Editing Blam engine

From Halopedia, the Halo wiki

You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.

The edit can be undone. Please check the comparison below to verify that this is what you want to do, and then publish the changes below to finish undoing the edit.

Latest revision Your text
Line 29: Line 29:
===Early roots: ''Minotaur'' and ''Pathways into Darkness''===
===Early roots: ''Minotaur'' and ''Pathways into Darkness''===
[[File:NH-PiD Screenshot Early3DRenderer.jpg|thumb|250px|A very early development version of the 3D graphics engine used by ''Pathways''.]]
[[File:NH-PiD Screenshot Early3DRenderer.jpg|thumb|250px|A very early development version of the 3D graphics engine used by ''Pathways''.]]
Blam's origins can be traced back as early as [[Bungie]]'s [[1993]] game ''[[Wikipedia:Pathways into Darkness|Pathways into Darkness]]''. Inspired by [[Wikipedia:id Software|id Software]]'s [[1992]] title ''[[Wikipedia:Wolfenstein 3D|Wolfenstein 3D]]'', which itself began as a 3D remake of 1981's ''[[Wikipedia:Castle Wolfenstein|Castle Wolfenstein]]'', ''Pathways'' was originally conceived as "''Minotaur 3D''", a 3D remake of Bungie's previous game ''[[Wikipedia:Minotaur: The Labyrinths of Crete|Minotaur: The Labyrinths of Crete]]'', released the year before.{{Ref/Site|Id=JJInt93|URL=http://pid.bungie.org/IMGjasoninterviewOct93.html|Site=pid.bungie.org|Page=Inside Mac Games Archive - Interview: Bungie's Jason Jones|D=9|M=3|Y=2022}} In the summer of 1992, [[Jason Jones]] began work on creating a 3D [[Wikipedia:Rendering (computer graphics)|rendering]] framework for Bungie's next game, soon producing a simple graphics engine that was able to simulate halls and walls using wireframe trapezoids. Though crude, this rendering engine laid the foundations of what would become the engine used for the game, and was improved and modified for months by Jones and others at Bungie until late 1992, introducing features such as [[Wikipedia:Texture mapping|texture mapping]] for walls.{{Ref/Site|Id=MakingOfPathways|URL=http://pid.bungie.org/IMGmakingofPID.html|Site=pid.bungie.org|Page=Inside Mac Games Archive - The Making Of: Pathways into Darkness|D=9|M=3|Y=2022}}
Blam's origins can be traced back as early as [[Bungie]]'s [[1993]] game ''[[Pathways into Darkness]]''. Inspired by [[Wikipedia:id Software|id Software]]'s [[1992]] title ''[[Wikipedia:Wolfenstein 3D|Wolfenstein 3D]]'', which itself began as a 3D remake of 1981's ''[[Wikipedia:Castle Wolfenstein|Castle Wolfenstein]]'', ''Pathways'' was originally conceived as "''Minotaur 3D''", a 3D remake of Bungie's previous game ''[[Minotaur: The Labyrinths of Crete]]'', released the year before.{{Ref/Site|Id=JJInt93|URL=http://pid.bungie.org/IMGjasoninterviewOct93.html|Site=pid.bungie.org|Page=Inside Mac Games Archive - Interview: Bungie's Jason Jones|D=9|M=3|Y=2022}} In the summer of 1992, [[Jason Jones]] began work on creating a 3D [[Wikipedia:Rendering (computer graphics)|rendering]] framework for Bungie's next game, soon producing a simple graphics engine that was able to simulate halls and walls using wireframe trapezoids. Though crude, this rendering engine laid the foundations of what would become the engine used for the game, and was improved and modified for months by Jones and others at Bungie until late 1992, introducing features such as [[Wikipedia:Texture mapping|texture mapping]] for walls.{{Ref/Site|Id=MakingOfPathways|URL=http://pid.bungie.org/IMGmakingofPID.html|Site=pid.bungie.org|Page=Inside Mac Games Archive - The Making Of: Pathways into Darkness|D=9|M=3|Y=2022}}


[[File:NH-PiD Screenshot LevelEditor.jpg|thumb|left|250px|An image of the level editor created for ''Pathways''.]]
[[File:NH-PiD Screenshot LevelEditor.jpg|thumb|left|250px|An image of the level editor created for ''Pathways''.]]
Line 45: Line 45:
''Marathon'' was ultimately released on December 21, 1994, and was met with significant commercial success relative to the studio's small size. Within the first year, at least 100,000 copies of the game were sold worldwide. This success prompted work on two sequels, ''[[Marathon#Marathon 2: Durandal|Marathon 2: Durandal]]'' and ''[[Marathon#Marathon Infinity|Marathon Infinity]]'', releasing on [[1995|November 24, 1995]] and [[1996|October 15, 1996]] respectively. Each of the sequels was built upon the same engine and technology that powered the first game, but with significant iterations, improvements and optimisations each time. ''Marathon 2''{{'}}s iteration of the engine was reportedly roughly twice as fast, which permitted Bungie to increase the resolution from the original game's 448x272 to 640x320, a 68% increase in the number of rendered pixels. However, the later games did require more capable hardware than the original.{{Ref/Site|URL=http://marathon.bungie.org/story/imgm2sneak.html|Site=marathon.bungie.org|Page=Inside Mac Games Archive - Sneak Peek: Marathon 2|D=9|M=3|Y=2022}}
''Marathon'' was ultimately released on December 21, 1994, and was met with significant commercial success relative to the studio's small size. Within the first year, at least 100,000 copies of the game were sold worldwide. This success prompted work on two sequels, ''[[Marathon#Marathon 2: Durandal|Marathon 2: Durandal]]'' and ''[[Marathon#Marathon Infinity|Marathon Infinity]]'', releasing on [[1995|November 24, 1995]] and [[1996|October 15, 1996]] respectively. Each of the sequels was built upon the same engine and technology that powered the first game, but with significant iterations, improvements and optimisations each time. ''Marathon 2''{{'}}s iteration of the engine was reportedly roughly twice as fast, which permitted Bungie to increase the resolution from the original game's 448x272 to 640x320, a 68% increase in the number of rendered pixels. However, the later games did require more capable hardware than the original.{{Ref/Site|URL=http://marathon.bungie.org/story/imgm2sneak.html|Site=marathon.bungie.org|Page=Inside Mac Games Archive - Sneak Peek: Marathon 2|D=9|M=3|Y=2022}}


After completion of the Marathon trilogy, Bungie's focus moved on to a new project, which would come to be known as ''[[Wikipedia:Myth: The Fallen Lords|Myth: The Fallen Lords]]''. ''Myth'' was to be a [[real-time strategy]] game, with a particular focus on commanding units as opposed to the resource management and base building prominent in other RTS games.{{Citation needed}} ''Myth''{{'}}s engine featured significant technological leaps over ''Marathon''{{'}}s, with the use of a static [[Wikipedia:Polygonal modeling|polygonal]] 3D mesh for terrain,
After completion of the Marathon trilogy, Bungie's focus moved on to a new project, which would come to be known as ''[[Myth#Myth: The Fallen Lords|Myth: The Fallen Lords]]''. ''Myth'' was to be a [[real-time strategy]] game, with a particular focus on commanding units as opposed to the resource management and base building prominent in other RTS games.{{Citation needed}} ''Myth''{{'}}s engine featured significant technological leaps over ''Marathon''{{'}}s, with the use of a static [[Wikipedia:Polygonal modeling|polygonal]] 3D mesh for terrain,
{{Ref/Site|Id=JJInt99|URL=http://www.insidemacgames.com/features/99/jones/jones.shtml|Site=Inside Mac Games|Page=Interview: Halo's Jason Jones|D=15|M=8|Y=2000}} and the introduction of the [[tag]]s system for storing game data in a platform-agnostic manner.{{Ref/Site|URL=https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/postmortem-bungie-s-i-myth-the-fallen-lords-i-|Site=Game Developer|Page=Postmortem: Bungie's Myth: The Fallen Lords|D=9|M=3|Y=2022}} Nevertheless, ''Myth'' still inherited technology from the ''Marathon'' trilogy. At least one component, the [[Wikipedia:Physics engine|physics engine]], was a substantially improved version of that used in the ''Marathon'' engine.{{Ref/Reuse|JJInt99}}
{{Ref/Site|Id=JJInt99|URL=http://www.insidemacgames.com/features/99/jones/jones.shtml|Site=Inside Mac Games|Page=Interview: Halo's Jason Jones|D=15|M=8|Y=2000}} and the introduction of the [[tag]]s system for storing game data in a platform-agnostic manner.{{Ref/Site|URL=https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/postmortem-bungie-s-i-myth-the-fallen-lords-i-|Site=Game Developer|Page=Postmortem: Bungie's Myth: The Fallen Lords|D=9|M=3|Y=2022}} Nevertheless, ''Myth'' still inherited technology from the ''Marathon'' trilogy. At least one component, the [[Wikipedia:Physics engine|physics engine]], was a substantially improved version of that used in the ''Marathon'' engine.{{Ref/Reuse|JJInt99}}


''Myth: The Fallen Lords'' was released on [[1997|November 7, 1997]], and was followed by a sequel in the same engine, ''[[Wikipedia:Myth II: Soulblighter|Myth II: Soulblighter]]'', on [[1998|December 28, 1998]]. A third game entitled ''[[Wikipedia:Myth III: The Wolf Age|Myth III: The Wolf Age]]'' would eventually be produced by a different studio, [[Wikipedia:MumboJumbo|MumboJumbo]], and released on [[2001|November 2, 2001]].
''Myth: The Fallen Lords'' was released on [[1997|November 7, 1997]], and was followed by a sequel in the same engine, ''[[Myth#Myth II: Soulblighter|Myth II: Soulblighter]]'', on [[1998|December 28, 1998]]. A third game entitled ''[[Myth#Myth III: The Wolf Age|Myth III: The Wolf Age]]'' would eventually be produced by a different studio, [[Wikipedia:MumboJumbo|MumboJumbo]], and released on [[2001|November 2, 2001]].


===Inception of Blam: ''Halo''===
===Inception of Blam: ''Halo''===

Please note that all contributions to Halopedia are considered to be released under the Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported license (see Halopedia:Copyrights for details). If you don't want your writing to be edited mercilessly and redistributed at will, then don't submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource. Do not submit copyrighted work without permission!

Cancel Editing help (opens in new window)

To view or search uploaded images go to the list of images. Uploads and deletions are also logged in the upload log. For help including images on a page see Help:Images. For a sound file, use this code: [[Media:File.ogg]].

Do not copy text from other websites without permission. It will be deleted.