- Maimum FEAR
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- Elder Mythic Member
EGM: You mention Reach; have you read all of the Halo books?
Pete Parsons: Yeah, obviously the Halo fiction. The overarching Halo universe is crafted here, and then guys like...particularly [Halo book author Eric Nylund] has the job of really fleshing out the bones of that particular story arc.
EGM: So somewhere there's a Halo bible that has the basic storyline, including what goes on after Halo 2?
Pete Parsons: Yes, from the present day to the future.
Electronic Gaming Monthly | Interview with Pete Parsons
HBO: As the Halo storyline has evolved, have you made changes to Halo: The Fall of Reach, or have you kept it going in the direction you started?
Eric Nylund: By the time writing began, the storyline of the Halo game was more or less finalized. An outline for the novel was approved by Bungie before I began writing-only very minor changes were made to the novel.
HBO: Have there been changes to the GAME (that you know of) due to the book, or due to research instigated by its writing?
Eric Nylund: Not that I'm aware of, no. I relied on the Story Bible quite extensively. The whole idea behind a Story Bible is that if you create a document that accurately describes the universe in which a game takes place, you can use it as a guide for writing a novel (for example) without needing to constantly check the developing novel against a developing game.
Halo.Bungie.Org | Interview with Eric Nylund (http://nikon.bungie.org/misc/nylund.interview.html)
GameSpy: Also in regards to the "Halo universe," who has ultimate control over where and how the storylines intersect?
Joe Staten: Bungie. Specifically, myself, Jones, Parsons and our community team. And we're very careful about the opportunities we pursue.
Gamespy | Interview with Joseph Staten (http://uk.xbox.gamespy.com/xbox/halo-2/562962p2.html)
Halo Story Page: Would the books make the cut?
Joseph Staten: The books are, for better or worse, part of the canon. In the future we may choose to revise or flat-out ignore some of the less appealing ideas (Johnson's biological immunity to the Flood, for example), but folks should treat them as defining elements of the Halo universe.
Halo Story Page | Interview with Joseph Staten (http://halostory.bungie.org/staten102204.html)
The Cortana Letters are not canon
Shishka: Something I must point out, now that this thread has grown...
The Cortana letters are not canon. They're a relic of a time when the first Halo wasn't even a first person shooter, yet. I suggest you do not read too deeply into them to find secrets about the games- there's nothing there to find.
Bungie.net | Post by Shishka on the forums
HSP:The dialogue from the Halo 3 trailer bears obvious similarity to the Cortana Letters from the early Halo days. Given that they have been discouraged as canon over the years, are they now to be afforded greater consideration? Additionally, the Letters themselves were strongly reminiscent of the messages from Durandal, the rampant AI from Marathon. What are your thoughts on "rampancy," AIs in the Halo universe, and Cortana specifically?
Joseph Staten: Canon is tricky (see my controversial statement about "I Love Bees" - believe it or not, we're actually working to answer the "is it, or isn't it?" question right now!). The Halo story has as many loose threads as influences. And we do our best to sew the former into canon as we find them - are reminded of their potential. The Cortana Letters are an excellent example of this phenomenon. For all sorts of reasons, they lingered in canonical purgatory for years. But when we needed some compelling dialog to remind folks what's at stake in Halo3: Bam! Newfound utility! Alas, I'd have to say that, as of now, the only canonized parts of the letters are the fragments we pulled for use in the announcement trailer.
Halo Story Page | Interview with Joseph Staten (http://halostory.bungie.org/staten083106.html)
I Love Bees is not canon
HaloStoryPage: If you were to define what is and isn't Halo story canon, would the I Love Bees stuff make the cut?
Joseph Staten: The Bees would not make the cut.
Those guys basically did their own thing with very little Bungie input (save for massaging and approving the initial plot-treatment). While we helped define the boundaries of their fiction, we let them do what they thought best. And I think the game turned out great.
Halo Story Page | Interview with Joseph Staten (http://halostory.bungie.org/staten102204.html)
Halo Wars is canon
GP: Do Bungie consider the story of Halo Wars to be a part of their official canon?
Jason: Yes, Halo Wars is canon. Frank O'Connor is the Halo "canon overseer" and we have his official signoff!
GP: Did Bungie reject any of Ensembles ideas?
Jason: The Bungie guys were great partners during the development of Halo Wars, and we all take the Halo canon very seriously. Ensemble consulted Bungie throughout the development of Halo Wars, and those guys were instrumental in helping us make sure the game was a genuine Halo experience. From the game standpoint this is 100% an Ensemble creative project, however it's fair to say that Ensemble had great feedback from Bungie, but Bungie didn't provide creative oversight for the project.
Gamerplanet | Interview with Ensemble Studios (http://www.gameplanet.co.nz/features/132939.20090304.Halo-War s-Q-A-session/)
There is quite a bit of concern regarding how we're going to fit the Flood into our game and keep it in canon which surprised me, but I promised them all that the Halo 1 canon is intact and that they would have to wait and see how we integrate the Flood.
HaloWars.com | News Post from Ensemble Studios (http://www.halowars.com/news/articles/archive/2008/10/14/Hell o-from-TGS.aspx)
Halo Wars is considered canon in the Halo universe. All plot elements and similar features of the game are for all intensive purposes are seen as "fact". However some features of Halo Wars are not considered canon and were included to allow for balanced gameplay or for other reasons. This includes some characteristics of the armour worn by the Spartans in the game.
Spartan 458 - Nicole (from Dead or Alive 4) is not canon
Here's a list of things Nicole, Spartan 458 is NOT .
* She's not a character who's ever been described in other Halo fiction.
* She's not a character from our next project.
* She's not one of the Spartans from Fall of Reach.
* She's not a character from the Halo movie.
* She's not returning my calls. I blame time bubbles.
In short, she's a fictional means to an end that we gave careful thought, but with a jaunty tip of our hat and a wry wink in the general direction of levity.
Bungie.net | News post made by Bungie Studios (http://www.bungie.net/News/content.aspx?cid=7349)
In short Nicole was created simply to conveniently allow a Spartan II to appear in the 21st century. She is not a part of the Halo universe, but actually the Dead or Alive universe.
Iris and other marketing and PR materials
Avateur: Considering what you stated about the two-part episode covering the Forerunner's first encounter with the Flood all the way through Halo 3, will the Alternate Reality Games ilovebees and Iris be taken into consideration at all?
Frankie: Absolutely.
Comic-Con Panel | Video available at Halo.Bungie.Org (http://carnage.bungie.org/haloforum/halo.forum.pl?read=934649 )
This to me shows that Frankie, and 343 Studios by association, are willing to use information from both ILB and Iris. I'm unwilling to outright commit to saying that any PR or marketing material is canon but back to the rule. Unless it contradicts something from the games or novels (or any other canon for that matter) then take you can read into it anything you want. Just take it with a grain of salt.
You have to remember that although Bungie approve and probably direct to a certain degree, those materials are the work of other studios who often come up with their own material after being given a basic outline. So Bungie may have provided documents that outlined what they thought should be included but I imagine the studio would then have had free reign to a certain extent to be creative. Bungie/343 Studios might decide to use that material in the future or may choose to discard it.
Halo Legends is Canon
Mid7night: Where in the gradient of Halo "cannon" will this fall? In the realm of the current-released books, or more like "published fan-fiction" ?
Frankie: It's canon, like books. Except for Toei. But there IS interpretation - armor styling etc. It's art, after al.
Halo Story Page | Interview with Frank O'Connor (http://nikon.bungie.org/misc/frankie_legends_qa.html)
[Continued on next post...]
[Edited on 01.23.2011 3:44 AM PST]