Bungie
| This file may be deleted after Thursday, 4 October 2007. | |
| Company type | Private (LLC), former subsidiary of Microsoft |
|---|---|
| Industry | Video game industry |
| Founded | 1991 |
| Headquarters | Kirkland, Washington, U.S. |
Key people | Jason Jones Martin O'Donnell Joseph Staten |
| Products | Video games |
Number of employees | 826 (2022)  |
| Parent | Sony Interactive Entertainment |
| Website | bungie.net |
Bungie is an American video game developer founded in May 1991 under the name Bungie Software Products Corporation (more popularly shortened to Bungie Software) by two undergraduate students at the University of Chicago, Alex Seropian and Jason Jones. The company concentrated primarily on Macintosh games during its first nine years of existence. Bungie was acquired by Microsoft in 2000, becoming part of Microsoft Game Studios, until the two separated on October 1, 2007[1] (officially announced on October 5, 2007). Bungie is now a second-party developer.
Bungie is best known for developing the popular video game series Halo, Marathon, and Myth, as well as Minotaur: The Labyrinths of Crete, Pathways Into Darkness and Oni.
History
Pre-Marathon
Bungie's first release was the free Pong clone Gnop! for MacOS. This was followed by the tile combat game Operation Desert Storm also for MacOS. For much of the 1990s the company developed a series of increasingly technically detailed first person shooter (FPS) games for this platform. Its first big break was the FPS Pathways Into Darkness in 1993.
Marathon
Bungie would then follow with the groundbreaking Marathon series, which introduced a number of new concepts to the FPS genre (such as a complete physics engine). Marathon 2 was Bungie's first game that was released for Windows as well as the Macintosh (though the Windows version was released a year later, in 1996). Many of the following titles would be dual platform as well, but Bungie was still considered a Macintosh publisher by many, as it produced several titles for the Apple platform first, or exclusively.
Post-Marathon
Bungie's success gave rise to a large third-party developer community as well as a short-lived newsletter published through BBS. Following the success of Marathon, Bungie released the Myth series of games, which stressed tactical unit management as opposed to the resource gathering model of other combat strategy titles. The Myth games won several awards and spawned a large and active online community, and (like the Marathon series) are still being developed for, played over the Internet, and discussed in forums as of 2007.
Bungie was seen as a significant member of the Macintosh developer community in the 1990s. The mid-1990s, in particular, was a dire time for the Mac platform, with many rumors circulating about Apple's low sales, poor financial performance, and the impending death of the operating system in an industry dominated by Microsoft Windows. Bungie was one of the few publishers to develop primarily for the Mac platform during this time, rather than port PC-platform games or not publish for Mac at all.
In 1997, Bungie established Bungie West, a studio in California. Bungie West's first and only game was Oni, an action title for the Mac, PC and PlayStation 2. In 2000, the rights to Oni were sold to Take-Two Interactive as part of the three way deal between Microsoft, Bungie and Take Two in which Microsoft bought Bungie. However, most of the original Oni developers were able to continue working on Oni until its release in 2001.[2]
Halo
In 1999, Bungie announced its next product, Halo, as a third-person action game for Windows and Macintosh.[citation needed] Halo's public unveiling occurred at the Macworld Expo 1999 keynote address by Apple's then-interim-CEO Steve Jobs (after a closed-door screening at E3 in 1999).
However, on June 19, 2000, Microsoft announced that it had acquired Bungie Software and that Bungie would become a part of the Microsoft Game Division (subsequently renamed Microsoft Game Studios) under the name Bungie Studios. As a result, the Mac and PC versions were delayed, and the game was re-purposed for Microsoft's Xbox, on which it became the console's killer app (incidentally having evolved into a first-person shooter during its development). Mac and Windows versions of Halo were eventually released two years later, converted to those platforms by licensed third parties.
The Xbox version of Halo received the "Game of the Year" and "Console Game of the Year" awards for 2002 from the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences and topped video game bestseller charts for almost two years. Halo has been one of the most critically acclaimed games of all time.[citation needed]
Prior to the release of its next game, Bungie oversaw and approved the I Love Bees puzzle, an alternate reality game revolving around a "hacked" bee-keeping website, the address for which appeared in the Halo 2 theatrical trailer. Bungie provided the Haunted Apiary designers with the Halo Story Bible, allowing them to develop the story according to Halo canon, but did not directly contribute to the game.
On November 9, 2004, Halo 2 for the Xbox was officially released. It was a huge hit, making more than $125 million on release day and setting a record in the entertainment industry. Later a Windows version, (but not a Mac version) was released.
In September 2005 Bungie moved into its new studio in Kirkland, Washington, in order to support the growing size of the staff and resources in use.
On May 9, 2006, Microsoft unveiled Halo 3, Bungie's next installment in the Halo franchise, which would be released on September 25 in 2007. On September 25, 2006, Microsoft revealed that it was creating partnerships with Ensemble Studios and Wingnut Interactive to produce two additional Halo titles: respectively, Halo Wars and an episodic game series.
On September 25, 2007 Halo 3 was released. The game brought in a record breaking $170 million in the first 24 hours after release. The sales surpassed all other games prior (Halo 2: $125 million) as well as the movie industries largest release to date (Spiderman 3: $151 million). It was also the most pre-ordered game in all gaming history, reaching more than 1.7 million pre-orders prior to its release.[3]
Post-Halo 3
On October 1, 2007, a mere six days after the release of Halo 3, Microsoft and Bungie split, and Bungie became a privately-held Limited Liability Company named Bungie LLC.[4] As outlined in a deal between the two, Microsoft would retain a minority stake and continue to partner with Bungie on publishing and marketing both Halo and future projects, with the Halo IP belonging to Microsoft.
Although non-Halo projects in the future are unknown, Bungie has stated that Halo 3 is not the last Halo game they will make, and that they are currently working on an as-of-yet untitled Halo project with Peter Jackson of Wingnut Interactive[5].
Bungie.net
Purpose
Bungie.net serves as the main official portal for interaction between company staff and the community surrounding Bungie's games. The "News" area of the site typically contains information about events in the community, updates to the online aspect of Halo 2, and "Bungie Weekly Updates". These weekly updates, written by Frank O'Connor and Luke Smith, are generally humorous (although factual) in nature, and deliver updates on day-to-day life in Bungie Studios as well as updates on the progress of Halo 3. In addition to this, the site has a large forum section where users can post on a range of topics, mainly related to Bungie's games.
Another large feature of the site is the integration with Xbox Live, specifically Halo 2 and Halo 3. Detailed information about each game played is recorded, and can be viewed using the "My Stats" area of the website. This information includes statistics on each player in the game, and a map of the game level showing where kills occurred.
The website also contains screenshots (including QuickTime "3D" screenshots), wallpapers, storyboards, video trailers, as well as short "ViDocs" (Video Documentaries).
Website history
Bungie.net began life in 1996 as Bungie.com, a community/business website covering Marathon and previous projects. Before Bungie was purchased by Microsoft, Bungie.net was used to host and play the Myth series of games. Even in the beginning, classic pages such as Letters to the Webmaster and Soapbox existed, if in a somewhat graphically inferior manner to the later versions. A few layout and content updates ensued throughout 1997, until at the tail end of the year, consequent to the release of Myth, Bungie.net was born, serving as a community, statistics and multiplayer metaserver. Bungie.com remained to cover the business side, while its sibling thrived. With the release of Myth II at the close of 1998, the site was further updated and now supported the multiplayer sides of both games.
Since 2004, Bungie.net has undergone 3 major upgrades. The first of these was in April 2004[6], bringing a new blue colored design, in preparation for the launch of Halo 2. The second of these was in early 2007, in preparation for Halo 3. This new design has a darker color theme and a more grid-like layout. The third was updated around the launch time of Halo 3.
-
Bungie.net's 2004 upgrade.
-
Bungie.net just before the 2004 upgrade.
Bungie Mythos
 | This article possibly contains original research. (September 2007) |
Bungie, like many production companies, makes references to its previous games within new games. Many of these references hint or imply that certain Bungie games operate in similar or identical universes, particularly the Marathon trilogy and the Halo franchise.
Halo a Continuation of Marathon?
While most believed that Bungie would never add a direct connection between these two games (just as it did not for Marathon and Pathways Into Darkness), it is interesting to note that the I Love Bees puzzle seems to have added a substantial connection between the Marathon universe and the Halo universe. However, Bungie later stated that I Love Bees was not directly written by company staff (although it was produced using the Halo Story Bible) and its status as canon is still in question. On Bungie's own website Bungie.net, Bungie also provides the following as part of its FAQ: "Q. Is Marathon the prequel to Halo?", "A. No, Marathon is a separate story, with wholly different characters, story and gameplay."
Alex Seropian once said in an interview: "I don't think you ever find that out, but [Master Chief is] the same character [as Marathon's player character]." However, he retracted this shortly afterward[1]. It can be argued that the two characters are self-evidently the same, but this doesn't necessarily imply that they're meant to be in continuity, or that they're meant to be the same individual within the context of the stories.
Although Halo has no in-story links to the Marathon games, the series does contain a large number of homages and references to them. One example is that the line "They're everywhere!", occasionally shouted by Halo 1 characters during combat, was also (due to memory restrictions) the only line human characters were able to say in the first Marathon.
Also the Marathon logo can be seen several times during the Halo Trilogy. While playing Halo: Combat Evolved, the Marathon logo can be seen on the side of the human ship, The Pillar of Autumn. The logo can also be seen on the difficulty selection screen of all three games and in the eye of 343 Guilty and 2401 Penitent Tangent.
Theory of 7
Another interesting fact about Bungie is its use of the number seven. Many of these usages are more obvious than others, including 343 Guilty Spark (7³ = 343), 2401 Penitent Tangent (2+4+0+1=7 or 74 = 2401), Power of Seven (credited for the Marathon 2: Durandal and Marathon Infinity opening songs, and most of Oni's soundtrack), Pfhor Battle Group 7, and their official fan club, the 7th Column. Others are amusingly subtle: the Marathon colony ship was the hollowed out Deimos - first discovered in 1877 and first photographed in 1977. Also, in the Halo universe, there were originally seven Halos scattered throughout the Milky Way galaxy until the main protagonist destroyed one of them. Also in the Halo series, the main character's official name is John-117.
Other Bungie Mythos
The Halo Story Bible is the name given to a compendium in which is stored all available material considered canon for Bungie's Halo universe. It exists as a hard copy that Bungie presumably holds, and is often used to design merchandise and products (most notably, the novels). More properly, the Halo Story Bible refers to the characters, events, and other happenings of the Halo universe held to be canon by Bungie itself, including much content that was not included in any novel or game. Material which is not in the Halo Story Bible - while perhaps entertaining - is considered irrelevant to the Halo universe.
Bungie as a company has developed its own complex and diverse mythology in addition to those described in its games. Several of these include its 7 Step Plan for World Domination (of which they are on the final step), the snack food Tijuana Mama (containing "mechanically separated chicken, pork hearts, and protein concentrate", and "300% Hotter!"), the decapitated head of a dog named Ling-Ling (Step Five in the World Domination plan), the entity that resides in the company server named Disembodied Soul, the chronically drunk and aggressive webmaster of Bungie.net (known for dressing as a gorilla with a floppy yellow cowboy hat, as well as disappearing for months on "HTML research missions" and answering the E-Mails of grammatically impaired fans), a cheap absorbent toy fish called the Soffish, the Shaft (a plastic tube with "the shaft" written in black marker on the side, held by Jason Jones) and The Cup, the prize at the Bungie Winter Pentathlon (a tradition has emerged that the losing team, out of envy, steals the cup rather than let the winning team touch it. In fact, several Bungie employees doubt the actual existence of The Cup, as it has been stolen and hidden so many times they have never laid eyes on it).
Offshoot companies
- Double Aught was a short-lived company comprised of several former Bungie team members. It was best known for creating the Infinity scenario Blood Tides of Lhowon and for the unreleased title Duality.
- Wideload Games, creator of Stubbs the Zombie, is another company that came from Bungie. It is led by one of the two Bungie founders, Alex Seropian, and 7 out of the 11 employees previously worked at Bungie.
- Giant Bite was founded by Hamilton Chu (former lead producer of Bungie Studios), and Michal Evans (former Bungie programmer), as well as Steve Theodore (former Valve employee) and Andy Glaister (former Microsoft Game Studios employee). They have not yet announced a project.[7][8]
- Certain Affinity was announced December 13, 2006 as a new studio in Austin, Texas. Founded by Max Hoberman (the multiplayer design lead for Halo 2 and Halo 3, UI lead for Halo, and founder of Bungie's Community Team), the team of 9 includes former Bungie employees (David Bowman & Chad Armstrong) as well as folks from Digital Anvil, Turbine Artifact, Origin, and other developers. It has since released the last two maps for Halo 2.[9]
Video Games
Series
Individual games
- Gnop!
- Operation Desert Storm
- Minotaur: The Labyrinths of Crete
- Pathways Into Darkness (sometimes considered part of the Marathon series)
- the Macintosh port of Abuse
- Weekend Warrior (as publisher)
- Oni
- Phoenix (canceled)
Fictional
References
- ^ http://www.bungie.net/News/content.aspx?type=news&cid=12835
- ^ Halo Weekly Update: Friday, February 9, 2001 (2nd paragraph)
- ^ http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/h/halo3/news/20071004-oneweeksales.htm
- ^ http://www.bungie.net/News/content.aspx?type=topnews&cid=12834
- ^ http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3163440
- ^ Bungie.net news item
- ^ "Developer Focus: Giant Bite Pursues Life After Halo".
- ^ "Giant Bite - About".
- ^ "New Halo 2 Maps revealed! - Bungie.net".