TheRetroArcade
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Posts: 2,013
Joined: Feb 2026
Joined: Feb 2026
I knew something about that Tick Milk felt familiar.
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We named Caves of Qud our best roguelike of 2024 based on the merits of its singular atmosphere, arresting procedural systems, and the fact that you can play as a psionic, railgun-wielding bird-ape infected with a sentient fungus. You can imagine, then, how thrilled we were to learn that Qud's co-creators, Brian Bucklew and Jason Grinblat, revealed on Bluesky last week that they'd had "the real privilege" of working with Bungie as narrative preproduction consultants during the development of Marathon.
Given Marathon's similarly unabashed indulgence in its unique aesthetic and setting, knowing the Qud creators got a hand on the ball makes a certain amount of sense—particularly when looting a fresh container of Tick Milk. In an interview with PC Gamer, Bucklew said the relationship with Bungie emerged from being "friends with a few people inside," but insisted the Qud creators can't claim direct responsibility for much of what Marathon players see on-screen.
"I'm not taking credit for anything that's in the game, other than we got to sit there in the room and throw completely absurd ideas at the wall and have them say, 'Wow, that is a crazy idea,'" said Bucklew, who in a previous interview with PC Gamer said the ideal form of life is a limbless sphere because we have only wielded our appendages towards ungodly ends. "But it was a really fun role."
Bucklew said the Qud co-creators can recognize "a lot of what we did in the game, but in a very diffuse way." If their influence remains in the Marathon we're playing now, it was in helping to refine the tonal palette for Bungie to paint with in its narrative and worldbuilding.
"It's all the Bungie team doing the work, and at best, I was advocating for the game I wanted Marathon to be. I was more like a player going, 'I really wish the narrative was like this. That would be amazing,'" Bucklew said. "It's sort of the narrative version of the PvP streamer playtester."
Even if Bucklew and Grinblat might not be able to point at specific nouns and factions that they personally provided, when Bucklew calls their work as Marathon narrative consultants a "real privilege," it's because the Qud creators got to contribute to the creative vocabulary that's made Bungie's worlds so compelling for decades.
Take Destiny, for example—a series Bucklew has spent 2,0...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?
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Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.
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Every Friday
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Every Thursday
GTA 6 O'clock
Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts.
Every Friday
Knowledge
From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon.
Every Thursday
The Setup
Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more.
Every Wednesday
Switch 2 Spotlight
Sign up to our new Switch 2 newsletter, where we bring you the latest talking points on Nintendo's new console each week, bring you up to date on the news, and recommend what games to play.
Every Saturday
The Watchlist
Subscribe for a weekly digest of the movie and TV news that matters, direct to your inbox. From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we've got you covered.
Once a month
SFX
Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month!
We named Caves of Qud our best roguelike of 2024 based on the merits of its singular atmosphere, arresting procedural systems, and the fact that you can play as a psionic, railgun-wielding bird-ape infected with a sentient fungus. You can imagine, then, how thrilled we were to learn that Qud's co-creators, Brian Bucklew and Jason Grinblat, revealed on Bluesky last week that they'd had "the real privilege" of working with Bungie as narrative preproduction consultants during the development of Marathon.
Given Marathon's similarly unabashed indulgence in its unique aesthetic and setting, knowing the Qud creators got a hand on the ball makes a certain amount of sense—particularly when looting a fresh container of Tick Milk. In an interview with PC Gamer, Bucklew said the relationship with Bungie emerged from being "friends with a few people inside," but insisted the Qud creators can't claim direct responsibility for much of what Marathon players see on-screen.
"I'm not taking credit for anything that's in the game, other than we got to sit there in the room and throw completely absurd ideas at the wall and have them say, 'Wow, that is a crazy idea,'" said Bucklew, who in a previous interview with PC Gamer said the ideal form of life is a limbless sphere because we have only wielded our appendages towards ungodly ends. "But it was a really fun role."
Bucklew said the Qud co-creators can recognize "a lot of what we did in the game, but in a very diffuse way." If their influence remains in the Marathon we're playing now, it was in helping to refine the tonal palette for Bungie to paint with in its narrative and worldbuilding.
"It's all the Bungie team doing the work, and at best, I was advocating for the game I wanted Marathon to be. I was more like a player going, 'I really wish the narrative was like this. That would be amazing,'" Bucklew said. "It's sort of the narrative version of the PvP streamer playtester."
Even if Bucklew and Grinblat might not be able to point at specific nouns and factions that they personally provided, when Bucklew calls their work as Marathon narrative consultants a "real privilege," it's because the Qud creators got to contribute to the creative vocabulary that's made Bungie's worlds so compelling for decades.
Take Destiny, for example—a series Bucklew has spent 2,0...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?