Halo.Bungie.Org

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Halo.Bungie.Org
URL halo.bungie.org
Type of site Fansite
Registration optional
Owner Bungie.org
Created by Claude Errera
Launched May 26, 1999

Halo.Bungie.Org, often referred to as HBO, is a fansite created in 1999 by Claude Errera (known online by the pseudonym "Louis Wu") and "Wirehead" for the Bungie game Halo: Combat Evolved. The site was originally created in 1999 as blam.bungie.org, based on the development moniker for Halo. With the popularity of the Halo series, HBO soon became the largest and most active member of the bungie.org network; the site receives 600,000 page views a day. In addition to posting Halo-related news, HBO hosts forums, fan art, and comprehensive archives of reviews, previews, interviews, and Bungie's own weekly news updates. HBO is unusual among large non-commercial sites in having no advertisements of any kind.[1]

Contents

[edit] History

Claude Errera and several friends first created bungie.org for developer Bungie's other video games, namely Marathon, in 1998; previous to bungie.org, Errera had been involved in other Bungie-related sites.[2] Halo.bungie.org began as "blam.bungie.org" on May 26, 1999 after information about what was to become Halo was leaked soon after Electronic Entertainment Expo 1999.[1]

[edit] Site components

[edit] News

The front page of halo.bungie.org is a listing of various news items posted that day. Although there are several administrators that may add items, Louis Wu tends to contribute the majority of them. News typically comes from emails sent to the site or from posts made in the forums. Topics are fairly broad, and include announcements by Bungie, media mention of the games, and notable fan creations. Since the person who first mentions the news is acknowledged in the posting, forum members compete to get the first word in about major announcements. Bungie employees occasionally participate in this race, and usually win due to their advance notice.

[edit] Community

HBO is primarily a fansite, and as such revolves around community interaction. Many HBO regulars have been fans of Bungie since the release of Marathon in 1994. The site hosts a number of pages devoted to various aspects of Halo appreciation, including:

  • The Halo Story Page, which contains speculation, literary discussion, and resources pertaining to the developing plot of the Halo series.
  • The Halo Story Timeline, contained within the Halo Story Page, detailing the events of the Halo series from 11 different sources. It is the most comprehensive Halo Timeline on the internet.
  • An art section with over 1700 fan-created works and over 1800 wallpapers. HBO also hosts a gallery of the most professional artists, including one artist who has produced commercial work for Bungie, Craig Mullins.
  • Over 7500 fan fiction stories.
  • A forum and an IRC channel for discussion of Halo.

[edit] One One Se7en

HBO hosts the webcomic One One Se7en. Written by HBO regular Stuntmutt, the comic involves the adventures of a crudely drawn Master Chief, often paired with Cortana. One One Se7en strips revolve around a simple pun, with the Master Chief playing the comedian and Cortana as the straight man. The pun is usually an in-joke from Halo or other popular entertainment media, and often relates to then-current news. The comic originally had sporadic updates, but eventualy updated regularly every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. It ceased regular publication March 3, 2008, at strip number 777.[3]

[edit] Recognition

Bungie has a strong relationship with halo.bungie.org, and is listed as a source on Bungie's project pages.[4] Bungie employees frequent the HBO forums, often to point out a new Bungie.net update. HBO often receives promotional items from Bungie to give away in various contests.[5] Bungie even appreciated the site enough to include a video of one of HBO founder Claude Errera's LAN parties on the Halo 2 Limited Edition DVD. The site was also listed in the Halo 2 and Halo 3 manuals.

In 2003, Doug Radcliffe contacted HBO to request fan submissions for inclusion in the Sybex Official Halo PC Strategy Guide. Inclusions that made the final cut included personal stories from longtime members and how Bungie had become a part of their life, as well as tips and tricks from forum users.[6]

HBO webmaster Louis Wu has been interview numerous times, both by gaming sites such as Microsoft's Xbox.com[7] and mainstream media organizations such as CBS.[8] The site was nominated for IGN's "best fansite" award.[9]

[edit] Charitable acts

HBO has used its notability to conduct several fundraisers for various causes. The most recent effort raised money for Hurricane Katrina disaster relief. HBO took part in a massive effort by the Halo community to raise money, primarily through selling collectible items through eBay auctions.[10] These auctions raised just under $11,000 for the relief effort. Members of the community also chipped in through personal means; HBO Forerunner member "BoneKin" held a charity Xbox live night and raised $139.[11] In 2003, following news that community member Brian Morden's cancer had returned, the HBO community decided to set up a donation fund to support him. Although Brian died later that year, the fund became the Brian Morden Memorial Fund.[12]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Barron, Noah (2007-09-27). Lord of the Ringworld. USC Annenburg. Retrieved on 2008-04-02.
  2. ^ Big-Ern (2007-07-08). Interview with Louis Wu. Gamespy. Retrieved on 2008-04-15.
  3. ^ StuntMutt (2008-03-03). Not Just All Good Things. One One Se7en.
  4. ^ Bungie. Bungie: Projects. Bungie.net. Retrieved on 2008-04-13.
  5. ^ Bungie sponsors "Win a Zune" contest hosted by HBO
  6. ^ Official Halo PC Strategy Guide Survey
  7. ^ Gettys, Jim (2004). A Labor of Love: halo.bungie.org Webmaster Claude Errera. Xbox.com. Retrieved on 2008-04-20.
  8. ^ Chamberlain, Chad; Vitka, William (2005-03-09). GameSpeak: Claude Errera. CBS. Retrieved on 2008-04-21.
  9. ^ Best Fansite 2005? - Voodoo Extreme
  10. ^ Blow Me Away charity auction
  11. ^ San Antonio Express-News: Gamers get into the action of helping Katrina victims
  12. ^ Brian Morden update page

[edit] External links