TeamXbox interviews Todd McFarlane, designer of new Halo toys and the Halo 3 controller. The first two pages are mostly about his failed baseball career and his entry into the world of comics, mainly Spawn, but by page three he’s talking about how they make figures from the information Bungie sends them:

We’re developing figures right now from the game that wouldn’t necessarily be so loyal to the wireframe. We are actually treating the figures as if we were making a movie, and what the body positioning may look like in action sequences. There are some limitations to how the character can be posed in the game, so we are being a little more creative with the figures. We’ll still use all of Bungie’s data in terms of what the uniforms and armor looks like, but put the figures in a pose that is more military-like. In essence, more movie frame, and less like a screen capture from a video game.

McFarlane closes by saying there are Halo-related things they’re doing that aren’t yet public, so there’s still more to come.

Bungie.net’s latest feature is an interview with Robert McLees, artist-turned-writer who maintains the Halo Bible. What’s the Halo Bible? Funny you should ask:

For lack of a more romanticized description it is the ponderous collection of lies, damned lies, and half-truths from which the entire Halo Universe is constructed. It is the tome which informs core fiction decisions (and is in turn expanded by them). It is that indespensible cheat sheet that helps us keep all the stories we’ve told straight in our collective heads. Admittedly we have not always been the best at this (but I think we’ve been getting better).

In addition to the aesthetically pleasing half-truths in the Bible, there are links to detailed backgrounds on each of the Covenant weapons:

• Plasma Rifle
• Plasma Pistol
• Carbine
• Needler
• Beam Rifle
• Fuel Rod Cannon

homicidal insomniac blogged something he came across in the Se7enSins.com forum; the aftermath of one of the unauthorized Epsilon players that The Hushed Casket mentioned awhile back.

The upshot?

Banned. Until December 31, 9999. Not just the XBL gamertag, but the console as well.

So, yes: it is possible to override the per-gamertag restriction on closed test executables like the Halo 3 Epsilon test if you can get access to the gamertag account of an authorized user.

It is also very, very easy for Microsoft to find you. So don’t bother.

UPDATE: It is worth noting that this entire process is very similar to that surrounding the COD4 Beta. News outlets have been claiming that Microsoft recently banned over 20,000 XBL accounts for unauthorized access to this beta, but Major Nelson is denying this, despite admitting that unauthorized access to such a beta is a violation of the Terms of Service.

With September 25th fast approaching, it’s almost a sure bet that copies of Halo 3 will be flying off the shelves at stores across the globe. If you’re expecting to grab a copy on launch day, it’s probably best to pre-order your copy now and ensure that you’ll get one.

We’ve set up links with Amazon.com and ShopTo.com for our members to order directly, while also helping support Podtacular. So, if you decide to pre-order (or plan on purchasing anything else from these retailers), we’d appreciate it if you used the following links:

Pre-order from Amazon.com | Pre-order from ShopTo.com (UK)

Videogames Live has announced that EMI Classics will be publishing an album of the concert series’ greatest hits, available this coming October 15. Music from Halo will be featured. Check the press release for all the details. Thanks again, Wu, this time in #hbo.

Video Gaming Refugees Blog Confessionals has a two part interview with Bungie’s interface guru, Dave “Evil Otto” Candland. It covers a wide range of topics, but perhaps of most interest to fans now that Halo 3 is almost in our hands is– what will Bungie do next?

Evil Otto: Well, who knows? I’d love to push out an Xbox Live arcade title just for a change of pace but that’s really not up to me. Whatever the case, I just hope that 10 years from now I’m not working on Halo: the next generation part 5. People won’t pay for a dead horse, especially one that continues to be beaten. Bungie isn’t a one-trick pony. We’ve done RTS games that have received multiple game of the year awards, the Marathon series was extremely successful – it’s still considered by many to be the greatest Mac game ever. Halo 3 may not necessarily be the last Halo related game Bungie ever makes, but we are certainly thinking hard about what our next “big thing” will be.

Thanks for the heads-up on the interview to Louis Wu at HBO.