And a second. This one is a more familiar tune.

- No text -

Every time, man. Really looking forward to seeing what they've got up their sleeves on the 12th.

Also, having to slog through Discord for the ARG this past weekend has me longing for the days of Bungie.org forums. I find it so difficult to find "community" in those kind of high-noise environments.

<3

Can’t help it.

They've been pouring on the coals with this ARG. Can't wait to see what they've been cooking up tomorrow and chatting about it w/ everyone. For now, though... bed.

See you starside.

They'd better bring back the vacbobs.

- No text -

Why is it called Marathon? Besides the obvious name recognition, is there even a reason? The story isn't even written yet, five months from release. This kinda seems like a train wreck already.

Where’d you pull that from? A number of the Creator videos directly contradict that entire statement/question. Just because they’re keeping things under wraps doesn’t mean it’s not there… This is still closed-Alpha, after all.

That sounds... not good.

But I want to know where you're getting that from before I start to worry.

3. The art style doesn't look quite as good as I was hoping it would in-engine. I still think the style itself is amazing, and it does look good in-engine, but it's not as clean or poppy as I was expecting it to be based on the CG preview and concept art from last year. Cody said it best: It feels much too flat and understated. Certain objects and enemies also seem difficult to read based on the footage we've seen, particularly in low-light areas, which is uh... not necessarily good for gameplay (unless that's what they're going for in those areas).

All the stranger, when they bring out art from Craig Mullins, and specifically highlight how he visually defined marathon. Then they go and create a game that looks nothing like what he did. They even put his piece beside two others from the current team, and there is no resemblance at all but for the pose.

Why do that when the game doesn't look like this?

I'm not saying that the game has to look any certain way (as I said before, I quite liked what the earlier trailers did), but if you're going for something new why not just own it instead of bringing out art from the OG Trilogy that has nothing to do with your current game?

But like… why?

That has always been the problem with extraction shooters. Every single one of them. The loop is the game, that’s it. No greater goal or purpose, nothing to really work towards. I kinda thought Bungie might be the ones to finally solve that problem, but I’ve seen no indication they have.

Maybe that’s not a problem. That loop is fun on its own . . . for a while. But I’m not sure it has the staying power Destiny did without something else, because that loop gets stale with no greater purpose.

Strictly referring to the reveal, I had exactly three thoughts:

1. What does this have to do with Marathon beyond them needing a brand to slap on their extraction shooter?
2. I like the way it looks, but I have no feel for how it plays.
3. Did they really just slap the Marathon brand on it to try to get it to sell instead of starting with a fresh IP name?

It is a failure of a presentation (for me) when two of my three thoughts were more about branding decisions than what I actually saw. I’ve also had the opportunity to talk to multiple people who never played Marathon and know nothing about it, and while that’s a small sample size and might not mean much, not a single person would try the game after what they saw unless it was free to play. That’s unfortunate, because that means that people I play plenty of other games with (and others who I haven’t played things with in quite a while) are showing no interest based on this reveal.

As with all things, I suppose time will tell what’s in store for this game, how fun it is, and its staying power.

Bungie released:

A. A cinematic trailer that was awesome to watch as a stand alone video. But as a hype video for the game? Terrible.
When Destiny was in hype mode, they release the video of the Hunter, Warlock and Titan kicking ass in the solar system. It was awesome. I saw that hunter and said to myself, "that will be me!! I'm going to kick ass like that Hunter!!"

But this cinematic? Everyone died. They set up a story, for a character...and you think, that will be me!! But then he dies. Everyone dies. So already I'm expecting a game where....well, you're gonna die.

B. The in-game trailer. Generic gameplay footage with a generic voice over explaining the game. And the footage wasn't even compelling! Let me tell you something Bungie. I'm pretty tired of hearing about "customizable custimazation to customize your custom" blablabla. I've been using a garbage monster for 10 years that I hate. I'm tired of your "unlimited customization:" promises.

C. Alpha Build Content Creators: Ok, I'm a console player. Know what I hate? G**D**n PC streamers sweating up my good time. I don't give a care about what a gaggle of PC only streamers think about the game. Add to that, watching them play, it didn't seem at all like they cared about the objective. Whether it's how they played, or how the video was edited, the objective based extraction didn't matter. They were playing a ROYALE game against other players. (of which there are only 18) And when I'm told that "weapons and loadouts don't matter, skilled, tactical players will always win out [paraphrase]" well guess what...you might as well say "bring your sweat rag, noob, or get your a** packed"

Eff Marathon. I'm out.

- No text -

I get it. It's probably just too much of a headache to deal with. But proximity chat in DMZ was so much fun. Korny and I played a lot of DMZ when it came out, and proximity chat played a large part in my personal enjoyment. We used it to great affect to confuse enemies, and we had some really funny moments throwing taunts back and forth with one squad.

All the footage I’ve seen looks like PC footage. That UI looks like a nightmare on a controller.

I thought the same thing! In a game where you are constantly under fire, going through a rather vast inventory system is no-bueno! But also, what was up with the "loading" animation in the inventories. When they open a bag, it was just empty squares, and the items would gradually populate. That seems horrible.

This could just be a me problem, but anything presented to me by streamers who need to maintain their relevance by sucking up to Bungie (or any other company) makes me automatically distrustful of what they’re saying. So even with this video, I also can acknowledge that maybe all of what they’re saying is legit or how they really feel. But either way, I end back up at square one since I’m not buying a thing they have to say about anything anyway.

I’ve also seen Bungie get hyped up plenty with Destiny material that doesn’t live up anything close to the hype upon release. And plenty of other game companies. And even pre-release movie hype that doesn’t match audience or critic sentiments (or my own).

That's potentially cool, and to be expected. DMZ had Building 21, which came into rotation after a while, and was a more difficult map with high end gear. In order to gain access, you needed to find a key in the regular map an extract with it.

Bungie said this. Just in case people were worried about trustworthiness.

because I'm a filthy casual who depends on the kindness of others to play high-level content without too much pain. It'd be cool if I could find a role that doesn't frustrate my teammates too much. Don't have much faith in that.

All that said, I love the art style. Bungie has always had the best art, IMHO, and they haven't lost that magic. And, irrespective of the game ...

that cinematic was stunning--simply amazing as a standalone piece of art. It's a top-tier short film. As good as any Bungie's other triumphs in this space. Are there awards for such things, Cody? Does it qualify for a Clio?

I remember not being able to stop watching the Oni trailer back in the day. I'm feel the same about this one.

Having had the chance to watch a buddy play plenty of the Alpha, I think my initial second thought about the gameplay reveal has been affirmed while also being updated. I definitely still like the way it looks, and I agree with you about the art style. The update to my thought is that I now actually have a much better feel for how it plays, and I'm liking what I'm seeing.

As for your filthy casual part, the gameplay I've been watching I think would be just fine for you. I'm sure that there will be situations where players (casual or high level) just get stomped early in a game and lose, but there are definitely going to be other games and situations that go slow, fill up nearly the whole time limit, and allow exfil with no issues. Hell, you could even exfil after a few minutes if you and your team want out early while other players might be exploring and not around.

I haven't checked around online anywhere, but if any hidden terminals exist, I would love to be able to see them some time. That UESC Marathon map could be a potential gold mine for hidden interactions that might end up interesting me far more than loot or getting into combat with people (at least initially).

because I'm a filthy casual who depends on the kindness of others to play high-level content without too much pain. It'd be cool if I could find a role that doesn't frustrate my teammates too much. Don't have much faith in that.

All that said, I love the art style. Bungie has always had the best art, IMHO, and they haven't lost that magic. And, irrespective of the game ...

that cinematic was stunning--simply amazing as a standalone piece of art. It's a top-tier short film. As good as any Bungie's other triumphs in this space. Are there awards for such things, Cody? Does it qualify for a Clio?

I remember not being able to stop watching the Oni trailer back in the day. I'm feel the same about this one.

There's space in this game for you.

- No text -

Exactly when the point that happened for anyone is going to vary wildly

For me it was the Halo 2 graphic novel.

I do think that the gameplay concept of “extraction”, and the risk/reward of betting your accumulated gear in a gameplay session is one that can work very well (I love Hitman 3’s Freelancer mode to death and it makes fantastic use of this). I just have zero interest in doing it against other players who are probably better than me.

This is the thing I'm wondering about. I think they'll have to do the same thing with putting other teams on the map as they did with Halo 2/3, which let the skill level swing a bit. You'd get both even games, and lopsided games, some of which were in your favor and some which aren't. I feel like you'd NEED to have those few games where you just walk all over the other team, or you'd just be constantly losing. Pure skill based match making I feel like would fail here.

The couch format doesn't do it for me. This isn't fair, but there's a negative Hollywood vibe that turns me off. There's an assumption that these people, most of whom I don't recognize, are supposed to be inherently interesting to me simply because of where they work.

I'm sure all of these people are great. It's irrelevant. The main thing is that it's a lot of focus on something that has absolutely nothing to do with selling the game, which is ultimately the purpose of the stream.

Introduce the developers later -- AFTER you've sold us on your new game, NOT before! Our time is valuable. Our attention is limited. Use it effectively while you've got it!

Similarly, I don't care about what kind of runner Bungie employees like to play as, or their favorite moments. I don't yet know what they're talking about. It's inside baseball and they haven't adequately explained to me what a baseball is. Maybe they haven't finished inventing baseball, and that accounts for the vagueness, but seriously, sell me a GAME.

That's the most worrying thing, although "worrying" puts to much emphasis on it. If the game is bad, I guess I'll feel some disappointment and just move on. There's too much other shit to do to care about a bad video game. But damn if it doesn't already kinda feel like Destiny all over again. They seemingly have grand ideas, but after listening to interviews and watching coverage all weekend, it really seems like they barely have a grasp on what the game actually is. It just feels kind of half-baked, like it has all this potential, but they don't really know how to realize their vision (which, I guess matter of taste or whatever, but that's where Destiny ultimately ended up, too). And it only lets our (or at least my) imaginations run wild, guessing at where it ends up. I already have visions of going on the Marathon and having to solve puzzles, do miniature raid encounters, etc. They certainly haven't said that, so it'll only be my fault if I end up disappointed when it turns out to just be another map with harder enemies or something.

It honestly feels like it's far, far too early for them to be talking publicly about this game, and that's insane given it's supposed to come out in September. It feels like they're talking about something that should be launching into Early Access or something, not something they're ready to call a finished product ready for retail.

The cinematic used the art and the lore to make a FANTASTIC short film. If the game does this nearly as well, it could be something special. Maybe it will be. The pitch hasn't worked on me yet.

That short film is really something. I've watched it a dozen times now--it is just so, so captivating. It's selling me on something I don't really think the game is going to provide, it just makes my imagination run wild. Seriously, I could watch hours of that just to soak in that atmosphere. The guy discovering and listening to music for what I imagine is the first time . . . like that sells me on what's going on more than anything else. I don't know that you can actually recreate even a fraction of that feeling in competitive multiplayer game in any real way, though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhxjlQT5aqM&t=1255s

This is all just kind of criticism based on speculation about things we just don't know about yet. It's not necessarily the correct leap to go from "The reveal was bad" to "the game is underbaked".

I don't need to know every detail. In fact, I don't want to. I love the process of discovery for games. But I do need that hook. I just need to know "why should I care about this game?"

The reveal did not answer that.

He touches on something that has bugged me for a while. The couch format doesn't do it for me. This isn't fair, but there's a negative Hollywood vibe that turns me off. There's an assumption that these people, most of whom I don't recognize, are supposed to be inherently interesting to me simply because of where they work. Feels like stolen bases trading on the so-called glamor of working as a creative. [Caveat: love Lars, he was kind to me when I met him, but that defines me as a lucky outlier among potential Bungie fans.]

I also didn't much like the beginning of the stream. It felt like it was the "red carpet" portion of the show, where they just asked people how excited they were about what we were going to see. I expected to see what we were going to see at the start time! It also seemed like they didn't practice the Q&A ahead of time. Maybe what people want is off the cuff and genuine, but that didn't seem like the right place for it. They were already begging us to stay to the end right of the bat!

- No text -

It's been a bit since I've played online multiplayer anything. Might be nice to play the alpha with some DBOers.

AKA: When will the Fireteam Builder support the Marathon Alpha?!

I guess it makes sense given that it's a closed alpha that was going to have NDA stipulations, but having to join their discord was enough for me to decide it wasn't worth it. Hopefully they'll have an open beta or something later.

- No text -

Is all those jerks sliding around everywhere with their shotguns. I can't aim, and I'm dead before I can do anything. Marathon definitely seems more like Halo in this regard, where you have more opportunities to fight back and actually accomplish stuff.

Got through one full run and yeah it's definitely slower. I don't really have fully formed thoughts to share aside from I can't wait to get back in there...

How's the solo experience with randoms? Seems like there needs to be some improvements there, because you can have different objectives than your teammates.

What do you do with your loot when you exfil?

What carries over to the next game?

DMZ has insured slots where you can build a loadout and if you lose it, it has a cooldown timer before you can use it again. Is there anything like that?

Does each game seem to be a standalone experience or can you keep building tasks over multiple games. As in, a tier system of objectives based on successful exfils.

How common/obvious is it when another team is trying to exfil? What's the exfil ambush percentage in your experience?

Looking for a fireteam.

Sign up for the fireteam event if you wanna roll.

- No text -