Level Credits

F-Vulcan. F-Vulcan. F-Vulcan.

There are a total of 136 official (Bungie/Double Aught) levels in the Marathon trilogy (88 solo and 48 net levels). But who created what level? This question has intrigued Marathoners for many years.

For some levels the process of indentifying the creator(s) is easy since it is made explicit in either an interview, hints book, Scrapbook, web page, read me file, credit screen, terminal, usenet post, etc. This information just has to be found. But for some levels we have no information.

Can the level credits be deduced from other information?

The pool of level creators (scenario designers) is small and a good map maker should be able to identify a creator's style by examining a map's design. Map clues exist: the frequent use of overlapping polygons, linear "game-play" map design, circular layout, symmetrical layout, lighting effects, the use of traps, hard to get to secret areas, map writings, level naming conventions, etc.

The clues are there... they just have to found and pieced together.

Aaron Freed <aaron@packet.net> writes:

It's unfortunate that we don't have a complete list of level credits, but I'm going to try to create a list of levels whose creators we do know:

Never Burn Money - Greg Kirkpatrick
The Rose - Greg Kirkpatrick
G4 Sunbathing - Greg Kirkpatrick
Bob-B-Q - Jason Jones
Shake Before Using - Alex Seropian
Colony Ship for Sale, Cheap - Jason Jones
Habe Quiddam - Jason Jomes
No Artificial Colors - Tuncer Deniz / Greg Kirkpatrick
Ingue Ferroque - Jason Jones

Mars Needs Women - Jason Jones
Carnage Palace Deeee-Luxe - Jason Jones
Arena - Alex Seropian
Waldo World Arena - Tuncer Deniz
What Goes Up, Must Come Down - Tuncer Deniz
You don't need to see my ID - Alex Seropian

We don't know which of the Pfhor ship levels wasn't created by Reginald Dujour, but I'm guessing it's Pfhor Your Eyes Only. The reason for this is that "Sorry Don't Make It So" was based on this level, and Reg is not listed in "Scenario Design" for Marathon 2.

Ah yes! nice deduction. :-)

Come and Take your Medicine - Greg Kirkpatrick
We're Everywhere - Greg Kirkpatrick / Retextured by Jason Jones
Ex Cathedra - Doug Zartman
The Hard Stuff Rules - Greg Kirkpatrick
If I Had A Rocket Launcher, I'd Make Somebody Pay - Greg Kirkpatrick
Begging for Mercy Makes Me Angry - Jason Jones
My Own Private Thermopylae - Greg Kirkpatrick
Kill Your Television - Jason Jones
All Roads Lead to Sol - Jason Jones

Ne Cede Malis - Randy Reddig
Poor Yorick - Greg / Chris / Randy
Monsters in Dreams - Greg Kirkpatrick
Acme Station - Greg Kirkpatrick
Whatever You Please - Randy Reddig
Naw Man He's Close - Chris Geisel / Greg Kirkpatrick
Foe Hammer - Chris Geisel / Randy Reddig
By Committee - Greg / Chris / Randy (suggested by name)?
Slimy Things - Chris Geisel / Greg Kirkpatrick
A Converted Church in Venice, Italy - Randy Reddig (?)
Aye Mak Sicur - Randy Reddig
Aie Mak Sicur - Randy Reddig
Carroll Street Station - Randy Reddig
You're Wormfood, Dude - Randy Reddig

YAFNM - Tuncer Deniz
Beyond Thunderdome - Tuncer Deniz
House of Pain - Tuncer Deniz
King of Pain - Randall Shaw
La Cosa Nostra - Randall Shaw
Dead Fields - Randall Shaw
Route 66 - Randy Reddig
Vulcan - Randy Reddig / Tuncer Deniz

Are there any more levels known? are any wrong?

Gabe Rosenkoetter <gabe@colby.tjs.org> writes:

Showered with Grenades was also an Alexander Seropian level.

From the Coriolis Loop readme:

"Controlled by Gamma Light: Created by Randy Reddig, he cranked this one out in about the time it takes a gamma ray to change Bruce Banner into the Incredible Hulk. A non-stop carnage feel pervades every polygon. Never stop running, never stop firing, Controlled by Gamma Light is loosely based on an old Marathon 1 map created by Alexander Seropian."

Controlled by Gamma Light is pretty clearly based on Showered (just run around for a few seconds, you'll recognize it), thus the "old Marathon 1 map" is SwG, and its creator is Alexander Seropian.

Ah yes! another nice deduction. :-)

Gabe also writes:

Hats off to 819 is a Randy Reddig level. Sure, it wasn't available even by command-option starting but, technically speaking, it was part of the scenario.

Yes indeed!

Aaron Freed <aaron@packet.net> makes some more level credit deductions:

If we're going by inferences, I have a few others to chalk up. First, take a good look at the level "The Slings & Arrows of Outrageous Fortune". Rather linear map design, and the secrets are different in style in this level than a lot of them - the fight between the tiny Pfhor and Fl'ickta is definitely unique, and a programmer would easily be able to insert the extra two slots in the physics model for them. I'd have to say this is probably a Jason Jones level.

Another level is "Fatum Iustum Stultorum". Again most of the map construction (almost all in this level) is done at 90 and 135 degree angles which is definitely characteristic of Jason Jones, and the secret with all the Bob simulacrums is a secret Jason might put in. Again I'd guess this is a Jason Jones level. In addition as I'll explain later most of the maps if not all of them with Latin in the title or with Latin map writing seem to be Jason Jones levels.

I think Arrival was a Jason Jones level. He was the player in the demo film and I think a person would demo their own level.

Smells Like Napalm was probably also a Jason Jones level, as was Habe Quiddam (the latter because it looks like Jason's handwriting. It also looks like his handwriting on Fire! Fire! Fire! Fire! Fire!) I suppose then that Latin in the title of a level or in the map writing indicates a level was created by Jason Jones, thus Cool Fusion with its inscription "poenas dare" is probably a Jason Jones level too. Of course this could just be a generalization.

Aaron also writes:

Nuke and Pave is probably a Greg Kirkpatrick level since he mentioned something about "making a level name change at the last minute".

The Vid Challenge levels were all redone by Randall Shaw.

Charon Doesn't Make Change was a Greg Kirkpatrick level.

Duality was created by Bill Ramsey.

As a clarification the level House of Pain was retextured in Infinity by Tuncer. The author of the Marathon 2 version is unknown.

Thunderdome was created by Tuncer.

There is one problem with the logic that Reg would have been on the M2 credits if he had created "Pfhor Your Eyes Only". "Hang Brain" is loosely based on "Begging for Mercy" but Jason isn't listed in the Scenario Design for Infinity, so that could be flawed logic. But on the other side of the coin we don't see traces of "Begging for Mercy Makes Me Angry!" in the Infinity resource fork, so it's possible that "Hang Brain" was started from scratch to look like Begging for Mercy.

Aaron Freed <aaron@packet.net> writes:

I would think "For Carnage, Apply Within" and "Sorry Don't Make It So" to be Jason Jones levels. Why? Well, if Greg only felt he had to test IIHaRL on Total Carnage and none of the others that he designed for Marathon 2, it would mean that "For Carnage, Apply Within" and "Sorry Don't Make It So" are probably not Greg levels (those are just as hard as, if not harder, than IIHaRL, and would probably also take tons of play-testing on TC.) Not saying IIHaRL isn't a tough level, but I have more trouble beating the other two.

The texture choices, shading, curves, and use of media and sounds on "Sorry Don't Make It So" contribute to my theory that it's a Jason Jones level - they resemble "Begging for Mercy Makes Me Angry!" The presence of a secret flamethrower on the level also is very much like something Jason Jones might do. I can't voice any such evidence for "For Carnage, Apply Within" but it is a much tougher level than IIHaRL because of all the hordes of Compilers. The absence of any weapons on this level further contributes to its difficulty. "Sorry Don't Make It So" is hard because you don't have much room to move around. Having to clear out the level further contributes to its difficulty.

There is certainly good evidence (see above) to suggest that "Sorry Don't Make It So" is by Jason Jones. And as Aaron points out the presence of a secret napalm unit under the lava on this level has shades of "Habe Quiddam". I mean who else would leave a napalm unit in lava. ;-)

Is "For Carnage, Apply Within" a Jason Jones level? Not an easy level but good mapmakers should be able to identify the tell-tale trademakers of the creator.

Aaron continues:

"Where the Twist Flops" is an enigma. It looks like Jason's shading, but the geometry would suggest a Greg level. Is it possible that this was one of the levels converted from the 20/10 scenario pack? It has 256 polygons, which is just 1 over the limit of the Marathon 1 polygon limit. We start in a room with a terminal and a save terminal (much like most of the original M1 levels) and its construction resembles a lot of the M1 maps (the tall ceilings suggest some sort of supply center, which is resemblant of M1 construction).

Another level is "God Will Sort The Dead". We start just around the corner from a save terminal and pattern buffer. Under 256 polygons. Portions of this remind me of "Low-Flying Defense Drones." Resembles indoor storage areas - kind of like an M1 map.

Bob's Big Date and Abandoned Rental Trucks might be Jason levels, for many of the same reasons I suspected Slings & Arrows to be.

Interesting points. We know that some of levels destined for the ill-fated Marathon 20/10 Scenario Pack were eventually incorporated into Marathon 2. Could "Where the Twist Flops" and "God Will Sort The Dead" have been some of these early levels? Indeed what where the 10 solo levels of the 20/10 Scenario Pack like? Were they intended to be based on the UESC Marathon using the original Marathon textures, shapes, etc. If so what was the plot associated with these add-on levels? How did it fit in with the existing Marathon plot?

Aaron Freed <aaron@packet.net> writes:

"Waterloo Waterpark" is probably a Greg level. The curves, sounds, and shading are characteristic of Greg's other levels - indeed the curves are totally unlike most of Jason's smooth curves and lighting. On the other side of the coin "This Side Toward Enemy" looks to be a Jason level because of its mostly linear layout.

Looking again at "For Carnage, Apply Within", it has mostly linear design (135 and 90 degree angles) except for the outside of the map, where the curves and shading resemble Jason's curves.

"What About Bob?" is probably a Greg level, judging from its overlapping polygons on the map. Greg, keep in mind, designed the levels "G4 Sunbathing" and "The Hard Stuff Rules" which used this alot, as well as "Charon Doesn't Make Change" and "Come and Take your Medicine." "Eat It, Vid Boi!" could go either way, but may I point out the placement of a secret rocket launcher and flame thrower on this level. On the other hand, the player's inability to reach it when vidding the level is very characteristic of Greg, and the final room of this level is like the first room on next level (which was a Greg level.) Then again the use of compilers points to Jason (if he was the designer of "For Carnage, Apply Within.") But the flow and shading more suggest it's a Greg level. "Six Thousand Feet Under" is definitely a Greg level, judging from its use of overlapping space in one area to convey the impression that Marathon 2's game engine is more advanced than it is. Its shading, textures, and non-linearity also suggest it was a Greg creation. The detailing work with floors and ceilings further contribute, as does its triggering of the rising and falling of the liquids by floor polygons (rather than by switches, as Jason did on "Kill Your Television.")

Note the map writing on Bob's Big Date is definitely Jason's.

The geometry of "Where the Twist Flops" suggests it's a Greg level, but the texture choices and shading suggest Jason did that. Maybe Jason redid the level for Marathon 2, but it was originally a Greg level.

The "Electric Sheep" levels are likely Greg levels, judging from the curves, use of Ticks, media, etc.

"Rise Robot Rise" is probably a Greg level. The map writing looks like his (although we don't have any examples of Randy's or Chris' writing to go by). Its geometry and shading also suggest it's a Greg level.

Incidentally the writing on "Post Naval Trauma" looks Jason's writing, but it couldn't be his. The curves on this level resemble those of "Foe Hammer", which is a Chris level, but then again they also resemble somewhat the curves on ÒNe Cede MalisÓ and ÒAye Mak SicurÓ, which were Randy levels.

For "Where Some Rarely Go" and "Thing What Kicks", it's hard to tell who created them, but these two are probably the most Marathon 2-like of the Infinity levels, so I'd guess Greg had a large hand in creating them. The styles of adding detail used suggests they were Greg levels.

"Hang Brain" could have been created by Greg, Randy, and/or Chris. I can't tell; there are some portions where the geometry is definitely very Greg-like - mostly at the corners of the maps. The confusing use of all those overlapping polygons also suggests it's a Greg level. But like several other maps there are some portions more characteristic of Randy or Chris.

"Son of Grendel" looks like it was probably created by Chris, mostly because of the curves, although there are some parts of it that are characteristic of Greg (the water maze near the top right part of the map looks more like geometry that was created by Greg). There are some other portions of it that look like something from a Randy level.

I'd have to say the distinctions in styles in the Marathon Infinity solo maps aren't as clear-cut as those in the Marathon 2 maps (mostly because in M2 there were only two mapmakers who created most of the maps.)

Now that I look at it, the M2 and Minf. versions of "House of Pain" are _identical_, except that one has "tuncer" written on it and one doesn't, and I think the floor texture for the outside of the arena was changed for the Infinity version. I wouldn't be surprised if the original was also a Tuncer level, though, because of its wide open spaces like "Thunderdome."

"No Disintegrations" was probably a Greg level, since it appears he created "Nuke and Pave", which contains this netmap somewhere in it. "OK, Honeybunny" was probably also a Greg level because of the use of overlapping polygons.

Aaron Freed <aaron@packet.net> writes:

Feel the Noise" was probably a Greg K. level. Looks like Greg's shading on and curves on "My Own Private Thermopylae."

Couch Fishing might be a Jason Jones level, too. The linear design is typical of Jason levels, the B&B title should be obvious, it has an instance of 5-D space which has to be intentional (you can't tell me Bungie never noticed it), and the end room resembles some of Jason's other levels from M1.

Blaspheme Quarantine looks like a Greg level, with its use of overlapping polygons and map construction.

Fire! Fire! Fire! Fire! Fire! looks like a Jason level. Linear construction, etc.

Welcome to the Revolution looks like a Jason level, with its linear map design, use of lava, etc.

This Side Towards Enemy is probably a Jason level, linear design, use of sounds, etc.

Aaron Freed <aaron@packet.net> writes:

After looking over the Marathon 2 and Infinity maps again, I saw a few levels which seemed to ring with clues of being created by various people.

Requiem for a Cyborg, probably a Greg level. This is a level which uses detailing work with short polygons similar to those in Charon Doesn't Make Change and The Hard Stuff Rules, among others. It uses plenty of overlapping polygons, and while it is linear in construction, it is not all at 45* and 90* angles. In addition its use of alien goo in some places is similar to the use of lava in Six Thousand Feet Under (which seems to be a Greg K. level).

Eat it, Vid Boi! also probably a Greg level. The secret rocket launcher and flame thrower which have to be reached by grenade jumping, and the lack of an ordinance to do so, are similar to Charon, We're Everywhere, and Nuke and Pave (all Greg levels). This appears rather linear, but more like Greg's linear with varying angles than Jason's religiously orthodox linearity. The use of ambient sounds also suggests it's a Greg level, resembling more other Greg levels than I care to mention. There's also the use of overlapping polygons viewing from the room with the secret ammo, resembling The Hard Stuff Rules and other levels, which suggests Greg's perseverance with Vulcan. It shies away from the thin walls that prevailed through so many of Jason's levels, and there's also the fact that The Hard Stuff Rules (another Greg level) was the level after this one, and a continuation of the level's

Aaron Freed <aaron@packet.net> writes concerning some of the Infinity levels:

I'm not sure about Confound Delivery, but there are some parts that were definitely created by Greg. The opening room with Tycho's terminal and the switch to open the two doors looks like a Greg creation with its curves and methods of connecting polygons. And the staircases look like Greg creations, with the ceilings lowering under the stairs as they do (Greg using "short polygons" for detailing again?), as do the underwater nets of passageways. The curves in the level also look like Greg's work. Overlapping space suggests it's probably Greg's work, because the map view of this level is a MESS, like "Hard Stuff Rules"

The Electric Sheep levels look like Greg creations, if I haven't already said this...lights resembling "IIHaRL", ceilings lowering under something which looks like it might be a staircase, curves, placement of lines dividing polygons, use of lava & textures, etc. Then again we're not comparing with Jason levels, but Chris and Randy which seem more similar to Greg's style. If someone can give credits for some other Infinity levels it might be possible to puzzle the remaining few out.

"Post Naval Trauma" looks like a Chris level. Chris seems to have vacuum in mind a lot (when he designed "Foe Hammer" and "Naw Man He's Close", for example). The windows, views into space, and representation of the ship resemble quite blatantly those of Foe Hammer, but how much of this was Chris'? Randy probably added those space views later.

This would suggest Randy also probably designed the space views on "Rise Robot Rise", a level which appears (from the terminal picts) to have been juggled around quite a bit - much like "Naw Man He's Close". The left side is definitely quite Greg-like in architecture, but the right side, which contains several views into space and detailing much like "Post Naval Trauma" and "Foe Hammer", is quite a bit resemblant of "Post Naval Trauma".

Carl Lineberry <dakril@texas.net> writes:

I've been watching the "Facts and Puzzling Things About: Level Credits" for some time. I'm interested in all of it, but especially keen to learn the authors of the netmaps...

Since there hasn't been a lot of new discovery, deduction or association recently, I thought I'd throw this out, and see if it helps jog the collective unconscious out there:

In the Trilogy manual, on page 66, there is a heading in the list of Infinity-specific credits called "Network Maps."

These names are listed:

Randy Reddig
Greg Kirkpatrick
David Longo
Tuncer Deniz
Jonas Eneroth
Doug Zartman
Randall Shaw
Bill Ramsey

While we're probably familiar with all these names, and several of them have been properly associated with their netmap contributions for Infinity, I don't think I've seen some of them ever linked to a specific Infinity netmap...

Some of these have been mentioned above and the "What's in a Name" and "Map Text" sections both make reference to some of the the net levels as well.

Aaron Freed <aaron@packet.net> writes concerning some of the Infinity net levels:

I've decided to wreak havoc on the netmaps next. :)

'Spline' is definitely a Greg map. I don't think I have to say the level's curves & shading resemble Greg's curves & shading. One might argue this looks like a Randy level, but I digress. Randy never designed anything like this - his maps tend to have lots of wide open spaces (while this level only has few.) Randy also does object placement on netmaps quite neatly, whilst everything on this level is random.

"Morpfhine" is a Randy creation, beyond any question in my mind. Randy seems the only one among the crew who would still use the "pfh" gag, and the way the platforms, teleporters, broken lights, outside juggernauts, windows, space views, etc. are utilised in the map has shades of "Pfhactory N'Utopia." Ok, play "Pfhactory N'Utopia" and then play this map and tell me there's no similarity. You'll be lying. :)

"'Fugee Camp" is also probably Randy's fault. The broken lights have shades of "Ne Cede Malis", the shading & use of textures resembles "Pfhactory N'Utopia." Whilst this level doesn't really have any outside space views, one could argue that the whole level looks like one of Randy's such creations and probably be in the right. The central pit (unaccessible, granted) looks like something right out of "Pfhactory N'Utopia." (I think few people have ever mastered the use of the Jjaro textures as Randy did.)

"Thick & Chunky" looks like yet another Randy net map. (Y.A.R.N.M., hmm...) The shading looks like the big room from "Pfhactory N'Utopia"/"Aye Mak Sicur" - the one with the wind sound in it, that juggernaut, and all those swarming Hunters. The shading, curving, use of stairs & media, resemble it, and look at Randy's creations in Coriolis Loop and again you'll see similarities.