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Here are a few quotes about the Halo novels
GameSpy: When you were writing the game's script, did you want to tie the whole universe together, including stuff that was in the two books?
Joe Staten: The books are full of wonderful, complex elements that would be hugely problematic if we included them in Halo 2 in any meaningful way (e.g. the existence of other Spartans). That being said, I did my best to be take the books into account as I wrote, and there are definitely common themes and characters. The opposite is true as well; Eric Nylund and I spoke often as he gathered is thoughts for the third Halo novel, "First Strike."
How Stuff Works: Was the "Halo" story fully realized and segmented into different games, or did you take the story as far as "Halo 1" and when it came time for a sequel, build the story from the ground up?
Pete Parsons: The "Halo" universe has an overarching story that is well thought out and was well thought out before "Halo 2." We have roughly 600 years worth of "Halo" fiction, and we know what happens inside of that universe at any given time. The ["Halo 2"] story itself only existed as notes and was really fleshed out. We know ultimately, at least in the "Halo" universe, where humanity came from, where it's going to, at what point in time it comes in contact with The Covenant [the villains in "Halo"] and what happens well beyond that.
How Stuff Works: The novelization of a video game is, well ... novel. Where does Eric Nyland <sic> get the background for his books?
Pete Parsons: We work closely with him on all the stories. So what we do is we have these story arcs of the "Halo" universe, and Eric goes in and says, "Well that's a really good piece to take and here is in a microcosm what I think that story will look like."
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.
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.[/color] [color=red]An outline for the novel was approved by Bungie before I began writing-only very minor changes were made to the novel.[/color]
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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.[/color] [color=red]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.