- last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT
To play devil's advocate againsit releasing weekly screenshots and movies . . .
Quality control. Keeping misinformation to a minimum. That's the kind of stuff Bungie has to watch out for. Its not a simple "fire up Halo 2 and hit F12 on the keyboard." They could spend over an hour angling for the best shot they can get. Then they have to go through the right channels to make sure its okay to release it. That nothing is given away in it. That they aren't showing a weapon that may not be finalized, or may be taken out. What would've happened if the flamethrower made it into a screenshot for Halo, but then was taken out? What kind of hell would you fans have created if that had happened?
Also, Bungie doesn't have time to reguarlly spit out screenshots. Its simply a waste of time. Do you want the game pushed back b/c instead of play testing they were "screenshotting," and missed a huge bug that pushed developement back a week late(i've seen bugs and crashes push games back before, its not uncommon)?
Work is still being done. So the shots you see even now, are aboslutely nothing final. The lighting, the objects, the textures, the trees . . . ppl develope opinions on the shots released, and online magizines post them as if they're "tru7h and gospel." They aren't as smart as us in this forum. When halo 2 is released, they will still be using old screenshots in their articles. Keep everything in context.
I can't believe the kind of information Frankie and the pr group doesn't CENSOR. If they leave too much open to speculation, they could be setting up for an uproar among the fans. Like hinting at AI and bots a little too much? Or the ATV? I haven't heard anythingi about it from bungie's mouth for months(years?), but you see it in drawings and sketches and its taken as official. What if its not in the game? By releasing stuff they provide too much flame-ammunition.
Remember the Banshee almost didn't make it into Halo 1? Even though it was shown off in the very first halo movie, and virtually every screenshot since then? Can you imagine the uproar if that wasn't in the game? A PR disaster. Certainly, by showing the flamethrower (in one very old screenshot), Bungie apparently felt a need to have it included in the PC version.
in short, screenshots, information releases, and general PR stuff is dangerous. It can't be taken lightly whenever they tell us anything. So sit back, go outside, see some real movies, read some (non-halo) books, get a job, have fun, and enjoy yourself. Make the next few months fly by. Stop coming here obsessively (e/o late fridays) may help a lot. But overall, remain civil and be nice!