Summary
Bungie is best known for creatingHaloandDestiny, but the developer found its start on the Mac. Although Apple’s computers aren’t known for their gaming catalog, Bungie came very close to changing that.
Bungie’s Choice: Apple or Microsoft?
Before it reinvented first-person shooters withHalo: Combat Evolved, Bungie was known as a small studio developing games for Microsoft’s biggest competitor. Bungie’s early years were spent releasing exclusives for Apple’s Macintosh, which played an important role in its rapid rise to success.
Throughout the 90s, Microsoft’s Windows computers were seen as the premier platform for PC gaming. Most games were being developed forMS-DOSandWindows, with other operating systems usually receiving ports based off the DOS release. It wasn’t just gamers who were gravitating toward Microsoft’s computers. Aspiring developers also noticed the success of games released for DOS and Windows, inspiring many to follow suit by producing their own games for the increasingly popular Microsoft systems.
The concentrated competition surrounding Microsoft’s computers left a wide gap in the market for games on other operating systems, including Apple’sMac OS—not to be confused with itsmodern incarnation: macOS. Although the operating system received some exclusive titles, includingMystandEscape Velocity, Apple’s devices were severely lacking in action games.
Bungie founder Alex Seropian used this as an opportunity to set the studio apart from other PC game developers, and decided to focus on developing games exclusively for Mac OS.
Bungie’s Humble Beginnings on the Mac
The first game published under Bungie’s name was technically afreewarePongclone titled “Gnop!”, but the studio wasn’t formally established until 1991. That same year, Bungie releasedOperation: Desert Storm—a top-down tank shooter loosely inspired by the Gulf War. The game sees players controlling a tank and clearing out enemies across multiple levels thatgradually increase in difficulty.
The following year saw the release ofMinotaur: The Labyrinths of Crete, a dungeon-crawling RPG that was notable for being the first multiplayer-only game to be released on Mac OS. The game allows up to seven players to engage in a free-for-all battle, wherein you must explore the maze-like arena to find useful equipment and defeat all other players. Despite its simplistic visuals,Minotaur: The Labyrinths of Cretehas a surprising amount of depth thanks to its abundance of unique items and the variety created by its randomly generated levels.
Bungie eventually made its first commercial hit with the genre that would define its legacy:first-person shooters.Pathways Into Darkness, released in 1993, was Bungie’s first foray into the FPS genre.
Although it initially seemed like aWolfenstein 3Dclone—as was the case for nearly every FPS game of the early 90s—Pathways Into Darknessfeatured a greater focus onimmersive storytellingthan many of its contemporaries. Throughout the game, you can use a magic crystal to speak with dead characters who provide hints and backstory, as well as earning one of multiple endings based on your combat performance and certain decisions made throughout your playthrough.
Pathways Into Darknessproved to be a massive success, selling over 20,000 copies and cementing Bungie as one of the Macintosh’s most successful game developers. More importantly, it provided Apple with an exclusive that could compete with DOS’s highly popularWolfenstein 3D. By the end of the year, almost all other PC games were overshadowed by the release ofDOOM, but Bungie quickly got to work on its own response to iD Software’s revolutionary FPS.
Bungie followed its first commercial success with the debut of its first major franchise,Marathon. WhileMarathonhas largely been forgotten by general gaming audiences—possibly due to some other sci-fi FPS franchise created by Bungie—the series is remembered by fans for being well ahead of its time.
The originalMarathonclosely follows theDOOMformula of progressing through open-ended levels by shooting through enemies, unlocking sealed doors, and hunting for secret rooms along the way. However, the game features new mechanics such as weapon reloading, dual-wielding, and a motion tracker that highlights the locations of nearby enemies and allies. Along with itschallenging single-player campaign,Marathonalso included an addictive multiplayer deathmatch mode that helped boost the game’s popularity amongcompetitive players.
What setMarathonapart fromDOOMand other first-person shooters was the game’s innovative storytelling. The game takes place on a colony ship that has been overrun by a hostile alien army, butMarathon’s seemingly simple premise gradually evolves into a complex narrative involving dueling factions and a conspiracy aboard the ship. You’ll uncover this plot by reading computer terminals scattered throughout each level, which contain data logs detailing past events, documents that subtly hint towards later reveals, and conversations between the protagonist and the ship’s various AIs.
Marathonproved itself to be more than a standardDOOMclone, selling over 100,000 copies within its first year and raising the bar for storytelling in action games. Its sequels—Marathon 2: DurandalandMarathon Infinity—received even greater praise and saw similar commercial success.
TheMarathonseries became one of the Macintosh’s few killer apps, and established Bungie as one of the only FPS developers that could stand toe-to-toe with the iconic developers of DOS shooters likeiD Softwareand 3D Realms. So of course, Bungie decided to plunge into a completely different genre for its next game.
After concluding theMarathontrilogy, Bungie began working on real-time tactics games with itsMythseries, releasingMyth: The Fallen Lordsin 1997 andMyth II: SoulBlighterin 1998.
Much like theMarathontrilogy, theMythgames received overwhelming praise for their deep lore, memorable single-player campaigns, and excellent online multiplayer.Myth IIwas also notable for including developer tools that allowed fans to create their own custom maps and units. Although these games have similarly been overshadowed by more popular titles since their release, fans are still playing theMythgames and populatingfan-hosted servers.
TheMythgames are also the first Bungie-developed titles to release on both Mac OS and Windows computers. The shift away from Apple exclusivity paid off, asMyth: The Fallen Lordsbecame the studio’s best-selling title—selling roughly 350,000 copies worldwide—untilMyth IIsold the same amount on its launch day.
Bungie briefly continued working on PC games for both platforms. In early 2001, Bungie West—a Washington-based division of the company—releasedOnifor both Windows and Macintosh. TheGhost in the Shell-inspired action game was met with mixed reviews and moderate sales at launch, but its uniquely flashy (albeitveryunpolished) combat and colorful sci-fi aesthetic has garnered a cult fanbase over the years.
Around the same time, Bungie’s main studio was working onHalo: Combat Evolved. While we now know the game as Xbox’s flagship first-person shooter, it was originally meant to launch on the Macintosh.
Halo: Combat Evolved…for the Mac?
Halo: Combat Evolvedunderwent numerous drastic changes and genre shifts throughout its long and tumultuous development. The game originally started life as areal-time strategygame, with plans to utilize an advanced physics system that would allow vehicle units to realistically interact with 3D terrain.
The idea was short-lived, as the RTS concept was quickly reworked into an ambitious third-person shooter. This early version ofHalowas set in anexpansive open-worldwithterrain that could be permanently destroyedduring battles, dinosaur-like creatures that could be tamed and ridden around the map, and a dynamic weather system. The game was publically unveiled at the 1999 Macworld Expo and Conference, with plans to release the game for Windows and Mac OS sometime in the following year.
Obviously, that’s not how things panned out.
Behind the scenes, Bungie was facing significant financial struggles.Halo’s prolonged development and massive scope had come with a sizable cost, and the team was still struggling to make the deadline. Additionally, the studio had just spent $800,000 to replace faulty copies ofMyth II, which shipped with a rare bug that could erase the contents of a user’s hard drive. Despite various attempts to avoid bankruptcy, including selling shares and publishing rights to other companies, Bungie wouldn’t be able to finishHalo’sdevelopment on its own.
Fortunately, Bungie’s work had caught the attention of Microsoft, and the two companies were able to negotiate an acquisition. In 2000, Bungie became a subsidiary of Microsoft, with the condition thatHalowould release the following year as an exclusive launch title for thethen-upcoming Xbox.Halounderwent numerous changes in its final year of development, with some of the most ambitious planned features having to be scrapped due to time restraints or hardware limitations.
Of course, the biggest change was makingHalointo a first-person shooter for consoles. Console shooters of the era were still far behind the quality of their PC counterparts. While games likeTimeSplittersandMedal of Honorhelped refine the genre on consoles, playing with a controller still felt sluggish and imprecise when compared to the experience of using amouse and keyboard.
This meantHalo’s jump to Xbox wasn’t just a change in hardware, but also introduced the challenge of preserving the game’s player experience. Despite working against seemingly impossible odds, Bungie delivered a console experience that rivals PC shooters withHalo: Combat Evolved.
Bungie’s first foray into the Xbox mirrors the start of its storied career. Just as the studio found success on the Mac while every other developer was following MS-DOS,Halo: Combat Evolvedrevolutionized console shooters during the peak of PC gaming.
By the timeHalo: Combat Evolvedwas ported to Windows and Mac, the gaming landscape had already started to change. Console shooters were beginning to dominate the market, and every aspiring developer now wanted to become the next Bungie.
