Frank O'Connor quits Bungie

By Robert Purchese Published 19 May, 2008

Going to Microsoft to work on Halo.

Writer Frank O'Connor has said he is quitting Bungie to continue working on the Halo brand at Microsoft.

"I am leaving you. I am off to work more closely with Microsoft on the Halo franchise, so I shan't be too far away, but I wanted to take this last chance, appropriately enough in a Weekly Update, to tell you a very fond thanks," wrote a teary-eyed "Frankie" on the official Bungie website.

"It was very hard for me to make the decision to move on, but one thing that made it just a bit easier was seeing the amazing work that's coming down the pipe. I was busy working on a story for one of our next games, an experience that is destined to surprise, amaze and entertain like nothing we've ever made before. That game has an amazing team invested in it, and one that will be tasked with building the Next Big Thing. You should see what they've already achieved, you truly should.

"And there are other things rumbling at Bungie, just as secret, just as epic and just as incredible. And the thing that turns all that rumbling into incredible gameplay experiences is, has always been and will always continue to be, the people. The brilliant, talented, industrious gang of geniuses who brought you everything from a monochrome Pong clone to the staggering vistas and vision of Halo 3," added O'Connor.

Frank O'Connor was lead writer at Bungie and oversaw everything from character and combat dialogue to board game scripts to weekly community updates.

He joined the developer after a background in games journalist, writing for Amstrad Action, Total! and Computer and Video Games, the paper one.

Bungie decided to break away from Microsoft and become independent last October, after the third Halo game and conclusion to the sci-fi trilogy had been released.

Microsoft will still retain an equity interest in the developer and continue create titles based on the Halo brand, such as Halo Wars from Ensemble and the Peter Jackson projects.

Pop over to the Bungie website for some snazzy photoshopped farewells to Frankie.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds. @Clert on Twitter.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

You may also like...

Comments (38) Latest comment 4 years ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Laika #1 4 years ago

    Who?

  • Xerx3s #2 4 years ago

    "after the third Halo game and conclusion to the sci-fi trilogy had been released."

    Spot the person who didn't finish it on legendary... ;)

  • Psychotext #3 4 years ago

    Good guy... hopefully his new job works out for him.

  • LeD #4 4 years ago

    Sentenced to work on Halo 'til his eyes, ears and nose bleed. Oh God why?!

  • Prodigy_BE #5 4 years ago

    Going to MS because they where waiving tons of $$$ around.

    Still, I hope he can get a team together that can make a new Halo that lives up to the standards of the series.

    Looking forward to Bungie's multiplatform stuff too.

  • ps3owner #6 4 years ago

    money money money, must be funny... in a rich... you get the drift

  • penhalion #7 4 years ago

    Does it strike anyone else as very strange that Bungie are doing some incredible things so he's leaving. Before Frank didn't Bungie do Marathon, which was simply a doom clone (and a not too good one at that). I know I wouldn't have invested much time in Halo if not for the story and the need to see the Master Chief win after all the crap he has to go through.

    It will be interesting to see the fruits of Franks final Bunji project but, I'm not going to hold out much hope for the rest of their new secret stuff.

  • Charlie_Miso #8 4 years ago

    @Xerx3s

    What happens when you finish it on legendary?

    Are you called a fag?
    (south park)

  • Xerx3s #9 4 years ago

    "Looking forward to Bungie's multiplatform stuff too."

    Then you will be disappointed to hear that part of the contract was some exclusivity for the coming years.

  • Xerx3s #10 4 years ago

    "What happens when you finish it on legendary? "

    The game finishes you.

  • monkie_king #11 4 years ago

    "Marathon, which was simply a doom clone (and a not too good one at that)."

    Wrong (and wrong).

  • penhalion #12 4 years ago

    @monkie_king

    Marathon is available on XBox Live mate go play it and tell me it's any good.

  • Psychotext #13 4 years ago

    @penhalion: It's only worth playing if you like motion sickness. I have a free code for it and I can't bring myself to actually use it!

  • penhalion #14 4 years ago

    @Psychotext

    The original mac version gives motion sickness too. I don't know why some people claim the game is somehow fantastic. It isn't and never was. Marathon 2 was better but, not by much. I think it's just down to people remembering the game differently to how it actually was. On the Mac it was praised because it was the first (well that I remember anyway) doom like game on that platform. I rememebered it as being great until I actually played it again on 360. The frustration and anger just came flooding right back. I finally had to acknowledge it wasn't actually a very good game at all and never had been.

  • monkie_king #15 4 years ago

    Obviously it hasn't dated well, but if you look at the contemporary critical reception of Marathon you'll realise you can't dismiss it as a poor clone of Doom, as it was neither.

    It's like saying "GoldenEye was a Quake clone (and a not too good one at that)".

  • Moonprince #16 4 years ago

    No, not really...

  • barchetta #17 4 years ago

    Lunchtime multiplayer Marathon sessions - in a level based on the company building, was a staple for at least a year for us. The post-game 'atmosphere' during the afternoons could, at times, be something to behold!

    Car park inviting colleagues FTW!!!

  • Quint2020 #18 4 years ago

    Good luck to him, obviously wants to continue working on the Halo story.

  • fragpig #19 4 years ago

    The story of the Halo Trilogy was a convoluted bunch of rubbish, i liked the first Halo, even though it pinched every cliche from Sci-fi films.... Aliens/starship troopers etc etc, the sequels were hard to follow nonsense, a bit like the matrix sequels. So if i was microsoft and i'd find a new writer.

  • smelly #20 4 years ago

    >Going to MS because they where waiving tons of $$$ around.

    Do you blame him?

    Halo was a good game, but never really deserved all the mega-sales it got.. It was so hugely successful BECAUSE of microsofts money. Without msoft spending all that wedge on promoting the thing most gamers wouldnt have given it a 2nd look (and it certainly wouldnt have gotten the high review scores, etc etc).

    Subsequently if i was offered to either carry on working for bungie (who are now 3rd party and as such wont get that sort of money thrown at them again), or go work for msoft for lots of money on a game i KNOW they're going to premote into being another 5 million plus seller.. I know which one i'd go for...

  • Cayno #21 4 years ago

    Post deleted at 18:01:38 27-12-2011

  • Xerx3s #22 4 years ago

    fragpig: That's your opinion then.

    As for marathon/motion sickness. Doom had the same problem back in the days. I can still remember the moments of heavy motion sickness after a session of doom. They just took the liberty to tune the head bobbing with the xbla release.

    Edit: Heh, out come the halo haters.
    Edited by Xerx3s at 19/05/08 @ 13:02

  • Cayno #23 4 years ago

    Post deleted at 18:01:38 27-12-2011

  • Yossarian #24 4 years ago

    One of those snazzy photoshopped farewells is mine!

  • fragpig #25 4 years ago

    @Xerx3s

    i don't hate Halo, just the story post halo 1 i thought was a dreary mess

  • themorganator #26 4 years ago

    Good Luck Frankie!

  • wowami #27 4 years ago

    @Smelly
    "Halo was a good game, but never really deserved all the mega-sales it got...... most gamers wouldnt have given it a 2nd look (and it certainly wouldnt have gotten the high review scores, etc etc). "

    Sorry but i dont agree.
    Playing the original Halo the first time was an amazing experience from the menu screen monks onwards.

    /ignoring the library tho hehe

  • mcmonkeyplc #28 4 years ago

    Nooooooooooooooo! Oh ok.

  • miiiguel #29 4 years ago

    Halo 3 is the best FPS ever, imo. I loved every minute of its journey, epic, sublime, a superlative contender. Halo 3 is video-game history.

  • Yossarian #30 4 years ago

    I am pretty much in agreement.

  • dryden555 #31 4 years ago

    MS must have given him so much money.

  • WinterSnowblind #32 4 years ago

    @mrmrc84

    I would describe the storyline as VERY good. A lot of very deep lore and backstory, and some very amazing events through out the actual games. The whole story of the Covenant was very well done, begining in the first game with the War against humanity, the revalation of what's really going on with the Rings and the Prophets, the disbandment of the Elites, and the final flaw of one mad religion leader. There are very few storylines in games that have intrigued me quite as much.

    Of course, not everyone is going to enjoy it, but that's no reason to label the game as "overrated, blah, blah, blah". Just because you may not like something, doesn't mean it's overrated, or not good. Sorry, but your opinion just isn't as important as you may like it to be.

    Oh, and once again, as the article stated, Microsoft retain equity interest with Bungie and vice versa. Any future Halo games will almost definitely be handled by Bungie, and any other new titles Bungie come out with will be for Microsoft. Don't expect to see them doing any multiplatform stuff anytime soon.

  • Mudo #33 4 years ago

    If I remember correctly, Frankie only joined Bungie after Halo 1 was released. Halo 1 had by far the best story out of three, so I don't rate him. But he's popular with the fans, I guess.

    While we're critically discussing the Halo franchise, I was royally pissed off that Bungie appeared to pander to the minority hardcore fanbase and completely marginalise (and two-dimensionalise) the Covenant and Elite story from Halo 2. The Covenant story, politics and development was the most interesting thing in Halo 2.

  • bdc #34 4 years ago

    man leaves halo to work on halo

    more news at 11

  • Saltefanden #35 4 years ago

    Gone off probably to work on Halo Chronicles at Microsoft...

  • subtlesnake #36 4 years ago

    "Halo was a good game, but never really deserved all the mega-sales it got.. It was so hugely successful BECAUSE of microsofts money. Without msoft spending all that wedge on promoting the thing most gamers wouldnt have given it a 2nd look (and it certainly wouldnt have gotten the high review scores, etc etc). "

    Seriously, who decides whether a game deserves the sales it gets?

  • J.C #37 4 years ago

    Still waiting for the "next big thing"

  • miiiguel #38 4 years ago

    As far as I'm concern, I'm not "affraid" of hits anymore. If I enjoy them, I do, and I did (and still do...). Halo is a great experience. If it "deserves" its sales or pools of money it got is not for me to decided.
    I just love the game, I do. Fuckin simple.
    Edited by miiiguel at 20/05/08 @ 12:22