Marty O' Donnell reveals a different side of Bungie's history that many people aren't aware of. A darker version where the company's leadership slowly but surely axed many of it's leading designers and architects. The recent layoffs at Bungie are unsurprising to him, given how the companies culture has changed while he was with Bungie and afterwards. Marty is only giving one side of the story, and you can come to your own conclusions about what kind of company Bungie is today... Marty O' Donnell's Channel ➤ www.youtube.com/@TheMartyODonnell
As soon as I heard Pete Parsons started the story as a marketing exec at Microsoft, I instantly flashed back to Steve Jobs talking about how, when a marketing person takes the reins of a company that's more creative and product-driven, it more often than not leads to disaster. It seems like the same exact thing played out at Bungie. By the way, if you haven't watched that interview, please go do so! Jobs was very well-spoken.
@@elseggs6504Except Jobs knew to leave the creatives alone. That’s the difference. Yeah, he was a master marketer, but at the end of the day, good marketing can’t save a bad product.
The fact that he keeps reiterating, this is my experience & it’s gonna be different than other people’s. They’re going to say other things but you should ask them about it & let them answer for themselves. He’s not asserting his own experience as fact & he understands that his experience has colored his view of it, in a different manner than other people. It’s never a he said/she said & he never calls them liars, he just says, here’s what I feel happened, take it or leave it, but also consider the other side & their unique perspective. Mad respect for that approach.
It's definitely a disparagement prevention measure but I also feel like it's Marty acknowledging he's a controversial figure, especially among modern Bungie and Microsoft leadership, and so is not only acknowledging that they might contrast that view but practically invites them to tell their side of the story. It lets him be the transparent actor especially as he has little to no obligation to not divulge information. That and anything he said for certain can be corroborated by publically available information.
That's a great point. Imagine being in a creative role leading the sound and music production and stepping up to take over the entire marketing department from the CEO while also serving as a board member and having all of that boiled down to basically 'disgruntled former composer', as if he was an entry level musician or SFX artist who contributed a small part of a project. It's insane how big companies can get away with dragging people through the mud like that and lying about their contribution. Reminds me of the way Bethesda and Id tried to screw over Mick Gordon.
@@preservetheunion9258 the Mick situation boiling down to the conversation below still irks me: "hey can you tell me exactly when I need to have the soundtrack finished?" "Nope, and we actually have another guy who will just take over YOUR WORK and haphazardly cobble together tracks from the game for the OST. Fuck you."
Even if he was, both Destiny and Halo have FANTASTIC themes. Halo, in particular, has one of the most iconic, if not THE most iconic theme song in video games’ history.
@@preservetheunion9258 If I remember correctly, Mick said Bethesda were nothing but kind to him, and tried to help him out. It was ID, and more specifically that one douchebag who dragged his name through the mud on Reddit. Obviously, ID as a whole was the problem, but mick focused on that guy quite a bit in his Statement.
Please actman, do it. Extremely underrated and many people have already forgotten how poorly he was treated. Scoring for video games seems like a nightmare.
As shit as 343i is, it irks me when people say "give Halo back to Bungie" They aren't what they used to be during the H1/H2 era. We'll never see Halo games like that EVER again.
Which is fine cause look at Doom and Wolfenstein being made by new people and being fantastic…problem is 343 had no vision/courage to just stick to a vision/direction and build on it.
The only reason why I think Halo would’ve been better off under Bungie than 343i this whole time is because 343i seems to operate as if they HAVE to differentiate their games from the Bungie era games which has directly led them to being worse. The art style change, Forerunner/Human retcon, music style change, etc. is all a product of 343i having a different vision for Halo than Bungie. Bungie isn’t great anymore, but I don’t think they would have the same disdain for the previous games that 343i seemed to have at least prior to Infinite.
Funny because I found H3 to be a step down and a step back for the trilogy. In hindsight, that should've been my hint that Bungie was not going to keep being the phenom forever
@@ShadowWolfQc Don Mattrick literally destroyed all the good will and reputation built up during the OG xbox and 360 era. Hell, Phil admitted they lost the console race because of how the Xbox One released.
Been Destiny player for 10 years, just recently said my goodbyes to the franchise. Some time ago we started meming, "Maybe Bungie was the problem all along". It´s crazy how all pieces are slowly falling into place and we are getting clearer and clearer picture of how this whole, very long mess, was combination of extremely talented developers and even more extremely venomous leadership.
Sad indeed, also 10 year player I had just moved to a new state and my entire friend group was made through destiny and some of them ended up at the same job as I. It’s just so much hurt, they deserve all this due to the management but doesn’t make it hurt any less.
It was still amazing whilst it lasted though, my journey through Destiny for 10 years has easily matched what Halo was to me, even if I play it less in the future. destiny 2 was too great not to remember fondly.
That Feet Larsons hmmm. Seems they might be the common thread, snuck in from Microsoft, overvalued the company to sell to Sony for billions, now he will golden parachute out as studio Collapses.
Thanks Act Man and Marty! The fall of Bungie, the failures of 343, and the compromising of Halo-styled gameplay have "inspired" me to start learning game development. Now I work 9-5 in a relatively comfy job that doesn't consume my creative energy, followed by spending my 6-10 learning UE5 and/or Blender. My progress has been slow, but constant. I have no idea how long it will take before I have something to show people, but to link to some point in the future; Two weapons in the game will be the MKX Dragon and the MKX Rhinoceros. I cannot thank either of you enough for your contributions to the gaming sphere, and hope to produce something that brings you joy the way Halo brought joy to me. I may just be a random guy in the comment section, but; There will be another time...
I'm in a similar position right now, and with the current state of games I honestly think we're going to see a lot of people getting into game development out of pure spite. I've always had a passing interest in game development but seeing the things I love constantly getting ruined, along with new IPs with good potential being held back has been the push I needed to get serious about it. Wishing you good luck in your journey.
I'm a new Halo player, I played Reach, 1-2-3, and am going to play ODST as well, and the music is the best I've ever seen in gaming. It's so good that I listen to it regularly right now. And I want to thank Marty for these bangers and all of the people who worked on these legendary Halo games. It is very sad to see modern Bungie in this state. As a new player who experienced the old stuff now, I really, really enjoyed it, and knowing that it ended and nothing like those games will ever come out of Bungie makes me really sad.
Glad to hear of anyone discovering the Bungie-era Halo for the first time. It's truly magical, and I hope you continue to enjoy all the intricate secrets within them all.
@@SirFigsAlot they lost money in the long run. And i bet they lost sleep over that just a littlebit. Even tho i doubt they understand that the reason they lost money and sleep is because they booted those people in the first place.
The making of Halo is basically the closest thing to a mythological story in the history of games. The camelot comparison is accurate, it seems like you could really make a movie about it, like 'The Social Network' but for gaming
It also lined up with America's unipolar moment. Had the spirit of y2K optimism for the future. That was the context of the camelot, up until about the 2008 collapse. Reach was suitably much more bleak and the writing was on the wall for Bungie's death.
I appreciate Marty's recollection of details, candor, and honesty. It's his perspective, and even though I have a different view on certain events, and different information from my years in Chicago and Seattle, I can vouch for his careful, honest representation of events - at least from 1997-2006, where we overlapped, including on the leadership team.
The man himself drops in. I've been away way too dang long, man! Seeing your username, I INSTANTLY remembered the intelligent analyses of the much-lauded speeches in both Deus Ex and MGS2.
Act Man: “I might be a little concerned based on something you told me, right, which was that when you going were through certain things with Bungie **our** previous interview was actually used as evidence against you.” O’Donnel. “Yes it was… let me just say, you probably cost me money.” Act Man: _Concerned laughter_ “But I paid you in exposure!” O’Donnel: “Oh yes. The exposure was wonderful.” This was a great exchange lmao
It is really cool hearing praise for Ed Fries. I had the opportunity to take Ed out to dinner in 2019 and he is just the most wonderful guy. Visionary software developer going all the way back to working on Microsoft Excel, and he saw the future of video games before most of Microsoft did. Really kind man, I bonded with him about our mutual love for early EverQuest lol. 5 years later and I’m still inspired by the few hours I got to spend with him. I’ll forever be thankful that I had the opportunity to take him out for delicious Mexican food for a few hours to talk shop. Marty just confirms everything I observed about Ed when I met him.
The man himself. As someone who spent a LOT of time in the Bungie forums and especially the private groups they used to have, one of my favorite moments was in Marty's group called The Marty Army. He was a pretty active member in that group when he was employed at Bungie and liked to do Q&A threads where he was always witty and frustratingly vague. After he was fired (I can't remember how long it was after), he logged back into the forums and nobody had deactivated his account. So he hopped back into the Marty Army for an impromptu Q&A and reading through that thread was entertaining. He likened the experience to sneaking into the back yard of a house he used to live in and taking a dip in the pool. Appreciate this interview. I'd still love to meet him someday, if only to tell him that On A Pale Horse and Under Cover of Night are better compositions than any of the main Halo suites, and that's a hill I'd happily day on.
@@deathwatch962 The Flood was such a great name for a forum. I remember back in the day discussing the various Forerunner theories. Then, I saw the Forerunners and was disappointed.
A counselor I had who worked in HR talked about how working in any industry was kinda like a game. Knowing the right people, saying the right things etc. It stuck with me, cause it didn't feel like the right comparison to make. Then, seeing all these stories come out from people who have worked on these games/shows/movies has made it feel more like the internal politics you'd see in a game of thrones episode. Negotiations, re-negations, transition of power, people who may be on your side or the corporations side but you can never be too sure, certain folk in power of things they don't really understand or don't care to understand, important people being silenced, tons of events or under the table tactics/deals that occurs that we'll probably never know about but we'll see the rippling effects for years to come, and a lot of innocent people caught in the middle of it. It's such an exhausting thing to have to even think about, and I couldn't even begin to imagine being in the middle of it.
When we used to get mini docs for the games, good times, golden age of gaming, I think games are getting better but the community around it isn't the same at all
Why is it crazy to not know the developers name of a game you've never played before and then to know their names after you've played and love that game 🤣. Do you know what the definition of crazy is?
It breaks my goddamn heart that OG Bungie is long gone. Such a special group of talented and hard working people that cared about what they were making, and more importantly, the people they were making it for. The industry has changed so much and we will never see such a legendary game series like old Halo again. Obviously there are still great and caring devs that make great games, but OG Halo was a time in history that just cant be repeated due to the times we live in. Love Marty and all the old guard who helped give us some of the best times of our lives. For us, the storm has passed, the war is over, but let us never forget, those who journeyed into the howling dark and did not return. For their decision required courage beyond measure, sacrifice and unshakeable conviction that their fight, our fight, was hell for it.
I would say it’s a still has the talent and special abilities, now it wasn’t peak anymore but final shape was really good, so they got the talent and ability but their management is crazy bad
Marty O Donnell is such a fucking legend. I studied film and game scoring when I was in college and I was always a big halo fan but I had never realized how much of an absolute genius Marty o Donnell was.
Actually no, give back halo to Bungie. They'll still do a better job than 343 and it either gets better or it finally dies because NO true fan of halo would play a Bungie halo that's made in the shit quality of today's Bungie games.
@@yasininn76nope they’ll just abandon it and milk it like destiny. I GUARANTEE YOU that if they got it back we would just get a halo infinite 2 with season passes and no unlockable armors. I GUARANTEE. Destiny 2’s PvP mode was neglected for 2-3(?) years. Where they didn’t get ANY NEW MAPS. Halo would suffer the same fate.
Marty O'Donnell is an absolute legend. I sometimes see his comments on other people's videos regarding his music on Halo, even on small channels and videos with less than a couple hundred views.
Thats what i was about to say. All around internet when i see a video where they use the legendary Halo soundtrack even if the video it self doesnt have anything to do with Halo people always mention that the soundtrack its great, comments like “i have never played Halo but when i listen to that soundtrack it got me chills”
Dude shout out to Marty for fighting for the PC and Mac release. Halo on Mac was my first exposure to FPS games and is still probably my favorite game of all time. I never had an OG Xbox, or even a PC, so if it weren’t for that Mac release, my life would be very different. Big thanks, Mr O’Donnell
After hearing Marty's viewpoint of the whole history of Bungie, it seems that the Bungie that was is not the Bungie that is. Somewhere between the Microsoft and Activision timeline, it tore Bungie apart. Once Destiny 2 was developed, it was essentially Bungie by name alone. Gone are the days where true creative liberties produced master class art, and now a mimic dances to the lure of accolades for the purpose of greed. Almost all of Marty's accounts of the history of Bungie explains an incredible amount with the decision-making process, and I cannot bring myself to see the Bungie logo in any regard similar to the one that flashed on my screen back in 2007. Perhaps it is for the best to recognize the good times that were, and to let go of both the hope and attachment towards the company. There will never be another master class personality like the Halo era Bungie.
It’s like that with many studios that have been around a long time. You’ll look and there’s barely any of the original people. And usually the key people are long gone. Rare, for example. And then a newer one would be Rocksteady, I guess.
It makes sense now that I know this. Even today with so many awesome QoL changes and arguably the best (or one of the best) expansions Destiny has ever had, D2 always has felt and still does feel somehow more soulless compared to D1. D1 had some special kind of magic to it that has never really existed in D2, despite D2 being the (arguably) objectively better game
A larger part of the problem with Destiny was it was a marketing dream on selling something completely larger than life and innovative, but it was always going to have pretty rigid limitations and range for what it could physically be. I think another aspect of it is the audience and gamers in general got more informed and plugged into the making of sausages with details of game dev and it started become realized that Destiny wasn't going to start pulling rabbits out of hats and deliver this big life changing game. I think the times at which Destiny 1 released had a lot of benefit because people viewed games a little differently than they do now with the over analysis and information overload. The script was set in stone with D1 and the rest basically just got intentionally tweaked to fatten Bungie's wad with a lot of misdirection and overselling ideas that never came about. Sake of argument the game did have some decent moments but it was never going to get to some insane innovative hybrid MMORPG meets FPS heights that was sold since 2010's teasers and all that noise. Even if a Destiny 3 came out, it's probably not gonna stray much off course for what we've seen now with Destiny.
This is why I only buy indie games-because I know indie developers are passionate about their creations. As an indie game developer myself, I deeply resonate with that feeling.
@@kingk4882 Out of all the things to criticize in the gaming industry you chose "woke" lol. Tell me how a minority or a woman in your video games affects you compared to someone like Pete Parsons creatively strangling an entire franchise in the name of money and poor decisions? The fact that you think there's some secret agenda and not just the fact that media reflects the people that created it is hilarious. You people are ridiculous.
@@ajeenius7437 No the forced diversity and wokeness stuff is stupid and destroys the game. Halo always had diversity but it wasn't forced, you had Sgt Johnson a black Sergant you had Cortana the 2nd most important charecter in Halo who was a woman, you had Miranda Keyes too. They were all charecters that existed on their own merit rather just be chucked in to satisfy a quota and they don't spout on about woke political agendas. Nobody has an issue with diversity especially in a game about aliens people have an issue with forced woke agenda nonsense.
Lmao they still do. Bungie knows that marty is the key to their dirty laundry. That's why they ran that campaign to smear him and now they got their panties in a bunch when marty decided to run for congress lol
@@Ookayy004I'm not sure which is sadder.... the fact this guy just said the best thing that's ever happened to him was getting a RU-vid notification or the fact that 274 other people feel the same way 😂😂
It’s so crazy that the five best games of ALL TIME were developed under this level of corporate nonsense. It’s ALMOST like Halo was good despite Microsoft, and now Halo is bad because of Microsoft. It was never supposed to be good but these guys pulled off five miracles.
The only thing is that Halo Infinite was actually pretty solid. The sandbox was exceptional in ways the franchise hasn't reached since the Bungie days. It's a shame Microsoft micromanaged the hell out of this franchise though because it's hard to want more given their failings
Even though Halo right now CANT reach it’s apex again, you gotta give them credit that they stuck in the past 14 years going which is impressive. No matter how many negative press or changes were made.
Fomer contracted microsoft employee here, I was the one Microsoft guy who was fighting with 343 for Halo Infinites delay. My actual convo with a contracted 343 artist that recalled hearing me argue with executives for the much needed delay (which was still not enough). Via Discord: Me: It's good to meet someone who I positivity impacted there is so much drama in this industry. Also Me: so while we where in vc last night, we briefly spoke about 343 before but I failed to ask... what did you work on? Anonymous Graphic Artist: Oh I worked contrat jobs on every game since Halo 4. Me: cool cool, what was the contract for? Anonymous Graphic Artist: I was an Graphic Designer for the most exterior and some interiors of ships. (Shows me his 3D renders) Me: Woah I actually seen those in here (pulls out Halo art book) nice to meet you. Also me: as we both know Halo Infinite was a technial and directional desaster, what was the most frustrating thing you had to deal with. For me personally, it was telling Microsoft that a large delay is beyond needed. Anonymous Graphic Artist: The engine change 3/4's to completion, never getting fully hired as an artist. Me (inturpting) : Likely to cut costs, more money in the pockets of those who don't actually make the game. 🙄 Anonymous Graphic Artist: I thought you where bullshitin me before but it's clear your not and I totally agree. THATS WHAT PISSES ME OFF ABOUT THE MODERN GAMING INDUSTRY 😤 Anonymous Graphic Artist (again): That and the fact Microsoft makes the devs make a new engine and expects things to work out... with out running it by us (or giving us more time to do so). *So yah not much has changed at all sadly.*
Could you imagine if destiny was made by all the original Bungie members? I believe it could have been one of the greatest games of all time. It’s such a shame.
From a highly praised & loved studio that made one of the most enjoyable games from over the years to this, corporate greed truly be the killer of good studios.
How is the game industry worth more now than it ever has been, Gaming earns $ like it never has YET we've never seen video games in a sadder state than it now is... It's sad entire game genres have basically disappeared. I don't need a new console, I want a deeply unique game library like we used to see during the PS2 and original Xbox era.. Entire Genres have disappeared, the # of games have never been lower, the quality has never been so hit or miss with games, we've never seen more in game stores included inside of video games, the list goes on.. My point is that it's just so sad that there's this much negativity that is attached to video games nowadays.. video games should be FULL of uplifting, optimism and creativity... Not all this negative money hungry BS we are now seeing..
The RU-vidr BDobbinsFTW, made a video about Bungie's horrible management 8 years ago and talked about a lot of the same things Marty brought up in this interview. For anybody that liked this interview and is interested, you should go back and watch Dobbins old video titled "Why Bungie's Bad Attitude is Bad for Destiny". He hit the nail on the head back in 2016.
"When you're in Camelot you're sort of not aware of how great it is".... ugh so true. For so many different parts of life but especially a workplace. Good video.
Hey Marty, one question I've never heard asked or answered all these years is "What did you and the team think about the French version of Halo 2 leak?" I know leaks are bad and piracy is not something that anyone thinks fondly of. However, that leak is what caused me to hack my console, learn that computer firmware existed, how computer firmware works, and ultimately end up helping me find my career path in video games and cybersecurity. Without that leak, I would not have found the motivation to work in video games and then cybersecurity. Your music and the vidocs also inspired me to become a musician, and learn all about how recording works. I've built a mobile recording studio because of my love for making music that is because of the seeds you planted with all of things you have done over the years. So thank you for everything you've done over your career and inspiring the next generations of creatives to achieve their dreams, as well as giving us the lessons that you have learned along the way. Not very many people share this knowledge, their retrospective on their path, with what they could have and should have done differently to make things better for those around them. I really appreciate the knowledge bombs that you have been dropping. These things will truly help the next generation not make the same mistakes. Thank you for showing the tidbits that you can to help the future generations be better creatives that know how to navigate the hardships of the industry and not get taken advantage of.
Its funny how nobody talks about Bungies original games, Pathways into darkness, Myth 1 and 2, Abuse, and the 3 Marathon games. Without these Bungie wouldnt even be where they are today.
You gotta realize most halo fans are mid 30s. I’m 34. I never played marathon in its prime days. I was just too young. I didn’t get a pc till I was 11. That was 2001. Marathon and the other games at best were niche games in the grand scale of games of the 2000s
“We’ll always have Paris (Camelot)” Those games meant a lot to me growing up through a parents divorce and moving across the world away from my friends. We started with Halo CE and carried on with Xbox Live through 2&3 so thanks for helping create the memories Marty.
Marty, I just wanted to say thank you for everything you have been apart of with Bungie, even when the times were tough. If there's one motto I can take from the old Bungie that I thought was a good message was "Go forth and represent" and even though working in the video game industry for me is no longer a professional dream job, I will continue to do it as a hobby. The old team at Bungie, the Halo Vidocs, I always go back and watch those because there are a lot of lessons in those videos one can learn from just seeing them. I'm not going to be making the most groundbreaking game, but if I can keep making games, even if they're just simple games and they are fun and it gets people talking and playing, even if I make zero money from it, that is what will make me happy in the long run. So thank you and Old Bungie for your influence to my life throughout the years. Old Bungie continues to inspire my creativity. Thank you Act Man for this video!
Sadly doubt they’ll be around much longer, Destiny 2 is on a continuous decline and given what we know about future plans *I* don’t see it growing, I don’t see Marathon catching which leave Destiny 3 as the only possible saving grace. Now, whether that does well 🤷♂️ who knows, but that game will make or break the studio. I can see a new batch of layoffs once Marathon releases and underperforms to bring the total number of staff well under 1,000. I can see Destiny 3 doing well enough to keep the lights on for a bit *assuming* Bungie is still competent enough to get it out the door. Even if D3 launches I feel like it won’t do well enough, or have the same legs to justify keeping the studio open, the studio will be mostly gutted in order to support D3 so Sony can try to recoup as much as they can from their horrible deal. Anything else in development will be cancelled when it becomes clear revenue is continuing to drop with the studio eventually being shuttered, some devs being shuffled to other Sony studios and support of D3 being moved over to another studio. Just as general support, no content will be developed or added. They will probably hit their 35th anniversary but not their 40th.
@CtKEngage nah bungie still had talent all the way till halo reach. You can see in the video right around 2011 the senior staff got gutted and that's why bungie went to shit. Most people only follow brand name instead of looking at the people who made these games amazing. Look at bioware and EA as an example
Music means a lot to me, and it seems, throughout your videos, that it does to you as well. It must be an exceptional honor to speak and be buddies with the man that defined our childhoods with his incredible talent. Great interview and video as always Act Man, keep it up!
Really interesting that the leaker that got dismissed said exactly the same about Parsons as Marty has here. She got hounded away and called a liar by the cult of bungie.
Well one thing I learned is apparently Bungie's stock vesting doesn't happen often and they wanted to pull the rug before the employees got their fair share. Glad at my company (in the tech Industry now, an ex employee from the AAA games industry) I get vested monthly. I can't imagine having to wait a year or two for a promised lump sum that they could just fire you right before.
The amount of times I think of the making of videos for Halo 2 (as an example) and they wanted to have FUN over anything else stands with me to this day. Kinda like Valve when they make their games. It's the FUN factor and I feel like companies just don't give a shit about that anymore. This was very insightful. Halo is very special to me, always will be. Along with Marty's music in the games. The memories and the feelings I get when I think about it all is bittersweet. I'm happy it happened, but I'm sad it's permanently gone.
Unfortunately, when the money gets big, you start running into the absolute closest examples we have of true psychopathy. The game of big business incentivizes lack of empathy.
Hahaha I was watching Wukong video and right after you were joking about China's censorship, your video went private: I thought it was part of a joke at first, I mean there were a 'This video is unavailable' message but with a video timer below
Bungie quite literally shaped most of my formative years in terms of how i view video games and the standards those games set for me and ive been disappointed ever since. Watching what Bungie has become is truly heartbreaking. When they left Halo behind, i wanted them to succeed but was sad that 343 took the reigns. Now almost 15 years later, its, well its deplorable. They've become a shell of the company the world once loved.
Queen Elizabeth I brought in copyright law to protect authors from publishers in the 16th century. Whilst admittedly, nobody managed to directly write to her about those problems during her lifetime, she was concerned about this sort of thing--and then Queen Anne brought in effective copyright law in the 18th century. When the actual creative people are fired, and otherwise made unwelcome, it's because the publishers want to steal the copyright for the work from the people who made it, and we've known this for up to five hundred years. It's also quite clear (from memory, because the article's changed) that Queen Elizabeth I was very concerned about works being _copied right_ with no mistakes, to copy the original exactly (see the Halo transition screens for the original games, left out when ported to the Master Chief Collection, for example), and the "Happy Birthday Lauren" message on the Halo 3 ring.
Damn I have to stop 9 and a half minutes in just to say this; everyone who dismisses Marty based on him not being there for a decade is crazy. We should probably be paying more attention to him because he was one of the pillars that made not only halo, but Bungie through Halo's success into what it was. He refers to it as Camelot and had a hand in it. I tend to agree that it was Camelot in comparison to now. Which should be telling people that he has the experience, and the track record, to make things good. In regards to current Bungie, better. It almost feels like gamers in the current day are Stockholm Syndromed. It's incredibly sad.
Regardless of how Marty had left Bungie, he has experience with Bungie that most do not even have. Especially with his experience with Bungie higher ups.
Without Marty O'Donnell, there is no Halo. It can sound trivial when we are talking about popular media, but this property REALLY had an effect on young people in the early 2000's, myself included. The sense of wonder O'Donnell's music leant to this IP for me cannot be overstated. It connected me to so many other things which I keep with me long after I've stopped playing or thinking about Halo. So thanks, Marty O'Donnell, for the wonder, the excitement, and the quality. And thanks for making Halo, Halo.
Marty was an absolute asset to the culture of that company and his firing marked the beginning of an extremely slippery and never ending downward slope for Bungie.
This is why I love Marty, everyone loves to shit on him for how bad he acted in the company or because of his politics, but hearing him explain it and why he might've come off that way was so satisfying to hear.
This is amazing. I remember watching old Bungie documentaries about when Halo 2 was coming out, and them developing the campaign, multiplayer etc and just like all of these other people, it was also my dream job to develop video games, because I saw Halo and what it did to change the industry as a whole. But when you get older and learn more about how there's so much more to these games and how the games industry has changed overtime, it stopped being my passion. I still love games, but I want to stay on the consumer side of things after years of seeing this kind of information...
@@uh_antWhile I disagree with you, I’d rather point out that you don’t have to be a good person to be a legend. So no need to correct my comment, prick.
@@nepd3stinythat guy is commenting on every comment giving any positive affirmation to Marty. Don’t listen to him, he’s a loser who only listens to the voice in his own head.
@@nepd3stiny Don't bother responding, this guy's been replying like this to every single comment that says something good about marty, so he's either a paid troll or just an ass
Amazing. I've really enjoyed Mr. O'Donnell's recent participation in interviews and commentary, the man with first hand knowledge about what the F*CK happened from 2006-2011, when us Halo fans noticed some BIG rumblings going on, and then Bungie left the Halo development circle. It sucked learning a few months back that the nails in the coffin were essentially there in 2008-10, way sooner than some of us thought. I MASSIVELY look forward to killing this long interview today.
Gaming’s history just makes me sad. From a bunch of nerds making games that like minded individuals would enjoy to greedy mega corporations pumping out pig slop to pay for whatever they wanted and laying off workers so they don’t have to suffer a pay-cut. But as larger companies make more and more blunders, smaller companies like arrowhead or indie games grow. I hope video games get better because it’s sad to see a hobby I love turn into an abomination of everything terrible. Screw the higher ups in Activision, Blizzard, Bethesda, Bungie and EA.
What a great interview. It really goes to show that the corporate MBA mindset of "maximizing gaind" has always been around. Though it feels that what did change was fewer and fewer creative workers banding together and demanding creative freedom of their work, and getting proper financial recognition of their work.
Weirdly I kind of relate to what Marty went through but not to nearly the same extent, school club I joined was pretty small, tight knit and mainly a bunch of friends and it ballooned to be too big, then we had half a year of bad leadership, and then the culture of the club fell apart. I think something forgotten by a lot of higher ups in business that is taught in business classes in colleges is to consider brand equity, by doing what they are doing, yes they tend to gain short term profit, but the business reputation takes a hit, and then to the point that we see that sales for some brands drop and fall off just because nobody wants to take a chance anymore. It is not a sustainable business plan.
Hey Act Man. I appreciate content like this where coworkers discuss conflicts they face at work. I think its important that game developers are aware that problems like this happen in real life--even for companies that produce great work such as Bungie.
Thanks for putting out such a high quality video in my time of need. I am not depressed or anything I was just about to sit and eat and I couldnt find something to watch
