Thread for Gamers IX: God Howard Anniversary Edition

[The first Galactic Republic]

Former Bungie composer Marty O'Donnell found in contempt of court over use of Destiny assets

Composer Marty O'Donnell has been found in contempt of court over his use of Destiny assets and now owes Bungie tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees, Eurogamer can reveal.

In April this year, Bungie served the celebrated composer behind the original Halo music with contempt of court papers over videos related to Destiny that were uploaded to O'Donnell's YouTube channel and other platforms.

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Bungie said "all material" includes not just Music of the Spheres in their final state, but all versions, components and variations of the tracks - that is, all material involved in any way in the creation of Music of the Spheres and Destiny.

Fast forward to 2019, when O'Donnell began uploading videos and other materials relating to Music of the Spheres and Destiny to his YouTube channel, as well as Bandcamp.

"Mr. O'Donnell's very possession of such materials proves he did not comply with the order to return 'all material' to Bungie," Bungie's motion, reviewed by Eurogamer, reads.

Bungie also noted O'Donnell posted tracks and an album titled "Sketches for MotS" to Bandcamp, where users were able to pay him a fee if they wanted to.

Bungie argued all this activity amounted to a contempt of court and a violation of the 2015 injunction. The court agreed, and on 12th July, judge Regina Cahan of the Superior Court of Washington King County ruled in Bungie's favour:

"Mr. O'Donnell intentionally disobeyed, and is hereby held in contempt of, the September 17, 2015 order confirming and enforcing final arbitration award (the "Order") entered in this Matter."

A representative of Bungie said the company is unable to comment on ongoing litigation, but pointed to the court's ruling, above. O'Donnell declined to comment when contacted by Eurogamer.

The court has now imposed upon O'Donnell a number of sanctions, including a third-party forensic examination of his electronic devices in order to delete any assets relating to Destiny or Music of the Spheres.

O'Donnell must also remove all the relevant material from the internet (he's already done this, if you were wondering where that all went from his YouTube channel). O'Donnell must also write to any third-party he is aware of who also posted the material to ask them to remove it.

O'Donnell is also ordered to "post a message, the wording of which the parties agree to, on his Twitter, YouTube, Bandcamp, and Soundcloud sites/channels stating that he did not have legal authority to possessor provide material related to Music of the Spheres or Destiny and asking anyone who previously downloaded any such assets to delete them and refrain from sharing and will destroy any copies of them".

"Mr. O'Donnell will refrain from making any direct or indirect public comment regarding these posts, including responses to those inquiring regarding basis for such posts, and will let the message speak for itself," the court order reads.

O'Donnell has so far not done this.

=CONTINUES=

Oof. It’s kind of sad following along with modern Bungie and the people that helped make the original Halos. There’s no end to the reminders that Halo’s golden age is long gone.

It’s like watching your parents get old, ya know?

[Imperial States of Duotona]

I'd like to make this thread less depressing and talk about the games I am playing at the moment.

Battlefield V: I got this through Xbox's game pass system (as well as every other game on this list) and it's good so far, I'm currently stuck on the bit in Under No Flag where you have to blow up Luftwaffe equipment. I haven't played online yet but plan to do so. I don't get why people make a fuss about FPS games nowadays, you can always squeeze some fun out of any of them, no matter how bad.

NFS: Hot Pursuit Remastered: A fast paced street racer with tight controls, this game is unforgiving at times but can be super tense and rewarding! I'm glad I got this game; it has really put me through my paces in terms of driving games (my most played genre of games)

SUPERHOT: Mind Control Delete: This game is uber amounts of pure fun. Nothing says fun like getting the katana hack in a round and slicing up 5 people in a row! This game has endless ways that a round can go, and involves some fast paced comedy and triumph if you either mess up horribly or succeed in an unexpected way. Speaking of unexpected comedy...

Skate 3: God is this game hilarious. A game that gives a glimpse at skater culture 11 years ago (in 2010, when it was released) but can also make me belly laugh when I bail off a ledge and use the torpedo bail move to crash to the ground. Whether the devs intended this or not is beyond me, but it makes the game WAY more fun because of it.

THE BEST GAME OF THE BUNCH: Hollow Knight: THIS GAME. THIS GAME RIGHT HERE IS PURE HELL AND I LOVE IT. A Metroidvania game about a little knight uncovering the secrets of derelict Hallownest couldn't be too hard, right? Wrong. This game is hard, and deserves its comparisons to Dark Souls. Beyond the rich story that would take way too long to discuss and the lovingly created characters and enemies is a game that will make you frustrated every time you die to a boss you thought was easy. Despite all this, it keeps me coming back after each fall and death because it's made so well. And I've barely made it a quarter to a third into the game, let alone the DLC I get in the Voidheart Edition of the game I got AND the permadeath Steel Soul mode. Must play.

[Holy Tedalonia]

Former Bungie composer Marty O'Donnell found in contempt of court over use of Destiny assets

Oof. It’s kind of sad following along with modern Bungie and the people that helped make the original Halos. There’s no end to the reminders that Halo’s golden age is long gone.

It’s like watching your parents get old, ya know?

Bungies golden era may have ended, but everything I've seen of the new Halo Infinite looks like it may be the best halo game yet. Its going to be fucking lit, much to the dismay of the "343 bad" crowd.

[The first Galactic Republic]

Oof. It’s kind of sad following along with modern Bungie and the people that helped make the original Halos. There’s no end to the reminders that Halo’s golden age is long gone.

It’s like watching your parents get old, ya know?

Bungies golden era may have ended, but everything I've seen of the new Halo Infinite looks like it may be the best halo game yet. Its going to be fucking lit, much to the dismay of the "343 bad" crowd.

It’s actually been a trip following the halo subreddit, because their opinion on 343 fluctuates with every update.

I think it’s negative now because the game won’t launch with co-op, there won’t be any xp reward for just playing matches (only through challenges), and armor colors need to be unlocked over time. Some people are also mad about some over the top looking armors being added to MCC.

I’m cautious about the game myself, but I’m still looking forward to it.

[Bralia]

30 minutes!? How much of that time did you spend creating your character?

Listen, I'm not great at these kind of games.
Though, to be fair, I was just giving it a quick look before digging in. My current run is going much better.. so far.

By the way, in case you haven't already figured it out, the best advice that anyone can receive when playing Disco Elysium is to not fear failure. Not passing checks can be just as great as passing them.

[Corrian]

My thing with Halo is that series, like a lot of series, should have ended a LONG time ago while they were still ahead. After Bungie was done with it, that should have been the end. But it keeps going...for some reason.

It is weird kinda seeing people hyped for Halo: Infinite suddenly when everyone seemed to originally talk about how shit it looked/seemed to be.

[Ameriganastan]

My thing with Halo is that series, like a lot of series, should have ended a LONG time ago while they were still ahead. After Bungie was done with it, that should have been the end. But it keeps going...for some reason.

The reason is called money. After all, why think of something new when you can keep milking your cash cow knowing people will buy it every time?

[Cadonica]

I committed the worst gamer sin imaginable. I pre-ordered an EA game.

[The Huskar Social Union]

I committed the worst gamer sin imaginable. I pre-ordered an EA game.

That wasnt very pog champ gamer of you

[The Batavia]

I committed the worst gamer sin imaginable. I pre-ordered an EA game.

The court sentences you to death

[Imperial States of Duotona]

I pre-ordered an EA game.

what are 5 words that can kill a man

[Holy Tedalonia]

My thing with Halo is that series, like a lot of series, should have ended a LONG time ago while they were still ahead. After Bungie was done with it, that should have been the end. But it keeps going...for some reason.

It is weird kinda seeing people hyped for Halo: Infinite suddenly when everyone seemed to originally talk about how shit it looked/seemed to be.

Because plot asde, the game looks good and runs good during the flights. Good gameplay = hype. Free multiplayer = hype. Not hiding your game like cyberpunk = hype. Its not rocket science.

I think they probably change characters, considering halo has plenty of non master chief games that did well, and their starting to run out of things to do with his character. But the series as a whole can make good plots just fine without relating it to master chief. Halo Wars and Reach are examples of that.

[The Huskar Social Union]

Boom! Every achievement in Prey unlocked. I had soo much fun playing this game again : D

Shame its probably never gona get a sequel. I also watched the No Clip documentary on it that came out yesterday, it was very cool to get an insight into the games development.

[Cadonica]

Boom! Every achievement in Prey unlocked. I had soo much fun playing this game again : D

Shame its probably never gona get a sequel. I also watched the No Clip documentary on it that came out yesterday, it was very cool to get an insight into the games development.

Always a great feeling when you 100% the achievements

[Herador]

I committed the worst gamer sin imaginable. I pre-ordered an EA game.

We're not angry, just dissapointed.

[Corrian]

My thing with Halo is that series, like a lot of series, should have ended a LONG time ago while they were still ahead. After Bungie was done with it, that should have been the end. But it keeps going...for some reason.

It is weird kinda seeing people hyped for Halo: Infinite suddenly when everyone seemed to originally talk about how shit it looked/seemed to be.

Because plot asde, the game looks good and runs good during the flights. Good gameplay = hype. Free multiplayer = hype. Not hiding your game like cyberpunk = hype. Its not rocket science.

I think they probably change characters, considering halo has plenty of non master chief games that did well, and their starting to run out of things to do with his character. But the series as a whole can make good plots just fine without relating it to master chief. Halo Wars and Reach are examples of that.

None of this changes what I said about them milking it forever when they should have ended it as soon as Bungie was done with it.

[Hispida]

I committed the worst gamer sin imaginable. I pre-ordered an EA game.

"You are accused of treason and anti-Soviet behavior. The court finds you guilty and sentences you to be shot."

[Holy Tedalonia]

Because plot asde, the game looks good and runs good during the flights. Good gameplay = hype. Free multiplayer = hype. Not hiding your game like cyberpunk = hype. Its not rocket science.

I think they probably change characters, considering halo has plenty of non master chief games that did well, and their starting to run out of things to do with his character. But the series as a whole can make good plots just fine without relating it to master chief. Halo Wars and Reach are examples of that.

None of this changes what I said about them milking it forever when they should have ended it as soon as Bungie was done with it.

I just don't see it as inherently bad when Halo games are reliably good. Like shit on the H4 and H5 campaigns (they really do deserve it), but the multiplayer will always be fire for Halo. If this is them milking it, let it be milk. I'd guzzle that shit.

I feel like its like saying CoD should stop releasing because the peak of the series has passed, and its going to have no more peaks.

[The Huskar Social Union]

I committed the worst gamer sin imaginable. I pre-ordered an EA game.

"You are accused of treason and anti-Soviet behavior. The court finds you guilty and sentences you to be shot."

"You are accused of using your position to forward the interests of foreign powers"
"Foreign powers!? From what... the fucking moon!"

[The Huskar Social Union]

Boom! Every achievement in Prey unlocked. I had soo much fun playing this game again : D

Shame its probably never gona get a sequel. I also watched the No Clip documentary on it that came out yesterday, it was very cool to get an insight into the games development.

Always a great feeling when you 100% the achievements

I very rarely 100% games, its usually only reserved for games i absolutely love or saw as a big challenge. Speaking of which i forgot to grab the last few achievements for LA Noire when i was playing it a few months back. Need to get around to finishing that off as its only a few case specific achievements and should take only a few hours.

[Ameriganastan]

Lord. I decide to replay chapter 1 of Deltrarune to refresh my memory, then decide to just breeze through chapter 2.

I started at like 10. It's 6 AM now...

[Cadonica]

Always a great feeling when you 100% the achievements

I very rarely 100% games, its usually only reserved for games i absolutely love or saw as a big challenge. Speaking of which i forgot to grab the last few achievements for LA Noire when i was playing it a few months back. Need to get around to finishing that off as its only a few case specific achievements and should take only a few hours.

Same, though for me the challenge part is limited to grind achievements, like do X for 1000 times or similar. There are games that I'm never going to 100% because it'd require something like "beat the hardest difficulty" or do something really hard in multiplayer. I'm too casual to "git gud" enough for those.

[Esalia]

I very rarely 100% games, its usually only reserved for games i absolutely love or saw as a big challenge. Speaking of which i forgot to grab the last few achievements for LA Noire when i was playing it a few months back. Need to get around to finishing that off as its only a few case specific achievements and should take only a few hours.

Same, though for me the challenge part is limited to grind achievements, like do X for 1000 times or similar. There are games that I'm never going to 100% because it'd require something like "beat the hardest difficulty" or do something really hard in multiplayer. I'm too casual to "git gud" enough for those.

Or the occasional achievement that requires a very specific set of circumstances to happen and it's almost entirely luck-based.

I tend to miss out those and multiplayer ones (if I'm playing the game solely for singleplayer). I like the sense of achievement that comes with getting an achievement (especially the more challenging ones), I don't like having to do the same thing over and over and praying to RNGesus that he may one day bless me with good numbers.

[Ifreann]

Boom! Every achievement in Prey unlocked. I had soo much fun playing this game again : D

Shame its probably never gona get a sequel. I also watched the No Clip documentary on it that came out yesterday, it was very cool to get an insight into the games development.

Arkane sure do seem to be good at making the videos game. I've heard good things about Deathloop.

[The Huskar Social Union]

Boom! Every achievement in Prey unlocked. I had soo much fun playing this game again : D

Shame its probably never gona get a sequel. I also watched the No Clip documentary on it that came out yesterday, it was very cool to get an insight into the games development.

Arkane sure do seem to be good at making the videos game. I've heard good things about Deathloop.

Ive heard good things too and think it could be a lot of fun. But im holding off at the moment just trying to save money and hoping it gets an xbox release some point down the line.

I have consistently enjoyed every Arkhane game ive played so far, Dishonoured and Dishonoured 2 were both really fun and i love Prey.