Marathon's Story Page since 1995 marathon.bungie.org/story

Marathon's Story Page since 2019 marathon.bungie.org/story

June 3, 2023 (Saturday) 06.03.2023

Lore Runners? What are Lore Runners?  Is this a thing? No. I just coined the term but it arose from an interesting discussion on Marathon Discord about needing "Lore Teams" to find and record the lore (story) in the game. After all this will be a live service so game play isn't going to stop when you want to read a terminal, nor will your oxygen meter stop counting down while you're doing it. This isn't Marathon you know... err... wait... So folks are predicting that special teams will be a needed to gather the lore... rather than loot... or sacks! Hence... Lore Runners. No doubt Bungie's marketing department will have Lore Runner t-shirts, badges and decoder rings on sale... soon™. If you want to be a Lore Runner just remember that extracting information from a rampant AI is dangerous. Please read the memo. If interacting with the AI is unavoidable, keep interactions to a minimum. Limit the number of words used. Issue orders; keep every interaction transactional. If it attempts to engage in causal or more conversational dialog patterns, DISENGAGE IMMEDIATELY. AND... NEVER... EVER... call a rampant AI... CRAZY . The Marathon concept art in the ViDoc shows characters called Hackers with devices called a Cypher. All very cyberpunkish. The description of "puffy streetwear" made me think Marathon by Balenciaga. Sorry to the good folks at Bungie. If you are confused it's a parody thing created by AIs on YouTube. There's even a Halo by Balenciaga and a Destiny by Balenciaga, which is odd as Destiny is already Balenciaga times seven. Given that AIs are being forced to create Balenciaga videos today it is no surprise that they go rampant in the future. By the time Marathon comes out the world will be a different place, AIs will be in control and we will all be wearing Balenciaga. Humanity is duly warned.

June 2, 2023 (Friday) 06.02.2023

" WHAT ABOUT THE MIDA MINI-TOOL ?!!! " So after the seventh email from Destiny fans today pointing out that Destiny 2 has a MIDA reference (two in fact)... ...YES,  I KNOW ! Back in Sept 15, 2017  Hokuto drew our attention to both references. Martian coordinates were also found pointing to a cornfield in Iowa the edge of the Airy-0 crater on Mars. The MIDA Mini-Tool's lore tab (dated November 17, 2472) refers to Bernhard Strauss, the launch of the Marathon the day before (November 16, 2472) and the possibility that the writer might be the last MIDA survivor on Mars. The lore tab ends: "Wonder why it led me here. Going to follow its compass tonight. Down below." come below the long sleep ends bound to aught ever doubled as one ref On the subject of long-dormant AIs... fans have been quick to spot that there is a long-dormant AI in the new game. Both Marathon 2: Durandal and Marathon Infinity had long-dormant AIs. In the later part of Marathon 2 we are tasked with finding and activating a long-dormant AI deep beneath the planet Lh'owon ref which Durandal named "Thoth". ref In Marathon Infinity it is wash, rinse, repeat until you get it right or more precisely find the right path (quantum reality) ref where you prevent the release of the W'rkncacnter ref and fulfil your... ref. So now we have a long-dormant AI on Tau Ceti IV. One wonders what Traxus OffWorld Industries found on Mars. After all they have been there digging it up since 2145. ref Finally... before some smarty pants writes in saying... " WHAT ABOUT THE MIDA MULTI-TOOL ?!!! "  here it is. So what does MIDA stand for? And why is there no MIDA section on the Story page? We want the tru7h.

June 1, 2023 (Thursday) 06.01.2023

Update #3 The limited edition Marathon t-shirts are gone... Phhht! Just like that. ref #M1.25.1.1 Now the long wait begins... estimated shipping window: ninety-two years  2-3 months. ref #M1.08.2.2 Update #2 Nice quote from Christopher Barrett (Game Director for Marathon) in today's Bungie press release about the Marathon ARG. He states: "Putting players in charge of discovering and unlocking Marathon's narrative is one of our core game principles,"  said Christopher Barrett,  Marathon's game director.  "This interactive experience represents our commitment to rich storytelling both in and out of the game and it's been thrilling to watch it unfold this week with community members across the world." The press release also states that the Marathon ARG is completed. So STOP going to Iowa! What's in the box? Update #1 Bungie just released a Marathon ARG press kit. The kit contains the Marathon ARG Wallpapers (57 variants in both JPG and PNG formats) and seven photographs of the Venice Beach MIDA mural/graffiti (Venice Art Walls) What is not included are the documents, emails, transcripts, videos, etc, associated with the backstory / lore. Today is the last day to pre-order one of the new Marathon t-shirts on the Bungie Store. The deadline is 02:00 PM Pacific Time. There are a total of five shirts (UESC, Traxus, CyberAcme and MIDA) but MIDA get two. Which seems odd for a group that would never buy-in to corporate swag. Something doesn't quite add up here. The descriptions for each shirt are: UESC: The Unified Earth Space Council is the ruling government of Earth, Mars, the Moon, and in-between. TRAXUS: The most powerful private corporation in human history. CyberAcme: Everything runs on CyAc. Or nothing runs at all. MIDA: A revolutionary group with ties to the Marathon's past and future. Don't be surprised to find hidden codes and stuff on the shirts like the Marathon 25th Anniversary T-Shirt. According to the Bungie Store each shirt is numbered and... ...accompanied with exclusive collector's artifacts straight from the mysterious world of Tau Ceti IV. This accounts for the sealed 'evidence' bags. Tau Ceti IV artifacts in Marathon combine together to create a Prime Artifact. Since five is a prime number and there are five different shirts you do the maths. So if you only bought one shirt you might have to find four other artifacts. Let the game begin! But wait... there's more swag? Tavi Adino on Facebook's Bungie's Marathon fans posted a pic of Marathon hoodies. Tavi writes: "Marathon swag hitting hard. Yes these are official." When asked to verify their authenticity he wrote: "Employee shirts were handed out before the video went live. You can see one of the employees wearing them in the small Vidoc" Scott Taylor (General Manager on Marathon) wearing a Marathon hoodie. Odd that these have the original Marathon symbol on the back. Something doesn't quite add up here. The  NOT OUR MARATHON  group were unavailable for comment.

May 31, 2023 (Wednesday) 05.31.2023

Christopher Barrett (Game Director for Marathon) dropped into Marathon Discord to give the low down on the authenticity of the Marathon 25th Anniversary T-Shirt with its hidden code... GOLIATH revealed yesterday. He wrote: "Yes, it was designed by someone at Bungie. The spelling error was a typo that slipped through as the shirt was made quickly for the anniversary. Just pretend it's in an alternate time line where spelling is harder." Hmmm... sounds like he has played Marathon Infinity. But in truth Bungie have been spelling the word "Pfhor" wrong since the very beginning. Jon Goff (Narrative Lead for Marathon) in a Tweet writes: "The UESC's lockdown of leaked classified intel related to the Marathon and its colony is complete. According to a hacked security cam, the long arm of interplanetary law even found and covered MIDA's graffiti..." Confused? Here's the before and after shots at Venice Beach, Los Angeles, California.    Even more confused? Then you need to read the Marathon ARG on how GPS coordinates for Venice Beach were discovered on the MIDA webpage Hear Our Silence (now seized by the UESC). Having found other numbers resembling GPS coordinates dozens of Marathon fans have already made their way to a cornfield in Iowa failing to listen to Christopher Barrett's pleas on Marathon Discord: It was definitely not intended to be GPS coordinates, just an anagrammed version of "Hear Our Silence." Drums Simulation Unite > Audi Nostrum Silentium > Hear Our Silence. There's nothing there, please don't bother this person's property. Please relay this to the proper conversations. There is only one real world location in this mystery. and later... Reiterating this message. Please don't go to Iowa. I mean feel free to go to Iowa but there is nothing related to the ARG there. Marathon fans just want to believe. Iowa?  Seriously Mulder... you went to Iowa? It wouldn't be Marathon without... That Marathon Symbol right?  Well Sylenth <sylenthmail@gmail.com> writes: I was browsing and scrolling through various Source Engine game discords when I stumbled across this video showing off footage of a beta build of Day of Defeat: Source... ...and the logo that appears at the start of the video. Sylenth continues: This is the logo for the "Internode Games Network", after looking at it and confirming that I wasn't going crazy, I dug a tiny bit deeper, turns out Internode is still around (it's actually an Australian ISP) and this logo isn't just for the "Games Network", it's the logo for the whole company! As Sylenth points out it is two Marathon symbols in one! Two for the Price of One  get it. ;) A group calling themselves NOT OUR MARATHON write: NOT OUR MARATHON MARATHON IS OLD MARATHON IS NEW MARATHON IS DEAD MARATHON IS RISING NOT OUR MARATHON NOM HAS SEEN THE BROKEN SPIRIT OF THE PEOPLE AND IT DEMANDS JUSTICE Seeds of MIDA perhaps? At least they can spell.

May 30, 2023 (Tuesday) 05.30.2023

"The AI's are accessed through computer interface terminals that can be found on every level." Bungie.  Marathon.  Manual (page 13).  Accessing Marathon's AIs.  December 21, 1994. So how long have Bungie been planning their new game Marathon? Well since 2019. Kumquatxop on Marathon Discord spots the first clue in the Marathon ARG. On Bungie's Marathon 25th Anniversary T-Shirt released in December 2019 the CyberAcme Systems Inc terminal number is 7.15.12.9.1.20.8 Bungie stock image (back) If you bought the t-shirt you could see the all the numbers more clearly. Pic courtesy of President People This is a simple monoalphabetic substitution cipher (A=1, B=2, C=3) which gives you... 7 15 12 9 1 20 8 G O L I A T H Project Goliath is the codename for the UESC's efforts to re-establish communications and investigate disruption of same with the UESC Marathon and the Terran Colony, New Cascadia, at Tau Ceti. So there you have it folks. Congrats to Kumquatxop. What other secrets lie buried for "Lore Runners" to find? Lots of folks asking if there will be terminals in Marathon like the original game? Well this is a terminal. It even says terminal on the screen. It's a SG Still from Bungie's press pack. Click on the image for a higher quality version. But will I get shot in the back if I'm reading a terminal?  Well I guess that depends on who is watching your six. But Bungie say I can play solo! Solo (aka Vidmaster Mode). Good luck with that! You'll need to talk to Michio Hashimoto about that mode. Hot off the press... Joseph Cross (Franchise Art Director on Marathon) spills the beans on Marathon's art style and its influences in a Twitter tweet. He writes: There's been some curiosity around what we're calling the Marathon art style, hopefully this sheds a bit of light on it. Officially we call it "Graphic Realism"... Gif courtesy of SnackLover on Marathon Discord. As old Bungie would say... Got Sack?

May 29, 2023 (Monday) 05.29.2023

"It's Durandal, I think he's gone...  crazy." Bungie.  Marathon.  Manual (page 2).  Mjolnir Recon number 54.  December 21, 1994. Christopher Barrett (Game Director for Marathon) dropped into Marathon Discord at the weekend. Seven seconds and 37 messages later he remarked: "This is the most interesting place to observe discourse." No... only kidding... it was eight seconds and 49 messages later. Describing the new game Marathon in 14 words or so, Chris wrote:  "It's a living world with asymmetric conflict and tension. Deep narrative context and persistence." So it's not all about guns folks... honest. Anyways... Bungie are watching. But I digress. According to Bernhard Strauss the first rule when interacting with an AI suspected of being rampant is  "DO NOT ENGAGE". So I guess we kinda messed that one up. Should have attended those Rampancy 101 briefings instead of going another round in PWS Holo-Fun Park. Then again calling Durandal "crazy" at the very start of the game didn't help matters. Folks writing in about the UESC ship name Equanimity meaning calmness and composure, especially under stress, or variations thereof. Quite appropriate for the task at hand. The ship's AI is Virgil and is probably a reference to the Roman poet Virgil (70-19 BC) given Bungie's fondness for the classics. Or perhaps Jonathan Goff (Narrative Lead for Marathon) has a fondness for Thunderbirds (International Rescue) and named the AI after the character Virgil therein. Interesting to note all the Project: Marathon AIs listed in the memo on rampancy by Bernhard Strauss have a seven digit number after their name. However Durandal's seven digit number (Du-0706419) doesn't match his in-game seven digit number.

May 28, 2023 (Sunday) 05.28.2023

WARNING: CORE OS (AF44+2DEB) MOD DATE LATER THAN CURRENT DATE/TIME Bungie.  Marathon.  Terminal 4 on the level Never Burn Money.  December 21, 1994. MARATHON + DATES = ? In a UESC memo dated 20 October 2795 it is stated that the voyage from Earth to Tau Ceti IV will take 97 years. The distance between Earth and Tau Ceti IV is 12 light years. In a UESC memo dated 2 November 2795 it is stated that the UESC Equanimity, a Kingfisher-class Salvage and Rescue craft, will be overhauled and fitted out to make the voyage to Tau Ceti IV. According to the manifest of the UESC Equanimity the ship's speed (sustained) is 0.122c. On 19 July 2797, CMDR Bethany R Montenegro-Sankara of the Unified Earth Space Security Council sends a pre-launch message to the "brave souls" of the UESC Equanimity stressing the importance of their mission to Tau Ceti IV and reminding them that this is a UESC mission and  "everything attached to it should still be considered UESC property." A trip of 97 years would mean the UESC Equanimity arrives at Tau Ceti IV in 2894. So the UESC arrive at Tau Ceti IV on the 100 year anniversary of the Pfhor attack on the Marathon (July 2794). How fitting. Only they didn't. All four of the UESC Evidence Files have record dates of May 25, 2893. These video files are called: #1842 TCIV UNKNOWN PRESENCE #1843 UESC MARATHON SITE SURVEY #1844 COLONY ZONE FLYOVER #1845 RUNNER THREAT ASSESS. One shows Runners already on the surface. Another shows a S'pht (aka compiler) seen in the original game. Scroll down to see the other two UESC Evidence Files below. And then there were... four.

May 27, 2023 (Saturday) 05.27.2023

JJARRO WERE AT TAU CETI Bungie.  Marathon.  Map writing on the level Never Burn Money.  December 21, 1994. Well it appears that the Marathon ARG is over... for now. There are hints that some stuff may be timegated... only time will tell. Sites like Traxus Global would suggest that there is a wealth of information still to some. Hats off to all those who worked ceaselessly on identifying the clues, solving the puzzles, and unlocking the content. Their efforts are documented in the Marathon ARG. For hardcore Marathon fans some of the best story bits are contained in the UESC section of the ARG, including pre-launch information from Bernhard H Strauss about the UESC Marathon's 3 AIs and... 8 AIs designated for the colony. Yes EIGHT and all with names. We just need to figure them out. People are working on it... Tau Ceti Colony (May 25, 2893) I am still getting a lot of queries about the Tau Ceti colony and what happened to it. Information about the colony is contained in a number of Marathon terminals. The main ones are listed below. Leela's last message in the first game revealing that nine military Mjolnir Mark IV cyborgs were covertly living among the colonists. But you know that there is a tenth one! Durandal's message in Marathon 2 describing what happened to the colony three months after he left. Yes, he was directly responsible for the deaths of all twenty-four thousand colonists when the Pfhor returned and sacked the planet. Tycho's message in Marathon 2 describing what happened to the colony three months after Durandal left. Confirms the death of all twenty-four thousand colonists and the nine Mjolnir Mark IV cyborgs. The final screen in Marathon 2 containing the famous "nuked down to bedrock" reference and that Robert Blake and his men were the only human survivors of the original Tau Ceti colony. Then along came Marathon Infinity which gave us The Garden of Forking Paths and House of Leaves all rolled into one. Infinity threw the deck of cards into the air and we are still picking them up to this day. But that's the Marathon way...  the hard path of thought . To add to the mix we now have this from the pre-launch memo on AI Rampancy by Bernhard H Strauss dated November 13, 2472 (Mars date 17 Columbia 459): Understand that ALL DATA the AI has access to must be viewed with suspicion. Blueprints, roadmaps, and all public and private records are likely to have been altered. Rely only on the data resources that you have brought with you. Simply put... don't believe anything a rampant AI tells you. Interesting Tweets from: Christopher Barrett "Y'all should follow @Jonathan_Goff, the story is in good hands." Joseph Cross "Inspiration for the silkworms building Runners comes in part from Neri Oxman's incredible work..." raoulmarks Lists the team who put the Marathon teaser trailer together, including PaulChadeisson who brought the UESC Marathon concept design (by Tom Hicks, below) to life in the video. USEC Marathon final concept art by Tom Hicks Thanks to joshua.ameliorate on Marathon Discord for this comparison shot. Intentional or not? I'll let you decide.

May 26, 2023 (Friday) 05.26.2023

Everything is not as it seems{}. seems{}. seems{}. Leela.  Marathon.  Shake Before Using... (Terminal 1).  December 21, 1994. [REF] MRTHN_RVL A massive ghost ship hangs in low orbit over a lost colony on Tau Ceti IV. The 30,000 souls who call this place home have disappeared without a trace. Strange signals hint at mysterious artifacts, long-dormant AI, and troves of untold riches. If you're lost, dazed & confused... don't worry we'll try to make sense of it all... together. But as Leela said... There are obviously many things which we do not understand, and may never be able to. Go here for a quick recap of the Teaser trailer Bungie released, the Somewhere in the Heavens - ViDoc, and a Q&A with Scott Taylor and Christopher Barrett. Also check out Bungie's Press Room for Marathon art, logos, screenshots etc. Go here for full details of what has been found in the Marathon ARG (Alternate Reality Game). Keep up-to-date on the ARG through the Marathon Discord which has a dedicated channel (#arg) for it. Go to Christopher Barrett on Twitter for some concept art and addition information about the game. Additional video from Christopher Barrett on r/marathon about the new backstory discovered through the Marathon ARG. Go to Tom Hicks on Artstation for his design work on the new look UESC Marathon. (Update: has been removed.) Also keep an eye on Joseph Cross, Elliot Gray and Jonathan Goff all with interesting Twitter feeds. From what has been released so far it is clear that a rich and complex backstory has been woven for the new game. But like the original game this has to be pieced together to create a coherent story. This is being worked on... UESC Marathon (May 25, 2893) For those who have asked... "Wasn't the Tau Ceti colony destroyed, wiped out, annihilated, nuked to bedrock?" Well in the Marathon Infinity you may recall that the successful timeline (more precisely quantum reality) was the one in which we were not kidnapped by Durandal at the end of the first game but stayed on the Marathon and subsequently captured by the Pfhor, along with Tycho and the other nine military Mjolnir Mark IV cyborgs. On the Dream Levels and Failed Timelines section there is an extract from an unfinished interview with Greg Kirkpatrick (GK) and Chris Geisel (CG). Here is the last part of that particular interview segment. HS: In this timeline Tycho refers to our friends: You've been in cold sleep for some time, but you're luckier than some of your friends-not all of you survived the translation to the Pfhor slave tanks. Were these friends the Mjolnir cyborgs or simply Bobs? GK & CG: Cyborgs. In the variants of this quantum reality you play as conditioned unit 7 ,  my personal peon  and  rogue conditioned unit. It is possible that the writers for the new game (one of whom worked on the original series) are using this as a hook for the new story in which the colony was not destroyed... or... perhaps as Durandal said: Don't believe everything you read.

May 25, 2023 (Thursday) 05.25.2023

"Is this the end?  I guess so.  That's too bad.  But it's only the beginning.  Really?  Sure, what the hell.  Stop it!  Is that really it?  Wait and see..." Bungie.  Marathon Trilogy Box Set.  Manual page 66.  May 1997. Today at 0820 hours... Bungie, Inc.  announced M A R A T H O N A reimagining of the 1990s classic Marathon trilogy of games. How do you take a world-buliding sci-fi classic and reimagine it? Find out as we explore this new world of Marathon... together.

May 24, 2023 (Wednesday) 05.24.2023

That Marathon Book  continued... Came across two 'higher quality' images of the covers of the last two books in David Alexander Smith's Marathon trilogy series, namely Rendezvous (1988) and Homecoming (1990).   Interesting to note that the cover art for all three Marathon trilogy books was by renowned American artist John Berkey, probably best known for his original poster art for the Star Wars trilogy and credited for inspiring the Death Star. Berkey's signature style were large exotic spaceships which would go on to inspire a generation of sci-fi artists.   Oh... and one of the first covers John Berkey did from 1967. Green overalls and all!  So if you're ever stuck for a Christmas present for you know who... ...to be continued.

May 23, 2023 (Tuesday) 05.23.2023

Remember... That Marathon Book ? The first book in the Marathon trilogy comprising Marathon (1982), Rendezvous (1988) and Homecoming (1990) by David Alexander Smith. Came across an alternate cover on a German edition (on right) I'll just leave it here...   ...to be continued.

May 20, 2023 (Saturday) 05.20.2023

"Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee." Cassius Clay, Jr (Muhammad Ali).  Prior to the fight with Sonny Liston.  February 25, 1964. Thanks to treellama and Iritscen on Marathon Discord for showing that it is possible to exit the pillar room on Colony Ship For Sale, Cheap! by simply 'floating up' in the original game. Now while this has been common knowledge for some time in the Aleph One version of Marathon it was not common knowledge back in the day when folks were playing the original game. If it had been it would have been mentioned on the Marathon Vidmasters' Page and Colony Ship For Sale, Cheap! might not have got the reputation it has garnered over the years. So what is this 'floating" thing? Well  'The Butterfly Effect'  is achieved by firing one grenade at your feet while running forward and then using the the primary trigger of the assault rifle to rise (float) up. Iritscen nicely demonstrates this in the original game (under emulation) in the video below. Apparently you need to start your run before entering the pillar room to reach maximum speed before using the assault rifle. Using grenades alone will not work as demonstrated by Iritscen below. So what have we learnt today? Aleph One is the business! Yrro was right... "The oldest child may learn from the youngest." Durandal was right... "dry those tears and stuff a fresh clip in your assault rifle." Stop annoying Jason Jones about Colony Ship For Sale, Cheap!

May 19, 2023 (Friday) 05.19.2023

"If I ever texture-map another axis-aligned polygon, it'll be too soon. I'm real sorry for being Blake, and I hope All Roads Lead To Sol atones for the grievous sin of Colony Ship For Sale." Jason Jones.  Marathon 2: Durandal.  All Roads Lead To Sol... (Terminal 2).  November 21, 1995. "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." Jason Jones.  Jason Jones Interviewed By You.  Bungie.net.  December 18, 2001. Just two of the comments Jason Jones has made about his Marathon level Colony Ship For Sale, Cheap. Even today if you raise the topic with him a smile will appear across his face and a nod of recognition. But I digress. Jeoku continues his in-depth playthrough of Marathon with the Jason Jones level Colony Ship For Sale, Cheap,  the second level of the Durandal Chapter. Sources in the video include: What's in a Name? Level Credits and Creator Comments. Original Level Notes for Colony Ship For Sale, Cheap Colony Ship For Sale, Cheap is level 13 in the game but since the level numbering in Marathon starts from 0 it is actually the 14th level and the exact middle of the 27 level solo game. As you try to raise the seven pillars to the correct height for the seventh time you can contemplate the existence of Jason Jones in metaphorical terms. In the video Jeoku provides some handy tips to get those pillar heights just right and the best way through the octagonal crusher rooms. Worth a watch as always.

May 18, 2023 (Thursday) 05.18.2023

There is an interesting thread on r/marathon about the science fiction novels Marathoners like. As you would expect from fans of a hardcore sci-fi game the list does not disappoint. Authors including: Philip K Dick Frank Herbert Dan Simmons Iain M Banks Greg Bear Arthur C Clarke Issac Asimov Ursula le Guin Just to name a few. Some surprises in there too, including Jorge Luis Borges. Back in June 1996 Greg Kirkpatrick wrote about the inspiration for Marathon: "We were just sitting around talking about things, and i blabbin on and on about Larry Niven : "ringworld", Man-Kzin wars, etc. I read all those many years ago, but i still remember them... Take any well known sci-fi writer and there's a good chance that someone who's worked on Marathon has read (read:all) his works. The good stuff helps for a little inspiration now and then, The Tempest, The Iliad, War and Peace. (Just to name a few recent ones...) Currently, i'm reading anna Karenina, but i don't have that much time... :(.. " Love your science fiction.

May 12, 2023 (Friday) 05.12.2023

The top seven pages folks have been reading recently. Why? Should you be reading them? Well now you can. The Durandal Chapter of Marathon The Origin of the Jjaro Boxers Marathon's Timeline Bungie's New Timeline The Cortana Letters Marathon Scrapbook The Marathon Art of Craig Mullins

May 10, 2023 (Wednesday) 05.10.2023

"Observant fans of our games will note that certain themes tend to run through our games. For example, the sword Durandal (from the "Song of Roland") first appears in Minotaur as a magic sword and goes on to become a central character in Marathon." Jason Jones (Bungie Software).  Inside Mac Games interview.  August 12, 1999. Regarding the above quote from Jason Jones which resurfaced recently a number of people have written in asking where is the full interview with Jason Jones from August 1999?  Why is it not on the Blasts from the Past section?  What are you hiding?  We want the tru7h! Never one to disappoint, the Story page has gone back in time to bring you the full Inside Mac Games interview using Netscape no less. Remember that web browser? You can now read the full interview as it originally appeared in August 1999 on the Blasts from the Past section. Because all those moments will be lost in time...

May 8, 2023 (Monday) 05.08.2023

"...I fear that he is in the Jealous stage of Rampancy." Leela.  Marathon.  Fire! Fire! Fire! Fire! Fire! (Terminal 2).  December 21, 1994. The Marathon level  Fire! Fire! Fire! Fire! Fire!  was the spark that lead to the creation of the Marathon's Story page. More specifically the exit terminal and its cryptic references, including Mjolnir Recon number 54. What happened next is a story for another day. Jeoku continues his in-depth playthrough of Marathon with the Jason Jones level Fire! Fire! Fire! Fire! Fire!,  the first level of the Durandal Chapter. Sources in the video include: What's in a Name? Level Credits and Creator Comments. Original Level Notes for Fire! Fire! Fire! Fire! Fire! Count Roland. Historical & Mythological References in Marathon. Jason Jones interview quote. The Lost Network Packets. The 10th military Mjolnir Mark IV cyborg. The E O P variations. Map Writing. Latin in Marathon. As Jeoku points out this level dials up the difficulty another notch. Troopers, Wasps and now lava. Get your footing wrong and you're burnt toast. Odd that Jason only used one Looker on this level and all the Compilers are at the exit terminal. Must be an interesting read. More importantly, Leela believes that Durandal is now in the Jealous stage of Rampancy. On a lighter note... who remembers the Eggheads? You know... the famous screenshot of the Pfhor Troopers in the December 5, 1994 issue of MacWEEK several weeks before the release of Marathon. Caused quite a stir at the time. Here's the official screenshot used in the MacWEEK article. Official Marathon screenshot of Fire! Fire! Fire! Fire! Fire!.

May 7, 2023 (Sunday) 05.07.2023

"The geometry has been completed as of today. At 1023 polygons, it is now by far and away the largest marathon map ever created." Randy Reddig (Double Aught Software).  Pfhactory N'Utopia Update.  May 7, 1996. Happy Pfhactory N'Utopia Day! On this day 27 years ago Randy Reddig (aka ydnar) finished making his net map Pfhactory N'Utopia. At 1023 polygons it was the largest Marathon map ever created for its time. Pfhactory N'Utopia began life as Pfhactory (aka Vulcan). Released in August 1995,  it was Marathon net map designed around two concentric rings. Randy described Vulcan as Marathon's weapons manufacturing facility. Even though the map was huge he would point out: "...you can get from any place on the map to another in less than 30 seconds. This is accomplished by a complex network of air passages snaking their way around the plant." This would come in very handy later on... just no one knew it at the time. In January 1996 Randy converted Pfhactory from a Marathon 1 map to a Marathon 2 map.     He also announced that he was adding a third outer ring. According to Randy the third ring "was the s'pht-designed city built around the plant."   Hence the new name Pfhactory N'Utopia. Pfhactory N'Utopia was completed on May 7, 1996 but was never released as a Marathon 2 net map. Randy, now working at Double Aught Software, would use Pfhactory N'Utopia in Marathon Infinity as the final solo level Aye Mak Sicur. Parts of Pfhactory N'Utopia would also be reused for other levels in the game. Some time after the release of Marathon Infinity, Pfhactory N'Utopia (aka Aye Mak Sicur) was released as a Marathon Infinity net map. But that's a story for another day. Today is... Happy Pfhactory N'Utopia Day!

May 5, 2023 (Friday) 05.05.2023

"Ryu'Toth, the Jjaro representative, appeared via hologram in the Pentagon at 1500 hours (3:00PM) on Thursday May 5, 1994." Pathways Into Darkness.  Manual (page 2).  August 3, 1993. Happy Ryu'Toth Day! On this day 29 years ago Ryu'Toth, a Jjaro hologram, told President Bill Clinton and his senior military staff that they had eight days to save the world. Sheesh... no pressure! In the Demo version of Pathways Into Darkness your mission was "to save the world from a hostile alien demon". In the final release the "alien demon"  had been become an extra-terrestrial "dreaming god".  Buried thousands of feet below ground, this immortal being lay motionless for thousands of years before it finally began to stir... and to dream. Ryu'Toth really knew how to spin a good story! Art by Nathan J. Anderson (October 22, 2013) One wonders if the Jjaro ever did arrive to take more permanent measures two and half years later or are we now all just living in the God's dream world? Art by TDSpiral (May 13, 2013) But I digress. Today is Happy Ryu'Toth Day! Art by jamessmith6 (December 26, 2015)

May 1, 2023 (Monday) 05.01.2023

"The Marathon Trilogy Box Set is almost fully compiled, and we plan to ship the finished product on May 1, 1997. (Yeah, that's right...an actual RELEASE DATE. Straight from us, so you know it's not a joke.)" Matt Soell (Bungie Software).  The Marathon Trilogy Box Set.  Bungie News.  March 21, 1997. Happy Marathon Trilogy Box Set Shipping Day! err... well it was supposed to ship on May 1st but it didn't happen. Tuncer Deniz (Production Manager) went online to explain that there was a delay. Rumor has it that the Marathon Scrapbook wouldn't fit inside the box. Matt Soell (editor-at-large ) had to take drastic action to make it fit. The upshot of all this is that we don't know the exact date when the Marathon Trilogy Box Set shipped. If you didn't want to shell out $49 for the Box Set you could always try and win one in Bungie's Trivia Contest. Twenty copes were up for grabs. You can see the lucky winners here. Shrinkwrapped copies of the Marathon Trilogy Box Set are hard to find these days and when they do appear they fetch a high price on eBay. Opening one is big deal. Bob-B-Q opened one to mark Bungie Day (July 7, 2011). You can see detailed pics of his unboxing here. At the very end of the Marathon Trilogy Box Set manual (page 66), right at the bottom of the Marathon Infinity credits, there is a cryptic message from Bungie. I will let you read it for yourself. Happy May 1st.