.

[b.net] Soul Survivor

Oft overlooked, constantly tourtured, once forced to share a bathroom with Cortana (the old one, not the pretty one) - Bungie finally gives the Disembodied Soul some love in an article on BungieNet.

Throb on over and read it and then be on the lookout for mislabeled Marathon Infinity disks. I hear that when they get every one of them back they will let him go... er, it go.

After reading the interview twice, I can't get over the feeling that I'm seeing two mirrors reflecting into infinity.

Jonas Eneroth Remembers

One of the thing that has always bugged this reporter was the mystery of the two Eneroths. Jonas Eneroth worked on the port of Marathon 2: Durandal to the PC. David Eneroth was listed as one of the writers of the Myth: The Fallen Lords manual. Eneroth is not a common name (outside of Sweden) so I figured there had to be a connection. Was it true that Bungie was experimenting with cloning as early as 1996?

After a bit of googling, I was able to locate Jonas at Wired Realms. I dashed off a note to him and he graciously replied. His email dropped tantalizing hints about Super Marathon and other Bungie projects rarely mentioned.

In a nutshell, the question I asked him was this:

Why is 'David' Eneroth credited in the Myth: TFL manual? Is that a screw up or part of some darker design?

To which he replied:

I think the David thing is just an honest screw up. As far as I recollect, I got a PR & Spin designation at the end. Maybe a mix-up between sales and business development.... (i.e. Eneroth/Joost). Anyway, managed to make Eidos pay way too much money for it... and me as it turns out, I ended up being their Executive Producer for a while.

Alas, none of my MP maps made it into the final build, expect for the special edition map we made for a German games magazine that had their logo superimposed on the top of one of the KotH maps. That was pretty cool.

Anyway, great to hear that the Bungie flame is still alight even after the dark side taking over, especially as I got started with Bungie simply by making maps.

If memory serves me right, I had the good fortune to be employee number 7 as well as the then replacement for Gregg Kirkpatrick after he left for NYC, I think my first designation was Content Engineer or something like that... worked on the Ill fated Super Marathon and the aborted Playstation conversion... and had the painful honour of trying to do the Japanese and Korean localizations of M:TFL.

Oh well, fond memories of the best place on earth ;)

I always thought Super Marathon was some sort of inside Bungie joke. ... and a Playstation port? Egads! What dark and dangerous Bungie secret will be revealed next?

[b.net] Free Love, Halo Style

Free Love, Halo Style
02/11/03

(Be sure and check back on Friday - we'll have a special Valentine's day interview with one of the most interesting women to play Myth: The Fallen Lords.)

Inside Mac Games Turns 10

In ten years, Inside Mac Games has gone from the lowly beginnings of hand-delivered floppy disks to become the undisputed mainline source of Macintosh gaming. A special birthday congratulations to Tuncer Deniz and the staff of IMG.

To celebrate the birthday, IMG has a good interview with Tuncer. He talks about how IMG got started and where it is going. Be sure to check out page two of the interview, where Tuncer talks about leaving IMG and joining Bungie. He gives a little background about his Bungie experiences including some notes about what it was like to develop Myth II: Soulblighter.

Matt's on the Soapbox

In the tradition of rants by Eric Klein, Doug Zartman, and Alexander Seropian, Matt Soell stands tall on the soapbox delivering an excellent piece: On the Bungie Way. In his monograph, Soell talks about the unique working environment that Bungie has created and why it has persisted to this day.

At one point, Soell makes a reference to "some half-assed Bungie version of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People." I would like to point out that there are seven main points to his dissertation. It's nice to know when Bungie takes hold of your mind, it stays that way - even for Mr. Soell.

[b.net] Bungie Pentathlon 2003 in Review

Bungie Pentathlon 2003 in Review
02/11/03

As reported earlier, the Grizzled Ancients hobbled to victory in the 2003 Bungie Pentathalon. Now Matt Soell is reliving the past on BungieNet, despite the incipient Alzheimer's. Read his rose-colored account in Bungie Pentathlon 2003 in Review on BungieNet.

An Interview with Jay Barry

As a reporter for Bungie Sightings I've been to many places. I've seen the poverty stricken chaos of Somalia, the sterile beauty of the Siberian peninsula, and the crushing pop-art madness of Tokyo. But no place fills me with fear and dread like the backseat of an AMC Pacer, especially when I am sandwiched between two forbidding looking street thugs in expensive Armani suits. To think all this started because Hamish Sinclair dared me to do some research on the identity of the Bungie Webmaster.

Hamish, speaking from his heavily booby-trapped island fortress [Ireland - ed], pointed out that a former Bungie employee (now missing) had fingered Jay Barry as the Bungie Webmaster. "Do an old pal a favor and look into this," he wheezed. If you know Hamish, then you know you never turn down an opportunity to do him a 'favor.'

Using my highly extensive network of cleaning ladies, hotdog-stand vendors, and overseas professional pen-wipers I scoured the United States looking for Mr. Barry. The one thing I never anticipated was that Mr. Barry's reach would be longer than mine. Thus, I find myself kidnapped from the Iowa State Dianetics Convention and stuffed in the custom leather backseat of a gold AMC Pacer with tinted windows, between 'Chucklehead' and 'Tranz.'

After a few hours of driving and having a femur nearly snapped when I tried to roll down a window, the car comes to a stop in an deserted parking lot. My two minders exit the vehicle and in steps Jay Barry, former Bungie employee. As he sits next to me I have a few microseconds to size him up. It is hard to make out his features in the dim light but I can tell it is him; he still has those haunted, distrustful eyes; identical to the ones I saw on the secret stalker films Hamish showed me in his basement.

I decide to warm him up with memories of Bungie game development before I move in for the kill. The interview begins.

Mr. Barry, thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to talk to me.

[He raises an eyebrow but says nothing. After an uncomfortable moment I continue.]

What was it like at Bungie as the company faced starting a new genre of games?

When I started at Bungie, I really didn't understand the creative process within the "Studio" since I was mainly there to answer the phone and fix servers and workstations. From what I gathered though, the development team was stuck for a while after M2 [Marathon 2: Durandal - ed]. The success of M2 meant the dev team had time to figure out the next move, but there was some pressure from the business side of things to get working on the Next Big Thing.

At the time, alot of RTS [Real Time Strategy - ed] games were starting to come out. One thing they all had in common was a focus on resource gathering and unit building, rather than combat. Myth was a very different take on the RTS games. It eliminated the farming/mining/whatever and got down to blowing stuff up very quickly. Hardcore RTS people hated it.

Interesting. I myself like going straight to the blowing up parts.

[Jay gives me a toothy smile that isn't entirely friendly. I feel vaguely uncomfortable.]

It was also the first simultaneous dual-platform release for Bungie. I was doing level design at the time, and all of the level and map tools were Mac-only since that's where Myth's development had started. One of the big knocks against the game was the lack of mod tools available at release, but it just wasn't something that existed to be released for both platforms at the time.

It was an interesting place to work, and was a valuable experience.

You are credited with level design on Myth: The Fallen Lords. What levels did you work on?

I wound up doing level design because the project was hitting a time crunch. The single-player levels were the last thing to get done and everyone on the dev team was pretty busy, so Jason Jones asked me to take a shot at a level. That turned into about 3 months of 16+ hour days and 5 and half levels.

Homecoming - Ryan Martell had started it, and I finished it off. One thing I remember about that level was trying (and failing) to get a series of blocking forces to engage the player between the knot and the cathedral, to make it really difficult for you to "save" the team with the book.

Force Ten from Stoneheim - this was one of the levels I had the most fun with. Something that had way too much time spent on it was the vignette of the ghols slaughtering villagers on the hill, near the shrine. It's a nice touch though if you go in for that sort of thing.

[My first reaction is to exclaim, "I do! I do!" But I hold back when I realize Mr. Barry may make a vignette out of me.]

Bagrada - I didn't do much on this, Ryan had done most of it.

Ambush at Devil's Overlook - this was a debacle. Jason Jones wanted it to be something like a Galaga board - waves of enemy snaking around and coming at you down the lake. I tried, and it was just awful. The beta testers hated it so much ... yeah. It sucked. It devolved into a running battle on the ice with the opportunity, if you do it right, to blow up all of your enemies with one grenade! Not something I was proud of.

Seven Gates - this was cool. Getting the game to fight itself convincingly took time, but I thought that this level was fun for a player who went right at it and didn't just inch forward waiting to trip the events.

The Road North - the idea I had originally mostly came through at the end - tracking a wounded guy via a blood trail. The darkness of the ground made it hard, and I actually got yelled at about it by a red-green colorblind beta tester. However, I thought it was an interesting idea. Of course, once you get the magic bow its not too hard.

[With the trip down memory lane Jay seems more relaxed. I pounce on the opportunity.]

In June, 1997, Jason Regier said, "Jay Barry is pretty much our website/network guy." Does this mean you were the first Bungie Webmaster?

Regier said alot of crazy stuff. Of course I wasn't the Bungie Webmaster. I was the schlep who worked on the servers, but never the website. Getting near the Webmaster meant enduring the smell. Plus he was always hitting me up for money.

[With that revelation, my hopes deflate. Mr. Barry seems to sense this and prepares to leave.]

Can you share any harrowing tales of Bungie Fans Gone Mad?

Nope.

[He opens the car door and steps out. I have been dismissed.]

Mr. Barry, it's been over 5 years since you worked for Bungie, what do you do these days?

[He replies over his shoulder as he walks away.]

I'm a developer, doing boring corporate development.

As 'Chucklehead' and 'Tranz' enter the car, I see part of a sign on the building Jay Barry is walking towards. Is that the lazy 'E' of Enron? Or perhaps part of the Global Crossing deathstar? I can't be sure. Leaning forward between these two massive walls of corporate flesh would surely be fatal. I vow to keep my head down on the trip back home.

Suddenly, I have a thought; maybe 'Chucklehead' knows who the Bungie Web...

[This is the entire contents of the interview we received via carrier pigeon at Bungie Sightings HQ. It appears another BS reporter has gone missing. Please forward any information you have on poena.dare's whereabouts to Bungie Sightings. - ed]

Michael Jackson

Completely off-topic. My wife and I just finished watching the Michael Jackson interview by this idiot Martin Bashir. At first, we're amazed at the bizarre man Jackson has turned into. The video clips of himself as a youngster, lead singer of the Jackson 5, are incredible. Even his later albums are great. This is a person blessed with a gift. Unfortunately, he's now an eccentric millionaire that has surrounded himself with yes-people and, my wife and I are convinced after watching this show, has completely convinced himself that he's still a kid.

As the interview continues however, we start to see something beyond a regular interview. Yellow journalism at its best. Why would we expect differently? This is fucking 20/20, the bastion of judgemental, sensational, slanted, slandering journalism. Bashir questions are bracketed by his personal comments on how disturbed and shocked he is of it all.

Yes, if a *mature* 44 year old man invited my boys to sleep in bed with him, I would find it extremely weird, to the point of physical confrontation. But a 44 year old man that says he dreams of climbing trees and having water balloon fights? This is not some married man that's leading a double-life of perversion. This is an emotionally stunted man that has used his millions to hire folks and buy possessions that let him stay in a world of childhood. At one point, the camera, as if in shock, focuses on Jackson holding the hand of a 14 year old boy, as they discuss how it's fine that this boy and his brother have slept in his bed. Mind you, not WITH Jackson, no, he instead sleeps in a sleeping bag while his guests sleep in his bed. Bashir is in an absolute panic. How horrifying for a man to be seen holding a boys hand. In this day and age of abusive catholic priests, family child abuse cases, foster care systems run amok, and who knows what else, to see someone hold onto the idealism of childhood innocence and love is not high up on my worry-meter.

As for the bed issue... do I really have to draw a picture here? Do you honestly believe that Jackson's bed is some twin-size posturepedic purchased from Dial-A-Mattres? (leave the last S off for $avings!). I can only imagine it's a fucking wonderland draped in decadence. I bet if I saw it, I'd want to sleep in it! So yes, these kids show up, get a tour of the house, and beg to sleep in that bed. "Why don't you put them in the guest rooms?" Yes, I'm a kid and I can sleep in some lonely guest room or I could hang out with this 'older' kid that has bought any and every toy ever made, and he gets to do whatever he pleases. No, I'm done with the party, put me to bed! Even on the occasions that he does in fact sleep with the kids in the same bed, I haven't seen any evidence to suggest that he's up to any sexual shenanigans.

Don't get me wrong. MJ is a freakish man-boy that is wealthy enough to keep his deranged fantasy of eternal youth alive and kicking. He has carved his face up like a pumpkin and deludes himself into thinking his kids are going to lead 'normal' lives. But does that make him a pedophile that should be thrown in jail or have his kids taken from his custody? I don't think so. And to suggest otherwise as these idiots at 20/20 and Granada Productions have is an outrage.

It's Alive!

As reported earlier, Ernie was working on a mockup of a Marathon terminal. Well, the day has come and he has birthed a beautiful monster! Go here to see all of Ernie's hard work.

If it teleports anybody, please drop us a line.

More Halo Novels

I hope I'm not jinxing this, but a quick perusal of Brannon Boren's journal has turned up this very informative quote posted about a month ago:

I was told today that I will be tapped to work on development for "Halo Novel #3", which was pretty cool news.

Other journal entries and his recent post over at HBO has made it pretty clear that as of now, Bungie/Microsoft is gearing up an ongoing series of books taking place in the Halo universe. This is fabulous news!

p.s. He also mentions how cool the Halo figures and vehicles are shaping up!

Is Hacking Halo Wrong?

Recently, all-out war has erupted on the HBO forum over hacking Halo on the Xbox.

For the uninitiated, Halo hacking involves voiding the warranty of your Xbox by adding a mod chip and then patching a ripped image of the Halo disk. Playing the hacked Halo affords a number of god-like powers: playing as other characters, invulnerability, unlimited ammo, super jumps, and other goodies.

If you are still unclear about what all the fuss is about I suggest you watch HackinHaloFun by Dozi.

Reactions to Halo hacking have been extreme, to say the least. While some view game hacking to be the last refuge of cheats and scoundrels, others believe it to be a legitimate use of the software and hardware they own. Sandwiched somewhere in between the two are the tricksters who worry that their painstakingly performed tricks will be debased by the hackers.

Of course, through this fog of raging hormones, Bungie must toe the Microsoft line, pointing out as reservedly as possible that adding a mod chip will void your Xbox warranty and likely keep you off Xbox Live.

Barring Bungie's attitude, there really isn't anything new here at all. This scenario has been played out before this reporter's eyes at least five times with different Bungie games. (Furthermore, there was once a time when Bungie laughed with delight at users' attempts to reverse engineer their games. I'm afraid those days are gone.) Allow me to rummage in the Nostalgic Bungie Closet...

One feature of Pathways Into Darkness was the ability to talk to dead people to get valuable clues and hints. Bungie encrypted the things dead people would say. Many an hour was spent trying to crack the problem. So many hours, in fact, that over seven years passed before any progress was made. What was found? Only some neat stuff the hard-core fans cared about.

Marathon was hacked left and right. People loved the game and wanted to create their own maps. It took Steve Israelson only four months to reverse engineer the Marathon map format and release the first version of Pfhorte. If the Bungie community had waited until Marathon Infinity was released to get their hands on a map editor, well, there just wouldn't have been a Bungie community by then.

When Marathon Infinity was released the community finally had Bungie approved tools to hack Marathon to its hearts' content. One oft overlooked tool was Anvil, the physics editor. You could make people fly, you could jack up the lethality of missiles by one thousand percent, and many other idiotic things. (How many Marathon fans remember being mutilated by a physics mod gone awry that not only killed you, but caused your dead body to vibrate against the wall for two minutes?)

Myth's highly complex map and model formats stymied hackers for a while. But within a year 3rd parties were creating their own Myth maps. While we were waiting we occupied ourselves by creating Light vs. Dark games by exploiting a bug in the net map setup dialog. Bungie was faster on the uptake and released their editing tools with Myth II.

Neglected Oni went through a hack and explore phase that continues with some die-hard fans to this day.

And now, today, people have found a way to hack Halo.

I don't see this causing the downfall of Bungie civilization as we know it. In fact, I welcome it. There are many questions about the inner workings of Halo that will now have additional information to ponder. There are screenshots galore that will be viewed that otherwise would have never seen the light of day. There are even new tricks to be documented that will require a hacked setup to achieve. None of this in any way diminished the tireless efforts of previous explorers and tricksters.

Hacks are tools which allow players to do all sorts of things. But we, intelligent Bungie fans, know the difference between a true trick and a hack just like we are intimately aware of the difference between Easy and Legendary. You see, when it comes down to it, it's really a question of style; style in ingenuity, style in performance, and style in delivery. Allow me to take a page from the Marathon Vidmaster's manual:

Only the best players become Vidmasters, but only the best Vidmasters do it with style.

[b.net] Get Into Bungie's Pants

Get Into Bungie's Pants
02/03/03

Covenant First Contact

As a public service announcement, Bungie Sightings would like to remind you that Colony Reach will not be a good place to be in exactly 522 years. According to our Bungie Future Calendar (BFC), on February 3, 2525, humanity will meet the Covenant for the first time.

What the Covenant have begun in anger shall end in their shame.

Soapbox: On the Bungie Way

February 2003 - "On the Bungie Way" by Matt Soell