Halo has a friend in Peter Jackson

[Wondermonkey]

Peter Jackson told the crowd that "the first project has been in the works for about a year. It's not quite a game, not quite a film" experience. He wants to take stories that could become films but maybe won't, and bring them into the world of games.

The game will be based on Halo! It's not Halo 4, and it's not the film, but it will be based in the world of Halo. It will NOT be a traditional game.

I wonder if this is the much rumored Forerunner game.

"Instead of making a film, we [will] make a form of entertainment that you can watch and enjoy like you would a film," but with interactive elements. Jackson thinks the technology is to the point where games and film can blend, "and the fun of this is going to be figuring out where they can blend." He says it won't be especially for the hardcore game crowd. Moore says this means Microsoft is working on Halo beyond the movie, and Bungie is working on content beyond Halo 3. There will also be an all-new series based on stories from Jackson and Walsh.

[SpOoNmAn]

If I had to guess, I'd say it is indeed the Forerunner game we've been hearing about.

[Wondermonkey]

Straight from Bungie's mouth:

Deep breath now. Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh, who we?re also working with on the Halo movie, have formed Wingnut Interactive, a video game studio that will capitalize on Peter and Fran?s creative vision, while using the expertise, infrastructure and experience of Microsoft Game Studios and Bungie Studios to get the show on the road.

It?s a partnership we?ve been very excited about for a long time, and one that gives us great pleasure (and no small measure of relief) to announce.

Peter Jackson himself kind of sums up our feelings about the venture, saying, ?"Working directly with the Bungie guys to help carve out and reimagine another piece of the Halo game universe is a dream come true. Combining the creative and technical talents of Bungie Studios with the fire and passion of Wingnut Interactive just seems like a great recipe for success and the perfect way to start a new kind of partnership in the video game world. I can't wait."

Wingnut Interactive will be working closely with us to create ?another chapter in the Halo universe,? which is a phrase you?ll be hearing a lot and of course, we?re sworn to secrecy.

This raises as many questions as it answers ? will it be a sequel? A prequel? A side-story? We won?t squeal, but we can tell you it will be a blend of gameplay and storytelling quite unlike anything the games industry has ever seen before. And Wingnut Interactive isn?t stopping at Halo ? the newly formed gaming behemoth will also be working closely with Microsoft to introduce a brand-new gaming IP created by Wingnut themselves.

Gasp! Does this mean Bungie is distracted from Halo 3? No. In fact the Bungie team, now bigger and better than ever, thunders on down the road to completing Halo 3 and will simply not deviate from that path. A few select team members have been chosen to liaise and interface with Wingnut Interactive and in fact, the sharing of ideas and technology with Wingnut Interactive and to some extent, WETA Digital, will likely bring creative benefits to Bungie as we complete our scheduled march to finish and release Halo 3 in 2007. Thanks to careful planning and good use of resources, these new projects have added not one single day to our schedule.

[Rhino Chaser]

Article in local paper:

Posted on Thu, Sep. 28, 2006

Xbox aims to cast spell on mainstream users
'Lord of the Rings' director, Microsoft team up, but are not exactly sure what new products will entail
By Allison Linn
ASSOCIATED PRESS
SEATTLE - Microsoft Corp. said Wednesday that it is teaming with "Lord of the Rings" director Peter Jackson to create content for its Xbox 360, in part to get more mainstream users interested in the company's video game console.

Just don't call these products "games."

"I don't want to classify it as a game. I'm hoping to stretch the definition of interactive entertainment to go beyond the game," said Shane Kim, a corporate vice president in charge of Microsoft Game Studios.

Kim conceded he is not sure what exactly these new "entertainments" might be.

"I feel like we haven't figured it out, to be honest," he said.

Kim said they could include deeper plot lines and more interactive drama, or deliver additional content over time, perhaps through the company's Xbox Live online service.

"It's about making interactive entertainment a mainstream form of entertainment," Kim said.

Jackson, whose third movie in his Rings trilogy won 11 Oscars, including best director and best picture, plans to work with Bungie Studios to create one product based on Microsoft's already-popular "Halo" game, Kim said. Screenwriter Fran Walsh, Jackson's wife, also is on board.

The other product will be aimed at an audience beyond the young men typically associated with video games.

Kim couldn't say when either of Jackson's projects might come out.

Microsoft also said Wednesday that it was working on another "Halo" game, called "Halo Wars." It will be more of a strategy game, rather than the first-person shooter that has typified the series until now.

"Halo Wars" will be in addition to Jackson's creation and the previously announced "Halo 3," due out next year.

The company also announced North American and European pricing for its external high-definition DVD player, which will be available in November as an add-on to the Xbox 360.

The player will sell for $199.99 in North America, for 199.99 euros in France and Germany and 129.99 pounds in the United Kingdom.

The DVD player aims to counter functions in Sony Corp.'s upcoming PlayStation 3.

Source Contra Costa Times: http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/...s/15627797.htm

[MadBryan]

Interactive shorts made using whatever they used for that Halo Wars clip would rock