: It's really weird and interesting seeing him be considered like this and
: seeing Joe Staten be involved even just with a novel, since they both said
: when Bungie split they really wanted to do something other than Halo. I
: wonder what could change someone's mind like that. Money is the obvious
: thing but I'm sure there are other means of getting, if not the same
: amount of money at least close to it, and there's artistic integrity and
: lack of inspiration and sheer boredom to take into account, for and
: against-- what if Joe found he couldn't come up with good ideas for other
: things? I'd love to hear how it happened some time.
: As for music, I think they could coast for another game or two at least on
: variations of what Marty did (though I'm not saying they should), it
: stands up to repetition that well.

As I understand it, Joe has PLENTY of ideas - Bungie just didn't have the time or inclination to put them in the game. Given a bad development experience, I think it's understandable for him to return to familiar ground in some way. I also think Marty's shown that working on the same series for years is no obstacle to creativity, especially the ODST and Reach soundtracks and how radically they differ from the "traditional" Halo music. Bungie apparently refuse to release his magnum opus, Music of the Spheres, and it sounds like his new company is still a while away from releasing its own game. Whatever the case, I'll be interested in anything he puts out.