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Marty O'Donnell Fired By Bungie

M

Man_Flannel

Member
Wonder if he would be interested in working for Microsoft Studios (Joseph Staten anyone?) Gears of War 4 with a Marty soundtrack would be sweet. I think it's a little late for him to work on Halo 5.
 
C

Caddle

Member
The audio guy is nothing to be concerned about. Listen to the difference between forza 5 and gt6 to understand how low on the totem pole the audio guy..... Oh wait a minute :).
 
P

Pickles Spill

Member
Bungie says its upcoming shooter Destiny is still on track for a September release, despite the recent termination of its composer Martin O'Donnell.

Speaking with Eurogamer, Bungie's chief operating officer Pete Parsons said that O'Donnell's music would remain in Destiny, and that his departure would not negatively impact the remaining development.


"I think the Bungie fanbase is going to look forward to hearing Marty's music, Mike Salvatori's music, C. Paul's music and Paul McCartney's music in the game," Parsons said. "We have a fantastic team. We're pretty close to shipping. There's a lot of polish left to do, lots of tweaking and tuning, but a lot is already complete."

Parsons did not touch the reason for on O'Donnell's departure from the company. Earlier in the week, O'Donnell tweeted that he had been "terminated without cause;" Bungie said that the two parties had farewelled each other "as friends."

Fan favourite O'Donnell penned the iconic soundtrack to the Halo series, and his work for Destiny can already be heard in trailers.

Destiny is due for release on September 9 on PS4, Xbox One, PS3, and Xbox 360. To help pass the wait, check out our interview with Bungie about how the idea for the game came about.
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Source:http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/04...rs-music-still-remains-in-destiny-says-bungie
Looks like we can stop worrying that his share of the work would have to be redone.
 
H

Hellshy.

Member
Surface of Me said:
Marty's soundtracks were an integral part into making Halo what it is today. If he made Destiny's and then Bungie fired him, I hope Activision burns them all.



If Marty isn't going to be paid for what he did, I'm not going to pay them.
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What? What makes you think he has been working without receiving salary?
 
Z

z-layrex

Banned
LapinAgile said:
I would like to see him stretch his legs and do something more than Halo music for the rest of his career. Hope he gets to try something new and exciting, his body of work speaks for itself already.
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I agree. I think he should try something totally different, he's obviously a very talented guy he could do anything. Life is about variety.
 
T

thenexus6

Member
It's a shame to think that Destiny and Bungie have this 10 year plan thing or whatever that Marty must've had some epic ideas for future overtures, themes and stuff for years down the line which we'll never get to hear anymore
 
T

Transhuman

Unconfirmed Member
No Mail Sack this week. We know what you want to ask us. We wish we could help you make sense of what’s going on. Sometimes saying nothing is the only right thing to do. Sometimes saying nothing is the hardest thing to do.

We’re sorry for that. We know that you care a lot about our shared history. We do too. It stings to read some of the more charged, emotional responses, but we understand, and we are committed to focusing on our shared future. We believe it will be bright.

Every end is a new beginning. See you starside.
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http://www.bungie.net/7_Bungie-Weekly-Update---04182014/en/News/News?aid=11485

Ba-boom.
 
D

Deadbeat

Banned
Look at Respawn with Titanfall. "Oh he left because of family" and that turned out to be bullshit. This has someone saying they were fired. That would extrapolate out to something worse.
 
V

vasametropolis

Member
You know, it IS possible that there was something going on that would make either or both parties look bad. It's possible they had enough respect for one another to keep things quiet. Might be best to let it die. Don't dig if you won't like what you might find.
 
P

paskowitz

Member
I am going to guess Marty wanted a $# that Activision was not willing to pay, Marty got pissed, Activision got irrational and then said pack your bags.

I can't help but relate this to Hanz Zimmer leaving COD. Series went downhill after that. The score of a game matters more than people realize.
 
S

Sai

Member
vasametropolis said:
You know, it IS possible that there was something going on that would make either or both parties look bad. It's possible they had enough respect for one another to keep things quiet. Might be best to let it die. Don't dig if you won't like what you might find.
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Agreed. Fans are still going to pry regardless though. :/
 
D

Deadbeat

Banned
vasametropolis said:
You know, it IS possible that there was something going on that would make either or both parties look bad. It's possible they had enough respect for one another to keep things quiet. Might be best to let it die. Don't dig if you won't like what you might find.
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Thats if you are a fan or something. I have no stake in this at all. I just like a good soap opera.
 
T

Transhuman

Unconfirmed Member
vasametropolis said:
You know, it IS possible that there was something going on that would make either or both parties look bad. It's possible they had enough respect for one another to keep things quiet. Might be best to let it die. Don't dig if you won't like what you might find.
Click to expand...

Most likely it's all about some stupid, incredibly boring spat between the two.

Deadbeat said:
Look at Respawn with Titanfall. "Oh he left because of family" and that turned out to be bullshit. This has someone saying they were fired. That would extrapolate out to something worse.
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Or it's evidence Bungie has a little more class and are straight shooters? You're reading a little bit too much into this.

paskowitz said:
I am going to guess Marty wanted a $# that Activision was not willing to pay, Marty got pissed, Activision got irrational and then said pack your bags.

I can't help but relate this to Hanz Zimmer leaving COD. Series went downhill after that. The score of a game matters more than people realize.
Click to expand...

Think it's more to do with the fact that half of the staff and the two senior-most creators quit though.
 
M

Madness

Member
paskowitz said:
I am going to guess Marty wanted a $# that Activision was not willing to pay, Marty got pissed, Activision got irrational and then said pack your bags.

I can't help but relate this to Hanz Zimmer leaving COD. Series went downhill after that. The score of a game matters more than people realize.
Click to expand...

That's even more ridiculous that Activision gets to dictate to Bungie who they can or cannot hire. If anything, while they do have a say in the budget for the studio and Destiny, at the end of the day, Marty is Bungie. More so than a shit ton of other employees. He's done the audio for their games for 18 years, he's hired everyone else currently doing audio for them still. Who knows. It's a big loss to the future of Bungie and Destiny. Very few people can fill his shoes.
 
H

HiredN00bs

Member
The thing to remember is that this was not a hasty decision. It wasn't like Jason and Marty got into an argument and then a few days later he said "Pack up your shit and get out." This was voted on by the board of directors, which means a majority of the most influential and tenured employees who've worked with Marty for over a decade thought this was the best decision for Bungie as a company.

They're not stupid. They know Marty's music is excellent. They know his audio work is superb. They know the community loves him and they knew this would cause an uproar among fans and they did it anyway. They must have damn good reasons.

It's also possible that this was done for Marty's benefit. For instance, if Marty wanted to leave, but was stuck in a contract with demands he didn't wish to meet and penalties for leaving, this would free him from those obligations. He would be sad to go, but for legal purposes, would benefit from being "terminated without cause".
 
C

codhand

Member
HiredN00bs said:
The thing to remember is that this was not a hasty decision. It wasn't like Jason and Marty got into an argument and then a few days later he said "Pack up your shit and get out." This was voted on by the board of directors, which means a majority of the most influential and tenured employees who've worked with Marty for over a decade thought this was the best decision for Bungie as a company.

They're not stupid. They know Marty's music is excellent. They know his audio work is superb. They know the community loves him and they knew this would cause an uproar among fans and they did it anyway. They must have damn good reasons.
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isn't twitter great?
 
P

PrivateWHudson

Member
The audio in Bungie games was one of the legs their games stand on, along with level/encounter design and story. Loosing Marty will definitely impact future extensions of Destiny. Maybe things work differently at a higher level, but if he wanted more money and it wasn't in the budget, why wouldn't they just say no and let him decide if it was worth walking or not? Him leaving to "seek new opportunities" would have looked better than "you're fired!". Especially if it's over something like him asking for a raise...Usually there is no harm in asking, the worst they can do is say no.
 
S

SegaShack

Member
Sorry to bump this. I just wanted to say that being able to hear the music during the beta was amazing. There is so much atmosphere in the sound. Really a shame about what happened.

As others said it would have to do with money or demands, or maybe he was not being a team player.
 
maneil99

maneil99

Member
paskowitz said:
I am going to guess Marty wanted a $# that Activision was not willing to pay, Marty got pissed, Activision got irrational and then said pack your bags.

I can't help but relate this to Hanz Zimmer leaving COD. Series went downhill after that. The score of a game matters more than people realize.
Click to expand...
Joke post? Hanz Zimmer only did MW2...
He was only signed for one gamr, he's not part of the company, hes busy, unless you can prove Zimmer didn't make any more OST for CoD based on actual facts your best bet would be to shut up about things you don't know about
 
D

Deku Tree

Member
SegaShack said:
Sorry to bump this. I just wanted to say that being able to hear the music during the beta was amazing. There is so much atmosphere in the sound. Really a shame about what happened.

As others said it would have to do with money or demands, or maybe he was not being a team player.
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Yeah the music in the beta is fantastic IMO. I wonder if it is all Marty, or otherwise who is on the credits.
 
C

Camp Lo

Banned
maneil99 said:
Joke post? Hanz Zimmer only did MW2...
He was only signed for one gamr, he's not part of the company, hes busy, unless you can prove Zimmer didn't make any more OST for CoD based on actual facts your best bet would be to shut up about things you don't know about
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Arguing with ghosts?
 
A

abadguy

Banned
I'd love for him to do something for Halo again in the future, even if it's just a few tracks. ( or say if they did another spin off like say i dunno ODST 2) Halo just isn't the same without his music.
 
L

Lingitiz

Member
I think i'd like it if he just goes freelance like most game composers out there. I'd love to see him on games more often than every 3 years.
 
James Sawyer Ford

James Sawyer Ford

Gold Member
Such a sad situation all around for him to go. I'm sure it came down to money, as these things usually do, but I would have really loved to hear Marty's work on Destiny for the next decade.

The stuff in the beta is phenomenal and I'm concerned that subsequent games won't be able to live up to it....the music makes a huge difference in terms of the atmosphere and immersion.
 
M

MendicantBS

Member
I can't create threads yet so i'm posting it here. There are more details in the links

Halo music creator wins legal settlement for unpaid wages from Bungie’s chief
Marty O’Donnell, the well-known music composer for the sci-fi shooter series Halo, has settled a lawsuit against Bungie chief executive Harold Ryan.

King County Superior Court judge Jeffrey Ramsdell in Seattle has approved a deal in which Ryan will pay O’Donnell more than $95,000 to settle legal claims related to a lawsuit that O’Donnell filed in May. The lawsuit offered a rare glimpse on what was happening inside Bungie, the original Halo developers who is now at work on the big online shooter Destiny.
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Source: http://venturebeat.com/2014/07/21/h...or-unpaid-wages-from-bungies-chief-exclusive/
 
J

Jest Chillin

Member
He "won" in the sense that he was paid some amount of money but this is basically a "tie" in that it was settled out of court. Really it probably serves both parties best because had they actually gone through with the trial, a lot of information would've come out about both parties.
 
F

funkystudent

Member
Well the money at risk wasn't really worth the bad publicity of a long public battle so its better they ended it quick.


I hope Marty floats around and works on a bunch of projects.

But you got to believe MS is tossing money to get him back on Halo. I kind of hope he works on something fresh but I am not having high hopes.
 
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