The energy of the people on our studio floor is focused on looking forward, as we work to realize all that we have envisioned for our next game. The questions that poured from this Mail Sack invited us to look back instead, and recall a few fond memories. Please welcome the Bungie Panel that reached into the archives of their code-saturated brains to share with you some treasured echoes from the past.
Derek Carroll, Design
David Gasca, Test
Noah George, Tech
Nate Hawbaker, Tools
David Johnson, Engineering
Evan Nikolich, Design
Cameron Pinard, Art
Frank Robbins, Art
Tom Sanocki, Art
Michael Williams, Engineering
Hey guys. Remember that one time we opened the Sack?
Kalriq Let’s talk about Indie games, and aspiring game developers.
Been there.
Did that in our movie theatre earlier in the week. It was good for us.
Lobster Fish 2 Favorite 80's movie?
Not so fast, Panel. We’re not just gonna shout out the names of our favorite movies from that long lost decade of gaudy fashion and ridiculous pop-culture. Instead, let’s share just a shard of the imagery that preserves them in our slowly failing memories.
Community, it is up to you to name these films, and list them in the order in which they appear. This is
Phase One of your challenge for this week (the second to follow below). The first to complete both of them shall be rewarded.
Cameron Pinard
Derek Carroll
Frank Robbins
Noah George
David Johnson
Michael Williams
Evan Nikolich
AxJARxOFxDIRT Question exclusively for DeeJ: Who helped you the most with getting used to being at Bungie? And, is there a "Welcoming Committee" of employees that get new employees into the full swing of the Bungie party?
Awwww… A question just for me? It was urk that taught me most of what I needed to survive my “onboarding” at Bungie (that’s what the working world calls it). This included what not to say to Luke Smith, proper use of the all-powerful apostrophe, and competitive appetizer eating. The blanks were filled in by the kind souls who took me out to lunch. The whole studio operates as a welcoming committee, really. They don’t waste any time making you feel like a member of the team, and pointing out where the landmines are buried.
Sector Z 157 If Bungie held an internal arm wrestling contest, who would win?
Not me.
Cameron Pinard
Mark Flieg. He has the thickest muscle meat and eats Paleo. Although, I saw him eat a pile of cupcakes on Bungie Day. Regardless, my money would be on him.
Frank Robbins
Final showdown between Flieg and I. Revel in the solipsism.
Nate Hawbaker
I like to imagine an epic final match between Harold and Jerome... although our studio might collapse from the stress of the forces unleashed in such a contest.
Michael Williams
I'm new here, but I'm going to throw down the gauntlet and say I would win. I'm 6 feet 9 inches, 275 pounds, and welcome all challengers!
Evan Nikolich
Sloanus For a teenager who wants to get into the gaming industry, how much of a chance is there to actually work for Bungie in the future?
There is always a chance, I guess. We certainly feel as if our future is bright, and we're still on the hunt for kick ass developers to help us make it even brighter. Without a glance at your last report card, it’s hard for me to make a wager. Did you pay attention in Math? Have you displayed a startling aptitude for Art? Do you play well with others? Can you excel under the stresses of sleep deprivation and sneezes that rattle windows? All of these factors balance the equation that we would use to calculate your odds.
Pknubs4 Which of the shirts released on Bungie Day should I buy?
Only you can decide this, ‘nubs. What I can tell you is that you should
act fast. Not only are supplies limited, but tomorrow is your last day to benefit the Bungie Foundation. You have 24 hours to make the world a better place for a kid that needs your help. If you honestly can’t make a choice without a nudge from some fashion police, read on…
antony X1000 Based on design alone, which is your favourite avatar that was added on Bungie Day?
Favo
urite? Are you British? Or just really fancy?
Anyway, I always defer to the Bungie Panel when the conversation turns to Design. I have been told that Design is Sacred. Here’s what they recommend…
Cameron Pinard
Evan Nikolich
Frank Robbins
Nate Hawbaker
David Johnson
Noah George
Michael Williams
x Foman123 x Can we get a Breaking In interview for one of your business development type guys? Maybe, if you have one around there somewhere, a former lawyer or something similar?
That doesn’t sound like a good idea at all. Lawyers are crooks and bastards. All of ‘em.
Disclaimer: If anyone reading this is a lawyer, please know that Foman is one of your peers. And, with this question, he is pandering to himself. What you just read was a punch meant just for him. He can take it – he even likes it.
You may not sue me for mental anguish suffered at the hands of the Mail Sack – mostly because sacks do not have hands.
Malfar If in order to save all of humanity, you had to lose one sense, but would heighten another, which sense would you sacrifice, and which would you heighten?
I would give up my sense of shame, and heighten my sense of decency to untold levels.
Tom Sanocki
I don't know what I'd give up, but my sense of style definitely is getting heightened.
Cameron Pinard
I would sacrifice my sense of self-respect and enhance my sense of humor. It should make for an interesting solution to the apocalypse.
Noah George
(Editor’s Note:
C’mon, Bungie! All of humanity is on the line here. Any chance we can lose the sense of sarcasm and heighten our sense of duty?)
With all of humanity on the line, I'll stay away from a clever answer and choose to sacrifice taste and strengthen my eyesight. It seems that touch and smell would still give me a subset of taste, and might help me eat healthier.
Michael Williams
I would probably sacrifice my sense of smell and heighten my sense of hearing.
Frank Robbins
Since one's sense of smell makes up about half of your taste, I think losing one's sense of smell but doubling your sense of taste would be a pretty even tradeoff.
David Johnson
Get rid of my sense of smell and fix my terrible sense of sight. I don't think that would save humanity, but not having vision correcting devices on my eyes would be great.
Evan Nikolich
Xd00999 How many bagels are consumed on Bagel Friday?
All of ‘em! Sometimes, a few manage to hold out until lunch (like the one I just put down). Bagel Friday abhors a surplus.
DMR plus magnum Are you upset when people find bugs in your games and post them to YouTube for the world to see?
For the answer you seek, I walked all the way downstairs to The Gauntlet. There, I consulted an Oracle of Test...
Every bug that impacts people negatively makes me sad inside. So very sad. That said if it’s a bug that we didn’t find, I enjoy learning from it. We dig into why it happens, then figure out why we missed it. Then we use that to make our test process better.
David Gasca
snipe champpppp Sometimes, the inner corner of my eye itches really bad, and when I rub it, it turns really red and swollen for the rest of the day. How do I prevent this?
Don’t rub it. That advice is valuable in a lot of situations, actually. You’re welcome.
MAC Blast How taxing is crunch time for you?
This taxing…
Plain Ben What's the least-fun part of game making?
Waiting, though today it gives me a chance to answer these questions, so it's not all bad.
Cameron Pinard
As a world artist, I would say anything that takes me away from actual content creation. When I have to fumble with tools or broken stuff that always ruins my flow. Bungie has been best, by far, at supporting tools. I spend a lot more time being an artist as opposed to dealing with technical issues.
Frank Robbins
Spending hours being stumped as to why something just doesn't work.
David Johnson
Tracking down bugs that only reproduce intermittently under difficult to emulate circumstances. But it can be amazingly satisfying to finally find and squash them.
Michael Williams
Working with broken builds.
Evan Nikolich
ECOH Cam How many strangers walk up to the front door of the studio and peek inside every day?
I’m pretty sure we don’t track the averages on that, but if you give me a minute to check the place where Jerome disposes of the bodies, I will let you know how many we had today…
…it was four. So young, too.
coolmike699 Has anyone ever been injured on the job at Bungie?
I once got a hangnail.
Cameron Pinard
There are many employees with hobbies/activities outside of work like rock climbing, skiing/snowboarding, downhill mountain biking. You will occasionally see someone limping around here in a cast.
Frank Robbins
The worst I saw was when a sheet of glass from the trophy case shattered on someone from my team. He was cut up pretty badly. He wouldn't let us patch him up either, he ran all over the studio bleeding until we tracked him down.
Noah George
I've yet to see a dramatic programming injury.
Michael Williams
I tear up my hands on the climbing wall every week.
Derek Carroll
Professor24 Who at the studio has had the most drastic career change? In terms of their previous job, to the one they hold now.
Just about any of our people would profess that joining up with Bungie was a life-changing experience, even if they were lucky enough to be making games (or being otherwise creative) before they came here. I, for one, was working as far away from this industry as possible when I ran away from home to join this circus. None of my new coworkers would’ve recognized me before I conned my way onto their team. They wouldn’t have seen past the suit and tie that I used to wear every day. I think the standard issue Bungie t-shirt fits much better.
SkilPhil What do you think is the most unappreciated video game?
Time to heighten that sense of nostalgia one more time, Panel. What’s that one game you played that you felt was yours alone? Don’t just blurt out the name. Give me another swatch torn from that sentimental experience.
We will let the Community name them. This is
Phase Two of their challenge.
Derek Carroll
Evan Nikolich
Cameron Pinard
Frank Robbins
Noah George
Nate Hawbaker
David Johnson
Michael Williams
No, no, no, you don't want to ask this question. First I'm gonna go off about my favorite old-fashioned text-only games, like Zork III and Photopia. Then I'll rave about some one-trick-pony games, like Deathtrack and 688 Attack Sub. I'll start waxing lyrical about strafing AA sites with a chaingun in F-16 Falcon, I'll go on and on about Betrayal at Krondor, and then at the end I'll pull out something ridiculous, like Space Warp on the TRS-80, just to make myself look all hip and old-school. Then, to be truly obnoxious, I'll throw in some blatant, self-promoting lies about the terrible games I wrote when I was a kid (i.e. Wizard of Destruction). Let's just stop here, walk away, and pretend this never happened.
Tom Sanocki
I am benching you for this challenge, Tom. There is obscure, and then there is just plain cruel. You're welcome, Community.
Synyster Ricz Do you guys have like a nap center or something to that effect? Seriously.
After our internal celebration of Bungie Day (more on that later), I heard tell of a couple of people who slept on couches around the studio, or in their cars. Seriously.
mark117 mia2553 Who in Bungie has the best decorated cubical or office?
Once you have moved for the 3rd time in a year you learn to decorate your soul and keep your desk clean.
Cameron Pinard
Most of the desks around me have piles of art/ref books, empty coffee and soda cans, pencils, paper, etc. There is a shelf right by my desk that has some cool Star Wars and Anime models.
Frank Robbins
Considering that most of us don't even have cubicles, I'd say that honor clearly goes to the Audio Department.
David Johnson
Marty's office is better than some condos.
Noah George
My pod-mate’s desk is pretty impressive. He's got it covered in objects he has been making using a 3D printer. Each day, some new and interesting creation shows up there.
Michael Williams
My office is one giant converted movie theater, decorated with 200+ desks, filled with Bungie employees, and possessing enough computing power to run an army. Does that count?
Tom Sanocki
We’re all winners just for showing up.
Derek Carroll
GBD123 I would like you to talk about what marketing or business jobs are available at Bungie, since I am interested in pursuing a career in that field.
I would like you to go look at our
Careers page.
Thrasher Fan What was your inspiration for joining the gaming industry?
The original Star Wars trilogy, though that was more inspiration for getting into effects/animation/art. Phforte and later Forge and Anvil are probably more to blame for the video games.
Cameron Pinard
Honestly, I managed to get into the industry on pure blind luck. I'd wanted to make video games since I was nine (and didn't know what "making video games" even looked like). Because I'd heard it was challenging to break in (and that there was really no video game industry in Ohio), I didn't bother to even consider it until a recruiter for the industry actually called me.
David Johnson
When I was young, I found a book in my school library that walked you through making a simple text based adventure game. From the moment I realized it was a possible career, I decided that making games was what I wanted to do.
Michael Williams
My Mom. She made games back in the day on the Atari 2600 and always has been supportive of me in pursuing my career in the games industry.
Evan Nikolich
Xplode441 When Bungie dominates the world, and after the enemies are slung into the sun, what happens next?
Cocktail hour! Actually, we observe that anyway. We don’t need to conquer the world to propose a toast, but it does seem like a logical conclusion to firing off the slingshot.
It’s Friday, and it is getting late, so that same hour is upon us. You have a challenge to tackle, so we’ll leave you to it. See you Monday, when the week begins anew and the mail room opens its doors once again.