Unreal Tournament / Game Types & Mods / Marathon Resurrection

What is Marathon?

Marathon, in the minds of the members of this team, is the undisputed god of First-Person Shooters. Back in 1994, a small company called Bungie Software released this masterpiece, which literally trounced id Software's DOOM in terms of playability, graphics, interactivity and, most of all, storyline.

Marathon's game play differed from DOOM in that it wasn't just see demon, kill demon, flip switch, open door, tied together with a shabby, quasi-action-movie plot. Marathon's storyline ran deep into the minds of three computer AI's: Durandal, Leela and Tycho. Leela was cast as the player's ally, who would guide him through his objective's aboard the colony ship Marathon, which was under attack by alien forces known as the P'fhor and S'pht at the time. Durandal was cast as the player's enemy. Durandal, in the beginning, would attempt to hinder the player's efforts. Durandal was an AI overtaken by a condition known as rampancy, the computer equivalent of insanity. Tycho was, well, Tycho. Any of you Marathon junkies out there know what I mean.

As you progressed through the levels, jump after jump, the plot became more and more in-depth. The puzzles presented were not there just for the sake of being challenging, but because they were integral to the plot. Even today, 7 years later, websites such as the Marathon Story website still examine the plot nuances and seemingly inconsequential tidbits of information in the game. From the number 7 to Durandal's rantings, everything in Marathon has a purpose for being there.

Marathon's multiplayer gaming mode was, and still is, ridiculously addictive. From pioneering such interesting game types as King of the Hill and Kill the Guy with the Ball to plain, ordinary deathmatch, there was something about multiplayer in Marathon that people just couldn't get enough of. The weapons and physics made for excellent and fabulously gory games (TOZT with your SPNKR, anyone?). It was always fun to shoot a rocket at someone's feet and watch them fly back ten or so meters, but I digress.

It is for these reasons and many more that Marathon is a cult classic. Even today, long-time Mac users have LAN parties playing Marathon, since it didn't support TCP/IP for multi-player gaming. It is also for these reasons that Team Unpfhorgiven has come together in an endeavor to bring Marathon back to glory.

The Marathon: Resurrection project is breathing new, fully 3D life into an old 2.5D action game. With the advanced 3D capabilities of today's graphics cards, Marathon can become an even more visually-stunning and addictive game. The vessel for this rebirth: Unreal Tournament. Team Unpfhorgiven is taking all those tired, old sprites and turning them into true 3D models. We're adding our own take on the weapons, beefing them up, making them look cooler and sound more dangerous. The enemies will be greasier, scarier and, with the help of Unreal Tournament AI programming, far more challenging opponents. We're converting both single-player and multiplayer modes of Marathon, so that PC users can experience what a FPS plot should be like, and Mac users can indulge themselves in nostalgia, and everyone can enjoy the unique, addictive sensation derived from multiplayer Marathon over TCP/IP. We're taking it all, messing with it, and spitting it back out. If you're looking for a carbon copy, go somewhere else, like Aleph One. If you're here, you're getting Marathon, Team Unpfhorgiven-style.

• Damien Sorresso - Project Founder