games differently and questioned how they could be altered and improved on a more
fundamental level. What if, instead of the 2D graphics technology that all of the games
to date had used, a game used a truly 3D engine? With the sole exception of his first
game,Minotaur, Jones’ games to date had all been 3D, so it made sense for him to con-
tinue to use that technology for his new project. The 3D component would not be added
merely for visual flair, however. As with id Software’sWolfenstein 3D, which years ear-
lier had taken a relatively simple action game and, by incorporating 3D technology,
dramatically changed the nature of the game design itself,Mythtook strategy gameplay
and molded it to suit the new technology. The result was an entirely new game design,
not merely another clone.
However, it appears that the 3D technology used was not completely dictating the
game’s design direction. The 3D engine developed is one uniquely suited to modeling
outdoor environments, and hence supporting RTS gameplay. Instead of taking the tech-
nology from his previous game,Marathon 2, and trying to make that work with a
real-time strategy game, Jones wisely started over with a whole new engine.Marathon
2 had used aDoom-style BSP engine, a technology suited for simple indoor, non-organic
environments but not so conducive to the needs of RTS games, which require
wide-open, outdoor environments to play well. So a new terrain engine was created
that was uniquely suited to the gameplay requirements of a 3D RTS project.
With the 3D technology in place, certain game design changes could be made to the
fundamental RTS form as established byWarCraftandCommand & Conquer.InMyth,
the elevation of the terrain where combat took place would have a dramatic effect on
how well players’ units fared. Place the archers at the top of a hill for maximum effec-
tiveness. Place them in a gully and watch them get slaughtered.Mythalso uses a simple
but effective physics system that serves to emphasize the 3D nature of the landscape.
When players send a dwarf scurrying up a hill to throw one of his Molotov cocktails at
an enemy atop that hill, they should be prepared for the bottle to possibly roll back down
the hill before detonating. Should the projectile hit its intended target, players can
298 Chapter 16: Game Analysis:Myth: The Fallen Lords
Using its 3D terrain
engine,Mythadded
new gameplay elements
to the real-time strategy
genre.