Author: halo@bungie.org

Gamasutra sat down with Graeme Devine and Bill Jackson, of Ensemble Studios, to talk about the control scheme of Halo Wars – how it developed, why it’s better than the way other games do it. It’s a pretty interesting discussion! Go give it a read.(Louis Wu 18:10:47 UTC)

Last night Bryan Simon let us know that he’s whipped up a new song – this one’s not really focused on Halo 3 (though it’s mentioned a couple of times), it’s more about Bungie. It’s called ‘If I Worked At Bungie (For A Day)’, and in it he muses about the fun he’d have. Watch…

For less than half the starting bid of that 8″ or so action figure, you can bid on a high-quality Master Chief helmet, being sold by Briar’s Armor. You’ve got almost a week to decide – starting bid is $149.(Louis Wu 12:48:14 UTC)

Hawty McBloggy found an interesting custom action figure… with a starting price that’s more frightening than its visage.(Louis Wu 12:45:18 UTC)

TTL Demag0gue let us know that Reclaimer 115 is online – which is more than we can say for the Reclaimer himself! Something’s gone wrong…(Louis Wu 12:41:01 UTC)

kr-1426 let us know that the HBO Fan Fic Pick of the Week is live over at the HBOFF forums – there’s even one for the previous week, now. Go see who the regulars think is worth reading!(Louis Wu 12:39:46 UTC)

If you missed the live streams last night, you can read a recap of the MLG Las Vegas event over at the MLGPro.com website. (You can actually watch the action yourself, if you’d rather.) The money on the line was pretty steep – Str8 Rippin went home with $100,000 for winning the tourney, Instinct took…

MLG Las Vegas is down to its final four Halo teams – Str8 Rippin faces off against Carbon on the Winners Bracket, Final Boss and Instinct are the only two teams left in the Losers Bracket. Play resumes at noon Pacific Time (about 4 hours from the time this is being written) – go watch…

We’ve mentioned Sapber-Scorpion and his LEGO creations many times in the past (just search our news archives) – but recently, he finished up an entire cutscene in LEGO, and Willy noticed. Swing by to see Sierra 117 – Arrival, from start to finish, and more.(Louis Wu 15:39:30 UTC)

DigitalPh33r has posted Season 3 Episode 4 of Arby ‘n’ the Chief – Arby challenges Craig, in the Chief’s name. I guess you have to wait for Episode 5 to see how it turns out… Thanks, AvatarAang.(Louis Wu 22:47:36 UTC)

We’ve mentioned Halo work done in Mario Paint before… but it didn’t sound anything like the copy of One Final Effort that Hawty McBloggy found. Pretty amazing!(Louis Wu 22:15:15 UTC)

Just a reminder – MLG Las Vegas is running right now – the 2008 All-Star Classic has wrapped up (congrats to the East Coast), and the Halo 3 tourney kicks off in about 3 hours. Swing by for all the news, and video coverage!(Louis Wu 16:58:58 UTC)

Jdars pointed out the Ultimate Screenshot Competition – submit yours, and win a chance at having it labeled one of the best! (There don’t seem to be any prizes besides pride.) Full rules are listed on the site. (Louis Wu 16:58:33 UTC)

Bungie posted their Weekly Update as the workday came to a close last night… it’s a fun read. There’s a writeup on the ODST, the star of their upcoming expansion project – go learn more about him, and what he is capable of! There’s also a series of great shots with Fairfax, Marissa’s Bunny -…

Dustbunny27 has been working on vehicles in Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts – a couple of them are Halo-related. Go look!(Louis Wu 22:30:10 UTC)

mendicantbias00 is celebrating his birthday today (one day early). Check out his forum post for a shot of the cake his girlfriend made for him. That one’s a keeper, mb!(Louis Wu 20:08:54 UTC)

Over at NeoGAF, MirageDwarf noticed that there’s a Halo 3: Recon story in the latest issue of OXM (the UK version) – you can swing by their Ezine page for a taste. I think Brian ‘SketchFactor’ Jarrard is going to need to change his name to John Smith, or something – nobody can seem to…

BenjaminBirdie posted a bunch of Premium Themes screens over at NeoGAF, so you can see what you’re getting into before you drop 250 MS Points. Scroll down a little to see the Halo Wars theme. Thanks, Herr Zrbo. (Louis Wu 19:54:04 UTC)

Ran across an odd press release – a new service called ‘BringIt’ will allow you to challenge other gamers to matches in a variety of games (including Halo 3) – you build a challenge, listing how much you want to play for. Others can take up that challenge – winner takes the pot, minus a…

My7hos pointed out that his charity auctions are ending this evening – you’ve still got a few hours left, and most things that are up are still pretty cheap. Go see – maybe you can pick up an inexpensive Christmas present for someone! The money you spend will benefit veterans, via the TTL Foundation.(Louis Wu…