frank o’connor

The Rocky Explores Halo’s Appeal

9:00AM Mike Fahey | It’s obvious from reading the comments posted after every Halo 3 story that some of us don’t understand the appeal of the series – after all, it’s just an FPS, isn’t it? Over at The Rocky Mountain News, some guy named Brian Crecente discusses the broad appeal of the franchise with Bungie’s Frank O’Connor, breaking the whole thing down into five, easy to understand categories. The article explores how story, character, AI, gadgets, and approachability combine to form Captain Planet make Halo the huge hit it is with fans across the globe. Keep in mind that Crecente is a freelance contributor to The Rocky Mountain News, so the article might not be up to the publication’s high standards. I suggest he stick to his day job. FIVE WAYS HALO HAS REDEFINED GAMING – [The Rocky Mountain News] More »

Talking Halo 3, And What Comes After Halo 3, With Bungie

1:50AM Luke Plunkett | By: Luke Plunkett Since they were in town the other night, and we were talking all things Halo 3, figured it was a good time to sit down with Bungies’ “man of the people” Frank O’Connor, along with game designer Lars Bakken. Talk about Halo 3, talk about Halo 3’s Forge, talk about microstransactions, downloadable content, boss battles, what they’re up to in the impending post-Halo 3 world. Basically, talk about a whole lotta things. First up, Forge. We’d heard whispers on the wind about it, but just what exactly was it? Frankie explains that it’s an in-game mission editor, which to me sounds a little like Crackdown’s “Keys to the City” mode. Players are able to edit things like objects, weapons, maps, vehicles, placements and MP game settings (almost like a basic mod editor), but this is all performed in-game by players who take the role of “monitors”. If indeed this plays like Keys to the City, but in Halo, it should be awesome. More »