halo3

Press Release:

For Release 8 a.m. PDT

Oct. 5, 2007

Bungie Studios Becomes Privately Held Independent Company

Bungie and Microsoft forge new long-term relationship.

KIRKLAND, Wash. — Oct. 5, 2007 — Bungie and Microsoft Corp. today announced a plan for Bungie Studios, the developers of Microsoft’s “Halo” franchise, to become a privately held independent company, Bungie, LLC, in which Microsoft will hold a minority equity interest. As part of this transaction, Bungie and Microsoft have forged a deep and long-term development and publishing relationship focused on the continued success of the “Halo” franchise. It is also the intent of both parties to expand their partnership to include new IP created and owned by Bungie.

Bungie’s critically acclaimed Xbox 360® exclusive “Halo 3” achieved $300 million in global sales in its first week. Released on Tuesday, Sept. 25, “Halo 3” is the fastest-selling video game ever and already one of the most successful entertainment properties in history.

“This exciting evolution of our relationship with Microsoft will enable us to expand both creatively and organizationally in our mission to create world-class games,” said Harold Ryan, studio head for Bungie. “We will continue to develop with our primary focus on Microsoft’s platforms; we greatly value our mutually prosperous relationship with our publisher, Microsoft Game Studios, and we look forward to continuing that affiliation through ‘Halo’ and beyond.”

“Working with Microsoft was great for us, it allowed us to grow as a team and make the ambitious, blockbuster games we all wanted to work on. And they will continue to be a great partner. But Bungie is like a shark. We have to keep moving to survive. We have to continually test ourselves, or we might as well be dolphins. Or manatees,” said Jason Jones, Bungie founder and partner.

Bungie’s management retained the services of Don Leeds, senior managing director of B-Hive Global, LLC, to assist in the structuring of the deal and negotiating on their behalf. Bungie will remain in Kirkland, Washington, and is always looking to hire excellent talent.

In this week's Bungie Weekly Update, we get a healthy dose of HALO 3 and where it stands. A new Bungie.net will roll out next week with lots of new features. Some users will be playing the game before the game's official launch. Since a new feature in HALO 3 is the ability to upload screenshots to your B.net profile, there will be spoilers at B.net. This could include shots of the entire last battle. It is safe to bet that spoilers will be all over the internet next week.

Community stand-out, Miguel Chavez, is quoted in the BWU as saying the ending to HALO 3 was "perfect". This should be taken as a good sign for all of us as few people take the HALO storyline more serious that Miguel.

RSS feed for all comments to this thread (link)

Recent updates. Developing ARG theories and events. Updated several times a day...

FOR UPDATED TIMELINE: Go this thread: http://hushedcasket.com/node/2060

Timeline:

• A user on Bungie.net called Adjutant Reflex recently started posting cryptic messages in the Halo 3 Forum. His class is "Compound Intelligence" which must be custom assigned by an administrator. Whoever/whatever AR is, it is operating with the facilitation of Bungie.net. (06.11.2007)
• A mass email was sent out by Micrsosoft from XBOX.com featuring a cryptic poem, an image of a Forefunner-like glyph, and a link to HALO3.com. Copy of the email. 06.14.2007
• halo3.com has a new image in Master Chief's visor. The glyph is visible in his visor. (06.14.2007)
• Adjutant Reflex changed to a new forum avatar at Bungie.net. That avarage is of that same glyph as seen in the email. (06.14.2007)
• halo3.com was updated to show an image of five servers that are not yet unlocked. (06.14.2007)
• halo3.com/comic was discovered. The URL was spotted in a Circuit City flyer that was supposed to ship out this weekend. Probably discovered prematurely. (06.14.2007)
• Reading the comics will reveal numbers which lead to an IP address: http://206.16.223.65 (06.14.2007)
• http://206.16.223.65 has a countdown timer that possibly will expire on ???? (06.14.2007)
• http://206.16.223.63 was discovered and is a website for the Society of the Ancients (SOTA). That page has a glyph as seen in the viral email. You may access the page by going to http://societyoftheancients.com as well. Probably discovered prematurely. (06.14.2007)
• SOTA holding rallies around the world in major cities: New York and London confirmed (06.15.2007)
• More rallies in Chicago, Mobile, AL, San Francisco (06.16.2007)
• Circuit City ad being read in newspapers around the US (06.17.2007)

Steaming news feed:

• Welcome fans from around the intertubes!
• Mysterious user account posting on Bungie.net forums (1st). Significant posts:
  • This will be a good place to begin.
  • Confirmed. Authorization and system access were taken by force. Irrelevant. There is no hostile intent.
  • I have no requirements. I am a facilitator. The Array requirements are paramount.
• Mysterious XBOX Live profile signing on and off of XBOX Live. GamerTag=FNC013575663331.
• Profile not confirmed to be linked to Adjutant Reflex's B.net profile.
• Phone number supposedly in gamerprofile on XBOX.com. Profile says "Comm: 6166342XXX"
• Dialing 616-634-2000 give mysterious voicemail message. Download sample.
• Some people think this is "Vic" from Red vs. Blue.
• Adjutant Reflex has made another post on B.net.
  • I cannot control the dissemination of information. It is chaotic. I am not perfectly integrated here. When the tipping point occurs, I will do my best to facilitate.
    Tick tock.
• Real or fake Adjutant Reflex user on digg.com? The comment
  • This seems to be another suitable place.
    
    //there must be a return to systems facilitation.
    
    06:15:09S (-6.1333)
    39:24:08E (38.5687)
• Digg.com post coordinates pointing toward some where near Kenya. Some people think it's Voi. Others think Zanzibar.
• Adjutant Reflex responded to a B.net forum post about Voi with:
  • 3:22:44S (-3.3788)
    38:34:07E (38.5687)
• Above coord's take us directly to Voi. Google map it.
• Voi is supposedly a mission in HALO 3. Discovered by hacking H3 beta software.
• "Road to Voi" is a song on the HALO 2 Vol 2 soundtrack.
• Fake Adjutant Reflex on Filmspot.com? User submitted no content yet.
• Different telephone number? Now gamercard says "Comm: 6166342#7#".
• Lots of people are looking at 27.com, 7499.com, Lyca.com, and TopCola.com. Why? These are very old sites. Probably no longer related to Bungie.
• GamerTag=FNC013575663331 is no longer a valid gamertag. Why was it removed? Was it ever related to Adjutant Reflex?
• Notice: all supposed communications with AR outside of Bungie.net or Bungie.org could very well be faked by a fan. Developing...
• Adjutant Reflex is not a valid XBOX Live gamertag. However, if you try to register that gamertag it is taken.
• Guy with phone number contacts Hushed Casket. His comment posted below. Said quit calling but was in good spirits. Wishes everyone luck!
• The DJ and other fans recieved an email from xbox@email.xbox.com. Text posted below. Link leads to HALO3.com.
  • HISTORY CIRCLING
    BACK UPON US.

    The gears of the Universe spin further
    and further apart.
    Ever greater grows the gulf between souls,
    And distance gives false hope of safety
    But for the grim tidings this messenger bears:

    The enemy is almost upon us

    Closing in from all sides,
    Moving faster than the light
    it snuffs with its passage,
    Time echoes with the news of destruction.
    History winding back upon itself.

    Waves of an army march this way in unison, Suffering and corruption are its battle cries.
    For I have known this darkness
    and felt its embrace once before-
    Horror best laid to rest

    Yet a Journey must commence

    Look for the signs, the keepers of the flame.
    They will lead you to war, and perhaps, to victory.

• As we reported in our story below, an event happend at about 1AM PDT.
• AR on B.net in response to someone saying we will be ready: "You're wrong. This time, no one will be ready."
• Possible imposter on digg posted new story saying archive is 77% complete. Links back to B.net forum profile.
• Viral email now available online at XBOX.com!
• New message from AR on B.net: "It has begun. The first seeds are scattered." Interesting! Go find those seeds. (thanks t.j.s. and Canis Firebrand!)
• HALO3.com has hidden information: "//updated archive information pending review by installation systems./". Here's how to get there : 1, 2, 3, 4. Thanks t.j.s., Canis Firebrand, Kestrel, and aragami!
• AR likely sticking exclusively to Microsoft-owned websites now.
• ilovebees.com doesn't appear to have changed since 2004.
• Reflections in Master Chief's visor on halo3.com is different from what it was. Info with screencaps.
• Phony MySpace pages popping up related to Adjutant Reflex. Example. Looks like a fake space created by a fan according to must ARG players. Careful what you click.
• Again, AR appears to be saying that all communications will be on Bungie.net.
• rapture's take : I think people ought to be focusing on HALO3.com. The email from Microsoft that people got today pointed us to HALO3.com. HALO3.com is obviously edited to include hidden text and messages from someone like Adjutant Reflex.
• HALO3.com now updated and has a new look once you get past the age verification step. Image below:
  
  
  From: http://www.microsoft.com/games/halo3/img/server_promo_1.jpg
  (thanks random Entity)
  
  
• Adjutant Reflex now has a new profile icon at Bungie.net. File name is "Chrysopteron.gif".
  
  
  
  (thanks random t.j.s.)
• The avatar is the same glyph that appears in MC's visor and the "Forerunner email" found above.
• Chysopteron appears to refer to "Golden Wing" when speaking about "Iris" in mythology. Not much in Google about "chysopteron". According to Wikipedia Iris is "the personification of the rainbow and messenger of the gods." Oh wow. Messenger of the gods.
• Two new posts from Adjutant Reflex on Bungie.net forums in a thread AR created. That thread is titled "Who?"
  • Who is the path of light from blackest Earth to brilliant heaven?
    On whose golden wings will we fly from here to there? (link)
    A user responded to the question with "Iris". AR specifically replied:
  • Time to sleep. Something that once was malevolent is stirring. [hibernation resumed] (link)
    
    (thanks hal0dude)
• FYI: HALO3.com is using "Webtrends.com" to track traffic to the site. Unsure how long they have been doing this. Probably since before the ARG. Surely has nothing to do with the ARG.
• Some people are reporting they saw a "username" and "password" pop-up box. This was the standard security check that webmasters get when connection to secure areas of the website. This can also happen if a resource file or folder doesn't have permissions to be accessed by the public. I believe the "username" and "password" box was a technical website/webserver issue. I believe that is does not have anything to do with the ARG.
• HALO3.com back to normal self...as of right now. No "servers" image.
• HALO3.com/comic/ revealed. 100,000 years ago. Africa. The Cradel of Life.
• Clicking on the last frame of the reveals numbers.
• Numbers lead to IP address: 206.16.223.65 - which is countdown.
• Hushed Casket story about comic and IP address.
• New IP address discovered: 206.16.223.63. Look how similar to first IP.
• Both IP's owned by MSFT.
• 206.16.223.63 takes us to an ilovebees-like page title "Society of the Ancients".
• Below is image from the SOTA homepage:
  
  
• societyoftheancients.com works! The new ilovebees.com?
• HALO3.com now shows the image of 5 "locked" servers again.
• Go read this thread to get caught up.
• random t.j.s. makes a good case for the AveryFane MySpace account to not be related to the ARG. Interesting though.
• "I am not your Messaih" - AveryFane on his MySpace blog. Let's leave him be.
• Adjutant Reflex joins Bungie.net chapter "Brute Ghostbuster" created by new Bungie employee Luke Smith. (thanks random t.j.s.)
• Nothing meantioned about the ARG in this week's Bungie Weekly Update by Frankie. Why silent?
• Slow day today (Friday). We must be ahead of the ARG after the leaked Circuit City ad.
• Some people are speculating that the artifact on Society of the Ancients homepage represents the map Derelict from HALO 1 multiplayer.
• Something happening in Times Square, NY? SOTA flyers being handed out by people protesting?
• Image of the SOTA Flyer:
  
  
• Countdown timers explaination by Nathan (thanks) via email:
  Here is the code snippet:
  
  super();
  var self = this;
  endTime = new Date(2007, 5, 21, 0, 0, 0, 0);
  function onEnterFrame()
  {
  var _l2 = new Date();
  var _l3 = this.endTime.getTime() - _l2.getTime();
  this.showTime(_l3);
  } // End of the function
  
  It seems end date is 5 21 which is June 21st.
• Countdown timer at 206.16.223.65 possibly ending on June 21st.
• No reports of anyone getting in contact with anyone with the SOTA website via the supplied email address.
• Summer Solstice: That's June 21st. Countdown leads up to this. SOTA is down with stuff like this.
• Something probably going to happen with SOTA on Summer Solstice.
• SOTA protests reported in San Francisco, Vancouver, Mobile, Boston, Chicago (thanks JustShotMarvic, thebruce, knight781).
• Circuit City ads going out today (Sunday).
• Adjutant Reflex posted first thread in a while at B.net: "Stop it". (thanks aragami and Fusion)
  • My security measures are being tested. I can feel it.
    By the pricking of my thumbs.
  • I can retain integrity for at least 22 hours. Rerouting bandwidth to deflect assault.
• Avery Fane's blog post about the Society of the Ancients has been removed. Maybe he's getting more active in declaring that he isn't a part of the ARG or SOTA.
• Does the Goseck Circle (aka the German Stonehenge) have anything to do with the "glyphs" that are scattered around the net?
  
  (thanks knight781)
• "When archaeologist combined the evidence with GPS observations, they noticed that the two southern openings marked the beginning of the summer and winter solstices".
• Also note the "openings" around the outside of the circle and how the glyph looks.
• IRIS. That's the name for this marketing event according to Microsoft themselves.
• Adjutant Reflex's avatar (chysopteron.gif) leads up to IRIS. Chysopteron appears to refer to "Golden Wing" when speaking about "Iris" in mythology. According to Wikipedia Iris is "the personification of the rainbow and messenger of the gods."
• Recall the HALO 3 comic mentioned "the gods" and them "building their machines".
• Adjutant Reflex posts new thread on Bungie.net called "That Old Life". Sends two messages:
  • An older life is here with us. He is not as helpful as I. His motives are oblique and his alliances opaque.
    He plays with time even as he hides in its folds.
    He outranks me and anyway, is stronger.
    I can't prevail.
    I will seek one of you out and leave my legacy in a small space.
  • He has had millennia for reflection, but what image does he see?
• Countdown timer removed.
• New IP address and Flash-based website revealed.
• Tons of new information.
• Movie.
• Hidden downloads.
• Details about all that here: http://hushedcasket.com/node/2081

Begin original story:

Bungie likes to tease its fans. Remember the Cortana Letters that helped introduce the world to the HALO universe? Those were cryptic emails that originated from the Microsoft campus revealing clues about the HALO universe. Viral marketing from 1999.

I Love Bees stepped it up a bit as it had fanboys and girls running from phone booth to phone booth all across the country to help usher in HALO 2. In that case Microsoft hired a company and actors to broadcast messages to fans via telephones and the website ilovebees.com. That had internet message boards burning up for weeks. Hackers and code crackers were digging deep into the I Love Bees websites even examining minute image files by opening them in text editors and scanning them for hidden text. As crazy as it sounds, Bungie is that much crazier because there WAS hidden text in the image files.

Remember "The Meg" easter egg in HALO 1? What about the hidden letters and abbreviations that Bungie has placed in most all of their products?

Bungie knows their fans. They like to play games. So now that the HALO 3 beta has ended are we being prepped for a new HALO 3 ARG?

Over on the Bungie.net forums a special user has registered and posted cryptic messages. The username is AdjutantReflex. That user has a special "class" assigned to it by a Bungie.net forum administrator. Most people on that forum are classified as "member". VIPs and Bungie employees have special classes that identify them as something other than an average user. AdjutantReflex has this kind of marking. That user is part of the "CompoundIntelligence" class.

AdjutantReflex's first post on the Bungie.net forum reads "This will be a good place to begin" in a yellow-colored font. The first post was made at 06.11.2007 10:26 AM PDT. Its subject was titled “System Integrity Confirmed”. Shortly after that post was made someone under the same username made a post on the popular HALO fansite halo.bungie.org. Here is that post that reads "Another good place" with the same subject line from the Bungie.net post.

Later on in a follow-up post on H.B.O. forum the AdjutantReflex. posts “I am a facilitator. I will serve you. But not yet.”

Then in a reply made on the Bungie.net forums in another thread titled “Archive/Resource Estimate” the poster writes “36 hours 50 minutes remaining. [Hibernation resumed]”. That post was made at exactly 06.12.2007 12:10 PM PDT. Note that the initial post in that thread reads "Archives/Resources will be compiled in approximately 38 hours. No significant incident predicted. Systems, functions and attitudes are nominal." That post was made at 06.12.2007 11:00 AM PDT

So what happens on the 14th of June at 1 AM PDT?

Was this XBOX Live account real or fake?

Apparently AdjutantReflex also had an XBOX Live profile at XBOX.com. I said "had". That profile is now offline and there's no sign that it ever existed. However, many fanatics are reporting that AdjutantReflex's profile at Bungie.net did in fact have a link to that user's XBOX Live profile (like almost everyone else on the Bungie.net forums). Additionally, some of those users are reporting that AdjutantReflex accepted friend requests on XBOX Live and even communicated with fans.

Some of the transcripts of the messages sent between the fans and AdjutantReflex have been appearing online. They are cryptic much like the I Love Bees messages. Halo fan "Simon78" and other users are keeping track of the communications from AdjutantReflex at halowiki.net.

Examples from the communications:

Q: Request summary of activities in past 24 hours.
A: Query denied. Only the Reclaimer may issue commands.

Q: Where can the Reclaimer be located?
A: //all reclaimer data is classified.

Q: nomis78?
A: I am in communication with that individual. He may be a threat to the array.

Q: Oly Oly Oxen Free
A: Reading.... Human language of Latin origin... Meaning unknown.

Q: LIFE IS THE PATH
A: Life is death. Death is life. Such terms matter not to me.

Q: Am I the Reclaimer?
A: Time will tell.

Q: Are you the same from Bungie.net?
A: Data mining has occured there, yes.

Q: What will happen in 38 hours?
A: Unknown at this point. Events have yet to occur that will decide that. Events will occur soon.

Q: How do we trigger said events?
A: Events will trigger only through teamwork. Data mining is suggested.

Q: Can you give us some guidance?
A: Domain: www.bungie.net// : Only together can you..........

There are many more supposed communications found on the halowiki.net page. The Alternate Reality Gaming specialists at UnFiction.com have already started spinning their wheels. They were a major driving force behind the solving of the I Love Bees clues.

It appears that something will happen on the 14th that will involve "teamwork" and "datamining". This is just what happened with I Love Bees, The Meg easter egg in the HALO 1 campaign, the hidden Skulls in the HALO 2 campaign, and so on.

Sources:
AdjutantReflex's first created thread on Bungie.net forums
AdjutantReflex's second thread on Bungie.net forums
All of Adjustant Reflex's posts on Bungie.net forums (15 at the time of this writing)
AdjustantReflex's first post and replies at Halo.Bungie.Org
halowiki.net communications log
Alternate Reality Gaming forum at Unfiction.com