Bungie working on a new Marathon game

[Bridget]

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=474970

[Crater Creator]

Project codename Destiny? Would Bungie be that obvious? I'm in danger of geeking out here.

[Bridget]

Project codename Destiny? Would Bungie be that obvious? I'm in danger of geeking out here.

No, Destiny is a different game. Destiny is an MMOFPS.

Basically, Bungie's contract with Activision allows Bungie to maintain a skeleton crew (5% of their workforce) working on a new Marathon, while most of their staff works on Destiny. Once Destiny is released and makes a certain amount of profit for Activision, Bungie will be allowed to add more of their workforce to the Marathon project. As Destiny reaches more profit milestones, more staff can be added to the Marathon project.

A good guess is that Bungie is aiming for a December 2014 release for the new Marathon, that date being the 20th anniversary of the series.

[thermoplyae]

to save anyone else the trouble, 8.3.ii-v and 8.4.c.2 of the contract are the parts that mention mararthon.

[Dugit]

This.

This pleases me.

[listener]

About time...

The only question i have is does it say what system it's on?

[Mavrik]

Boner, anyone?

[ODST276]

That can't be right!!! well, mabye so... Bungie said something about it...

Okay, after being confirmed that it is, I don't care about this Destiny game yet... They better get more people working on Marathon!

...Although, it also scares me. I'd rather not have Marathon ruined, and they also haven't made a sequal to gnop yet. Mabye it will work out.

[VikingBoyBilly]

I hope they keep the low percentage of their work force working on it. Any higher than 5% and it runs the risk of being ruined by the big budget modern gaming disease and turn into another Doom 3.

[ODST276]

I hope they keep the low percentage of their work force working on it. Any higher than 5% and it runs the risk of being ruined by the big budget modern gaming disease and turn into another Doom 3.

You know... your right. I didn't think about that. That would be the last thing I want.

[Crater Creator]

I hope they keep the low percentage of their work force working on it. Any higher than 5% and it runs the risk of being ruined by the big budget modern gaming disease and turn into another Doom 3.

On the other hand, you need enough people working on it to get it done before technology and the rest of the industry outpace you. If they miss the mark for several years and thus can't expand the team size, we could be looking at a Duke Nukem Forever situation. I actually did enjoy DNF, but it's a tortuous process for both the devs and the fans.

[philtron]

On the other hand, you need enough people working on it to get it done before technology and the rest of the industry outpace you.

Not if they make it as a 2.5D shooter again.

[Zott]

In the grip of Activision or any major studio of today, I fear for the DLC that will knowingly accompany it.

Yellow Marine Skin: $1
3 New Maps, including classic favorite Thunderdome: $5
Map editor: $10
etc.

Though I am positive of its announcement. As VikingBoyBilly mentions, the 5% workforce gives me hope of a small team feel, with potential (graphical and sound) resources of a big company.

[Destiny]

Hurray!!! I didn't actually know about this new project, but I did know about the MMOFPS. I can't wait for this new Marathon!

[patrick]

I'd rather have Mararthon ruined

The community has done her part; it is meet to allow Ray the deathblow.


[attachment=5647:freitod.jpg]

[ODST276]

The community has done her part; it is meet to allow Ray the deathblow.
[attachment=5647:freitod.jpg]

..did you deliberately misquote me... or was it just a typo...

[philtron]

My last reply didn't get posted. So here goes another try.

Am I the only one that has a bad feeling about this? I mean, how many members of Chicago Bungie are still around in Washington? Jason Jones and who else? Robert McLees? Without more of the original team, especially without Greg Kirkpatrick working on the story and level design, I don't think it can be legitimately considered a Marathon game.

[Nobody1707]

A new Marathon game, and it's going to get a small dedicated team that will only get a bit bigger as they sell Destiny? FUCK YEAH!

I am now pumped up enough to try and write a modern renderer that can handle 5D space.

I will probably never be pumped up enough to try and mess with the actual Aleph One source code though. While it clearly has improved in both quality and clarity in the hands of Treellama, it is still a Lovecraftian horror of spaghetti, it's code twisting in on itself in horrible ways that man was not meant wot of.

Treellama, you are among the greatest of men and I salute your courage.

[$lave]

Am I the only one that has a bad feeling about this? I mean, how many members of Chicago Bungie are still around in Washington? Jason Jones and who else? Robert McLees? Without more of the original team, especially without Greg Kirkpatrick working on the story and level design, I don't think it can be legitimately considered a Marathon game.

I'm not sure how worried I am about level design, seeing as how a lot of the level design in the original trilogy is pretty average. Not that there weren't any standouts (I love pretty much everything ydnar touched), but overall I don't think Bungie would release a game with level design below Marathon's standards.

As far as the plot and storytelling go, who knows. I can't imagine a Marathon game with new writers feeling like it isn't some kind of fan-made sequel. I'm also not sure how exactly a new Marathon game could be made to really feel like a new marathon game. Would a Marathon game really feel like Marathon if you could actually interact with NPCs, and with dialogue occurring outside of terminals?

I wouldn't say I have a "bad" feeling about it, I would expect a new Marathon game to still be a good game. I'm just not sure if I could expect it to really feel like a part of the same series.

[infwaffle]

Well, they tried re releasing the original style and story before with marathon 2 on the xbox, but the thing is people now are too stupid to understand what it is. They all think A. it's halo, B. it's all straight forward and linear and C. it's the first thing and that it's the entire story instead of a sequel in a trilogy. So if they try to make the original story and such then it'll probably be very different and possibly (to my horror) simplified for the modern people. If it's a new story then something will still likely be changed. It's not exactly a bad idea to change a bit as long as it's not to far off path and bad when it comes out. Therefore I just hope there are no stupid tutorials, hand holding missions, generic, boring, or cliche plots, or any thing else that might just ruin the name of Marathon. For now they have my trust though.

[infwaffle]

I think you're missing the point as well as your capacity for correct grammar. I don't mind a short tutorial as long as it's good and makes sense. However, I think the best tutorials are optional ones. I liked the way splinter cell had interactive videos that you could access in the menus, and in the game whenever it would be relevant (i.e the first time you see a switch out of reach, an option to play a vid explaining that you can shoot the switch without ruining a potential puzzle or hazard later and also not during a moment where it would be completely useless). A bad one would be say for most modern games where every time something changes or you do something it has to put in front of your face things you already know and nag you about other things. (this is where you need to go! Press the button that appears on the screen anyways to perform this obvious task! Stop! we haven't told you how to reload or flip a switch for the seventh time yet, so we're going to break your legs and force you to sit there until you do it even if you don't have to!) I also don't like how most games now give you false objectives. They'll say something that will either be meaningful, or completely stupid, that should require multiple steps, or actual work, but really all it happens to be is something like, go from point A to point B, open this door, do this, do that. Basically the hand holding where you shouldn't need to be told somethings.

[interion]

I also don't like how most games now give you false objectives. They'll say something that will either be meaningful, or completely stupid, that should require multiple steps, or actual work, but really all it happens to be is something like, go from point A to point B, open this door, do this, do that. Basically the hand holding where you shouldn't need to be told somethings.

I hate it when games do that. They're all like activate the automated defense systems!, disable the computer core, or retrieve information about an ancient alien splinter sect and establish communications but as the player all you're really doing is running around pushing buttons. Sure, sometimes there are enemies you can kill, but even those are generally optional objectives which you really have to exterminate to progress to the next level.

The only modern game that really seems to really understand how to create a complex system of objectives and interactions without holding the player's hands is Alepha Protocol.

But really, Bungie should just create high-res weapons and monsters for Phoenix and ship that as Marathon 4.

Truthfully, I wish they'd just make a new scenario using the existing tools. Retro is in right now.

[gmanyo]

Does anyone else here think a new Marathon game is a bad idea? Not even because they might ruin it but because why on Earth do we need a new Marathon game?

[infwaffle]

Does anyone else here think a new Marathon game is a bad idea? Not even because they might ruin it but because why on Earth do we need a new Marathon game?

We don't! The thing is we're just hoping that since they are, we can have fun blowing things up in epic carnage with good game play and story build up in a new game.

[philtron]

I'm not sure how worried I am about level design, seeing as how a lot of the level design in the original trilogy is pretty average. Not that there weren't any standouts (I love pretty much everything ydnar touched), but overall I don't think Bungie would release a game with level design below Marathon's standards.

Yeah, Marathon 1 and 2 have maps that range from mediocre to average, with Marathon 2 having a few interesting maps. But in my opinion, Marathon Infinity has some of the best visual, architectural, and general level design I've seen in an FPS, and the way story is told through non-verbal level design is far and above what most games accomplish. And I'm taking into consideration all those modern, visually cluttered, spatially messy, pointlessly realistic FPSs.

Would Bungie release a game with anything below Marathon's standards? No of course not. But Bungie isn't Bungie anymore. You can see the difference between Chicago Bungie and Washington Bungie just by looking at Halo: CE and then comparing it to every Halo game since.

Anyway. On the one hand I am super excited about a new Marathon game. I'm so excited that I'm placing this weird emoticon . What is that supposed to be he's holding? Pepper spray? And what's with the elf hat? Does this guy work in Santa's workshop? I don't know. This rocket launcher guy is cool though:

But on the other hand I'm also dreading the possibility that a new game will fall flat and sour my memories by association.