Halopedia:Canon policy: Difference between revisions

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{{Policies}}
{{Policies}}
==What is Canon?==
==What is Canon?==
''Canon'' is defined as characters, locations, and details that are considered to be genuine (or "official"), and those events, characters, settings, etc. that are considered to have inarguable existence within the fictional universe.
''Canon'' is defined as characters, locations, and details that are considered to be genuine (or "official"), and those events, characters, settings, etc. that are considered to have inarguable existence within the fictional universe. [[Halopedia]] operates strictly as a collection of ''[[Halo Universe|Halo]]'' canon information. "Official" ''Halo'' canon can only be created by developers of the ''Halo'' universe. Therefore, any material added to Halopedia ''must'' be official, sanctioned canon that can be [[Help:Ref|cited]] from a work created or sanctioned by ''Halo'''s creators, [[Bungie Studios]] and 343 Industries. Better put, [[Halopedia: What Halopedia is not|Halopedia is '''not''' a site for fanfiction]].


[[Halopedia]] operates strictly as a collection of ''[[Halo Universe|Halo]]'' canon information. "Official" ''Halo'' canon can only be created by developers of the ''Halo'' universe. Therefore, any material added to Halopedia ''must'' be official, sanctioned canon that can be [[Help:Ref|cited]] from a work created or sanctioned by ''Halo'''s creators, [[Bungie Studios]] and 343 Industries. Better put, [[Halopedia: What Halopedia is not|Halopedia is '''not''' a site for fanfiction]].
==The Hierarchy of Canon==
The editors of Halopedia work tirelessly to present facts of the Halo Universe in the best possible light: these Halopedians strive by interpreting canon in a way that makes the most sense in the context and causes the least problems and allowing readers to thrive with the interpreted information. As such, the wiki often gets criticized for not able to present the information as the ''officials'' intended it to be.
 
Often times, one source of canon may say something different than other sources. There are many reasons why this may be so; ranging from a typo to a line taken out of context. Therefore, a policy of "superior canon" is in act to make sure that the content of Halopedia reflects the most accurate canon of the Halo universe. Thus, a "ladder" of canon sources exists, with the sources higher on the ladder having "superior canon" which is considered more "official" than the sources below them. Illustrated below are the two tiers of canon along with descriptions to explain how Halopedia's Canon Policy works:
 
;Bungie-canon (Tier 1)
:Though [[Bungie Studios]] is no longer an active party of the Halo franchise, it is still appropriate to recognise their efforts and contributions throughout their 10 years of involvement in building and expanding the Halo franchise. With that said, only contributions made in those 10 years are of canon value.<ref name="ign0">[http://uk.xbox360.ign.com/articles/112/1126799p3.html '''IGN''': ''Beyond the Ring: Bungie's Renegade Development of Halo's Fiction''] ('''Joseph Staten''': ''""Bungie was maintaining creative oversight over all these initiatives -- we really did have a lot of control over what stories got told. Historically, over the decade of Halo storytelling, Bungie would maintain creative ownership and direction of these various projects." "'')</ref>
:Sources of canon in included, but not limited to, this tier are the following:
:*The Halo Trilogy
:*Halo 3: ODST
:*Halo: Reach
:*Halo Graphic Novel<ref name="HGN">'''[[Halo Graphic Novel]]''', ''Editor's Notes''</ref><ref group="note">Halo Graphic Novel was a stand-alone project led by the Art Team of Bungie Studios with the approval of Microsoft and publishing support of Marvel. With the success of HGN, Microsoft soon took charge over Bungie and played an active role in the literature project</ref>
:Note: Bungie's involvement in the Halo franchise began in 1999-2010.
:Note: The novels were part of Microsoft franchise-expansion project headed by Microsoft Development Team (now known as 343i) since 2001, and Bungie was a passive party throughout the course of the project, whose roles were to supervise and provide suggestions to improve content.<ref name="ign">[http://uk.xbox360.ign.com/articles/112/1126799p3.html '''IGN''': ''Beyond the Ring: Bungie's Renegade Development of Halo's Fiction''] ('''Frank O'Connor''': ''"It's pretty fair to say that the Fall of Reach novel was considered a Microsoft project rather than a Bungie project -- I don't think anyone would argue with that..."'')</ref><ref name="ign2">[http://uk.xbox360.ign.com/articles/112/1126799p3.html '''IGN''': ''Beyond the Ring: Bungie's Renegade Development of Halo's Fiction''] ('''Joseph Staten''': ''"We wanted to, as a studio, stay focused on making great games. The novels were great '''[for Bungie]''' because we knew we had created this universe that had the possibility for lots of different stories. But we, Bungie, simply didn't have the bandwidth, and honestly the talent, necessarily, to do things like novels or comic books, et cetera."'')</ref>
;Microsoft-canon (Tier 2)
:Microsoft-canon, also known as 343i-canon, is the continuity/expanded project of the Halo Universe. 343i, approved by Microsoft, would be the primary source under Microsoft-canon and anything released by them will be considered as official canon. Anything created by Microsoft and its affiliates would have been considered as being approved automatically by Bungie, thus making them canon.
:Under Microsoft-canon, it would have a secondary canon hierarchy; the ''games would be superior'', followed by the novels, other literatures, the marketing campaigns and other promotional items, in that exact order. Because Halo is essentially a game franchise, game titles would be the superior source of canon in each category.
 
{| width="300px" align="center"
| style="padding:10px; -moz-border-radius: 0.5em; text-align:center; font-family:Century Gothic; color:#fff;" class="opacity70" |
'''Bungie-canon''' (''Tier I'')
 
↓
 
'''Microsoft/343i-canon''' (''Tier II'')<br>
'''343i games'''
 
↓↓
 
'''Novels'''
 
↓↓
 
'''Comics and other media'''
 
↓↓
 
'''Marketing content'''
|}


==What are the sources for Halo Canon?==
==What are the sources for Halo Canon?==
Here is a list of sources that (currently) are sources of Halo canon, and thus any material from these sources is content that can and should be added to Halopedia:
Below is a simple list of sources that are sources of Halo canon, and thus any material from these sources is content that can and should be added to Halopedia:
{{col-begin}}
{{Col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
{{Col-2}}
===Video Games===
===Bungie-canon===
;Video Games
*''[[Halo: Combat Evolved]]''
*''[[Halo: Combat Evolved]]''
*''[[Halo 2]]''
*''[[Halo 2]]''
:*[[Halo 2: Collectors Edition DVD|Making of ''Halo 2'' - The Collector's Edition DVD]]
*''[[Halo 3]]''
*''[[Halo 3]]''
:*''[[Halo 3: ODST]]''
:*''[[Halo 3: ODST]]''
*''[[Halo Wars]]''
*''[[Halo: Chronicles]]''
*''[[Halo Reach]]''
*''[[Halo Reach]]''


====Soundtracks====
;Literature
*[[Halo: Original Soundtrack]]
*''[[Halo Graphic Novel]]''
*[[Halo 2: Original Soundtrack]]
 
*[[Halo 3: Original Soundtrack]]
;References
*[[Halo 3: ODST Original Soundtrack]]
*''[[The Art of Halo]]''
*''[[The Art of Halo 3]]''


{{col-2}}
;Miscellaneous
*[[ViDoc]]s


===Literature and Media===
{{Col-2}}
====Novels====
===Microsoft-canon/343i-canon===
;Video Games
*''[[Halo Wars]]''
 
;Novels
*''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]''
*''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]''
*''[[Halo: The Flood]]''
*''[[Halo: The Flood]]''
Line 39: Line 81:
*''[[Halo: Evolutions]]''
*''[[Halo: Evolutions]]''
*''[[Forerunner Trilogy]]''
*''[[Forerunner Trilogy]]''
**''[[Halo: Cryptum]]''


====Comics====
;Comics
*''[[Halo Graphic Novel]]''
*''[[Halo Graphic Novel]]''
*''[[Halo Wars: Genesis]]''
*''[[Halo Wars: Genesis]]''
Line 47: Line 90:
*''[[Halo: Blood Line]]''
*''[[Halo: Blood Line]]''


====References====
;Animation
*''[[The Art of Halo]]''
*''[[Halo Legends]]''
*''[[The Art of Halo 3]]''
 
;Marketing
*''[[Halo: Landfall]]''
 
;References
*''[[Halo Encyclopedia]]''
*''[[Halo Encyclopedia]]''


====Other Media====
;Miscellaneous
*[[Action Figures]]
*[[Action figures]]
*[[Transmissions]]
*[[Cortana Letters]]
*''[[ilovebees]]''
*''[[ilovebees]]''
*[[Iris]]
*[[Iris]]
*[[ViDoc]]s
*[[ViDoc]]s
*''[[Halo: Landfall]]''
*''[[Halo Legends]]''
{{col-end}}
{{col-end}}


==Superior Canon==
==Notes==
Often times, one source of canon may say something different than other sources. There are many reasons why this may be so; ranging from a typo to a line taken out of context. Therefore, a policy of "superior canon" is in act to make sure that the content of Halopedia reflects the most accurate canon of the Halo universe. Thus, a "ladder" of canon sources exists, with the sources higher on the ladder having "superior canon" which is considered more "official" than the sources below them.
<references group="note"/>
 
The concept of superior canon is as follows:
 
'''Current Bungie Employees''' are the highest source of Canon. They design, authorize, and sanction every detail about Halo that is revealed to the public. Their statements take the highest authority among Halo canon because, obviously, they created it all.
 
'''Halo Games''' are, with certain exceptions, the most elaborate of the Halo works and, as they come directly from the producers of Bungie, they are the largest creations of the Halo universe. The information in the video games was produced by Bungie employees directly. This gives them the most credit as canon sources.
 
'''Halo Literature, Soundtracks, and Other Media''' are below the games as sources of canon for various reasons. Some of this media is presented by Bungie Affiliates and thus not direct canon from the studio, and some is for promotional purposes or Halo ideas that were released in incomplete development. Bungie Studios has given great creative license to its affiliates as long as their material falls within basic guidelines, and may not be what Bungie itself wanted for the Halo universe.
 
'''Bungie Affiliates''' are just below Bungie employees. This group includes companies and people who work on Halo products but are not part of Bungie studios. This group includes [[4orty2wo Entertainment]] employees, [[Joyride Studios]] employees, and Halo novelists like [[Eric Nylund]] and [[William C. Dietz]].
 
<nowiki>*</nowiki>'''Announcement Trailers''' are usually considered not to be canon, as details in an announcement trailer are usually a very early draft of the storyline, and do not necessarily contain content that made it into the final game. Thus, Trailers are considered to be canon ''until'' the official game is released.


'''Halopedia Canon''' The lowest form of Canon, Halopedia Canon is the result of heated debate among the Halopedia community to arrive at conclusion and decision on said piece of Halo Universe. Halopedia Canon is trumped by all other higher Canon unless it is determined that a mistake by Bungie has been made. Some examples of "mistakes" can be found [[List of Inconsistencies in Halo|here]].
==Sources==
<references/>


==See Also==
==See also==
*[[List of Inconsistencies in Halo]]
*[[:Category:Letters of Canon|Letters of Canon]]
*[[:Category:Letters of Canon|Letters of Canon]]
*[http://forums.bungie.org/halo/archive28.pl?read=847640 Comments by Joseph Staten] on Bungie's internal canon policies
*[http://forums.bungie.org/halo/archive28.pl?read=847640 Comments by Joseph Staten] on Bungie's internal canon policies

Revision as of 00:02, December 24, 2010

Template:Shortcut

Main-Forerunner.png
 This page is an official Halopedia policy
Please read through the policy below to familiarize yourself with our common practices and rules.
If you have any questions, suggestions, or complaints, please post them on the talk page.

Template:Policies

What is Canon?

Canon is defined as characters, locations, and details that are considered to be genuine (or "official"), and those events, characters, settings, etc. that are considered to have inarguable existence within the fictional universe. Halopedia operates strictly as a collection of Halo canon information. "Official" Halo canon can only be created by developers of the Halo universe. Therefore, any material added to Halopedia must be official, sanctioned canon that can be cited from a work created or sanctioned by Halo's creators, Bungie Studios and 343 Industries. Better put, Halopedia is not a site for fanfiction.

The Hierarchy of Canon

The editors of Halopedia work tirelessly to present facts of the Halo Universe in the best possible light: these Halopedians strive by interpreting canon in a way that makes the most sense in the context and causes the least problems and allowing readers to thrive with the interpreted information. As such, the wiki often gets criticized for not able to present the information as the officials intended it to be.

Often times, one source of canon may say something different than other sources. There are many reasons why this may be so; ranging from a typo to a line taken out of context. Therefore, a policy of "superior canon" is in act to make sure that the content of Halopedia reflects the most accurate canon of the Halo universe. Thus, a "ladder" of canon sources exists, with the sources higher on the ladder having "superior canon" which is considered more "official" than the sources below them. Illustrated below are the two tiers of canon along with descriptions to explain how Halopedia's Canon Policy works:

Bungie-canon (Tier 1)
Though Bungie Studios is no longer an active party of the Halo franchise, it is still appropriate to recognise their efforts and contributions throughout their 10 years of involvement in building and expanding the Halo franchise. With that said, only contributions made in those 10 years are of canon value.[1]
Sources of canon in included, but not limited to, this tier are the following:
  • The Halo Trilogy
  • Halo 3: ODST
  • Halo: Reach
  • Halo Graphic Novel[2][note 1]
Note: Bungie's involvement in the Halo franchise began in 1999-2010.
Note: The novels were part of Microsoft franchise-expansion project headed by Microsoft Development Team (now known as 343i) since 2001, and Bungie was a passive party throughout the course of the project, whose roles were to supervise and provide suggestions to improve content.[3][4]
Microsoft-canon (Tier 2)
Microsoft-canon, also known as 343i-canon, is the continuity/expanded project of the Halo Universe. 343i, approved by Microsoft, would be the primary source under Microsoft-canon and anything released by them will be considered as official canon. Anything created by Microsoft and its affiliates would have been considered as being approved automatically by Bungie, thus making them canon.
Under Microsoft-canon, it would have a secondary canon hierarchy; the games would be superior, followed by the novels, other literatures, the marketing campaigns and other promotional items, in that exact order. Because Halo is essentially a game franchise, game titles would be the superior source of canon in each category.

Bungie-canon (Tier I)

↓

Microsoft/343i-canon (Tier II)
343i games

↓↓

Novels

↓↓

Comics and other media

↓↓

Marketing content

What are the sources for Halo Canon?

Below is a simple list of sources that are sources of Halo canon, and thus any material from these sources is content that can and should be added to Halopedia:

Notes

  1. ^ Halo Graphic Novel was a stand-alone project led by the Art Team of Bungie Studios with the approval of Microsoft and publishing support of Marvel. With the success of HGN, Microsoft soon took charge over Bungie and played an active role in the literature project

Sources

  1. ^ IGN: Beyond the Ring: Bungie's Renegade Development of Halo's Fiction (Joseph Staten: ""Bungie was maintaining creative oversight over all these initiatives -- we really did have a lot of control over what stories got told. Historically, over the decade of Halo storytelling, Bungie would maintain creative ownership and direction of these various projects." ")
  2. ^ Halo Graphic Novel, Editor's Notes
  3. ^ IGN: Beyond the Ring: Bungie's Renegade Development of Halo's Fiction (Frank O'Connor: "It's pretty fair to say that the Fall of Reach novel was considered a Microsoft project rather than a Bungie project -- I don't think anyone would argue with that...")
  4. ^ IGN: Beyond the Ring: Bungie's Renegade Development of Halo's Fiction (Joseph Staten: "We wanted to, as a studio, stay focused on making great games. The novels were great [for Bungie] because we knew we had created this universe that had the possibility for lots of different stories. But we, Bungie, simply didn't have the bandwidth, and honestly the talent, necessarily, to do things like novels or comic books, et cetera.")

See also

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