So, Bungie have gone.
I remember back when I didn't know what a GUI was, when I thought kidpix was the most amazing animation program I'd ever seen. I first saw PiD at my cousin's house on his ancient Quadra. I was amazed. I was so young I can hardly remember it but I remember having all the lights out and the curtains closed at night, and damn nearly wetting myself. We were both probably only about 7 or 8 years old, but we got through a few levels.
My access to computers and games was, in those day, limited. I didn't know who Bungie were. I forgot that they were the ones who made that really scary, immersive game. The next time I was at my cousin's house he had Marathon 1 on a three-computer network. We played all day and all night until we couldn't see properly anymore, filling "E equals mc what??" with alien corpses until no more could fit. I can still remember standing behind a pillar and hearing an 'egg-head' firing its assault rifle at one of my cousins, and then seeing a pile of guts slide across the floor in front of me from out behind a pillar. By this time I think I was probably about 9, and had a Mac of my own. I still knew little about Bungie.
Over time my involvement with computers grew and I realised how brilliant Bungie was. With Marathon * I was able to further the networking experience. I live in South Australia but a few of my mac-using friends get together regularly and swap files/play games etc. Because of my distance I was unable to attend any MacWorld expos. I still didn't really understand how cool Bungie was. When the internet came to my house I was able to hook up with other mac users. After a while I began to check all the Bungie-related sites. I read the entire Marathon Story page, posted in forums, asked questions of The Soul, wrote letters to the webmaster. I was a full-fledged Bungie fan before long. Halo and Oni came along and I was having trouble sleeping thinking about the smoke trails and lighting effects. Our first few stunning kills evolved in multiplayer - Glenn teleported in to his own rocket, Daniel nailed a 5-in-1 rocket kill, I beat the record of most kills in 15 minutes, and we coined the 'bouncing kill' on Route 66.
But it's gone, now. Like the wind.
Now my mac-using friends and I still get together and play games. We have a network of 16 iMacs on which we have massive frag-fests in Marathon *, we test our strategic abilities in Myth II on a regular basis. I have proven myself master of the Marathon games, but we always enjoy ourselves. We have the most amazingly fun times together playing Marathon. We have Unreal Tournament and Quake 3 but neither get played as much as good old Marathon. We recently constructed a map that is based on our high school, so we can blow each other to bits in our own quadrangle! For all this we have Bungie to thank. All the staff members had the coolest personalities. They used to keep the fans intrigued with their mysterious letters. The Marathon Story has not ceased to amaze me yet, I still read it over and over again. We still have films saved of the most amazing kills in Marathon, and the most outrageously destructive mortar dwarves in Myth.
And now they're gone. No more.
I can understand this. Looking at it from the point of view of the staff, they are doing what is best for them personally. It's not a selfish move, they have no choice, or at least it is a move that they determine personally. If they want to move it's up to them. I can understand how they want to work on the X-Box, I understand that they are interested in the cash M$ has. But it is some of the saddest news I've heard that they are leaving. They say they will remain the same old Bungie but there is no way that can happen anymore.
An era is ended, there is nothing more to look forward to. But we can still cling to the old magical Bungie that we once knew. I for one am not going to stop playing Marathon. I'll still try to decipher the cryptic messages. I'll still play Myth and Myth II. I'll collect every last scrap and morsel of Bungie that I can. But my dream to go to MacWorld New York and see the Bungie guys has been vanquished. Just like that. Phffft!
Bungie was a major part of my life - I was so enthralled by their stories that I was on the edge of my seat, following every link and email address until I'd read as much as my head could handle. So you can see, Bungie has blown people away even on the other side of the world.
Bungie, you were more than a gaming company, you had enough depth to rival my sock drawer. I'll miss you sorely.
-Simon Marek [
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