Bungie's Marathon (65scribe)

Or... Denfield Hoard part 4. In this final(?) episode, I find an excuse to talk about Marathon. With all original approaches to discuss this game already done on KZbin, this video tells my personal story with Marathon. I go on to expose shocking misinformation about Bungie’s inspiration for Halo. The Apple Geoport Adapter is also featured.
Happy #marchintosh !!
Website References:
Marathon archive- archives.bungie.org/search.html
The Marathon Story page: marathon.bungie.org/story/
Infinite Macintosh- infinitemac.org/
KZbin References:
Ron’s Computer Videos:
/ @ronscompvids
The Examined Life of Gaming:
/ @theexaminedlifeofgaming
The Actman and Actman TV:
/ @theactman
/ @actmantv
DOOM - Angry Video Game Nerd (AVGN)
• DOOM - Angry Video Gam...
3dfx Voodoo 5 6000 AGP - Unreal - #28 - Nali Castle [Gameplay/60fps] • 3dfx Voodoo 5 6000 AGP...
Phantom Slayer (Dragon 32 - 1982) - The First FPS? • Phantom Slayer (Dragon...
Explosive Barrels.
• Explosive Barrels.
Twilight zone - “Once upon a Time” (1961)
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
Unreal soundtrack “End Title” (Straylight Productions)
Bungie home video (August 1994)
The Life of Brian (1979)

[@3lectr1c]

Please just keep doing what you’re doing. I always drop whatever I’m doing as soon as your notification pops up - it’s only a couple times a year, but it’s a time I always look forward too. Can’t wait to see what’s next.

[@65scribe]

Definitely! I have a few things in the works, and always appreciate the words of support.

[@Prabolo]

Glad to see you here! Your one of my favourite KZbinrs along with 65scribe

[@3lectr1c]

@@Prabolo hah, thanks. I’m afraid I’m nowhere near as good as scribe is, but I’m glad to see your support 😃

[@3lectr1c]

@@65scribe can’t wait to see what you’ve got for us next!

[@stpworld]

@@65scribei have the playstation emulator for mac in the box and possibly a processor upgrade to sell did u know midnight rescue gave kids nightmare i was like how

[@prodfauxes]

Sleep is not necessary time for 65SCRIBE

[@disgruntledfaerie]

1994. Senior year. Snow day. Two LCIIIs on my kitchen table, connected via AppleTalk. I don't think I've ever had a better afternoon of gaming than that. Thanks for the vidya!

[@65scribe]

Beautiful day!

[@disgruntledfaerie]

Oh, and Marathon, of course!

[@KGB240]

@@disgruntledfaerie Or Bolo!

[@franwex]

“Hopefully it won’t be running Windows.” Guy ended up working for Microsoft. Great video by the way!

[@65scribe]

Ha! Why didn't I realize that irony?!

[@RonsCompVids]

Thank you yet again for allowing me to be involved with the project!

[@65scribe]

Thanks so much for lending your talents, Ron! You may have done your job too well... Viewers are now scanning your channel for the full video. :)

[@murdockscott]

The overlooked history of Bungie is frustrating for us lifelong Mac users. Thanks for this fun look at Marathon. So nice to see a mention of Pathways Into Darkness. I had so much fun with that back in the day.

[@murdockscott]

Now let’s talk about The Colony and it’s place in history! 😀

[@65scribe]

Thanks for the feedback, Murdock!

[@65scribe]

Yes! Another pre-Wolfenstein game. Not many FPS titles used MacPaint for the artwork. I should have used a clip from that.

[@alphaLONE]

New 65scribe just dropped let's GOOOOOO!!!!!

[@thebestwes777]

This video started as a cool/hilarious nostalgic journey, then a super intense flex at having a map on the box set, but holy hell I had to stop the video out of pure rage when you showed clips of KZbinrs acting like Bungie and Half Life sprang fully formed from the forehead of Zeus. 10/10, subscribed.

[@65scribe]

That should have been the description for the video. Well done!

[@sushimamba4281]

I spent about 50% of the 1990's playing this game on a Mac 8100/110! Good times!

[@mikedrop4421]

You'll be happy to know The Act Man litterally released another history of the FPS (arena shooters) video today and he actually included a section on marathon. It's like he was getting ahead of this stern talking to. Lol

[@65scribe]

Ha! Honestly, I saw that a couple hours before I made the video public and I had to laugh at the coincidence. He even talked about Unreal! Good for him doing a little more research.

[@fakegeek5462]

@@65scribe Thats good while i find his content bad due to him annoying me with his content being only popular games and any time he tries a niche game he doesn't get it. Dude isn't a bad guy when he makes a mistake he owns up to it.

[@buttguy]

The mass nostalgia stuff really kinda irritates me. For example, I was born in the '80s, grew up in the '90s, and sure, video and video game rental were huge. We'd rent movies occasionally, and NES/SNES games fairly often. But I never even stepped foot into a Blockbuster Video until I was probably 16 or 17 years old. The wave of Blockbuster nostalgia would lead people to believe that it was the only video store that ever existed and everybody on the planet in the '90s was in a Blockbuster Video every day of their lives. I'd venture to guess MOST of us probably had some local, small video store, or even rented from the local grocery store or whatever. But no. BLOCKBUSTER!!!!!! Keep up the great work. Just a couple days ago I was wondering, "when is the next 65scribe video going to come out, and is it going to be more Denfield Hoard content?"

[@65scribe]

I can't say much since I'm riding the wave of mass nostalgia to an extent. lol. My only pleasant memory of Blockbuster was this huge binder they had tucked in a corner listing every video available, so you could look through to find out if a movie was on video yet. Unfortunately, they left the pornography section in the binder, which gave my friend and I great entertainment reading the titles. Glad to hear you were anticipating another video. Priorities kept me out of the game for a few months, so it's good to know I was missed.

[@PeterBrockie]

One of my favorite things about Marathon was the attitude of the creators. I remember as a kid opening the data files in ResEdit and finding a message from one of them with a block of text about you digging around hopefully making mods and a contact number if you wanted help.

[@65scribe]

Great example, Peter! Bungie's success was rooted in the fact that they loved the games as much as their fans.

[@mac27collection]

*oil museum noises intensify*

[@1bit]

That 6500 cliffhanger is gooooood❤ Thank you for continuing on with new content. Your sensibility and work is appreciated

[@65scribe]

Thanks for the feedback, 1bit! Definitely continuing with new content.

[@aa-au]

When I was working at a large company in Australia, I played Marathon II with 2-3 other employees over a network on 2-3 sites, which were approx 17km apart. I didn't know what I was doing half of the time but it was fun to play. It did have issues by dropping out every so often and we called it 'ghosting' - it was basically us walking around one of the maps and we could see each other but we could not shoot each other. We'd restart and everything would be ok. We had a PowerMac 7200/120 with an Apple ColorSync 17" display.

[@frankzappa3834]

Who needs sleep when the greatest Macintosh channel uploads?

[@nonsensicalfox]

Just what I need to help pass my night shift

[@65scribe]

Glad I could help :)

[@LKComputes]

so happy to see this. you were the one to introduce me to marathon, and i've recently gotten into it. you've made my night.

[@65scribe]

That's great to hear!

[@shreksnow1918]

I seriously NEED to play Marathon. From everything I’ve seen and heard they look amazing (aside from maze levels). It’s a really good thing that Bungie added a level editor to Infinity and released the source code so the community can keep the game alive and play it for free. That is such an interesting universe. Unfortunately, the extraction shooter probably won’t be able to capture the same magic and the people most likely have no passion or connection to the originals so they won’t care as much. It’s funny just how much stuff Act Man gets wrong whenever he tries to give a history lesson. You’d think he’d know better since a good chunk of his content boils down to “old thing good, new thing bad”. Then again, the guy just regurgitates the popular opinion so I shouldn’t be surprised. That’s interesting how you mentioned Unreal’s influence on Halo. I never thought about that before, but that would actually explain a lot. Another connection you could make between Unreal and Halo is both start out on a human ship where you’re fighting in narrow corridors, but once you get to the alien world the levels really open up showing off the splendor and mystery of this new location. That’s another classic game I should seriously get around to playing Unreal and other classic shooters. Too bad Epic delisted it and their other classic games from storefronts. These idiots turn piracy into a moral obligation for the sake of preservation. It’s really sad that Halo went downhill after Bungie left. It’s equally tragic that Bungie fell off around the same time. The complete dumpster fire that was Destiny’s launch where it was clearly unfinished so they broke the main campaign into multiple expansions/dlcs. They also took legal action against Marty O’Donnell for posting his music and fired Joseph Statin (or he left because he couldn’t do anything there. Not sure which). Most of the core people at Bungie either left or were moved to bureaucratic positions where they have little to no creative input. Halo most would’ve gone downhill anyways, it just might’ve been slower. 343 basically ran the ip into the ground and you’d probably need a hard reboot with a Dead Space/Resident Evil style remake of CE to revive it. At this point I’m starting to think that Microsoft’s original plan for Gearbox to head the franchise would’ve been the best one. There’s also part of me that wants to see Aliens Colonial Marines with Halo marines because it would be comedy gold. Great video. I thought the various points you brought up were interesting.

[@65scribe]

Thanks for watching the last video and sharing your thoughts. That's a great parallel between Unreal and Halo that I hadn't thought of! I played 343 Halos out of moral obligation almost, but they rang hollow for me. Bungie had something special. Seems like it was Jason Jones influence, but it shows in the games. Maybe that doesn't exist any more.

[@NoobixCube]

Though everyone watching this probably knows already, it's worth pointing out the other way to play Marathon these days: Aleph One. The Aleph One port is analogous to something like PrBoom or maybe GZDoom, in that it adds a lot of modern conveniences. For people who don't have the nostalgia for the game in its original form, Aleph One might be more approachable. Plus, like the many plethora Doom source ports, Aleph One has been ported to just about anything with a screen, so you can play Marathon on all those emulation handhelds that are all the rage these days.

[@65scribe]

Thanks for mentioning Aleph One. I have that installed as well, but it seemed to be one of those things all the other videos were mentioning. However, I was surprised by the number of commenters who want to give Marathon a try (and, by the number of fans who DO own the Trilogy Box Set).

[@poofygoof]

Marathon was the first thing that came to mind when I saw that Bungie had done Halo. My college was mac-heavy, though, so I don't know if I would've been exposed otherwise.

[@GanonGerudo]

I am a heavy collector of all things Bungie, including the Marathon series. Still on the search for Super Marathon. Your video was well-informed and amazingly detailed. Keep these coming.

[@65scribe]

Great to get verification from an expert! Best of luck with finding Super Marathon for Pippin.

[@Skanking-Corpse]

Great video! I really wish Marathon would get the recognition it deserves, it was way ahead of the curb. People also seem to forget that Bungie was originally a Mac only developer and did some revolutionary stuff with Marathon and one of the best RTS ever made Myth: The Fallen Lords. Losing Halo to Microsoft really hurt Macs and if Bungie had stuck to Macs it could have revolutionized peoples view of Apple.

[@65scribe]

Thanks Nick! My impression is that the onus would have been on Apple to support the development of Halo, because I'm not sure Bungie had the resources.

[@kaitlyn__L]

That bit about rewinding and reviewing the cottage got me good. Haven’t heard of that gamer guy but I’m not super surprised history is already being compressed and simplified. Sadly it’s always been this way, as much as I wish history could just stay complex. We used to get national preferences on retellings (like who invented the lightbulb or TV), seems in the internet age your game fandom clan matters a lot too.

[@65scribe]

I'm so glad you specifically liked that rewinding bit. One of those bits that made me laugh while I was doing it. And also, great insight, Kaitlyn. I was trying to make it a small example of that larger problem of simplified retellings skewing history, as well as mirroring the theme of 'Life of Brian' to question and challenge what you are being told.

[@TSL73]

This made my night so much better

[@kirishima638]

I was obsessed with this series back in the mid 90s, even though my LC475 struggled to play the games. I made so many maps but never played with others because I didn't get internet access until years later. I bought the big trilogy boxset when it came out. The booklet it came was fantastic and I held on to it many years after the box was gone. Some of the total conversion mods, like Tempus Irae and Rubicon were great too.

[@65scribe]

That's interesting, Jodie. Seems like a lot of commenters also bought the Trilogy box set, so that's good to hear. I also never got to play online, but there was enough fun things to do with that game.

[@stevencampbell1502]

Okay. I remember your map. I opened Bungie Org on New Years Day. 2000. Running those servers,. Keeping up with the archives was a chore. But. There is so much many didn't know that went on during those years. And Hamish and Claude were great allies. I turned Bungie Org to Claude after a few years but Bungie was still flying me and others to events. It was a great 10 years. I still have Duality stuff that never made it. Greg Kirkpatrick of Marathon Infinity was behind Duality. Pathways started it all. Glad you picked up on that

[@65scribe]

Great to hear from someone so involved with the Bungie Marathon world at the time! Incredible that you remember my map! I've also heard from Hamish as a result of this video. It's amazing, many young people talk with such reverence about Marathon, and defending its importance, even though the Trilogy is older than they are. It is good to see. I hope you take the time to tell your part of the story.

[@SilverX95]

31:55 there's is also Aleph One Marathon if you want something a bit newer, its open source.

[@65scribe]

Thanks for mentioning Aleph One. I've had it on my machine so long, I've taken it for granted. But Infinite Mac was something I hadn't heard of until this video was in the works.

[@tambarskelfir]

I was so proud of my Performa 640CD running Marathon on an 68LC040 when everyone and his uncle was playing Doom II on their 486DX

[@Laykun9000]

Love the humour you bring to everything and your style :).

[@fakegeek5462]

Not surprised about the Actman he really only plays the most popular games. But for a huge Halo fan he should of known that Marathon was a inspiration to Halo i thought every fan knew that.

[@TadanoHitohito]

I've never heard of Marathon prior to this video, but it certainly looks fun and impressive from a technical perspective. It rivals stuff from the late 90s and early 2000s on the PlayStation. Regardless, great video!

[@65scribe]

Thanks! I'm glad I could introduce it to you.

[@theformerkaiser9391]

For the record, there was a Mac OS X port of Half-Life that was cancelled in 2000. Apparently it was cancelled due to being “substandard”, but others say it was because Apple had angered Valve by misrepresenting sales figures

[@65scribe]

I appreciate you sharing the extra details on that story. Below in the comments someone mentions that they still would have made money based on real projected sales figures, but still cancelled the port. Unreal's Mac port looked great, so I also doubt it was cancelled on the basis of quality. To make that decision, I think it comes down to Valve's hubris and bias against Apple.

[@JorisWitteman]

Grew up on Marathon 2 (I prefer it much over 1) and the Forge level editor. Loved it. Coolest Xmas gift I ever got as a kid, that box.

[@infinitecanadian]

In Doom enemies make a sound when they hear you. Same in Wolfenstein 3D. There is an Unreal Tournament mod based upon the Marathon Trilogy.

[@65scribe]

I couldn't tell if they just constantly make noise, or if they are reacting to you. In Doom it didn't seem to be based on line-of-sight. I know they don't have the ability to stand still (unless dead) where Marathon had static postures and would make a noise and spring into action when they saw you. Marathon's mechanism was more well developed, I'll say that. UT Marathon mod = cool.

[@infinitecanadian]

@@65scribe Oh, the enemies in Doom definitely react to noise.

[@justgaming4fun82]

Damn, was about to go to bed, but then I saw you uploaded a video. I had to watch.

[@65scribe]

Thanks for staying up!

[@Stryder_The_Nite_Owl]

Awesome video, as always. I didn't see it mentioned, but Marathon II was available for Windows back in 1995. I bought a copy so I could play network Marathon with another player in my home, one using a PC and me using the Mac.

[@65scribe]

I was going to mention that, but then cut it as the video began to run long. That's cool you were able to net-play across platforms. Ron, the guy who appeared in the video, was actually a beta play-tester for the Windows version.

[@DontGetHit648]

LOL I literally just searched up your channel earlier seeing if I had missed a video for Marchintosh. Right when I had gotten desperate you came through!

[@65scribe]

lol. Glad to hear you were checking in on my channel. You sensed it coming!

[@TxTaylorIII]

Been a marathon fan my whole life Just diving into these videos because the hype of the new one and man thank you for this!

[@65scribe]

I’m glad you liked the video! I appreciate the feedback. Planning to comment on the new game shortly.

[@gpliskin]

I only found out about the Marathon trilogy a few years ago, but it quickly became one of my favorite FPS games. Always good to see Marathon content on KZbin!

[@65scribe]

That's impressive that you got into it just recently, Gabriel. Definite evidence that Marathon has a 'timeless' element and not just nostalgia-driven.

[@alarak2159]

I’m only just catching up with vids - man, I was waiting for this one and you didn’t disappoint! Sentiments agreed over Marathons importance, neglect and Unreals superiority over Half-Life! Brilliant vid!

[@65scribe]

I'm glad to hear it didn't disappoint. Thanks for the feedback!

[@CassandraCarter]

A great gaming classic gets the love it deserves.

[@AlonsoVPR]

Necrodome had driving vehicles in 1996 before halo ;) Keep it up!! love your reviews!

[@65scribe]

Thank you and thanks for mentioning Necrodome! I was mostly referencing Unreal and Half-Life not having vehicles, but good point.

[@johnbergman955]

I always thought someone at Valve must've been a Marathon fan. I think both series even have some narrative similarities. The Vortigaunts certainly remind me of the S'pht. They even planned a section at the end where they'd rise up and fight on your side but it was cut. Probably because unlike Marathon, there's no terminal to tell you that they're friendly now.

[@65scribe]

Wow, that's an interesting parallel that almost happened. And you're right, how would the game deliver that information?

[@johnbergman955]

@@65scribe There's a remnant of it in the final game where the Vortigaunts (then known as alien slaves) will refuse to fight you during the final levels unless their controllers see you or you provoke them. A lot of players miss this the first time because the game obviously trains you to shoot them on sight. It does add this interesting element to the story where you wonder if they were simply acting in self-defense the whole time. The security guards also are very reminiscent of the BoBs. They're average Joes who help you out and say goofy shit the whole time.

[@65scribe]

Very interesting parallels. Thanks for sharing that. Now, Marathon 2 had better gameplay compared to Marathon, but Marathon was probably a ‘smarter’ game. Would you say Half Life 2 was the same compared to Half Life? Half Life definitely seems to be more revered today, but I remember tremendous excitement about Half Life 2.

[@johnbergman955]

@@65scribe This is somewhat controversial among Half-Life fans. I think a lot of people say that HL1 was the better game and I'm inclined to agree with that. The combat in 2 is not nearly as fun and I don't think the gravity gun makes up for it. It's serviceable. I do think HL2 is the 'smarter' game as you said. The world-building is great. Getting to Highway 17 and realizing that you're driving on the seafloor because the aliens have ruined the ecosystem was a great moment and the game never makes a big deal out of it. The game is full of little moments like that. Then there's the art direction which really doesn't seem like much, but I've managed to trick casual observers into thinking the game is recent. This is probably part of why people were excited for the game because it looked damn good for 2004. Just watch the E3 2003 presentation and listen to the audience reaction for example.

[@65scribe]

@@johnbergman955 Thanks for your insights, John. Good to read an objective view of those games!

[@2dfx]

Mr. Scribe - thank you for the excellent retrospective. I was late to the Marathon party...after playing the demos from the MacAddict CD I received a free copy of Infinity in 1997 with my father's MacWarehouse order. Young me at the time barely realized just how good and how much fun it was to play. Even went onto the great mods of the time - Tempus Irae and Damage Incorporated, the latter which I spent far too much time playing with friends.

[@65scribe]

You're welcome! Great reading your story with Marathon and it's follow-ups.

[@NDHFilms]

The Scribe returns

[@Credon59]

Another great video. Although I'm a PC guy, I admire the history of the Macintosh and have learned a lot from your channel. I was watching the credits at the end and thought, "oh well, no new segment from the Oil Museum.." and then, there it was! haha always fun. Thanks for your videos. =)

[@65scribe]

Thanks very much! I'm glad you enjoyed the video and held-out to the end to see the Oil Museum segment.

[@retropuffer2986]

Another amazing video! Had to play on a friend's computer since my Mac was too old. The rocket jump was the most memorable thing to me. Even when I played later FPS games like Unreal I would often say to myself "maybe I need to pull a Marathon to get that item!".

[@65scribe]

I like that! I'm glad you enjoyed the video and thanks for sharing that memory.

[@max.zelinski]

watched your new video with an amazing enjoyment. please continue what you are doing, and I will proudly support you via patreon

[@65scribe]

That's great you enjoyed the video, Max. Thanks so much for your support over the past year! It's made it much easier to justify material purchases for the videos, the PCjr keyboard being a small example.

[@flexfortune4938]

Great video! I still have my original Marathon box with the game on floppies, along with my trilogy box set. 😆

[@65scribe]

Thank you! That's excellent you bought the pre-CD edition AND you kept your box set intact.

[@DanStormVO]

I don't know who you are, I don't know where you came from, but this feels like early KZbin in the best ways. Always nice to see more Marathon content and your personal experience with the games

[@65scribe]

Thanks, Dan, for the most dramatic comment I've gotten. :) Glad you enjoyed the show!

[@TheOriginalCollectorA1303]

A new 65scribe video and it’s all about Marathon and more? Awesome! Definitely the best way to learn more about this amazing series! Plus it’s a great reason to further increase the Macintosh collection. I was also recently rewatching some of the older videos lately, so seeing the new notification was very cool. As always, excellent video!

[@65scribe]

Thanks for the feedback! I'm glad you came back to watch the older videos.

[@TheOriginalCollectorA1303]

When enough time passes, it’s like they are brand new again since they always have so much cool information!

[@cunt4003]

Brings back memories.

[@alexshepherd]

I watched this with some trepidation, considering the length of the video and the fact that I’d never played Marathon. I needn’t have worried. This was a fabulous overview, perfectly edited with some great little voiceovers (5:18 - “yeah, you go that way if you want”…), the unexpected video of the developers from ‘back in the day’… and what other ‘KZbinr’ has the personal connection of a map competition entry? - that tugged on the heartstrings, that feeling of discovering that you haven’t won (I also entered competitions as a kid in the early 90s). All the while, I was thinking of one game that I did play, Duke Nukem 3D - on the PC of course (I only worked on Macs at school). I was gratified to see it mentioned and credited later in the discussion of the FPS family tree. I didn’t even know that’s what FPS stood for until the last few years; I always thought it was ‘frames per second’. Speaking of which; to an outside observer, I’m sorry to say this but Marathon seems to have strange perspective where it seems that you are always too close to something; the other characters just doesn’t seem to move correctly, and the animations like the reloading are so slow. As soon as we see video from Unreal, we can see how much more fluid the motion is, never mind the improved textures - the whole aspect of combat seems far more ‘real’. It’s inspired me to try Unreal on my Wallstreet G3 PowerBook, yes, it’s the 300MHz version not the 233, I hope it copes. I was of course really glad to see a little more of the Denfield Hoard, and then - oil museum girl! - I fell out of my chair with excitement :D There really is something for everyone here. Love your work. Really looking forward to the next… Greetings from Papamoa, New Zealand

[@65scribe]

I read your MESSAGE with some trepidation... (lol). No, I really appreciate that you took the time to give some detailed feedback on the video. Regarding the Bungie competition, I was actually just excited to be on a published disc. I understand your points about Marathon. While Marathon was doing "2.5-D" forced perspective, starting with Quake it was polygonal 3-D perspective. Marathon never bothered me... Quake did bother me... Unreal was beautiful... It comes down to personal preference. I think your Wallstreet should be OK with Unreal. It will just want at least 105MB to itself. Thank you, and great to hear from you way over in New Zealand!

[@biggersmaller1]

This may be my favorite channel. PLEASE keep making more content.

[@georgestyka6088]

I love Marathon and always considered Halo the evolution of the series and so you are correct.

[@oregb7959]

Great Video! I have great memories of marathon on my LC 475. It was nice to have a fps that ran well on it unlike the Wolfenstein 3D port for Mac.

[@ms1595]

You videos are always a "must see" to me

[@kaitlyn__L]

I’m not on your Patreon, but I’ve definitely been wanting you to do a video all about this game. What a wonderful gift

[@65scribe]

I'm glad this video gave you what you've been waiting for. It definitely took some time to figure-out how to approach it without it being 'seen there, watched that' ... that doesn't quite make sense, but you get the idea..

[@66ranchero]

Excellent stuff! Love your videos

[@pavelcollee-foley7997]

adjusting my tie as a new 65scribe video releases.

[@65scribe]

lol!

[@WW-jt2sq]

I live for your videos, so excited whenever you post.

[@ELEKTROSKANSEN]

Hey, what a nice video you have here! Besides the content itself, I really enjoy the laid back presentation. It's so refreshing to watch a YT video that isn't narrated like someone just snorted a bag of coke and downed it with a six-pack of red bulls. I'm not that much into Mac stuff on a daily basis, but I subbed instantly. Good luck! I landed here because I just had one of these nostalgic blasts from the past, that is: I remembered that I had only one friend with a Mac in primary school and around 1997 we were both bonding over video games and competing in a platform war. Or, come to think of it, I was a duche who never missed an occasion to point out that I can play Quake and Carmageddon and lots of others on my PC and all my friend had was demos of Wolf 3D and Marathon. Probably simply because his dad didn't have the most powerful Mac around, but still, I was a duche. Despite this, I happily used every occasion to play these Marathon demos at his house. I remember really liking the machine gun design from M2 for some reason. Maybe because it had the grenade launcher attachment and it was something I never saw in my PC games at that time? I was also unaware that Marathon games were in fact ported to PC at some point, so I always thought of them as "Mac exclusive". I really wish I could remember what exact Mac model he had, I would gladly buy one for myself now to make it a part of my retro collection. But I just can't figure it out, and when I look up Mac models from around 1994-1998 when he had to have purchased his, I find them all looking almost the same, so i'll never find it just by looks alone. "A grey flat desktop with a floppy disc drive at the front" is not that specific, I guess, lol. These were good times. Being 13 and only caring about showing your friend that "your" computer had "better games than his", only to instantly forget about the whole "platform war" when we were invited to another friend who had an Amiga 500 - obviously an "inferior" machine compared to ours, but it had games that could be played by 4 players, like Worms or Moonstone. He also had Mortal Kombat 2 and I will never forget how that version forced us to change discs before showing the Fatality animations. That was crazy, you won the fight, frantically mashed the joystick, forward! forward! down! up! the screen goes dark... the game pauses... INSERT DISC 1... so you changed the disc... you waited... INSERT DISC 4... you changed it again... waited... then BAM! Johnny Cage uppercut decapitates Scorpion, finally! Good times indeed.

[@65scribe]

Great memories! Thanks for sharing those. Very entertaining. Appreciate the sub. I hope you get a chance to watch some of the other videos. They are generally not overly technical and the same style as this video. I’m not sure what Mac your friend used but I hope you’re able to find something close.

[@williama29]

i like watching your videos and when you upload a video it gets my attention

[@dave7244]

The thing that Doom II does better than everything else is that the combat and game design was a lot better than what came before and still holds up today. A lot of these youtubers seem to not get what Doom was about, don't seem to have ever tried to get actually good at the game so they don't really understand that the major thing Doom II did right was the gameplay and enemy design right.

[@65scribe]

Thanks for sharing your Doom II perspective, Dave! I like reading analysis from someone who put some real thought into it. Everyone whose opinion matters seems to agree with you that id Software had a real talent for designing the gameplay. I hope the video didn't come off that I was dumping on Doom or any of the other FPS games. It was mostly as a counterpoint to discredit a lot of these youtuber videos that get swept-up in the recent Doom/Half Life hyperbole instead of being objective about the games and finding out what actually happened back then. You gotta respect any FPS games that were successful and still loved by many, because, beyond that, it comes down to personal preference which can't be debated. In my research, I spent an hour reading message board debates from 1995 with Doom vs. Marathon... Doom II vs Marathon 2... There wasn't one bit of useful information there that I could use. LOL

[@johnbergman955]

You can design some truly amazing combat puzzles with the Doom II bestiary. As much as I like Marathon, I don't think something like Plutonia could exist for it.

Incredible video. Thank you. It is so interesting to learn about all these things from Mac history 🙏👍🏻👍🏻

[@BenHelweg]

I think the original System Shock (also 1994) is often forgotten about in game history too. It mixed the first person shooter with elements of adventure/rpg and paved the way for games like Deus Ex.

[@65scribe]

You're right, Ben. Another impressive 1994 game. I'm disappointed it was not acknowledged in the "better" 90's FPS chart I showed. It would be interesting to see where it would fit in.

[@macktheinterloper]

I still listen to the Unreal soundtrack every now and then. It's really amazing, especially considering how it was made.

[@65scribe]

Yes, I like listening to it as well. Curious to know "how it was made"...

[@macktheinterloper]

@@65scribe I think I may have made it sound overly sensationalistic ;) Unreal's soundtrack was composed entirely on trackers.

[@darwiniandude]

Love your videos :) thanks

[@LeftyPem]

So glad to have helped you get a Mac you had been looking so long for.

[@65scribe]

I was just going to send you an email in case you hadn’t seen the video. Thanks so much, and no small effort on your part to get it to me. It worked perfectly as a follow up to the last episode.

[@steveg5122]

Always great to see your videos.

[@nyuni]

Having owned the Marathon Infinity Box Set, I'm now annoyed that I didn't keep it beyond still having the original discs. I'm going to have to check out your map though... I'm sure I played it but I'm sure I don't remember it!

[@65scribe]

Too bad about your box set. I tossed my Infinity box because there was a tear in it, then regretted it. I hope you get a chance to check out my map.

[@BlueMSX.]

I love watching your videos, it's always a great watch and a great time!

[@65scribe]

Thanks very much, Mumu!

[@BlueMSX.]

@@65scribe no problem!

[@mikedrop4421]

OK, you uploaded so I'm here. It's basically that simple. I don't know how I managed to miss marathon back then. Well actually I do know. Information wasn't being shot at us through a fire hose back then.

[@65scribe]

Ha! Beautifully put, Mike!

[@RacerX-]

Awesome! Thanks so much for another excellent and entertaining video. Top of the list in my book.

[@65scribe]

Thanks for your support!

[@billjobsinspace]

Thank you for this, this is my favourite game of all time - this video really takes me back 😎

[@65scribe]

You're welcome!

[@linoxyard]

Not only Valve was late to port HL1 to the Mac, but now their port doesn't really work anymore after Apple pulled the plug on 32bit support (great move right there, not really Valve's fault though). They were also critical of the PlayStation 3, until Sony gave them money to make "the best console port of Portal 2", although in my opinion they were right about that: the PS3 was a development nightmare according to a LOT of devs

[@65scribe]

Doesn't work without 32-bit support? So much for that! Thanks for sharing more background on the Valve ports.

[@olepigeon]

Another vintage Bungie game that's actually still seeing development is Myth II. Myth II was always my favorite Bungie game. The main game engine has been continuously updated by a group of fans for modern Linux, Windows, and macOS. There's even a native Apple Silicon build now. :) All you need is a Myth II CD-ROM (original or Total Codex), then the installer will copy over the assets and install the updated game engine.

[@65scribe]

Great to know that. I'd lost track of Myth II, so thanks for sharing that update!

[@wutzerface77]

Love the video as always-- kinda funny but this was uploaded the same day the Act Man finally mentioned Marathon in his video about Arena shooters

[@65scribe]

Thanks! Glad you liked the video. Yes, that video from the Act Man was a crazy coincidence! Good for him! I'm still not quite in agreement, but I have less to complain about now.

[@kittenmittenkitten]

As for the section on underlooked pioneering FPS games, I think an important game (and lineage) to point out is System Shock (1994, two months before Marathon. Even has a Mac port) and it's predecessor Ultima Underworld (pre-Wolfenstein 1992), and its sorta spinoff Descent (1995). Between it and Marathon, Half Life doesn't feel half as important to be honest.

[@65scribe]

Excellent FPS references. I should have at least added a reference to System Shock somewhere in there.

[@Megatog615]

HOLY SHIT.... WE FOUND IT the only game for macs

[@65scribe]

Thanks mega. :/

[@Megatog615]

@@65scribe 😅

[@onigvd77]

Marathon is awesome, I spent hours on all the games. I also had a go at the map competition and I think my map made it on there as I got an email from someone who had some trouble with working out one of the levels.

[@65scribe]

That's cool, Grant. Do you remember the name of your map?

[@onigvd77]

@@65scribe it’s been over 20 years since i made them, i remember one level more so than the name of them. i used the layout of my university department building as inspiration. my idea was the that Pfhor wanted to use the uni internet connection to infiltrate the global network to aid their invasion of earth.

[@65scribe]

@@onigvd77 Great plot idea! That would be UniRescue by Grant Davis. Amazing to hear from a fellow 'Best of the Rest' map maker!

[@onigvd77]

@@65scribe cool, i was wondering what category i made it in, i don’t think i was ever told, so when i was emailed by someone asking for tips, i was surprised and glad it got out there :)

[@onigvd77]

@@65scribe if i can get to all the maps myself, so will try to play yours one day :)

[@Rampancy]

Great vid! We were just playing a remake of the M1 scenario that includes some of the content from the original demo, like that Pfhor fighter trapped in the column.

[@65scribe]

And the Bob trapped in the hidden room? That's really cool!

[@Rampancy]

@@65scribe Yup! Those and more-- the scenario is called Marathon 1 Redux, or M1R.

[@jameshenry3350]

love these vids

[@cosettapessa6417]

Love the 4/3 aspect. My ipad loves you :)

[@InitialiseDisk]

You’re the only channel I have upload notifications turned on for.

[@65scribe]

Wow, thanks so much!

[@stephanemignot100]

I bought the Trilogy box 30$ in 99 in Florida, Hi from France

[@65scribe]

Very cool! And hi From Canada!

[@yourbrainonegg159]

Oh god Marathon WAVES WERE THE BATTLES, AND THE BATTLES WERE WAVES

[@65scribe]

Deep Marathon lore reference!

[@iSquishy89]

2 months later, Bungie announces its rebooting Marathon. Perfect timing.

[@65scribe]

So much happened after the video, I might need a short follow-up video.

[@aslag94]

This is absolutely lovely.

[@65scribe]

Thanks very much!

[@themacintoshnerd]

Half Life actually was going to have a Mac port for OS 8 and 9. Rebecca Heinemann was in charge of the port (the same woman who worked on the Doom 3DO port in 6 weeks) and they had the port finished. Apple also had their hands in this port because they were, at this point in time, trying to get games on the Mac to show off the graphics hardware they were putting in computers as standard at the time. However they lied about pre orders and over inflated how many there would be. (However it was still enough to be a profitable success). Valve and Sierra were not impressed and pulled the plug. Heinemann came down to the same conclusion as you, platform bias. Since again it would have still been a successful product. I’m pretty sure later on Apple was also pretty interested in getting Half Life 2 on the Mac.

[@65scribe]

I vaguely remember there being something more to that story. Very interesting reading the details. Thanks for sharing that!

[@aa-au]

This is a very detailed review - well done! One of the first games I every played that was way before these modern FPS was Dungeons of Daggorath on the Tandy Color Computer. According to Wikipedia, Dungeons of Daggorath was one of the first real-time, first-person perspective role-playing video games, and it was produced by DynaMicro for the TRS-80 Color Computer in 1983. There was very little information when I was playing in the 80s and I got to the 5th level but I don't recall finishing it. Now you have an abundance of information on the web and KZbin playthroughs which would make the game boring to play now ie: too easy to play and complete. I had my share of fun back in the day!

[@65scribe]

Thanks! Great to read about your early adventures. I would play Tunnels of Doom for the TI99 in 1982. It was a first person perspective in the maze but would switch to an overhead RPG battle when an enemy showed up. Magical 80’s fun!

[@rambles2727]

The KZbin notification that makes my day :D

[@Ari--d]

THANK GOD YOU ARE BACK

[@collagen1738]

Been waiting for this video for years!

[@yueibm]

More oil museum!

[@NavJack27gaming]

YAY NEW VIDEO!

[@raretapes8057]

Loving the 4:3 aspect ratio :)

[@WOBBLEMASTER]

Bruh how does anyone even know this game besides me? I feel like a relic of the past. A small minority that truly got to taste the acquiescence of early 2.5 D, which from Bungie started as “Pathways Into Darkness” I can already hear the guitar. I’ve told all of my friends about this game over the years. 819, if you see this, Hats off to you buddy.

[@65scribe]

Great reading your comment God of Nothing. Yes, hats off to 819...

[@EverythingIsBrokenGarage]

Classic Ron's Computer Videos!