Editing Phoenix (cancelled Bungie project)

{{Status|RealWorld}}
{{Disambig header|the cancelled Bungie project|other uses of the term Phoenix|Phoenix|l1=its disambiguation page}}
{{Status|RealWorld}}
{{Game infobox
|name=''Phoenix''
|image=
|developer=[[Bungie]]
|writer=
|composer=
|publisher=
|engine=[[Blam engine]]
|platform=
|releasedate=
|canceldate=Late [[2002]] or early [[2003]]
|genre=
|modes=
|rating=
}}
'''''Fantasy Siege''''',{{Ref/Mag|Id=NG2K|Next Generation Magazine|Year=2000|Month=July|Issue=v2 #7|Title=Xbox Gets Halo|Quote=For two years running Bungie has wowed the crowds with the astonishing Halo, and according to Fries, "What is even more impressive is Fantasy Siege - a totally different type of game running on the same engine. The engine is a very important thing to us, and is a huge part of the deal."|D=04|M=06|Y=2023}}{{Ref/Site|Id=Shack|URL=https://www.shacknews.com/article/7842/bungies-fantasy-siege|Site=ShackNews|Page=Bungie's Fantasy Siege|D=04|M=06|Y=2023}} alternatively known by the working codename '''''Phoenix''''', was a cancelled video game formerly under development at [[Bungie]]. It began development in [[2000]] and was envisioned as a PC successor to the Bungie game ''[[Wikipedia:Myth: The Fallen Lords|Myth: The Fallen Lords]]'', but was cancelled in early [[2003]]. ''Phoenix'' was to be a [[real-time strategy]] game, and had been described as a siege warfare game, with one player attacking and another defending. It included [[Wikipedia:Siege engine|siege engines]] such as [[Wikipedia:Trebuchet|trebuchets]] that could destroy enemy fortifications brick-by-brick.{{Ref/Site|Id=HistoryOfHalo|URL=https://www.vice.com/en/article/xwqjg3/the-complete-untold-history-of-halo-an-oral-history|Site=Vice|Page=The Complete, Untold History of Halo|D=22|M=9|Y=2021}} It was built on the [[Blam engine]], an in-house [[Wikipedia:Game engine|game engine]] developed by Bungie.{{Ref/Site|Id=TigerEngine|URL=https://www.gdcvault.com/play/1022106/Lessons-from-the-Core-Engine|Site=GDC Vault|Page=Lessons from the Core Engine Architecture of Destiny|D=22|M=9|Y=2021}}

==Development==
[[File:H2 Illustrator file for Emblems.jpg|thumb|250px|A suite of emblems made for ''Phoenix'' by Chris Barrett. The "Runes" emblem later featured in ''Halo 2'' can be seen in the middle.{{Ref/Reuse|BarrettPhoenix}}]]
Beginning with its inception in 2000, ''Phoenix'' had a troubled development. Bungie hired a number of developers to work on the game, shortly before the company relocated from [[Wikipedia:Chicago|Chicago]] to [[Wikipedia:Seattle|Seattle]] following its acquisition by [[Microsoft]]. Among these developers was [[Paul Bertone]], who stated that after nearly a year of development and despite having good ideas, sufficient technology and a really close team, the game still wasn't "coming together", which he attributed to a lack of leadership. According to Bertone, while they had crystalised ideas and concepts for the game, they were unable to turn these into a bug-free prototype to convince people of the game's viability.{{Ref/Reuse|HistoryOfHalo}}

In April or May of [[2001]], the ''Phoenix'' project was put on a temporary hiatus and its team was absorbed into the ''[[Halo: Combat Evolved]]'' team, to help [[Development of Halo: Combat Evolved|complete the game]] in time for its launch later in the year. After ''Combat Evolved'' shipped, the ''Phoenix'' team quickly returned to work on its original project, with some members returning to work on it as little as a week after ''Combat Evolved'' was completed.{{Ref/Reuse|HistoryOfHalo}}

Concerns about the viability of ''Phoenix'' still remained among Bungie management, however. In early [[2002]], not long after the decision was made to produce ''[[Halo 2]]'', another internal Bungie project, ''[[Monster Hunter]]'', was cancelled and its project lead [[Hardy LeBel]] was assigned to the Phoenix project by [[Alex Seropian]] and [[Jason Jones]]. Seropian and Jones informed LeBel that they were unsure if the struggling project was going to work out at all, and so asked him to get the team back on rails, evaluate the state of the project and report back on whether it was worth continuing with.{{Ref/Reuse|HistoryOfHalo}}

After working on the project for nearly a year, LeBel and the ''Phoenix'' team were able to produce a playable build. LeBel felt that it was not up to scratch and had doubts about whether it could be turned into a full game, so advised that the project be discontinued. Jones heeded LeBel's advice, and the project was cancelled some time in late [[2002]] or early [[2003]]. However, Jones had promised the ''Phoenix'' team that they would get to develop their own game. Thus, rather than disband the team, he joined the team as creative director and project lead, and they began work on another project, ''[[Gypsum]]'', in early [[2003]].{{Ref/Reuse|HistoryOfHalo}}{{Ref/YouTube|3ZzZD91OCE8|IGN|Canceled Bungie Game 'Gypsum' Revealed - IGN Unfiltered}}{{Ref/Site|URL=https://www.ign.com/articles/2016/03/21/canceled-bungie-game-gypsum-revealed|Site=IGN|Page=Canceled Bungie Game 'Gypsum' Revealed|D=26|M=9|Y=2021}}

A number of vector emblems were produced for ''Phoenix'' by [[:Category:Images by Christopher Barrett|Christopher Barrett]]. One such example was later reused in ''[[Halo 2]]'' as the "Runes" [[Emblems|emblem]].{{Ref/Twitter|Id=BarrettPhoenix|cgbarrett|1665022552270581761|Christopher Barrett|Quote=@cia391 @DC_moments @haruspis Made in Chicago in 2000 for a cancelled game.|Detail=Additional replies in this comment chain confirm the game in question as Phoenix|D=04|M=06|Y=2023}}

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:NextGen FantasySiege.jpg|A snippet from ''Next Generation Magazine'', showcasing Ed Fries discussing ''Fantasy Siege''.{{Ref/Reuse|NG2K}}{{Ref/Reuse|Shack}}
</gallery>

==Sources==
{{Ref/Sources}}

{{Navbox/Bungie}}

[[Category:Cancelled games]]
[[Category:Bungie games]]