I feel like the creation of a new Marathon would really only sell due to nostalgia and has a high potential for failure for the reasons you just stated. The games rock. Infinity just gets even more complex, the level design is wonderful and at times very difficult, and the entire dynamic is challenging. I just don't see the level design or outright creativity working, especially with Bungie focusing on this ten year plan for Destiny with DLC every year and so on and so forth.

To tie back to my first sentence, I feel like it might not get the right attention in its creation process, like it might just be a shoehorned and forced product for nostalgia's sake. It's almost like they'd be trying to fit another game into a universe that, while still having plenty of places to go and information to tap into, was concluded quite well at the end of the trilogy.

I'm sure it would sell, so I'm not really talking about it being a success or failure from a sales standpoint, but wouldn't it be a shame for there to be a new title in the series that hardly lives up to the previous three? Why risk it and Marathon's legacy? It'd be fairly tragic to see you make a marathon.isnotcanon, Cody. :P

Edit: Unless they can pull a Pixar (sitting on Toy Story for so long and then making Toy Story 3) and create something so well thought through and magnicifently produced that it just blows everyone away and is a masterpiece of not just story but also gameplay design and gameplay itself, why chance it or do it just because they can?

I always viewed Marathon as a code name.

Where was this milestone thing said / leaked? I remember seeing something about this a good while ago, but has there been something more recent?

Anyway, I'd rather they not make a new Marathon, at least not if they have to stick to the confusing and technologically outdated gameplay and level design. A direct Marathon copy with modern graphics, no matter how pretty it would look, does not interest me in the least. I get confused, turned around, and lost minutes into Marathon. Worse, I think it would go over quite badly with the rest of today's modern gamers. Why sully its name by creating a true to the original flop?

Now, if they wanted to reimagine it. Update it to make it a bit more accessable while keeping the original's spirit alive and strong. That would be great. Marathon, of course, has a great story and it would be amazing of more people could experience it. It coud be epic. The battles between the AIs. The dimensional jumping. The awesome scifi setting.

In the end though, I've always believed that they already reimagined Marathon in Halo. Cyborg supersoldier, helpful AI, ancient mystery, familiar weapons and enemies.

If they could get the original writers to help I would have a lot more faith in it. But I'm sure I would still play it anyway and if it isn't any good, I'm sure I could deal with it.

So apparently if Bungie meets certain milestones, Activision will let them develop a new Marathon title.

I'd love to know what those milestones are. I'm not yet sure if I want to help make sure those milestones are met, or sabotage them so they are never met.

Is another Marathon game a good idea, especially when we live in a world where modern game design practices would never ever give us anything remotely resembling the original Marathon Trilogy?

Discuss.

It was mentioned in the original Bungie-Activision Contract in 2010 (note: It may have changed since) that Bungie will have a green light to produce a "Marathon" project under certain conditions. (I believe if the operating income exceeds 375 million dollars?)

If I remember correctly, if the project is green lighted, Bungie cannot commit a large number of their staff to work on the project. (No more than 10% of staff?)

It kind of makes me wonder, if Bungie is given the go ahead to create "Marathon" (whatever that ends up being, a recreation, or a brand new game), what if the game was made with the Destiny engine just like they did with ODST?

Edit: http://documents.latimes.com/bungie-activision-contract/

And in my opinion, I'd like to see another Marathon game (remake or brand new). However, from what I have seen from the XBLA release of the original Marathon: Durandal, I doubt the sales would be very high.

So apparently if Bungie meets certain milestones, Activision will let them develop a new Marathon title.

I'd love to know what those milestones are. I'm not yet sure if I want to help make sure those milestones are met, or sabotage them so they are never met.

Is another Marathon game a good idea, especially when we live in a world where modern game design practices would never ever give us anything remotely resembling the original Marathon Trilogy?

Discuss.

Halo was sufficiently close to Marathon that a new Marathon would probably be pretty indistinguishable from Halo. Slightly different art, a few slightly different weapons, maybe (big maybe) the ability to carry more than 2 guns at once. Would they have recharging shields or would it be the battery plug-into-wall method again? Would Bungie even opt for terminals in a theoretical Marathon sequel? I thought they worked fine in Halo 3, but they're more of a vital part of the Marathon experience. My guess is that they'd gel a lot of Halo in with a lot of Marathon to the point of it being basically Halo 5 with a slight Marathon-tinge. I'd be down for it if they could get Greg Kirkpatrick and more of the original Marathon folks back into the Bungie mix to contribute somehow.

So much of what I think of as Marathon is tied to Greg Kirkpatrick's writing. I don't know if I would be happy without him having a hand.

I think Hamish Sinclair might know what he's up to, but won't tell.

The last time Bungie devoted a small portion of their studio to a game, we got ODST. <3

By my reading of the contract, this is how it is. As long as Destiny is going smoothly (specifically as long as no Destiny products are in a state of "Critical Risk"), once Bungie produces $375M of "Operating Income", which is total income minus a few deductions that look standard and whatever Activision pays for marketing, publishing, etc., and have put out the second Destiny game, they can develop games unrelated to Destiny that aren't "action shooters". When they put out the DLC for the third Destiny game, they can work on other "action shooters", as long as they don't release one during the first year after they stop working on Destiny and give Activision first negotiating rights for publishing. The "Marathon" project is specifically exempt from all this, though. Bungie can devote up to 5% of their "Key Members" and up to 5% of all their other employees to "Marathon" right off the bat. That becomes 10% of both groups at $375M in "Operating Income", 25% at $750M, and whatever percent they think is reasonable at one billion dollars. They can't actually release "Marathon" until they reach that $375M figure, and again they have to give Activision dibs on publishing it. It also makes it clear that "Marathon" is to be completely separate from Destiny, Activision will not fund it at all, and Bungie can't put more than $5 million (including any outside investment) into anything besides Destiny until they've put out the DLC for the second Destiny game. There are also certain "Key Members" that are known as "Key-Key Members". They can't work on anything besides Destiny as long as Bungie is working on the agreed-on Destiny games, except that some of them will be allowed to transition over to other projects after the DLC for the first Destiny game comes out if they get permission from Activision and if they're replaced by other "Key Members". Who the "Key Members", the "Key-Key Members", and the "Key-Key Members" that might be allowed to work on other projects are seems to be detailed in another document that's not included.