Tag Archives: Joseph Staten

Bungie created one of gaming’s most iconic heroes with Halo, but in Destiny it will be up to you to write your own personal story.

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Destiny developer Bungie is going big on multi-format and cross-play in its MMO shooter, but whether playing on PS4, PS3 or Xbox 360, the developer has assured fans that it’s going to look “awesome”.

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Bungie’s lead writer Joseph Staten has said that when the developer was creating the character of Master Chief for Halo, “immersion” was key to what he would become.

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Bungie writer Joe Staten’s said to Joystiq that the developer “had to break though” a lot of the noise that is currently going about with Infinity Ward following news of the developer signing a ten-year deal with Activision on its new IP yesterday.

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Halo 3: ODST is an open-world game, Bungie’s told the Seattle Times.

“We’re doing a lot of pretty neat things in terms of mixing it up, introducing some non-linearity, some free exploration,” said Joseph Staten, writer and creative director.

“This is also a mystery story so there’s a lot more clue-finding and mystery-solving than you would normally find in a game of this kind — nothing that strays too far from the fun ‘Halo’ experience, but we definitely decided to take a little bit of risk and have some fun with this one.”

But stuff boring old 2009. What about next year’s Halo Reach?

“I absolutely think Reach could be enabled with [Natal],” said the developer.

Hit the link for more.

In an Q&A with Gamepreo, Halo: ODT writer and creative director Joseph Staten sheds some more light on how stealth will play a part in the next instalment of Bungie’s mega-shooter.

“The silenced SMG is just one of the tweaks to the Halo 3 sandbox that make ODST a stealthier experience — one that, at least in the open environment of nighttime New Mombasa, rewards a more measured approach to combat,” said Staten.

“As a non-Spartan, you’ll need to be careful about the fights you pick, especially when you’re on your own.”

“Brutes in ODST are much more interested in self-preservation than they were in Halo 3 which makes for terrific, multi-layered encounters,” he explained.

“You need to think before you engage — decide how you want to take apart an encounter before diving in or you’ll get into trouble pretty quick, especially on higher difficulty levels.

“Unlike a Spartan, an ODST doesn’t have shields,” concludes Staten. “You’re a little slower too, so if you get hit you can’t just run sprint to safety.”

We want this game right about now, please Bungie.

Full interview through the link.

By Mike Bowden

The latest issue of Game Informer has, as promised, fleshed out detail on Halo 3: Recon, revealing the add-on as an open-world shooter with flashback story-telling.

From CVG:

On the ground you’ve got new equipment, such as a PDA to set waypoints on a wireframe map, and you’re left to explore the city in an order that you wish.

“The reason we chose the ODST is it’s absolutely a character that we’ve had ideas about how to develop and put more front a center in the Halo games,” Bungie creative director, Joseph Staten explains to GI.

The goal is to find and investigate the last known locations of your four ODST team mates, using the new ‘Visual Mode’, which as shown in the debut trailer highlights enemies an items with a hi-tech neon glow, to path your way though the moon-clad metropolis.

Once you reach one of the last-known waypoints of your four teammates you’ll find a crime scene – such as a sniper rifle hanging from a street light – and enter a Lost-stlye flashback to earlier that day, where you’ll control the squad member for an entire level.

Through the 30 minute flashback, which is said to play more like a traditional, linear Halo level, you’ll discover the fate your teammate and unravel the mystery of what went on in New Mombasa.

Plenty more through there. Bungie’s last Halo trilogy entry releases in the back half of next year.