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| Of Acquisitions and Gaming | |
| Posted By: Shishka <shishka@mac.com> | Date: 6/26/02 7:33 p.m. |
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Originally, this was post in reply to a post. However, I felt it kind of took on a life of its own for me, so I chose to make it a seperate thread: In regard to "what the f**k did bungie do!?" The choice to allow Microsoft to acquire Bungie was no mistake on Bungie's part. Not for them, not for us, and certainly not for Halo. Before Microsoft, Halo was still very, very formless. Lots of great ideas, and a great story, but no solid decision on how to implement any of it. Halo was taking up time, and time is money. ESPECIALLY for someone as small as Bungie was. Yes, folks, Bungie was small! They had been large for a time, but Bungie itself was dying. They were starting this slide towards the red, towards having to shut down their halls forever. Financially, Bungie was in serious, serious trouble. And before anyone pipes up with a "but if they released Halo, everyone would buy it, and they would have been okay!" This is NOT true. Not true at all. Not in the slightest bit. I cannot even begin to describe how wrong a statement that is. Why is that wrong? First off, see the preceding paragraph. As I said, Halo was not going to be "releasable" anytime soon. It needed more time to coagulate, and time was someting Bungie was almost out of. That means Bungie had two choices, they could release a game that falls short of their vision (which we all know they would HATE to do), or they run out of money, and die before Halo ever made it to the public. Or... The Microsoft Acquisition. What does being acquired mean for Bungie? The first thing everyone thinks of is that they get to develop for the X-Box, or that they get a lot of money, but those are hardly the only reasons. The acquisition gave Microsoft its biggest XBox title to date. But more importantly, it gave Bungie the two things they were out of- time and money. The time granted them the chance to collect their thoughts on every aspect of Halo, and decide how Halo should be done. It also gave them the opportunity to THROW OUT the old, and start over again, creating a new engine from the ground up. Also, now, they had the money to make this "final vision" of Halo a reality. So for those of you that like to say "Bungie sold out," or "What was Bungie thinking." Remember that Halo might not even be a possibility anymore, if it weren't for some wise decision making on the part of Bungie. Not only did they get the chance to release their game, something some of us have been earnestly waiting for for years, but they also had a chance to make a mark in gaming history: The first million best seller for the most powerful console to date. The acquisition not only provided us with a game, but a GREAT game, and a BEAUTIFUL game. And, for the record, Bungie has promised Mac/PC versions of Halo. That means we DO get the game for our computers, as well as the XBox. For this, and a lot of you are going to hate this, but you owe Microsoft your thanks. After all, without them stepping in, Halo may have died years ago, and we'd never again be graced with the mystery or adventure or just the goddamn fun that is a Bungie game. While I'm on the topic of thanks, I would really, truly, like to extend a big thank you to the folks at Bungie Studios. They did what they had to do to make sure they could get one of the best damn games ever to us in the best possible form. I can't even imagine how tough a decision it had to be to roll with the acquisition, but I thank you all very much for your enthusiasm and your passion for games. Once again, you've gone above and beyond. Thanks for your effort, and thanks for your sacrifices. I wish I knew all the guys to thank them individually, but the only Bungie Team Member I'm really familiar with is Matt. So, to you, Matt, I extend a big thanks for your time, effort and patience. You've stepped into shoes no other person in the universe could fill, and you've handled your job better than anyone should ever expect of you. To the readers and posters of the forums @ H.B.O.: All too often all we see are people complaining about something or another. For too long there have been too many "I was a Bungie fan until"'s and "This is what is wrong with the game"'s and "This is what should be in the next game"'s. My experience with game development, all though extremely small, has shown to me that the best, by far, with nothing coming close to helping someone further their work, is gratitude and respect. So, in reply to this post, I would like to ask all of you to thank the folks at Bungie. It can be a spiel, or just a simple "Thank you" in the subject field. These guys deserve it, don't you think? I'm sure they get plenty of applause at FanFests, but this is the chance for those of us who can't make it to show our appreciation in person. If you would like to say something that ISN'T gratitude or respect, please do so in another thread, or e-mail me. I'll be happy to reply. With that, I'll close, for now. I would just like to say "thanks," once again. Not only for Halo, but for Marathon, Marathon 2, Marathon Infinity, the Myth series, Oni, PiD... If one were to ask me why I chose to become a modeler, with game design in mind, I would proudly say Bungie's amazing games turned my interests beyond "just playing." This is true, and I've said it before. Thanks guys. :) -S | |
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