The Halo Wars website points you towards a developer diary written by Bill Jackson, one of Ensemble’s crew at the Leipzig Games Convention in Germany - it can give you a sense of how those guys are spending a typical day at the convention, and how Halo Wars is being received. (While you’re there, you can see a short piece on the new box art unveiled yesterday.) Update: Looks like there are three new screenshots of the game over at TeamXbox, as well.
(Louis Wu 10:38:04 +0000)

The Escapist has a short article up on methods to combat various forms of motion sickness sometimes related to video gaming.

Bungie fans will recall some of the problems fans had with the XBLA version of Marathon:Durandal that caused motion sickness in some players. It was speculated that the problems were related to the field of vision and framerates being different between computers from the era in which M:D was originally developed and the Xbox 360.

In short, the suggestions are: sit further from the display, have some ginger, and just grin and bear it– the effect can lessen with time.

Halo.fr’s Johnny Be Good let us know that Sirkan (a staff member of the site) went to visit Bungie Studios in early August - there’s a writeup and a bunch of pictures of the lobby on the Halo.fr blog. I’m told an English translation is coming soon.(Louis Wu 12:51:51 +0000)

We got writeups from both TruthPastor SBG and NAMLOCO SBC about the SBG BTB Tourney Semifinals - Saved by Grace was victorious over the Swat Krue, and Tied the Leader beat Outcast Reborn, so these two teams (SBG and TTL) will meet in the upcoming finals. If you want to watch the SBG matches, they’re in NAMLOCO’s fileshare (dated August 19). The TTL games are in TTL Gilthanis’ fileshare (same date). Close matches, good games… and the showdown will take place at the TTL Labor Day LAN in Chicago! Good luck to both teams.(Louis Wu 13:25:01 +0000)

Taco Power was asked by a friend for a song to use in a university project demonstrating modern ballet - the end result mixed ‘Halo’ and ‘The Siege of Madrigal’. The dancers are amateurs - but it’s pretty cool to see Halo used in this context!(Louis Wu 13:23:37 +0000)

uralllame was inspired by an anti-piracy clip on a DVD he was watching to create his own version for modded Halo content. Go watch it - it might not change your mind, but it’s cute. Thanks, Dragoncoals.(Louis Wu 11:49:27 +0000)

The Bungie Weekly Update is online over at Bungie.net (and in our Weekly Update Archive) - it’s actually a pretty interesting read, this week. Lots of info about what’s coming in September (and, unfortunately, what’s not), plus teasers about PAX and Bungie’s showing there. Swing by! Looks like Mid7night was first. (The September changes actually go into effect on the 16th, but Green Day didn’t write anything about the middle of the month.)(Louis Wu 00:17:07 +0000)

We mentioned a caption contest a few weeks ago, in which the prize was a Halo poster. Zach tells us it’s been won, and the prize delivered - you can read the details on his site.
(Louis Wu 14:13:47 +0000)

Six new pieces are up for you in the Fan Fiction section. I didn’t think I needed to keep saying this, so many years down the road, but… 1) this is a Halo Fan Fiction collection - if you submit non-Halo material, it will be deleted, and 2) if you submit a story with no punctuation and atrocious spelling, it will be deleted (you can read the rationale in the Submission Guidelines). Don’t waste your time (and mine) - follow the (basic) rules!(Louis Wu 14:07:18 +0000)

Hawty McBloggy noticed a Halo 3-themed custom Guitar Hero controller on eBay - current bid is $26, with five and a half days to go. Rock out as the Master Chief!
(Louis Wu 13:54:24 +0000)