Working under the cover of darkness can be tough, especially at a company like Bungie, where our thoughts turn to our community of players in every decision that we make. We feel your stares on the backs of our heads. Sometimes, the people who hunker down on our website and wait for us to share the fruits of our labor get cranky. Those moments are hard. The urge to invite you in and show you what keeps us at our desks late is seductive. The best we can do is to share some light-hearted Q and A. It’s the phone call that tides us over until the reunion.
This week, you have a long-distance relationship with:
Andrew Davis, Artist
Nate Hawbaker, Associate Technical Artist
Pat Jandro, Senior Cinematic Designer
Scott Kankelborg, Associate Test Engineer
Lorraine McLees, Artist
Dan Miller, Senior Designer
Mat Noguchi, Programmer
John Stvan, Graphic Designer
Jay Weinland, Senior Audio Lead
Ben Wommack, Production Engineer
Unrequited lovers, let’s open the Sack.
Al1757XNA What is Bungie’s favorite verb?
I had high hopes for this question, but the responses were more bizarre than some of the Photoshop jobs that get sent around the studio when an internal debate rages. I thought about cutting this altogether, but reconsidered in a bid to pay forward my consternation. Warning: Almost none of these responses contain an actual verb. Why? Your guess is as good as mine.
It's a tie between FTFY (not fixed that for you) and Ship It!
Mat Noguchi
I can think of a phrase: "In a world where..."
Dan Miller
"To beer." We're like Shakespeare every day in this place.
Ben Wommack
I would have to go with "awesome".
John Stvan
Swag. Also serves as a noun.
Lorraine McLees
*Blam*
Andrew Davis
Man, we are off to a bad start. Can someone ask a question that will enable us to get a little bit more literal?
Lobster Fish 2 If you were going to write a novel, what would you title it and why?
Much better! Panel?
“Lobster Fish 2: Revenge of Lobster Fish”
Dan Miller
“The Box” because everyone would buy the book to find out what's in said box. Spoiler: it's another box; part of a trilogy.
Ben Wommack
“This is my novel. There are many like it, but this one is mine.”
John Stvan
“Your Mom: The Woman, The Myth, The Legend.” I am confident this answers both parts of your question.
Scott Kankelborg
"My Life As Seen Through the Eyes of AutoCorrect" as I'd most likely write an auto-biography by text messaging myself.
Pat Jandro
edableshoe Any more Bungie Ride Alongs?
Most certainly! We play games with members of the Bungie Community every week. Membership in a Private Group with an aggressive leader is your best chance of participating. I mean, why not? Here we are, all gamers, hanging out on this website. We should use this time to form up into posses in a game. Don’t wait for me to invite you. Join up with each other and attack the Internet in your favorite playlist. Tell them Bungie sent ya.
r c takedown If there was a fire in the Bungie building, what would you save?
Our Perforce server.
Dan Miller
The ”Street Fighter 3: Third Strike” arcade cabinet in our downstairs game room.
Ben Wommack
The beer.
John Stvan
The Minecraft server and the Kit Kat stockpile.
Scott Kankelborg
I would save my work before exiting the building.
Pat Jandro
Myself.
Andrew Davis
Each other.
Lorraine McLees
Thank you, Lorraine. The rest of you should be absolutely ashamed of yourselves. I can’t even make eye contact with some of you right now. All of this talk of disaster is sort of a buzzkill. Anyone care to lighten the mood?
Jose291 What are your thoughts of the Titanic 100th anniversary since it sank?
100th Anniversary? I thought that movie came out in 1997.
Really? Oh, the humanity! That’s just terrible. Although, I have to wonder if anyone ever found that priceless jewel that the lady tossed into the sea at the end.
…Wait a minute. Are there any other movies made by James Cameron that are also real?
WestCoastRonin Is there a particular trait that all Bungie employees share (other than the fact that they all work at Bungie)?
All of us work for… Okay. I will let the panel play.
We're all kinds of geeks in here.
Lorraine McLees
Btools!
Dan Miller
We're actually a very diverse group, yet everyone meets in harmony in the kitchen for Bagel Friday. So I guess you could say a love of baked dough binds us together.
Ben Wommack
A lot of us seem to shop at the same "clothing store".
Pat Jandro
Passion.
Andrew Davis
Ever see The Ring?
John Stvan
Are you talking about that
weird video you passed around the other day again? Why do I keep coughing up electrodes, by the way?
DEUCE MORELLI Why is it that actual serious questions are rarely answered while non-serious ones are routinely answered in an obfuscating manner?
I have just returned from an exploratory mission to dictionary.com where I discovered the meaning of the word
obfuscate. Of the three definitions that were listed, the one that best describes the phenomenon you are experiencing is:
to darken.
Plus, serious questions don’t sound very fun. I expect serious questions from the IRS, not people who love to play video games.
SpongyMallard7 Why are you making it known that you will not make anything known about what is unknown in your newest project? Is it for our own good to not know what is unknown?
I can’t even begin to decipher that sentence, my fine feathered friend. All I can tell you is that everything that Bungie does is for the good of our community. We don’t keep secrets out of some malicious enjoyment of cruelty. If you had a surprise birthday party creeping up on you, and someone spoiled that moment of delicious shock that would result from the loving conspiracy, would you consider that person your friend?
UphillMercury What do you think is the single greatest thing about working at Bungie?
I work at Bungie.
Mat Noguchi
Answering these Mail Sack Questions and sneaking in future project references.
Dan Miller
In all seriousness, it's the people. Working with awesome individuals whom you not only respect and admire but get along with makes every day worthwhile.
Ben Wommack
Big League Chew.
John Stvan
Getting paid in bacon.
Pat Jandro
Being able to have a hand in creating something that millions of people enjoy.
Andrew Davis
Our administrative professionals Davina and Brittany take good care of us - happy Administrative Professionals week!
Scott Kankelborg
That’s a good point, Scott. Have you all hugged your
Administrative Professional this week? You should really do that, unless you work in one of those places where such things are frowned upon. In that case, just nod respectfully as you pass them in the hall.
SN068237264910 If you had a chance to create a game of your dreams, what would it be called and what would it be about?
We are doing that right now. Someday, that dream will become a reality. Someday.
Agent Diddy Will you go to prom with me?
Are you in the Marine Corps? No? I will still go to prom with you, but only if you wear the dress. I think mauve is nice.
coolmike699 If someone broke into Bungie and took an employee hostage, what would you say to get them to let him or her go?
Depends on the employee.
Dan Miller
That he/she has a code fix for the BVT blocker, and needs to check in before the depot is locked. Oh, and it will save the world, or something.
Ben Wommack
Waves hand. "You don't want to do this. You want to go home and rethink your life".
John Stvan
"Shoot the hostage."
Scott Kankelborg
You are assuming someone can actually break in here and grab someone without running into Jerome or any of our ninjas, or get past our sharpshooters. Next question.
Lorraine McLees
That’s a creepy question. DeeJ, could you forward
coolmike699’s info on to Jerome please?
Andrew Davis
Way ahead of you, Andrew. Jerome was given a full dossier on this character months ago. Lorraine’s sharpshooter brigade can spot him a mile away with the facial-recognition software built into their long-range sights.
Index Are there any cool or unusual sounds the audio designers have recorded for effects in Bungie games?
Earlier this week, I posed the same question to
Jay Weinland, our Senior Audio Lead. Over a lunch-time serving of Thai food, I recanted a story I had heard about the
TIE Fighter from Star Wars lore. According to myth and legend, audio designer
Ben Burtt gave a voice to that fictitious ship by combining the sound of wet tires speeding across pavement with the cry of an elephant. Similarly, my question for Jay was about the Halo Warthog. It turns out that the sweet roar of the hydrogen-injected engine that has sped me to many flag captures was a blend of a 1967 Camaro and a Porsche 911. In Halo 2, he added some Humvee. In Halo 3, he added some semi-truck. As he told the story, I could hear my old baby purr in the back of my mind. Listen. Can you hear it?
Mythical Wolf When you were told you "have got the job" at Bungie, how did you react?
I asked if my salary would be the same. No joke.
Mat Noguchi
Suspicion. I wondered if they were pulling my leg. Years later I'm still waiting to wake up back in college, working recycling shifts.
Ben Wommack
Cleaned up the sacrificial alter in the yard.
John Stvan
I was relieved that I had proven myself during my 3 year long interview (I had been a contractor since 2007). I was also excited/nervous because now I had an even higher bar to meet.
Scott Kankelborg
When I got hired as a contractor: “Holy *blam*!” And when I got hired full-time: “About time!”
Andrew Davis
When I got the call I was just 3 days off from graduating college and driving home from a store. Needless to say that after hearing the news from the other end of my phone, my mind kind of left my body and floated up to the clouds with happiness. After some unidentifiable amount of time, I came back down to earth and I noticed that my car was parked in the middle of a 4 way intersection. No one was hurt.
Pat Jandro
YodasCurd I know you said no more Easter egg hints, but this is important. I have dedicated countless hours to this, and I must know. Is there, or isn’t there, another skull in halo 3 (The Assassin Skull) that is hidden somewhere.
A slippery slope, that is, Master. If I give you a hint, then someone else will want a hint, and then someone else will also want a hint. All Easter eggs are important. I am sticking to my guns on the new Zero Hint Doctrine. They are called Easter eggs because you have to go and find them. Or not…
Eric Duffy Do you need to know how to draw really well to be a part of Bungie?
Yes.
Dan Miller
Ah crap, am I getting fired?
Mat Noguchi
That's a no.*
Pat Jandro
*
unless, of course, it's part of your JOB.
Let's just say that coding doesn't require much in drawing skill beyond making circles and squiggles on a whiteboard, and we're all lucky for it.
Ben Wommack
Your skill set must contain the ability to Photoshop your colleagues into audaciously lewd scenes -
also.
Nate Hawbaker
Nope. “Programmer Art” and “Designer Art” are very real, very scary things.
Andrew Davis
See: DeeJ
John Stvan
Shows how much you know, Stvan. I drew this (really well)!
Helveck Does the entire team have a communal feeling that they will be able to outdo and create an entirely new world that rivals or even bests their last creation?
Your choice of words makes us sound like hippies. However, I can assure you that outdoing ourselves is a pillar of the Bungie culture. “Good enough” never is around here. The awesomeness of our last creation is always a bar that we seek to vault at enormous heights. We leave you in judgment of our success. It’s why we do what we do.
a rascal cat What do you believe are the primary components of a happy life?
A great philosopher once said: "To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of their women."
Mat Noguchi
Having no regrets, acceptance of those you do have, a commitment to pursue your own happiness with all effort, and bagels.
Ben Wommack
Figure out how to do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life.
John Stvan
Be best friends with yourself, never stop pursuing what makes you smile, surround yourself with good people.
Pat Jandro
Sven Nietzsche I'll be right back.
…And I checked, and Sven did not come back. I like to think that he would have asked a really good question, but contemplating such things makes me sad. I wonder a lot about what happened to him. Was he hit by a train? Did a rare infection loosen the connective tissue that surrounds his brain stem? The world may never know.
The only thing that can be certain is that this Mail Sack has also reached its mysterious end. Like Sven’s unsubstantiated claim, it will definitely be back. Next week. On Monday, when a new assortment of primary action items beckon from your calendar, we will be here to keep you company while you work – and vice versa.