|
Marathon's Story Page
|
|
Marathon's Story Page
|
|
This Day in Marathon.
Day #585. It's sketchy Friday! We've got sketches. First up. A series of sketches by newjabes on the Alright Runners™ Discord showing how his M30 Art Competition entry evolved.  Marathon Runner M30 Art Competition sketch by newjabes on the Alright Runners™ Discord. December 19, 2024.  Marathon Runner M30 Art Competition sketch by newjabes on the Alright Runners™ Discord. December 19, 2024. And color sketch to final entry.
In this series of sketches Neite shows us the original intent for his M30 Art Competition entry. A soul (or life) stealing Tau Ceti Artifact.  Artifact sketch by Neite on the Marathon Discord. December 13, 2024. Neite gives the image perspective with a corridor and compiler.  Artifact sketch by Neite on the Marathon Discord. December 18, 2024. The final M30 Competition entry was entitled The Artifact Incident.  The Artifact Incident M30 Art Competition entry by Neite on the Alright Runners™ Discord. December 18, 2024. Without knowing the original intent it might be hard to discern what is actually going on in the final image. Last up. Onions shows us the original sketch for what would become his M30 Art Competition entry.
Happy sketchy Friday. Stay sketchy. |
|
This Day in Marathon.
Day #584. Like Santa Claus, Bungie's Marathon Game Team know who have been naughty or nice in 2024. They see you when you're sleepingApparently, if you were good then you got a Christmas Card.  Marathon Christmas Card front posted by Skarrow9 (@Skarrow9) on x.com. December 23, 2024.  Marathon Christmas Card back posted by Skarrow9 (@Skarrow9) on x.com. December 23, 2024. So if you didn't get a Christmas Card from the Marathon Game Team then... ...check your mailbox again!  Somewhere in Iowa. |
|
This Day in Marathon.
Day #583. Where do Bungie characters spend Christmas Day? Why at Bungie's Mos Eisley of course.  Bungie's Mos Eisley by biodude2 on DeviantArt.July 1, 2023. Bungie's Mos Eisley is by Yael Rojas, a game developer fron Mexico, he goes by many names that keeping track of them isn't easy. Now I know what you are thinking... that's not Christmassy! But bear with me. Yael writes: "A crossover piece featuring characters from games made by Bungie. This piece takes inspiration in their Xmas posters and anniversary posters through the years. I tried to go for the 90's anime style using postprocessing and cell shading rendering."So this piece was inspired by Bungie's Xmas posters. But the real reason this is so Christmassy is that it is a party game. The aim is to name as many Bungie characters as you can in the image. Good luck! As is the tradition General-RADIX has created a new piece of Marathon-inspired Christmas art. This year it is Cortana (of the Letters).  Merry Christmas 2024 by General-RADIX on tumblr. December 24, 2024 It is a blurred line that lies at the edge of Godhood and Insanity. Guess which side of it I am on. Here is General-RADIX's past Marathon-inspired Christmas art. 2023Check out General-RADIX's artwork on DeviantArt and tumblr . Merry Christmas. |
|
|
|
This Day in Marathon.
Day #582. not a creature was stirring, not even a S'pht. 'Cause... now I have a machine gun HO... HO... HO.   And to get you into that festive Marathon spirit here are some cool yule tidings from ghosts of Christmas past: President People's The Twelve Days of CRISTmas (V2). |
|
This Day in Marathon.
Day #581. The winner of Alright Runners™ Discord 30th Anniversary Marathon Art Contest was cursed. No not cursed... cursed (@zrtds.com) on bluesky.  M30 contest winning art by cursed (@zrtds.com) on Alright Runners™ Discord. December 20, 2024. Folks on the discord really liked the fresh color scheme, contrasting colors and abstract theme. I am getting a strong Whiteout comic vibe from this piece. To evoke a whiteout look in the Whiteout comic series artist Steve Lieber created panels of artwork where the characters were partially obscured by white space. The comic series went on to inspire the 2009 film 'Whiteout' with Kate Beckinsale. Other entries in the M30 competition that caught my attention were. 30 years of Marathon by Onions.  M30 contest entry by Onions on Alright Runners™ Discord. December 19, 2024. Would make a great comic book cover. Mjolnir Recon 54 with Mecha/Runner upgrades. Tom Cruise, Edge of Tomorrow stuff. Live. Die. Repeat. So Marathon. But will he or won't he crush that Pfhor skull? Sebastian Gutierrez, a concept artist, entered some of his NovaLink concept art into the M30 competition. In NovaLink, Runners search the abandoned Link Stations for the long-lost cargo system known as NovaLink which may lead to undiscovered sectors on Tau Ceti.  M30 contest entry by Sebastian Gutierrez (aka Seb) on Alright Runners™ Discord. December 14, 2024. Sebastian trained in automotive/industrial design which explains the powerful image above. That's one big train! Reminds of the train in John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars. Perhaps that is why the UESC brought it to Tau Ceti. gog entered his Tau Ceti painting in the M30 competition.  Tau Ceti by gog on Alright Runners™ Discord. December 19, 2024. Just refreshingly different to see this medium used. Feel that texture! |
|
This Day in Marathon.
Day #580. AlexB207 (@AlexB207Swag) celebrated Marathon's 30th birthday in style with this piece of artwork.  Marathon 30th Anniversary by AlexB207 (@AlexB207Swag) on x.com. December 21, 2024. It nicely captures the feel of the original Marathon games while giving it a passing nod to NuMarathon. He also did alt versions. As you do.
Alex entered his artwork into the Alright Runners™ Discord 30th Anniversary Marathon Art Contest. QuickeningHeroes (@QuickeningHeros) created this 30th anniversary piece.  Marathon 30th Anniversary by QuickeningHeroes (@QuickeningHeros) on x.com. December 21, 2024. Has a transcendence vibe going on as the player reaches for the stars to become... Destiny? Andres Bravo (@andresbravo2003) gives us Marathon 30th Anniversary wallpaper.  Marathon 30th Anniversary wallpaper by Andres Bravo on tumblr. December 21, 2024. Yael Rojas (aka 810-Dude, aka biodude2, aka i520Dude), a man of many akas apparently, gives us Marathon 30th Anniversary art in his own inimitable style.  Marathon 30th Anniversary by Yael Rojas (aka 810-Dude) on r/marathon. December 21, 2024. T-R-O-U-B-L-E Our hero surrounded? Or perhaps they are just wishing him Happy Birthday! Hugs All Around? Yeah right! |
|
This Day in Marathon.
Day #579. Happy 30th Birthday... Marathon.  Yes folks, Marathon was released 30 years ago today. From last polygon filled on Saturday 17 to... at the duplicators on Monday 19 to... shipping on Wednesday 21. To accomplish this feat of apparent temporal magic Bungie shipped the first 1000 games without boxes!  Jason Jones explained why in an eWorld Conference held in January 1995: We shipped a bunch of flat packs (no boxes) to MacWarehouse before Christmas because we decided it would be better to send them 1k flat packs than 100 with boxes. I hope everyone agrees (same thing for Macworld SF) ... I'm just sorry we didn't include a note to that effect in the package, as I think a lot of people would have liked to be given a reason for not getting a box.However some people did get a note. It read: We knew the importance of sending Marathon off to you in time for the Holiday season. However, the manufacturer could not deliver the product to us in time, in its usual packaging. Therefore, we are sending you the complete Marathon package (diskettes and manual) without the box. We feel that having Marathon in your hand in time for the Holidays will make this trade-off worthwile.The Marathon manual and the 4 diskettes neatly tucked away in the back.  The rest they say is history. Total Carnage ensued.  Happy 30th Birthday... Marathon. |
|
This Day in Marathon.
Day #578. It's sketchy Friday! We've got sketches. Up first we have Onions on the Alright Runners™ Discord with some sound advice. Always carry a little sketch book around.Inspiration can hit at any moment... like dishwashers.
Now you might have noticed the reference to "BOOBS" in these images. An attempt at 'college frat house' humor perhaps? No sir. Onions did a nude Runner sketch! Onions writes: Some nudity but it's TASTEFUL.  No doubt if he had entered this into the 30th Anniversary Marathon Art Contest he would win hands down. But I digress. Up next... Action Johnson!  This piece dates back to 2008 and is by jeffg on the Pfhorums. While your attention is drawn to the center fight scene check out this nicely executed part.  Is that Juggernaut about to go... BOOM! jeffg would go on to create a colored version of the Juggernaut sketch but the Pfhor fighter is missing.  BOOBS and JUGS! What else would you need on sketchy Friday. Stay sketchy. Marathoners Anonymous would like to point out that if you feel traumatized by the 'college frat house' humor on the Story page, the frequent sexual 'mom' jokes and the sexualization of your favorite Marathon characters then there is a seat here for you... but NOT beside Hamish.  |
|
This Day in Marathon.
Day #577. Time to play Marathon. Spaceface Mcgee played Marathon and got...THIS!  Spaceface Mcgee went on to add. Trust me, I've read all of those.Your mileage may differ.  preparing for Marathon Infinity posted by Eva (@iso_didacta) on x.com. October 21, 2024. Others opt for more lighter reading material.
I am still waiting for the third book in the series: Yoo are Destiny, Charlie Brown. It will have all the answers apparently. Others only need to know one thing... |
|
This Day in Marathon.
Day #576. Rumbled. This made me chuckle.  Burner account? Cue Jason Bourne soundtrack. neto over on the Alright Runners™ Discord has been doing some nice wallpapers/posters using existing concept art but mixing it up with blends and filters. Here are a few. These are BIG files... so click with care! 
Marathon Runner by neto on Alright Runners™ Discord. October 16, 2024.
Up next. Somewhere In The Heavens... 
Somewhere in the Heavens by neto on Alright Runners™ Discord. October 10, 2024.
Now the question is... Somewhere In The Heavens... They Are WaitingWhen Bungie announced Marathon back in May 2023 they actually used both. Did you spot it? The shorter version In The Heavens... They Are Waiting was featured on a terminal in the Announcement trailer:
And also throughout the Marathon ARG. For example in the acronym ITHTAW. Yet the Marathon ViDoc was entitled Somewhere In The Heavens. Of course this breaking with tradition meant that Bungie broke the... Seven Word Rule. Somewhere In The Heavens... They Are WaitingBreaking the Seven Word Rule has consequences... |
|
This Day in Marathon.
Day #575. Happy Last Polygon Filled Day. Pfhor more days until game release. Pfhor more days until the 30th anniversary. Pfhor more days until you will need a Bigger Gun. 
Bigger Guns Nearby by Nathan Anderson (aka Deimos-Remus) on DeviantArt. October 5, 2010.
This iconic look of Mjolnir Recon 54 complete with trusty M.75 Assault Rifle is by Nathan J Anderson (aka Deimos-Remus). Nathan is a Michigan-based illustrator, concept artist, designer and big Marathon fan. He writes: I finally did a good Marathon piece that I think conveys the eerie atmosphere the original games had. I haven't even done a finished Marathon piece in what seems like ages!This Marathon art is over 14 years old but good art never ages, it become a classic. Still broodingly powerful today as it was back then. Nathan's brother Neal D. Anderson (aka Phobos-Romulus) created this iconic look of Mjolnir Recon 54 again with trusty M.75 Assault Rifle. 
Claustrophobia by Neal D Anderson (aka Phobos-Romulus) on DeviantArt. August 21, 2009.
Entitled Claustrophobia, Neal writes: The Cyborg walking through a very narrow corridor aboard the Marathon.This piece predates his brother's piece by just over a year. It nicely captures that claustrophobic feel Marathon has as you progress through the game. But what about their sister? Nathan Anderson and Neal Anderson have a sister, she's an artist and a Marathon fan. Now your probably thinking Durandal, Tycho and Leela. And it's only Pfhor more days until... |
|
This Day in Marathon.
Day #574. An icon for a new generation? You are Fork. 
Fork by RandomDude on Alright Runners™ Discord. October 17, 2024.
Fork is by RandomDude on the Alright Runners™ Discord channel. It's a parody on Bungie's Halloween Runner Mask from Destiny 2's Festival of the Lost 2024. We featured it back on October 10, 2024.  The Runner Mask has a plastic blue fork taped to the helmet. No surprise really, the fork is an essential Marathon EDC (Every Day Carry) item. I mean, you never know when you will need to... Eat the Path. Right? Always carry a fork! But I digress. Alright Runners™ boasts an over 18s OnlyForks section. You know... videos, pictures and the like. Here's one by the legend they call... vslvsk Watch out for the climactic ending. We featured vslvsk's First Contact // Embrace the Forklore back on October 24, 2024.  First Contact // Embrace the Forklore by vslvsk on Marathon Discord. October 16, 2024. Got Fork? |
|
This Day in Marathon.
Day #573. And now back to Marathon. PRESS ⓧ TO PLAY Mart Bach, a self declared "normal dude who enjoys playing Destiny 2 daily", created a professional looking Marathon intro movie last year. Mart, who hails from Australia, writes: Bungie's next PVP first-person shooter video game to be released in 2025, short fan made title screen, made by myself in Abode Premiere Pro 2023.What is odd about this piece is that while Mart used NuMarathon images he still used the original Marathon symbol.   Given his attention to detail I can only imagine that this was deliberate. Given his attention to detail I can only imagine that this was intentional. You can check out his other work on his YouTube channel. |
|
This Day in Marathon.
Day #572. Last polygon filled 6:05 PM Saturday, December 14.Happy Last Polygon Filled Day... err NO. December 14th was a Wednesday in 1994.  Marathon Soyjak stolen from @SIRDOBLEDAS. It's a simply mistake made by really tired developers. Marathon is finished. We've slept <10 hours over the lastIt's no surprise that they got the date wrong. A small team of only seven highly motivated but overworked people made Marathon with a little help from Tuncer Deniz (uncredited).
It's also no surprise that some But I digress. No one knows where the last filled polygon is but it wasn't filled 30 years ago today. It was actually filled on Saturday, December 17. Here is the last level in Marathon with a secret message from Jason Jones to Greg Kirkpatrick.  The map writing was viewed using Pfhorte 1.0d11 back in April 1995 when Marathon fans developed the technology to edit Marathon maps.  Jason Jones (right), Luke Smith (left) | Image courtesy Bungie. |
|
This Day in Marathon.
Day #571. On no! It's Friday the 13th. It's also sketchy Friday. It's also Happy Official Marathon World Wide Web Site Day. On this day 30 years ago Bungie Software and Group Cortex, a Philadelphia based ISP, announced the opening of the official website for Marathon.  Find out why Bungie dipped their toe into the World Wide Web and then pulled it out almost immediately on the Blasts from the Past section. Now back to those sketches. First up... AlexB207 (@AlexB207Swag) writes: working on something for a certain anniversary 
Marathon (work in progress) by AlexB207 (@AlexB207Swag) on x.com. December 11, 2024.
I wonder if it is linked to THIS! 
30th Anniversary Marathon Art Contest posted by Jake Carr (@JakeTheAlright) on x.com. December 11, 2024.
Jake Carr (@JakeTheAlright), Youtube Marathon Guy, is running a 30th Anniversary Marathon Art Contest on his Discord channel. Vote once, vote often. Jake is also going to be streaming for 30 hours straight to celebrate Marathon turning 30 years. 30 hours straight!!! You can check out the details on his website for the event. The great and the good will be there. But back to those sketches. Invasion of the BOB Snatchers (2878). 
Invasion of the BOB Snatchers (2878) by HARVESTER (@HARVESTER_KEF) on x.com. December 1, 2024.
Inspired by the 1978 remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers staring Donald Sutherland, HARVESTER (@HARVESTER_KEF) gives us Invasion of the BOB Snatchers (2878). Here are two work in progress pics.
Last up... Time makes a difference. 
Marathon 2007 and 2016 by Nathan Anderson (@deimosremus) on x.com. June 5, 2020.
Nathan Anderson (@deimosremus) writes: Saw something going around where you compare your work from early high school to your current work. Cheating a little, none of these are 2020 works, but thought it'd be fun comparing the same exact subjects/characters, but 10 or more years apart.Happy sketchy Friday. Stay sketchy. |
|
This Day in Marathon.
Day #570. This concept art caught my attention. 
Future armor by Ryan Pallett (@pallett_ryan) on x.com. February 9, 2024.
It's by Ryan Pallett (@pallett_ryan) a concept artist in Los Angeles. Ryan writes: Future armorThe last image in this 'evolution' reminds me of how the technology of the S'pht'Kr had evolved to create Powered Armor.  The Elite Guard of the Ruling Family of the S'pht'Kr were equipped with this powered armor. The frail forms of the S'pht'Kr were now encased within molecularly aligned ceramic armor.  The S'pht clans that were left on Lh'owon were captured by the Pfhor...  ...and genetically engineered to become the ubiquitous compiler. 
Torture by Craig Mullins on The Marathon Art of Craig Mullins section.
Ryan Pallett did another piece called Consulting the Oracle. 
Consulting the Oracle by Ryan Pallett (@pallett_ryan) on x.com. February 29, 2024.
Perhaps in another timeline far, far away Durandal, attended by his further genetically engineered S'pht, dispenses words of wisdom to the faithful as the... Oracle. Mjolnir Recon 54 is briefed on his next mission. So much for... You are Destiny! But I digress. |
|
This Day in Marathon.
Day #569. Happy Carnage Soccer Day. This day 28 years ago Double Aught released Carnage Soccer.  A completely different kind of Marathon Carnage, so ran the tag line. It was as if the universe had forgotten its own rules.You could download Carnage Soccer for free from Double Aught's Hastur's Workshop in the Making a Good Netmap section.  The Carnage Soccer Read Me cryptically stated: There are only 2 ways to die. Nobody can ever get a kill. You'll see.Carnage Soccer would later be bundled in Double Aught's [coriolis loop] in two flavors.  Announcing the free netmap pack on alt.games.marathon Greg Kirkpatrick (Double Aught) wrote: Coriolis Loop: The Double Aught Netmap PackChris Geisel (Double Aught) would later add: i'm a little biased, but i think the 'coriolis loop' netmap pack that we put out is a pretty good collection of maps--especially ydnar's 'reason with the sky', emonkey's 'sybau', and as a between game cool-down, there's nothing quite like toolboi's 'carnage soccer'.Carnage Soccer has that schoolyard edginess to it. Maybe everyone had eaten cereal with milk that was about to go bad...But that's a story for another day. Today is Happy Carnage Soccer Day. Got milk? 
FCAW by SIR DOUBLE D on x.com. May 25, 2023.
|
|
This Day in Marathon.
Day #568. SHO-DURANDAL  SHO-DURANDAL by Agent-G245 on DeviantArt.June 28, 2015. This blending/merging of SHODAN (System Shock, 1994) and Durandal (Marathon, 1994) is by Agent-G245 on DeviantArt. Both games are 30 years old this year. Agent-G245 writes: Everyone knows that SHODAN, no matter how hard she tries, can never compare to the cold, calculating and always predicting attitude of Durandal. There's no shipping here, SHODAN never once cared for any sort of love...unless you count her androids or something. I will be keeping spoilers on the quiet, though, for those who haven't been reading up. I couldn't really get the high-tech details I wanted to add, like what you'd see on a terminal in Marathon. Still pretty powerful.He went on to create a special effects version.  SHO-DURANDAL (special effects) by Agent-G245 on DeviantArt.June 28, 2015. System Shock was remade and released for Windows on May 30, 2023 a few days after the Marathon Announcement and in time for its 30th anniversary. The game was ported to PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on 21 May 2024. Planned ports for Linux and macOS were cancelled in May 2024. The whole SHODAN look remides me of this sci-fi FUI animation entitled Exodus-12 by Quint Blanche on ArtStation. Quint writes: Wanted to play around with after effects and see if I could tell a story through some UI. Best watched with sound ON as it's timed to the incredible Heavy Metal by Justice. Inspired by Bungie's Marathon.There is a lot going on in this short movie so it worth taking a close look. // WE1COM3 HOME // Jason Jones (right), Luke Smith (left) | Image courtesy Bungie. |
|
This Day in Marathon.
Day #567. Before Marathon on Steam people played Marathon. Hard to believe right? They even went online and posted about their experiences. This is just one that caught my attention. It's by Stupac (@stupac13) from last year and features a nice screenshot collage from a pivotal point in Marathon Infinity.
Stupac wrote: Marathon Infinity is darker, more cryptic, and more cerebral than the fairly straightforward (for a Marathon game) Marathon 2. No telling where all this is going. Never thought I'd say this, but I miss that crazy bastard Durandal.The point about missing Durandal is well made because at this point in the game (the end of Rage) we never see Durandal again. Sure we get the reborn Durandal-S'pht entity but not the old Durandal we all love. Well maybe not everyone.  I'm Back by juzo-kun on tumblr. July 16, 2017. |
|
This Day in Marathon.
Day #566. This is a good one. b.o.b by therealquenny (aka Paz) on tumblr. November 27, 2024. Made me chuckle anyway. It's by therealquenny (aka Paz) on tumblr. Of course Durandal did warn us on Hang Brain. Contents under pressure? Do not expose to excessive heat, vacuum, blunt trauma, immersion in liquids, disintegration, reintegration, hypersleep, humiliation, sorrow or harsh language?Frog Blast The Vent Core is obviously harsh language. According to the Bungie Webmaster back in 1996: "Frog Blast The Vent Core!" is actually the punchline to a really dirty joke. Those of you out there who've heard it will know why we can't print it here.Predictably this lead to the Frog Blast The Vent Core Joke Contest where fans had to submit a joke to the Bungie Webmaster with the punchline "Frog Blast The Vent Core". The winner of the contest received a copy of Marathon Infinity for their pain. The "really dirty joke" was eventually documented in the original 700 page Marathon Scrapbook. Unfortunately that version was drastically cut by the editor to make it fit inside the Trilogy box.  A cover story was hastily concocted to placate Marathon fans.  Reflection of Self. Doug Zartman portrait. The superslim Marathon Scrapbook now fitted inside the Marathon Trilogy Box.  Marathon Trilogy Box Set, 1997. A little black number was the 90s marketing parlance for the iconic black monolith style Trilogy Box design.  Others point to the moon and say... there!  Frog Blast The Vent Core. |
|
This Day in Marathon.
Day #565. And now for something completely different.  Pat Pat (artist unknown) posted by Spaceface Mcgee on Marathon Discord. September 14, 2019 This made the Story page's Freak List back in 2019. Now don't get me wrong, being on the Freak List is not a BAD thing, it's a GOOD thing. It made me look not once, not twice, but thrice! It made me go... WTF and stare! The artist of this piece is unknown but it was commissioned (of a sorts) by Spaceface Mcgee on a 4chan Drawthread. Spaceface Mcgee writes: Who wants to see art of Mr. Marathon holding a decapitated Loli head?Be careful of what you wish for on 4chan. In fact Spaceface Mcgee ended up with two versions.  Pat Pat (artist unknown) posted by Spaceface Mcgee on Marathon Discord. September 14, 2019 In this one Mr. Marathon is even smiling. And now you are like Daniel Kaluuya in the 2022 American science fiction horror film... Nope.  What has been seen cannot be unseen. Well there is a Mature content rating at the top of the page. If you have experienced trauma while reading the Marathon's Story page then Marathoners Anonymous is here to help you. We have a seat here for you... beside Hamish. |
|
This Day in Marathon.
Day #564. It's sketchy Friday. We've got sketches. First up... NuMarathon doodle by AlexB207 (@AlexB207Swag) on X.  Nu-Marathon helmet by AlexB207 (@AlexB207Swag) on x.com. November 29, 2024 Alex writes: nu-marathon helmet doodle to practice drawing nu-marathon stuffOn the flip side Matrix_XV gives us Mr. Marathon.  Mr. Marathon by Matrix_XV on Marathon Discord. May 26, 2022 Up next... One of my favorite depictions of the Marathon's Security Officer is Juzo-kun's Bigger Guns Nearby image. We've featured it a number of times on the Story page. It's very true to the original design right up to the M.75 Assault Rifle (with the grenade option).  Bigger Guns Nearby by Juzo-kun on DeviantArt. December 27, 2004 Sure it is highly inaccurate at long range. So let them get REAL close and pull the trigger. How do you like them Apples? Since this is sketchy Friday here is a work in progress sketch of Juzo-kun's Bigger Guns Nearby.  Staying with everyone's favorite Italian Marathon artist Juzo-kun (aka Francesca) we give give you Yrro and Pthia.  Yrro and Pthia by Juzo-kun on tumblr. January 30, 2024 Juzo-kun writes: When I learned about Yrro in Marathon 2 and their plight to make the spht sentient via mechanization I thought that Yrro and the whole lot of the Jjaro might have been mechanical to have this kind of idea. Anyway, that's not in line with what developers told at the end, which is that Jjaro are humans.w'rkeysmash? Now that's a sketchy story. Happy sketchy Friday. Stay sketchy. |
|
This Day in Marathon.
Day #563. Happy Egghead Day! On this day 30 years ago MacWEEK published an article on Bungie's soon to be released game Marathon. It featured a never seen before alien with an egg-shaped head.  Marathon by Robert Hess in MacWeek. December 5, 1994. Caused quite a stir back in the day. Of course back in the 90s Bungie would give clamoring fans only one screenshot. Now 30 years on they give you two.
Progress of sorts. But I digress. Here's that 'eggheads' screenshot in all its glory.  Official Marathon screenshot from Marathon, Bungie 1994. It's from the level Fire! Fire! Fire! Fire! Fire! by Jason Jones and features the Trooper. Jay Faircloth nicely captured the transfixing horror of the Pfhor Trooper.  Reprisal by Jay Faircloth. Formerly at anaphiel.com. Call it an 'egghead' I dare you. Of course Mjolnir Recon 54 has no fear of Troopers  Blurred by Craig Mullins. See the Marathon Art of Craig Mullins. As the famous quote goes: How do you kill a man without fear?It was Double Aught's Greg Kirkpatrick who took the Trooper to the next level by giving it a higher rate of fire on the Marathon Infinity level Hang Brain. These 'super' Troopers will whittle down your shields in no time. On Hang Brain every step that you take could be your final one. According to Chris Geisel (Double Aught): Greg designed Hang Brain based on the M2 level, and it was intended to be a really tough one, where the player fought a battle on the upper levels while Bob made a desperate last stand in front of Durandal's core.If you failed to see Bob make a desperate last stand in front of Durandal's core you were probably running the opposite way. Happy Egghead Day! |
|
This Day in Marathon.
Day #562. BoB Wallpaper by Crater Creator.  BoB Wallpaper by Crater Creator on Pfhorums.November 11, 2013. Crater Creator writes: When the "Evolution of BoB" illustration came up recently, I wanted to see if it could work as part of a desktop image/wallpaper. What started as an exercise in enlarging an image while preserving its quality turned into its own composition, using some well-known images of BoB.The "Evolution of BoB" illustration is featured in the Marathon Infinity manual (see page 21). A color version was used for the Evolution of BoB T-Shirt sold by Bungie.  Bungie Store sale pic for the Evolution of BoB T-Shirt, 1996. It featured the three types of BoBs found in the Marathon Trilogy. Marathon Infinity's VacBob was created by DoubleAught artist David Longo.    Apart from having a vacuum suit he was packin' fusion power. Credit is enshrined in a Marathon Infinity terminal on Ne Cede Malis.  Since you will have trouble reading this the Pic Text section has you covered. Here's the text for those that don't click the link. Yeah... we know who YOU are! MARATHON INFIVACB 52796.COLIN ORIGINAL DESIGN: M. DAVID LONGO: GRATITUDE EXPRESSED TO GREG KIRKPATRICK RANDY THE SMARTY PANTS 1234567890 CHRIS GEISEL MORETEXT -QUITE A LOOSE OPERATION MARATHON RULES ALL PLAYERS RULE: ON TO THE FUTURE .;break ON TO THE FUTURE was a reference to Double Aught's next game.... Duality. But I digress. Doug Zartman (aka The Voice of BOB ) explained how he did the new VacBOB sounds in a long forgotten interview with Inside Mac Games:
"One of the differences with the BOB sounds on Infinity is that the BOBs are encased inside spacesuits with these big helmets on. So of course we had to make it sound unlike the BOBs who are running around in the open air. What we did eventually was buy some walkie-talkies and hook the mic up to one them and then I took the other one and walked clear across the office and recorded the BOB sounds into that preserving all that useful static." Yes folks, no expense spared at Bungie's Special Effects Department back in the day. |
|
This Day in Marathon.
Day #561. Escape will make me God. But will Remia Aotsuki escape?
The above images are by MiNUS (@MINUS_ax) on X and feature Remia Aotsuki as a Marathon-inspired Runner. Remia Aotsuki (@RemiaAotsuki) is a VTuber who plays Counter Strike 2 and numerous other games. The line Escape will make me God is of course from Durandal on the exit terminal of the Marathon level Colony Ship For Sale, Cheap. If you got through Colony Ship For Sale, Cheap by raising the seven pillars to the correct height then you are definitely in line for some sort of godhood status.  Colony Ship for Sale, Cheap by AlexB207 (@AlexB207Swag) on x.com. August 2, 2024. Jason Jones, the creator of this level, famously said: In Marathon 2, when I said that I hoped "All Roads Lead To Sol" atoned for the sins of "Colony Ship For Sale, Cheap!" I was serious. I can't believe anyone ever finished Marathon 1. I can't believe Greg didn't shoot me.When I spoke to him last year I reminded him of this fact. He simply... smiled. But I digress. Escape will make me God is now a marketing slogan in Bungie's new extraction game called... Marathon.  Marathon key art with *Improved* Slogan by Riloe (@RiloeGaming) on x.com. November 12, 2024. Oh wait! That's not right. Riloe (@RiloeGaming) explains: Marathon key art with *Improved* Slogan  Pseudo Simulacrum by Shogoki. From his Bob Pictures collection. circa 2000. The original slogan is of course...  Marathon Slogan posted by Riloe (@RiloeGaming) on x.com. November 12, 2024. Riloe writes: I'm a huge sucker for slogans and "Escape Will Make Me God" is probably the hardest tagline for an extraction shooter thus farWho among you will write their names across the stars? |
|
This Day in Marathon.
Day #560. I've seen things you people wouldn't believe.  Marathon themed Mr. Chief by Frank (@franklez) on x.com. February 28, 2017. This humorous take on the Lh'owon chapter screen by Craig Mullins is by Frank O'Connor (former Halo franchise director). Frank wrote: For our charity Giving Campaign, I painted a Marathon themed Mr. Chief for MS @sway team.Frank would add: He's holding a Squid. Not really sure why.The painting ended up in the Sway offices.
Frank O'Connor worked on Halo for two decades before departing in 2023. He started out as a writer/Community Manager at Bungie Studios working his way up to become Franchise Creative Director at 343 Industries. The American dream folks! Frank was part of the team that wrote the Forerunner terminals in Halo 3. Finding and accessing all seven of these terminals unlocks the Marathon Man achievement in the game.  In 2019 Frank O'Connor revealed: Terminals were written by me, Damian Isla and TWO Robs. They are based on notes and ideas from the creation of each prior Halo and some ideas from the Marathon era and discussions with Joe Staten and other alum. They are canonical. They are mildly opaqued thru time and narrator.The TWO Robs were Robert McLees and Robert Stokes. But what about the squid? |
|
This Day in Marathon.
Day #559. The last hour is on us both?  The last hour is on us both? by Juzo-kun on juzo-kun.dreamwidth.org. May 9, 2019. This emotional piece (note the tear) is by Italian artist Juzo-kun (aka Francesca) a graphic designer/webdesigner/developer and illustrator on the side. It depicts the end of Hang Brain an emotional rollercoaster of a level in Marathon Infinity. Juzo-kun writes: The last hour is on us both? By all accounts Hang Brain was a problem child. During beta testing it caused testers to get irreversible stuck requiring a forced quit and restart. It went through numerous changes in design to overcome a simple inherent tendency for players to... ...see a panel and smash it. The result of all this tweaking right up to the end is what you see today and may account for some odd stuff on this level. And by a bizarre twist of fate if you are a good robot and obey Tycho by destroying all of Durandal's core logic centers you will not get to read Durandal's final message.  And the moral of the story? Don't be a personal peon. Exert your agency.  |
***TRANSPORT WHEN READY***
Page maintained by Hamish Sinclair Hamish.Sinclair123@gmail.com
Last updated December 2, 2024