Marty O'Donnell was a huge part of the creative process of Destiny. Which is a big part of why the game was lacking at launch

For someone who has zero clue about Marty? His own employees basically said he was a nice enough guy, but they were already well enough without him. They were doing the work. He was absent minded was the overall takeaway. Oh, and since your his fan Brother Vance style? He almost got Destiny funding taken away for his comments to an investor company. Sorry, but as I said? His "huge part" becomes meaningless if Destiny doesn't ship at all. Good riddens.

1st off. Of course they would say that they were well off, to do so otherwise would not do well for them. They have to make themselves look good 2nd. Marty was part of the creative process of the vision for Destiny, he captured its themes that were relevant to the story and overall feel. He certainly was not absent minded as this was a big project for him. Here is the full unreleased score: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYz3tQb77y4 3rd. He had problems with certain "investors" because he was not a fan of their business practices and how they were influencing the Bungie company (as we see today). Plenty of bungie employees jumped ship after D1 because they didn't like Activision's influence in Bungie either. 4th. It's spelled [u]"riddance"[/u]

[quote]They have to make themselves look good[/quote] Actually that's the last thing you want to do. You've never held a salaried position have you and you never read up on this situation. They said he was well enough and a nice guy. You say that more like this, "Marty was a good boss. We performed well under his guidance to the effectiveness we were able to automate most of the work among ourselves, freeing him up for other duties." You don't "make yourself look good" kiddo. You say what they would like to hear because once you burn a bridge? You don't get it back. Ever. [quote]2nd. Marty was part of the creative process of the vision for Destiny, he captured its themes that were relevant to the story and overall feel.[/quote] So much feels he mouthed off to an investor when they chose a different audio teams over his and they simply told the CEO: "Get him in line or we pull funding." Congrats. It doesn't matter WHAT the letter stated. It's their investment. It was their venue. It was their choice. You could have just as easily said, "Ok" and walked away. Nearly got Destiny cancelled all together and with it all the people's jobs who were working on it. Ever wonder why I said good riddens? Not good riddance like you tried to say? Because he's not worth the sentiment. It's a video game, but those type of people? Music? Programming? Ect.? Their individuals who aren't going to help anything with that attitude problem of theirs. He might as well be a millennial brat for that risk he invoked. [quote]3rd. He had problems with certain "investors" because he was not a fan of their business practices and how they were influencing the Bungie company[/quote] Kiddo, grow up. It's not his say and he sued Bungie only because they took his Founder stock away which the judge rightfully declared was his as a Founder. Hero or goat, you decide. I personally chose option 3: It's settled and done. His actions beforehand don't outweigh the positive. Period. Therefore, he should be at a new company, which he is. Whether he ever goes back? Future will tell. But this trial on his life? I'm not about to let that go away if he tries to say he was right. He wasn't and no one person is worth that many jobs. Ever.

[quote]So much feels he mouthed off to an investor when they chose a different audio teams over his[/quote] Oh you mean they were going to choose their audio team over his putting his team out of the job? And he would be upset about that? He also STILL did his job and they fired him after that without paying him for the job [u]Which is why he sued.[/u] [quote]Actually that's the last thing you want to do. You've never held a salaried position have you and you never read up on this situation.[/quote] How would saying "Yes, he was a big part of the creative process but we don't need him" make them look better in the eyes of the consumer and their loyal fans? You have to look good in order to maintain goodwill. Joseph Staten also left because the investors were wrecking their product and creative freedom, a fear Martin expressed and was right in the end. You know why he didn't walk away? Because what they were doing was wrong, was damaging the process, and he called them out on it. He has standards. Bungie's foremost mistake was looking to Activision, who have a pretty shady past and business practices. Which we are now seeing hurt Bungie. [quote]Ever wonder why I said good riddens? Not good riddance like you tried to say? Because he's not worth the sentiment. It's a video game, but those type of people? Music? Programming? Ect.?[/quote] Or you don't know how to spell? The actions of the investors led to a poor quality product and an overall crappy launch. [b]Twice[/b]. In both games, half the product was missing (and would be filled by "DLC") as was the creative spirit that was present in their previous titles. They had a loyal audience back in Halo because they cared about the games they made and what they were giving to their audience. If we are going to pay 40-60 dollars for a game it better be good. The reason his absence matters is because his work on the project mattered, the lack of his influence his obvious and hurts the franchise overall to this day. Destiny NEVER became the quality product we were promised and Marty's story from behind the scenes is just one of the many reasons why that is. Yeah, it's in the past and it is still a long standing mistake along with the many other they made during Destiny's development. That why many people left after Destiny 1.

[quote]He also STILL did his job and they fired him after that without paying him for the job Which is why he sued.[/quote] Unlike you, I read the lawsuit. It had nothing to do with lost wages. It was a loss of reputation and his Founders stock which was revoked. Yeah, I don't read 3rd hand sources or even 2nd hand ones. I learned to read the actual lawsuit filing papers. And for the record? He did have a job. Loss of that display? Didn't impact his future with Bungie. He was mad because his team's music integrity was basing the soundtrack for Destiny specifically around the Band of Brothers which was awesome. He felt it was disrespectful of "art" for it NOT to be chosen when they game was built BY bungie. Again: Activision venue. Activision choice. He makes that letter? CEO gets a call. CEO backs Marty. Marty's attitude doesn't improve however. CEO holds a board meeting, whose notes were released per court order, basically to fire Marty. The CEO was convinced his attitude was the issue. Sorry kiddo. This is a simple 1-2-3-4 for me. The details were there. If the CEO, and his audio team, are all saying he was distracted and had an attitude problem? *shrugs shoulders* he had issues. [quote]Joseph Staten also left because the investors were wrecking their product and creative freedom, a fear Martin expressed and was right in the end.[/quote] Excuse you? Mr Staten left on good terms and said he was leaving to take on other projects which he was offered a higher salary for. Which I personally said, "Good for you. Video game making is hard enough as it is with so much competition in the market, but to do better for yourself and your family? Good for you." which is my personal sentiment for everyone. Creative freedoms. Jesus. Maybe I'm lucky I never worried about the feels and emotional arguments "creative freedoms" is defined for, but you clowns who clearly buy into it and so illogical I don't have to question why even certain political norms change their logical stances entirely just to appease people like that. You're never going to get more freedoms btw. The more anyone restricts people? By nature or laws or otherwise? The more you will find it difficult to not have your emotional values infringed upon. It's the price. You want to say the investors should have less say because of "creative freedoms" because it lost you two individuals? I'd rather we meet the next Staten or Marty then have them back. Walking away is the same as admitting defeat and the losers of this is only keep proving just that. Good riddens. Neither one of them wanted to initiate change by working with others. In the case of Staten? He argued their was too little time left to properly implement a story and Activision argued his story was too vast or non-linear or whatever they said. They basically wanted more straightforward storytelling with depth to be added as DLC time came about. He literally said it was too late to do all of that. The CEO literally said do what you can. He ended up folding. You go look at Bungie's live talks about company portfolio and team building and overall sentiment working in their field? You find they talk about what is reasonable and what gets cut away due to time. Here's a thought: From day 1, you need to have five creative ideas on the table. This is common. They need to be similar in the sense the scope can be built using all five ideas. Whatever you want the baseline to essentially be. And from there? It only gets more and more complicated, but they are experienced in building games. I've been with them since Myth and guess what? Over the years? They've alllllll admitted, practically every game or demo... they were building up until 1 day prior. Good dedication... fail on being prepared from day 1. Maybe they are, maybe they aren't. Perhaps it has more to do with their capabilities as hiring people for tasks and positions, ect.. The simple reality? Is their is a system. That system will always need more tweaking. Successful studios must have that cultural identity in the sense it doesn't conflict with deliverables. I feel Bungie has that issue based on watching and observing. I don't think it's any one area of expertise which is a problem, but I would argue their hiring process needs to be better and they need to be more focused on delivering good quality products from start to finish then anything else. And hey, that's just me. You want to chime in?