I have to say, I was surprised by the analysis, in a good way. The comparison between the earlier and later Halo games, and how Jones' absence affected the development, was certainly interesting and thought provoking. But I can't help but question it. I can't believe Jones' absence is to be blamed on how Halo 3 and Reach turned out. Surely, Halo 2 had BR spread initially, albeit it was removed further down the line in an update. There are weapons in the sandbox like the Shotgun and the Magnum that both felt very disempowering compared to their CE counterparts. Same could be said about Elites that could eat three sniper bullets on Legendary before dying and Brutes that were just bullet sponges in general. And that's of course not forgetting the final boss that was invulnerable most of the time, and even when vulnerable, took numerous headshots with the Beam Rifle to kill. Do we attribute all these to same type of balancing mistakes like the CE Ghost, things Jones would have gotten fixed if he could? Could bloom have been something Bungie would've fixed had it not been out of their hands (with 343i taking the franchise)? IGN's article certainly made me believe that Jones is a man worth at least some of my trust. But can we say that with him at the helm it's substantially more likely that Destiny will be empowering in almost every aspect like Halo CE and that without him it would have lots of disempowering mechanics like Reach?

I wouldn't even read anything on that interview because it was just plain boring.

I'm sure I'm not the only one that wishes Jones would show up for interviews more, I think of him as a silent watcher making sure his imagination for projects is coming to live. Great write up. I love the bit where you mentioned: [quote]To be clear, there is no indication that any of these approaches came specifically from Jason Jones himself. In talking of the creative process he puts it best: “Blame or credit? Usually it’s blame. Credit is somebody else.” Although, perhaps not always somebody, but something else. Establishing Bungie’s philosophy is within his control, hence his liability to blame, but a climate that brings out the best in its people transcends this control, and blurs the question of credit. Jones has provided an ideal for others to follow, and to evolve.[/quote] Jones: [quote]"It’s all people, and all ideas all day […] my ideal thing is that the game would get built without me”[/quote] Will Bungie be the same without Jones? We have no idea. Although I think of of his definite strengths is delegating to his team. Hopefully in time, even when Jones is thinking about retirement his team will carry on without him. [quote]In hearing this, McCaffrey jumped on the opportunity to confirm the mythology of Halo CE’s pistol. It has long been rumoured that Jones doubled the pistol’s damage, from a 6 to 3 shot kill, with a ninja-coding change, just prior to the game going gold. Jones confirmed this is true. His long kept silence speaks volumes for his humility. More importantly, this decision illustrates how his distanced, all-encompassing approach can create a more fun, empowering experience.[/quote] I personally hope that he is in that stage with Destiny right now. It's completely different when you're shaping the world of a new universe with a single gun (or any decision). Not only that, assuming he makes a "mistake" that we won't know about another decade from now when we're on something new, with the technology available now, I wonder if the availability of title updates would be the biggest auto correct for Destiny's ambitions through Jones. More like "Well, it seemed good in the studio, but people aren't using this weapon/element like we expected, so lets change it to fit their needs better." If Jones was to travel back 10 years knowing what he knows now and overseeing the development of Halo, it would be a completely different game. Which is why I'm more excited to see what Destiny is capable of. We've heard a couple times that Destiny was an old idea of a game they wanted to create, but they've been waiting for the technology to take form. Now that it's here, Jones gets the full team on board and (hopefully) makes the call to some right decisions. We'll find out soon. Great write up Tom.

[quote]...In conjunction with his absence, increasingly disempowering mechanics have proliferated. The weapon bloom of [b]the DMR[/b]... [/quote] Bullshit. The DMR bloom was something that was a shining example of a player empowerment. You had the control over the variable of your shot being accurate or not.

I don't know what to say about that article. You pulled apart a personal interview like you would pull apart a new picture or footage from Destiny, and I find that to be really weird. Like, I feel that's how conspiracies and witch-hunts get started, and I don't know how to feel about it. I know, in the end, you made it positive, and you cited sources from your quotes, but... I just don't know, man.

The most important thing I gleaned from those interviews was the amount of thought, foresight, understanding, and preparation that goes into Bungie games. Hell, they build in-studio mini-titles just to have a better grasp of their strengths and weaknesses. My perspective: Bungie "gets it" well before even their own fan-base does..... and especially before their critics ever do. Stepping away from Halo has been a very freeing experience and Bungie is going to take full advantage of it.

Surprisingly I barely saw anyone discussing the interview. Usually when anything is actually going on in the Bnet community that's all I see on my twitter feed.

T-Squared, is it really you? When did you start doing in depth destiny analysis'

You're not...the real one and only T-squared are you?