Bungie Winter Pentalon

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The Bungie Winter Pentathlon Preview Posted by lukems at 1/23/2008 3:20 PM PST

TheBungie Pentathlon: the events of which are rarely discussed, theresults are almost (conspicuously) never recorded. It is a trial ofendurance, a test of fortitude, and a no holds barred battle betweenthose who were, those who are and those who will be. Nausea-inducinghyperbole aside, it's also a day where the studio halts work on thepresent and future to reflect on Bungie, exalt the veterans and thenengage in tenure-based battles often resulting in the foul stench ofbutthurt game makers filing back to their desks, because, likeHighlander, if Highlander were a team of sweaty nerds, there can beonly one champion at the Pentathlon.

 

Deciding what games willbe played and how they will be played is a council of Ancients, OldFarts, Middle Kids and Newbz who work out the details of what the bestgames for the Pentathlon would be. Brian Jarrard sits on this counciland answered a bunch of questions about the Pentathlon below.

 

What are some games that have appeared in the Pentathlons of old?

Brian Jarrard: In the five years IÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢ve been atBungie, IÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢ve seen a mix of consistent standbys and fresh new additionsto our annual competition. Every Pentathlon that IÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢ve participated inhas included one of the Halo titles (depending on the year and statusof each version). It usually ends up being a debug version of the Halothat we hadnÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢t shipped yet and/or the final version but new, unreleasedmaps. Of all the games we play each year, the Halo tournament is farand away the one everyone cares about the most. It has the most trashtalking and the highest stakes and usually ends up with somecontroversial issue that mars the final outcome. IÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢m sure this yearwill be no exception.

 

The other game that has consistently beena part of the Pentathlon is Pictionary. Laugh if you will but itÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢s anexhilarating experience to have top notch professional artists goingtoe to toe in the ultimate battle for their craft. It also has the nicebonus of allowing literally the entire team to participate whichresults in a lot of pandemonium and hoopla.

 

Aside from thosetwo staples, we tend to mix it up each year. Back in 2003 we playedKung Fu Chaos and NFL Fever. I also have memories of Mario Kart on theGamecube, Eye Toy on the PS2, Virtua Tennis, Guitar Hero and severalincarnations of the Ã?¢ââ??¬Ã?â??Age of EmpiresÃ?¢ââ??¬Ã? RTS series.

 

Over the yearsweÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢ve also started to introduce Ã?¢ââ??¬Ã?â??exhibitionÃ?¢ââ??¬Ã? games and side eventsoutside of the official five events to cater to a wider tastes andprovide more ways to participate over the course of the day. The mostfamous of these is Ã?¢ââ??¬Ã?â??BarrythonÃ?¢ââ??¬Ã? which is a hardcore do-or-die tournamenton our Street Fighter III: Third Strike Arcade machine. The winner isnot only crowned the best Street Fighter at Bungie but they usually geta bottle of booze as well.

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What is your favorite Pentathlon memory?

BJ: Ahhh where to beginÃ?¢ââ??¬Ã?¦ every Pentathlon comeswith unforgettable memories Ã?¢ââ??‰â?¬Å? usually revolving around controversy ordrunken shenanigans or someoneÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢s attempt to steal the coveted Ã?¢ââ??¬Ã?â??CupÃ?¢ââ??¬Ã?(the prize awarded to the winning team). I think overall though itÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢shard for me to top the year my team came out of nowhere to win theentire Pentathlon but more importantly, upset the Grizzled Ancients andOld Skool teams in Halo 2.

Is there a Pentathalon dynasty riots? Or is there parity in the Pentathlon winning history?

BJ: Surprisingly (or maybe not so surprisingly) theofficial record keeping over the years is pretty spotty. Myrecollection from the time IÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢ve been at Bungie is that weÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢ve had apretty well rounded representation for each team. Naturally each teamwill claim that THEY are the winningest team ever but in reality itseems to fluctuate over time.

Are there any other events that coincide with the Pentathlon?

BJ: Aside from the hardcore competition with thefive official games and a bevy of side events, we have a few secrettraditions that also correspond to this magical day. Most notably, itÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢sa time to reflect on our past and look forward to our future and takestock of our progress towards world domination. ItÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢s also a time wherewe honor members of our team who hit a five or ten year employmentmilestone. As we like to say, Ã?¢ââ??¬Ã?â??your five year grace period has nowended.Ã?¢ââ??¬Ã?

How are the teams for this year being decided? How is that similar or different to team selection in past years?

 

BJ:This year weÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢re returning to our roots and dividing the studio up intofour equal teams based on your tenure at Bungie. These teams are theGrizzled Ancients, Old Skool, Middle School and Newbies. The studiohas grown and our teams are larger now but ultimately this is what thePentathlon is all about and these are the rivalries that burnthroughout the year.

 

Last year we tried something different Ã?¢ââ??‰â?¬Å?as best I can tell, a few Bungie Ã?¢ââ??¬Ã?â??eldersÃ?¢ââ??¬Ã? got together and picked allthe top Halo players for their team and then everyone else picked upthe pieces. Great for them, not so great for the others. Controversyaside, the arbitrary team assignment just didnÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢t have the same historyor trash talking rivalry as the traditional tenure based system.

What are the events testing might and magic in the Winter Pentathlon?

BJ: Naturally the marquee event this year will bethe 6v6 Halo 3 tournament. ItÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢s a double elimination bracket showdownconsisting of Team Slayer, Oddball, King, Eliminatio and Land Grab.Yes, thatÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢s right, CTF and Assault are purposely omitted due to thehigh likelihood of a tie game, which has been the cause of major drama and controversy in prior years.

WeÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢re also going to have a massive battle-of-the-bands and makefools of ourselves on Rock Band. Teams of four will compete in a fewdifferent songs with special bonus point multipliers being added to thein-game score. WeÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢ll have an American Idol style judging table who willevaluate each team based on costumes, showmanship and performance. Andyes, it will be videotaped, and yes we will find a way to get it ontoBungie.net (Editor's note: Sketch, don't make an Internet a promise...)

Two-man teams will get footloose in DDR2, teams of three and up willbathe in the chaotic artistry of Pictionary and each team will field afour-man bowling team in Wii Sports. A variety of exhibitions gameswill also be taking place like the Street Fighter Ã?¢ââ??¬Ã?â??Barrython,Ã?¢ââ??¬Ã? the Halo3 two-man ladder, the All Day Age of Empires Super Challenge,Snookathon 2: Son of Snookathon and more.

IÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢m going to go out on a limb and predict a decisive victory for the Old Skool team!

 

 

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The Official 2008 Bungie Winter Penthathlon Rosters

 

 

Grizzled Ancients

Jason Jones

Robert McLees

Marcus Lehto

David Dunn

Charles Gough

Paul Vosper

Shi Kai Wang

Paul H. Russel

Joseph Staten

Jaime Griesemer

Lorraine McLees

Benjamin Wallace

Christopher Barrett

Christopher Butcher

Paul Bertone

Martin O'Donnell

Curtis Creamer

Zachary Russell

Harold Ryan

Michael Wu

Eamon McKenzie

David Candland

Matthew Noguchi

Thomas Gioconda

Eric Arroyo

Tyson Green

Luke Timmins

Roger Wolfson

Adrian Perez

Paul Gradwohl

Eric Helbig

Old Skool

Jay Weinland

Christopher Carney

William O'Brien

Damian Isla

Nathan Walpole

Justin Hayward

Brian Jarrard

John Butkus

Frank Capezzuto

CJ Cowan

Mike Zak

Travis Brady

Luis Villegas

Aaron Lieberman

Frank O'Connor

Hao Chen

Steve Cotton

Steve Scott

Jamie Evans

Tom Doyle

Vic DeLeon

C Paul Johnson

Steve Lopez

Jeremy Fones

Michael Williams

Chris Tchou

Lee Wilson

Joseph Tung

Graham Bartlett

Steve Alliston

Bill Metters

Middle School

Bob Glessner

Dan Miller

Allen Murray

Lars Bakken

Isaac Hannaford

Domenic Koeplin

David Hunt

Max Dyckhoff

Niles Sankey

Francois B.-G.

Andrew Solomon

Sean Shypula

Jim McQuillan

Chris Gossett

Ken Taya

Milton Cadagon

Sam Jones

Jason Robertson

Josh Rodgers

Kurt Nellis

Matthew Priestley

John Gronquist

Mike Buelterman

Petar Kotevski

Jonty Barnes

Dorje Bellbrook

Matt Burns

Xi Wang

Rajeev Nattam

Christopher Opdahl

Tony Bradley

Newbies

Eric Elton

David Gasca

Aaron Lemay

Tim Williams

Steve Reddoch

Doug Patrick

Jon Cable

Steve Theodore

James Haywood

James Parks

Tristan Root

Roberta Brown

Luke Smith

Seth Gibson

Jason Sussman

Yao Hua Hu

Davina Chan Gallagher

Cameron Pinard

G4yle Chonzena

Christian Allen

David Allen

Jerome Simpson

Renae Wetsig

Shauna Sperry

Phil Kaufman

Matthew Richenburg

Brent Abrahamsen

Matt Bennier

Michael Means

David Aldridge

Johnney Nguyen

 

Captains, i.e., cat herders, have been placed in italics.