Friday is home to some cherished traditions at Bungie. The day begins with a spread of bagels vast enough to clear the shelves of a small deli. On some occasions, like this very Friday, we look forward to concluding our week with a Team Meeting. It’s always a lovely gathering. With a handful of snacks in one hand and beverage in the other, we converge on our grand ballroom to feast on presentations about our work in progress.
And, further to the point of Friday traditions, these guys enjoy the Mail Sack as much as you do.
Andrew Davis, Artist
Noah George, Server Ninja
John Hopson, User Research
Ryan Klaverweide, Graphic Designer
Dave Matthews, Art Manager
Tom Sanocki, Artist
Austin Spafford, Engineer
Alan Stuart, Engineer
John Stvan, Graphic Designer
Scott Taylor, Producer
Ben Wommack, Production Engineer
We've gotta get down on Friday, gentlemen. Let’s open the Sack.
snipe champpppp Question.
Answer.
Off to a great start! I know our community can do better than this.
antony X1000 What is the most impressive thing you have seen the community do?
I think it’s a true testament to the boundless creativity of our fanbase that you ascended to the level of developers in your own right with fan-forged maps that were included in playlists for matchmaking. You took the tools you were given you and created battlegrounds that shaped a multiplayer experience that was enjoyed by all.
Our panel also has some favorite moments for which you can take credit.
I’m always blown away by the amount this community contributes to charity, particularly in response to the disasters which struck Haiti and Japan. You people rock.
Ben Wommack
Halo Charts.
John Stvan
Noah George
For those of you who might not remember (or weren't paying attention when it happened), Noah is referring to the time that one of you claimed our dog tags (thus claiming a prize) on a dare during a
Ride Along in Battlefield 3. Was this the greatest moment in Bungie Community history? Maybe not, but it made us smile. And, we're always in awe of the skill that you players bring to any game.
Kalriq If you had a Flux Capacitor, where would you go?
Correct me if I'm wrong, but Flux Capacitors are intended to propel us to a specific
when, rather than a specific
where. Settling for a journey to a specific place seems like a waste of rare (and completely imaginary) technology.
TheSpiderChief What is your fondest memory when it came to making the Halo games?
I didn’t make any Halo games, aside from the ridiculous Warthog-intensive customs I forced upon my clan, so I’m turning this question over to the authorities.
Getting Halo and Halo 2 working on the Xbox 360 was hard because the hardware architecture changed significantly, yet it was very rewarding when they finally worked.
Alan Stuart
I believe I was the first internal tester to find Jason Jones in Halo 3 au naturel. I was doing saved film flying cam sweeps and found this weird, oscillating black card in a back corner. None of the other testers knew what it was, so with everyone crowded around I started up the level and made my way over to it. Staring straight at it, still no idea. Flipped on my flashlight…oh my. Many lulz were had that day in Test Land.
Ben Wommack
John Stvan
Forky was a fine steed, but more, he was a fine friend.
FALSE R3ALITYx How does Bungie feel about the occasional member meet-ups?
We think they’re fine, as long as they don’t involve wrongful imprisonment or ransom notes. Remember, kids, not everyone on the Internet who invites you to a hotel wants to play System Link in a conference room.
MiloOmega Can you give us some suggestions on what to do to pass the time?
As a former boss once told me, “If there is time to lean, there is time to clean.”
Alan Stuart
You are your own gym.
John Hopson
Dig through the ooooold B-net forums and read posts made by people predicting/reacting to Halo 2 and 3. Come back here and tell us what you find.
Ben Wommack
Make a video game. It takes a while!
Ryan Klaverweide
Visit a local
hackerspace to see if you get inspired by any of the projects people are working on. While it may be intimidating to approach people with cool projects, just keep in mind that nearly everyone loves talking about the things they do for the sake of doing it!
Austin Spafford
Create something (new, if possible).
Andrew Davis
I’m sure DeeJ will edit this, but while working on marketing and web stuff for **********, I enjoy playing ********. It’s got that ********.
John Stvan
Those asterisks are all John, people. If there is a troll in the room, it’s him.
MightyMarcher01 If you could put anything you own into a time capsule, what would it be?
I’ve always wanted to prank a time capsule by including another time capsule that says, “Do not open for another 100 years.”
Alan Stuart
Hydrochloric acid.
Noah George
Twinkies, obviously, so that future generations may survive.
Ben Wommack
Something physical I designed. Most likely a
t-shirt.
Ryan Klaverweide
Two rocks and some tinder.
Austin Spafford
Facebook.
John Stvan
Dude, how would you put a website in a time capsule? It’s a good thing you can make art.
IRISH 249 What game or games influenced you to want to pursue a career in video game development?
What caused your a-ha moment where you said, "I want to create something like this"?
The moment I saw “Prince of Persia” in 1990, I knew I was going to work on a game someday. By the way, the original source code for PoP is now available along with a great story of how it was recovered.
Alan Stuart
Chrono Trigger on the SNES inspired me to work in games - it was just so cool. How could I not want make game development my life? Any other alternative was unthinkable.
Ben Wommack
Dragon Realms MUD, circa 1997.
John Hopson
Street Fighter 2 and Shadow of the Colossus.
Ryan Klaverweide
Halo: CE.
John Stvan
I worked with a fellow student on a crazy text-based multiplayer game called Bomberman clone. It was so fun and socially viral that it was banned from the computer labs.
Austin Spafford
Duke Nukem 3D and its Build level editor.
Andrew Davis
Playing Space Warp on the TRS-80. Yes, that means I’m nearly as old as Marty.
Tom Sanocki
Sven Nietzsche Will Zebras serve any important roles in the upcoming game?
Our lawyers tell us that we're not allowed to use fan ideas in our games. Thanks to your treachery, Sven, now no one will know the thrills of piloting the Zebra Battle Wagon. It's probably for the best. Not only was it a real memory hog, but all those stripes were inducing seizures in way too many testers.
pureXownage Will Bungie have anything to show off at PAX?
I just got some new socks that I’m gonna wear. Ask me nicely, and I’ll hike up my pant leg (I’ll let you choose which one) and have a look.
There will be a number of Bungie people at PAX. It is, after all, in our own back yard. We’ll be there as fans, just like you.
Kivell What were your first jobs?
For an entire summer in high school, that mysterious face in the small window at the back of the movie theatre was mine. I could thread a movie projector in 30 seconds flat. Because it was the longest film running that summer, I had to monitor the ending to Terminator 2 hundreds of times. Corner me at PAX, and I’ll act out the final scene for you.
"I know nauhw why you crahy, but it is somezing I can nevah do..."
How about you, Panel?
I fried chicken at a restaurant named “Po’ Folks” in a city named Niceville. Our motto was “We might be po’, but we are nice.” I still have a copy of my first paycheck as a memento.
Alan Stuart
In order: scanning documents in an office, college tour guide, college facilities recycler, Test contracting at Bungie.
Ben Wommack
My first job was a barback/bus boy… at 15.
John Stvan
Tomato fertilizer. I worked in a hydroponic farm, tickling tomato flowers with an electric toothbrush to spread pollen.
John Hopson
Tester at Nintendo of America (summer job while plowing through a computer-science degree).
Austin Spafford
Mohawk Mountain State park maintenance, in Connecticut. Hours of mowing, weed whacking, and getting big diesel trucks stuck in the forest.
Andrew Davis
Does shoveling cow poop every day for a summer count? Even if I had to do it for free?
Tom Sanocki
Working in a sweat shop steaming clothes, handling sticky meat, washing dirty dishes. Ahhh, the more things change...
Ryan Klaverweide
To my knowledge, we have never made Ryan wash our dishes.
Ockeghem When we see another person in real life wearing Bungie swag, what should our response be?
If I were you, I would charge that person and beat them down, all the while screaming “There can be only one!”
(In truth, please do not actually do this. You’d be better off approaching them slowly and introducing yourself.)
ChorrizoTapatio Would you say trying to getting a job at Bungie is like trying to play football in the NFL? Difficulty wise I mean.
I would say it’s a lot harder to get a job with us. The NFL has a lot of teams that need people, and you can try to join them all. Bungie is just one company, and we need people who know how to do things that are more complicated than colliding with other dudes at full speed.
This is not to say that it’s impossible to work for Bungie. Right this very minute, we are looking for some first-round draft picks on our
Careers page.
MASTERMIND416 What is one of the most rewarding experiences you've ever felt as a game designer/programmer, etc.?
When I was in college a friend and I wrote a shareware game. It took us about 6 months of hard work, but at the end I was so proud that the two of had done everything ourselves (level editor, audio, graphics, cut scenes, engine). Someday I plan on converting it to a mobile app, so I can’t share the game design with you at this time.
Alan Stuart
Everything we did to celebrate Bungie's 20th Anniversary.
John Stvan
Creating a testing command to hunt down and kill every creature on a map, and for semi-legitimate reasons (nausea due to rapid teleportation), dressing it up to mimic Akuma's Raging Demon (complete with flashing a gigantic omega and emoting the character once the screen stopped blacking out).
Austin Spafford
Seeing the fans at PAX and launch events. The excitement I see, and knowing millions of people will get to see my work make all the long hours worth it.
Andrew Davis
CrazzySnipe55 Is there any clique-y-ness that occurs at Bungie?
Well, sure. We have hundreds of people working on this next game. The social theories that inform our design process tell us that any group larger than five to nine people starts to fracture into cliques of about three people. So, yeah, we got cliques. Some of them even have matching jackets and switchblades. Others just have decks of magical cards and multi-sided dice.
catman6 If you were going to die tomorrow, what would your last meal be?
What's with the recurring theme of morbidity? Last week, one of you asked us what we would put in a bomb shelter. The world won't come to an end before we reveal our next game, people. I promise. That said, this question does make for good Panel chatter.
What'll you have everyone? Apparently, the end is nigh again.
Ryan Klaverweide
A BBQ pork sandwich from Sonny’s BBQ. An ice-cold IPA for a drink. Cheesecake Factory and coffee for desert.
Alan Stuart
Eggs Benedict.
Noah George
I’d buy out the French Bakery, take it all to the Melting Pot, and dip everything in melted cheese and chocolate. Why die ambiguously tomorrow when you can die via chocolate covered pastry today?
Ben Wommack
Baconator.
John Stvan
Probably the usual food, because I doubt I'd see the end coming.
Austin Spafford
Two bites of every meal ever.
Andrew Davis
Ice cream. LOTS of ice cream.
Tom Sanocki
DesertStormer27 Has anyone ever fallen off the rock wall?
Despite your lofty opinions of us, we have yet to conquer gravity. Plus, the best part about climbing the wall is crashing down into the foam pit that awaits below. I have seen grown men release their grip and treat it like a bounce house.
spartan120 Who is your favorite Bungie-created video game character?
Cortana
Noah George
Durandal of the Marathon series. In my youth, I even wrote a little fan-fiction centered around that rapscallion AI. Don’t tell anyone though.
Ben Wommack
Ask me again in a few years.
Ryan Klaverweide
Noble Six, because it’s me!
Andrew Davis
I can’t tell you yet. SoonTM
John Stvan
Austin Spafford
Kr1egerdude What makes you want to get up everyday for work?
Usually my alarm.
Andrew Davis
My landlord.
Noah George
The siren lure of the coffee robot in the kitchen. Its range is pretty wide.
Ben Wommack
The chance to do the best version of my profession that’s ever been done.
John Hopson
Money How awesome this is!
Ryan Klaverweide
Baconator.
John Stvan
In theory, knowing that I'll be able to help a mind-blowing number of people feel net-positive emotions! But when processed by a just-booted brain, it's sadly just the alarm.
Austin Spafford
Googlz Question to get Jason Jones out of his office: Why do you hate us?
First of all, Jason Jones doesn’t have an office. He moves among us like a General on the battlefield. Second of all, why on Earth (and beyond) would you ever think that he hates you? Jason Jones gave us a Halo, as well as a rich back-catalogue of exciting Bungie games. If that’s hate, my friend, I don’t want to be loved. Ever.
Jujubes Do you guys think there's any merit to blogging and if so, what blogs would you recommend we check out?
I lifted this quote from a movie I saw last week: “Blogging is not journalism. Blogging is graffiti with punctuation.”
I don’t agree with that sentiment – I just thought it was funny. For years, I poured my little gamer heart out on a blog about the Halo Clan scene. That put me on the path to talking to you fine people, so I would have to admit that there is merit to publishing yourself in the Internet.
If you want to read a blog, our esteemed panelists recommend the following…
Noah George
Ben Wommack
John Hopson
Ryan Klaverweide
John Stvan
Austin Spafford
Andrew Davis
AutobahnRacer 'Twelve Monkeys' or 'The Fifth Element'?
Die Hard. We’re talking about Bruce Willis movies here, right? Yippiekayay…
MasterSin If you had the chance to turn a movie into a game, which movie would it be?
Ryan Klaverweide
Scott Taylor
Noah George
Ben Wommack
Dave Matthews
In his infinite wisdom and creativity, Mr. Matthews went as far as to scope some specs for a third-person action brawler that put the player in the oversized shoes of a clown who beats up mimes. After the designation of booze as a healing mechanism, things went downhill rather quickly. The rest of his vision included some GTA homages that I cannot mention on this family friendly website.
randomrosso Why does it seem like I'm the only one who doesn't give a crap about these mail sacks? I want news.
Well, of course you want news! All of the other boys and girls who are being good sports about this weekly stalling tactic want news. And I want more than anything to give you some sweet, face melting news. Now just ain’t the time, yo. There will come a day when I signal the coming of something important – and you will be the first to know – but it is not this day. Until then, try not to spoil the mood for the rest of us.
The only news I can provide you with is that the Mail Sack will return next week. For now, our team meeting beckons. If you will excuse me, I need to claim my beverage before the fridge is cleared out.