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[LapinAgile]

Activision is in charge of promoting Destiny. Marty elevated his own selfish interests above that. It's pretty cut and dry. Marty isn't Bungie and he isn't destiny m. He is a cofounder and employee working towards a successful product. Don't confuse artistic integrity with ego and hubris.

He is the audio and music director if we are speaking in business terms. It's not selfish to want the hard work you put in utilized for it's intended purpose. This is not a production line item we are talking about these are pieces of music meant to represent the game and it's corresponding universe. The corporate mentality has it's pros but homogenizing this type of effort into "He's just an employee making the thing" is the kind of corporate-think he seemed so displeased with and I don't blame him.

 

[Stinkles]

Maybe one day the BBC will make a movie about the making of DESTINY and Mary's departure from Bungie. Could be fantastic.

Mary never left. She's still there.

 

[hendersonhank]

Marty's music is a huge, HUGE part of what I love about Halo and what the name brings up for me.

 

[Frog-fu]

When standing up for yourself includes threatening coworkers thing get a little tricky.

We have zero context to draw from. Threatening coworkers sounds severe but in reality could have been as simple as "Whoever leaks this is getting fucking fired and never hired in this industry again." That'd be a threat, and a common one at that. And not to mention justified.

We simply don't know, but that probably won't stop you from playing the corporate apologist.

 

[vac]

Mary never left. She's still there.

 

[Cleve]

One day I'd really love to hear the full story behind this hot mess of a game. What was the deal with the re-written story? The new 'story' clearly feels rushed and incomplete. What happened behind the scenes with destiny's structure and all the missing features/content that were shown in earlier builds? I know it's common to drop features, but it feels like destiny dropped so many to leave so little behind given the budget it had.

I wonder how bungie feel after being under the activision umbrella for a few years now compared to microsoft.

 

[Savitar]

Good for him I say.

I support this decision, it was his destiny.

 

[SummitAve]

He should sell his considerable share of Bungie back to Microsoft.

 

[Valnen]

Infinity Ward was awesome. Now they aren't.

Bungie was awesome. Now they aren't.

Activision seems to have something to do with it.

Blizzard is still pretty awesome, so eh...

I get the feeling Bungie would have gone to shit no matter what at this point. I'm glad I didn't buy Destiny.

 

[GlamFM]

Blizzard is still pretty awesome, so eh...

I get the feeling Bungie would have gone to shit no matter what at this point. I'm glad I didn't buy Destiny.

I don't think Bungee has "gone to shit" at all and Destiny is actually a fantastic game. Give it a shot - it's so cheap to get into now.

 

[injurai]

Awesome, good for him. It's terrible that Bungie forced this situation in the first place.

 

[Tovarisc]

I don't think Bungee has "gone to shit" at all and Destiny is actually a fantastic game. Give it a shot - it's so cheap to get into now.

Took them 2 DLC's to get it into good shape and by looks of it TTK to get into what, I would argue, most expected at release of Vanilla. Something went seriously wrong with development of Vanilla Destiny at some point.

 

[Wereroku]

Took them 2 DLC's to get it into good shape and by looks of it TTK to get into what, I would argue, most expected at release of Vanilla. Something went seriously wrong with development of Vanilla Destiny at some point.

I think all of that was supposed to be the vanilla game.

 

[GlamFM]

I think all of that was supposed to be the vanilla game.

Popular, but baseless assumption.

 

[Nowise10]

https://twitter.com/32nds/status/640183358224515072

 

[Mass Appeal]

Both sides handled it wrong but I am glad Marty got what was deserved to him. He acted like a child about it though....

Also reading this whole thread I can tell who actually read the article and who didn't just by the bashing of Destiny. I think a lot of people on GAF see something about Bungie and just come in to trash Destiny.

No need to trash the game folks. Yea it started out as a disappointment for people but the game has gotten so much better over the year and about to get even better with TTK. It really is a fantastic game now, no need to trash it.in fact this is a great time to jump in!

 

[KaYotiX]

It's crazy how fast Bungie went from being a fan favorite to generally hated, reminds me of Bioware.

The day Bungie went to Actiblizz I knew it was going to be rough.

 

[Trup1aya]

So many assumptions here... Don't know where to start.

Marty was concerned about himself and his work. The part with the fans is just made up by you.

As is everything you said about destinys DLC...

What assumptions? Aren't you assuming Marty's only concern was himself?

There's pretty strong evidence to support that Destiny's story was cut. There's an alarming lack of story in th game... a story that can be had 1 year later if you spend an extra $40 (on top of the other DLC). It's also mentioned in this very article.

There's also evidence that Bungie and Activision misrepresented the scope of the game: just look at the marketing material, then compare it to what we got upon release...

The only thing there is no evidence to support is that Marty's behavior was motivated purely by self indulgence... Arbitrator's apparently agree...

As far as me making up 'the part with the fans'... That couldn't be farther from the truth. It's in the court document... And Marty was right. Many Bungie fans, myself included, feel like we were mislead by the Marketing. They won't be getting another dime from me... Which is really sad, because TTK is a lot like what Activision/Bungie had me expecting when Destiny was announce..

 

[Steverulez]

https://twitter.com/32nds/status/640183358224515072

Man, fuck Bungie. I hope they feel Destiny was worth it or at least, the money they got was worth it

 

[EVIL]

Sure, and unicorns and rainbows and shit.

You have a really rotten view on the creative industry I assume you are not a part of it, otherwise you would think differently.

Its a passion driven industry, an industry easy to take advantage of. People take incredible financial risk and abuse (in the form of months of crunch, working weekends) to be a part of it and stability is not a part of this industry. The average time span of people working at one company before moving on to another is 2 years and we keep doing it, no matter how many projects sink, how many studios fall, we keep trying and trying, because making games is an incredible experience. We are glad when people like yourself enjoy the games we developers make but don't come in with that crap you know nothing about.


Yes creative control is important for developers. Its not this face of a company, its hundreds of people who spend a large part of their time away from friends and family to create and realize a vision of something cool. something people will enjoy. Having creative control is the most important deal for developers. (why the hell do you think there are so many indies, a lot of them forming from ex big studio developers) Its the reason bungie bought themselves back from microsoft in order to make a new IP, an IP that they creatively control, something they own. Activision is the publisher and so there is a real reason to get upset when they try to get a hand on the creative decisions done with the game.

A trailer like every other piece of media are as much a part of an IP as the game is and are as important in shaping the vision of for example destiny. Its how people perceive the game beforehand and if you do not paint a picture that is accurate, then you will get a backlash. (ubisoft I look at you). So in this case, having music from the game for the trailer is important. He had a legitimate reason to get upset since his music is a vital part of the game and when they replace it for generic stock music it just fucks up a trailer and make people wonder, "what the hell happened to Marty, why does his music sound so generic as fuck, where is this musical theme of the game, the same type that made me fall in love with halo.

 

[R0ckman]

The writting was also on the wall when Staten returned to Microsoft, I've never seen a situation where a person leaves a company and comes back under its umbrella so quickly and it not be due to issues from the place he fled.

 

[Trickster]

https://twitter.com/32nds/status/640183358224515072

Damn, normally I wouldn't listen to a person on twitter. But given who is saying it, geez. Why Bungie, why?

 

[Dicktatorship]

The writting was also on the wall when Staten returned to Microsoft, I've never seen a situation where a person leaves a company and comes back under its umbrella so quickly and it not be due to issues from the place he fled.

Well if this report is true then he left the company at the time that they just threw away most of his work on the game. This is more like Robert Kotick breaking through the wall like kool aid guy.

Damn, normally I wouldn't listen to a person on twitter. But given who is saying it, geez. Why Bungie, why?

Probably greed. Sounds like Jason Jones is the video game equivalent of Darth Vader.

 

[Spring-Loaded]

Bungie is shit. Who knew?

 

[IHaveIce]

https://twitter.com/32nds/status/640183358224515072

Jaime spitting truuth.

 

[gatti-man]

OK, so he gets let go for not playing ball with leadership. Whatever "threatening coworkers" means it doesn't mean you lose your legally owed benefits and assets from being with the company since near it's creation.

Yeah I wonder what their rational was for that. There is no way they could get away with it.

 

[exmachina64]

Popular, but baseless assumption.

So you work at Bungie?

 

[WickedLaharl]

https://twitter.com/32nds/status/640183358224515072

Looks like bungie couldn't resist the dark side.

 

[GlamFM]

So you work at Bungie?

No, do you?

 

[TheXbox]

Is Salvatori still composing new music for Destiny?

 

[GrizzNKev]

No, do you?

Just stop for a second and take your head out of your ass. You have no clue what you're talking about.

 

[...Scatter...]

https://twitter.com/32nds/status/640183358224515072

Things sure seemed to change at Bungie. This from the Halo Wiki:

 

[superNESjoe]

https://twitter.com/32nds/status/640183358224515072

Seeing stuff like this kind of shatters my world. I didn't like to think of Bungie as one of these studios, but I had the feeling something was up over the last few years.

Really though, who didn't see this kind of stuff coming when they made that Activision partnership?

 

[exmachina64]

No, do you?

Then stop speaking from a position of authority or as if you have inside knowledge. You know as much as we do, you're just interpreting things differently.

 

[GlamFM]

You have a really rotten view on the creative industry I assume you are not a part of it, otherwise you would think differently.

Its a passion driven industry, an industry easy to take advantage of. People take incredible financial risk and abuse (in the form of months of crunch, working weekends) to be a part of it and stability is not a part of this industry. The average time span of people working at one company before moving on to another is 2 years and we keep doing it, no matter how many projects sink, how many studios fall, we keep trying and trying, because making games is an incredible experience. We are glad when people like yourself enjoy the games we developers make but don't come in with that crap you know nothing about.


Yes creative control is important for developers. Its not this face of a company, its hundreds of people who spend a large part of their time away from friends and family to create and realize a vision of something cool. something people will enjoy. Having creative control is the most important deal for developers. (why the hell do you think there are so many indies, a lot of them forming from ex big studio developers) Its the reason bungie bought themselves back from microsoft in order to make a new IP, an IP that they creatively control, something they own. Activision is the publisher and so there is a real reason to get upset when they try to get a hand on the creative decisions done with the game.

A trailer like every other piece of media are as much a part of an IP as the game is and are as important in shaping the vision of for example destiny. Its how people perceive the game beforehand and if you do not paint a picture that is accurate, then you will get a backlash. (ubisoft I look at you). So in this case, having music from the game for the trailer is important. He had a legitimate reason to get upset since his music is a vital part of the game and when they replace it for generic stock music it just fucks up a trailer and make people wonder, "what the hell happened to Marty, why does his music sound so generic as fuck, where is this musical theme of the game, the same type that made me fall in love with halo.

I actually am a part of it and this is why I tell you that your view, while super romantic, is also not realistic at all.

In the end of the day the gaming industry is just that - an industry.

As long as there are people who pay you for what you do they will also have a say in how you do it.


This is why indie bands, films and games exist.


I found Marty's role overblown for years now, I found his interviews and stage presences weird as he was "just" a composer. Not a game director or executive producer.


I'm not playing down the role of a composer - I'm a composer myself, but I think Marty might have flown a bit too high.

Then stop speaking from a position of authority or as if you have inside knowledge. You know as much as we do, you're just interpreting things differently.

That goes both ways though.

 

[Twilight Gap]

I'm all for bringing out the pitchforks and pointing it at the badguy now and then, but at this point i'm only crestfallen. I wanted Joe and the others to stay at Bungie. I wanted Marty to release what could have been his best soundtrack. I wanted Destiny to be the amazing game it was shaping up to be before any of this mess happened.

Why can't we have nice things?

I found Marty's role overblown for years now, I found his interviews and stage presences weird as he was "just" a composer. Not a game director or executive producer.

Marty is not just a composer. He was the audio director, voice director and a sound designer for Bungie on top of being their in-house composer. And prior to this, I had no idea he helped found Bungie.

 

[Valnen]

I don't think Bungee has "gone to shit" at all and Destiny is actually a fantastic game. Give it a shot - it's so cheap to get into now.

Regardless of the quality of the game, what they did to Marty (and apparently other employees as well) is unforgivable.

 

[djshauny]

Overated Company and games imo.

 

[superNESjoe]

I'm all for bringing out the pitchforks and pointing it at the badguy now and then, but at this point i'm only crestfallen. I wanted Joe and the others to stay at Bungie. I wanted Marty to release what could have been his best soundtrack. I wanted Destiny to be the amazing game it was shaping up to be before any of this mess happened.

Why can't we have nice things?

Spoiler

Only joking (kind of)

 

[Shrennin]

https://twitter.com/32nds/status/640183358224515072

Ouch. That sucks. Bungie used to be one of my favorite developers (if not my favorite) so it's sad to see them like this. It no longer looks like Bungie is a passionate developer of games like they used to be. Somewhere along the way they lost their way.

 

[HiredN00bs]

If they felt he should be fired that's fine - but there are procedures to follow and contractual terms that must be fulfilled. They can't just remove holiday pay and stock entitlement because they don't like how he's been behaving. I'm not really sure what you're arguing here.

I'm arguing for improved reading comprehension, common sense, and avoiding making ignorant, inflammatory, hyperbolic responses. Bungie was obviously concerned about Marty's influence on the board considering they were firing him and it wasn't easy for anyone. They have lawyers that decided this was the best offense to keep him from being a disruption to an already delayed project. It could simply have been a delay tactic to minimize the drama for the time being. Demonizing one side or the other without having the whole story doesn't make sense.

 

[superNESjoe]

I'm arguing for improved reading comprehension, common sense, and avoiding making ignorant, inflammatory, hyperbolic responses. Bungie was obviously concerned about Marty's influence on the board considering they were firing him and it wasn't easy for anyone. They have lawyers that decided this was the best offense to keep him from being a disruption to an already delayed project. It could simply have been a delay tactic to minimize the drama for the time being. Demonizing one side or the other without having the whole story doesn't make sense.

We have enough of the story, because this is what the court decided. This is a little bit more information than a simple "he said, she said". People in here are generally making comments based on the ruling and the information that lead to that ruling. If it's enough info for the court, then it's enough info for us to have an opinion on it too.

There will always be more that we don't know, but it's pretty safe to see who's in the wrong here, even if Marty truly was being an unruly douchebag.

 

[REDSLATE]

Good on him. Marty was essentially the only decent part of Bungie that remained. It's terrible that individuals can be bullied under the guise of a company. Glad to see he's retaining the assets that were rightfully his to begin with.

 

[ryan299]

Here's the court documents. http://www.scribd.com/doc/278601628/Marty-O-Donnell-v-Bungie-Harold-Ryan

They have nearly 600 employees. Dam

 

[Valnen]

I'm arguing for improved reading comprehension, common sense, and avoiding making ignorant, inflammatory, hyperbolic responses. Bungie was obviously concerned about Marty's influence on the board considering they were firing him and it wasn't easy for anyone. They have lawyers that decided this was the best offense to keep him from being a disruption to an already delayed project. It could simply have been a delay tactic to minimize the drama for the time being. Demonizing one side or the other without having the whole story doesn't make sense.

If they were so concerned that firing him would have had a negative effect on the company, they shouldn't have fired him to begin with.

 

[BokehKing]

Took them 2 DLC's to get it into good shape and by looks of it TTK to get into what, I would argue, most expected at release of Vanilla. Something went seriously wrong with development of Vanilla Destiny at some point.

You could say the same about Diablo 3, was shit when it came out and now.... How many people play it? How many millions bought it after TTK comes out, people can't use the tired 'Der Der destiny is shit bungie sucks' schtickt anymore. Well they could at the expense of sounding ignorant and out of touch

 

[Troy]

You have a really rotten view on the creative industry I assume you are not a part of it, otherwise you would think differently.

I think it's more a by-product of his incessant need to defend everything related to Destiny.

 

[Seth Enosh]

Here's the court documents. http://www.scribd.com/doc/278601628/Marty-O-Donnell-v-Bungie-Harold-Ryan

I just came here to post that, but you beat me to it.

For anyone interested, I recommend the court document over the VentureBeat article, there's a lot more detail in the court document. Neither side comes off looking that great here. This really seems like something that should have been settled privately without needing to take it to court to vindicate Marty's rights (resulting in all this stuff being aired in public).

edit: suggestion, OP should be updated with this new link in addition to the article.

 

[GlamFM]

I think it's more a by-product of his incessant need to defend everything related to Destiny.

No, that's just because I know what I'm talking about.

Go on.

 

[Troy]

No, that's just because I know what I'm talking about.

Go on.

So you do work there then?