Bungie Studios

Bungie Studios is a video game developer founded in 1991 under the name "Bungie Software Products Corporation" (or in the non-legal definition "Bungie Software") by two undergraduate students at the University of Chicago, Alex Seropian and Jason Jones. Bungie's first "release" was Gnop!, a clone of Pong, which was distributed for free. For much of the 1990s they developed a series of increasingly technically detailed first person shooter (FPS) games for the Macintosh, the most famous being the Marathon series, following this with the acclaimed Myth tactical-combat series for both the Mac and Windows. Bungie games were particularly well-loved by players due to their complex backstories which often left more unanswered than revealed.

Related Topics:
Video game developer - 1991 - Undergraduate - University of Chicago - Alex Seropian - Jason Jones - Pong - 1990s - First person shooter - Macintosh - Marathon - Myth - Windows

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In 1999 they announced their next product was a return to the FPS genre, with a world-beating physics and AI system, to be known as '. While Halo was featured in the MacWorld 2000 (after a closed-door screening at E3 in 1999) keynote address by then-interim-CEO Steve Jobs, plans were to release at the same time on both the Mac and Windows. On June 19, 2000, however, Microsoft announced that they had acquired Bungie Software and that Bungie would become a part of the Microsoft Game Division (subsequently renamed Microsoft Game Studios) under the name Bungie Studios. As a result, the original versions were soon delayed and the game was re-purposed for the Xbox, with the Mac and Windows versions only shipping two years later when it was no longer the renowned product it would have been in late 2000.

Related Topics:
1999 - Physics - AI - MacWorld - Steve Jobs - June 19 - 2000 - Microsoft - Microsoft Game Division - Microsoft Game Studios - Xbox

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Due to this, it's speculated by some that the original source code for the Macintosh version was trashed in favour of development of the XBox version. The idea being that when the time suited Microsoft to 'allow' the game to be published on the two platforms, the Macintosh version would be ported from the existing XBox release to save time and money, as would the Windows version (although the latter would be fairly easy to port anyway due to the similarities in the XBox and Windows Operating Systems). This would appear to be the case, due to the fact that third party developers were brought in to port both titles. The adverse effects of this entire episode was felt somewhat in the Bungie Studios however, when many of the key employees walked. Many have now been recruited by Wideload, a new game developement company founded by Bungie co-founder Alex Seropian himself.

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The Xbox version of Halo received the Game of the Year and Console Game of the Year awards for 2002 from the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, is known as a system seller and as of 2004 is still a videogame bestseller. ' has been one of the most critically acclaimed games over the last three years, and its sequel Halo 2 has been called the 'most anticipated game of all time' by IGN Xbox.

Related Topics:
Xbox - Game of the Year - Console Game of the Year - Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences - As of 2004 - Halo 2 - IGN

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The company began life in a dormitory on the University of Chicago, and subsequently moved off-campus to real offices in Chicago, Illinois. After Microsoft's acquisition, they moved into the Microsoft Campus at Redmond, Washington. Lack of space has prompted a move to Kirkland, Washington, which has recently taken place.

Related Topics:
University of Chicago - Chicago - Illinois - Microsoft Campus - Redmond, Washington - Kirkland, Washington

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While not directly behind the program, Bungie oversaw and 'signed off' on the Haunted Apiary puzzle, named after the address of the 'hacked' bee-keeping website around which the game revolves and briefly appeared in the Halo 2 theatrical trailer. They provided the Haunted Apiary designers with the "Halo Bible", allowing the story to fit to Bungie's specifics.

Related Topics:
Haunted Apiary - Halo 2 - Theatrical trailer

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