Hail to the Chief, Baby.
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My name:
Randall ‘Frigidman’ Shaw.
My position:
Graphics Artist, both in a computer and physical creation. I am a Virtual Architect for games. President of IFX computer entertainment, CEO of ShawComp studios, and Project Coordinator for The EVIL Group.
Back in 1994 when Bungie released the demo for Marathon, I became infatuated with it's design. Being the hottest thing around since Pathways into Darkness, this game brought new meaning to first person realities in the computer for Macintosh. I was intrigued and thrilled, horrified and baffled, at the complexity of the levels that I explored while playing Marathon. Complexity...
The levels of Marathon had a feeling. A real good feeling. A feeling that was evil and sinister to the well-being of the player. I had started to grasp how the levels were being made at the end of playing the demo. I dived in with a hex editor to see if I could figure it out and failed, thinking my Pathways map making skills would have come in handy. The map file was really different and I couldn't figure it out.
Enter Pfhorte.
I grabbed at this map editor the instant it came out and started hacking away at levels. When Pfhorte first came out, all it could do was edit a preexisting level. I then made a complete redo of each and every net map in the Marathon game. I sent it out onto the newly found Internet (new to me since I had just discovered the net's existence a month after Marathon came out). I got some eMail back regarding it, and it was enough to make me like what I did for people.
Pfhorte progressed, but not fast enough for me. I was eagerly awaiting making maps that are new and fresh, and kept pushing Pfhorte to the limits. Learning all it's quirks and oddities. I successfully created one of the first ever Marathon maps that was of complete new design. This got me a lot of eMails... around 100 to be exact (that was a lot back then). Then I moved onto lighting... one of the first to create a full new level complete with lighting. This got me more recognition.
I ended making Marathon maps when Marathon2:Durandal demo came out. I was like "Water? Whoah..." Pfhorte was quickly made to work for M2. I made my first maps called The Pools, later to be renamed to Radiant and Rancid Pools. You guessed it... it had liquids in it. After I released these, I was pummeled with eMail on how I got Pfhorte to work right in making these levels. It was a rush for me, being someone who had never gotten any attention like this ever.
Pfhorte progressed and so did I. With each new revision of Pfhorte I became his personal tester and made a new map with each new version. Each map got better and better. The first net map that I made though that caught a lot of peoples eye was Pfhor Winds. Today, that level is one of my favorites. Simple in design, but great on flow, I find it to be better than some of my more recent net maps.
Enter Siege of Nor'Korh.
I made Siege of Nor'Korh (a fairly large solo adventure, complete with terminal graphics and chapters) about a year ago. This went over really well. Everyone was downloading this, because it was something made by the ‘Frigidman’. I was getting tons of eMail about how nice it was and how well worth the time to download it was. I was really happy. I had figured, that was going to be the capstone to my era of Marathon and be done with it all and rest in the pleasure of knowing that I made something so liked. So I thought...
Marathon:Infinity went into production. I was asked to do a few things for Bungie because of my reputation for being a good map maker. At first, they wanted me to do the demo level that would be shown at MacWorld expo to present the coming of Marathon:Infinity. Due to a slight delay in production, my level was not used because it was made with the new texture set, which wasn't ready for the expo. So I moth-balled the level, but then they had asked me to work on some other projects concerning Marathon. I eagerly accepted because after all, they were the guys behind what I had spent about two years of my life doing.
Enter Marathon: EVIL.
From the day that Infinity was announced to be a reality, I formed a group to create the ever demanded sequel to Siege of Nor'Korh. Being privileged to beta test Forge, I was able to start work on Marathon:EVIL way before Marathon:Infinity ever came out. Also, by getting a few map makers who were also on the beta team, I was able to work with some of the others before hand to get things rolling. I had Anvil also and that's where everything started. I made a lot of the new stuff for EVIL before Infinity was released.
Now. The time has finally come for me to say that THIS is going to be my final contribution to the Marathon Community. This will be the end to the Siege of Nor'Korh scenario as far as I am concerned. It's not that I do not like Marathon anymore, nor that I am sick of making maps, it's the fact that the Marathon level engine is so limited and I am moving onto better programs to make levels. So I will still be around, but no longer around for making Marathon related things. I think Marathon:EVIL is the most I could ever do, which I couldn't have done without all the help from The EVIL Group.
I just hope you enjoy this as much as we enjoyed making it for you. A lot of time, sweat, and stress have gone into making this for you. I ask that you try to refrain from being a total jerk about it if you do not like our efforts put forth for your enjoyment. We did all this for free, absolutely.
So in parting I say, have fun. I sure hope that this is one helluva an adventure that everyone will love and cherish just like one of the actual Bungie Marathon trilogy. One could say that this is Marathon4, but we won't.
I dedicate Marathon: EVIL to Puff, my fat 22 pound cat.