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Marble Blast

Marble Blast 01

Developer(s)
Publisher(s)
GarageGames
eGames
RealOne Arcade
Engine
Release date
December 12, 2002 (Windows)
January 16, 2003 (Mac)
February 1, 2003 (Linux)
May 11, 2005 (XBLA)
Version
1.3.1 (Windows)
Mode(s)
Single-player
Leaderboards (XBLA exclusive)


Marble Blast is a 3D platform game released in December 2002. Developed by GarageGames and Monster Studios, it was the first game in the Marble Blast series. Retail copies of the game were published by eGames under the name Marble Blaster. The digital version received an expanded edition with more levels, Marble Blast Gold, in May 2003.

Gameplay[]

Marble Blast's gameplay revolves around the player clearing each level with a marble they control, which may roll and jump. The player also has control of the game's camera, which they may move around freely while moving the marble. The objective of the game is to complete each level as quickly as possible.

Many levels have obstacles that must be overcome before they can be finished. Some even require the player to collect a certain amount of gems before they are allowed to complete the level. The biggest threat to the player, however, is falling off the level. In addition to this, there are many hazards which can get in the way of the player and knock them off: slippery terrain, landmines, industrial fans, oil slicks, and even pinball bumpers, just to name a few. The player may also have to solve small puzzles in order to reach the finish, many requiring the player to use these hazards to their advantage.

In order to combat these threats, many levels present the player with power-ups: special items that give the marble different powers, such as high jumps, incredible speed, slow falling, and more.

Many levels have Qualify Times: time limits for each mission. If the player finishes a level too late, then their time will be recorded; however, the next level will not be unlocked until the Qualify Time is beaten. The Time Travel power-up will freeze the timer for a short duration and allow the player to get better times. Marble Blast Gold expands on this feature: it introduced Gold Times, a challenge to beat each level in a specific time limit, which is much smaller than the Qualify Time.

There are 72 levels to clear, in 3 difficulties: 24 beginner, 24 intermediate, and 24 advanced. The Gold expansion pack adds another 28 advanced levels, bringing the total number of levels to 100. Each difficulty starts with one level unlocked, the next only being unlocked after successfully clearing the previous level.

The game has native support for custom levels: these may be created using the in-game level editor, or created and imported from elsewhere, using programs such as Constructor, QuArK, and most recently, Blender.

History[]

Marble Blast's demo was released in early December 2002. Soon thereafter, on December 13th, the game launched on the GarageGames website as a Windows-only digital release, priced at $14.95[1]. A few weeks later, on January 16th, 2003, a Mac port was released[2], followed by a Linux port on February 1st.[3]

The game went on to sell over 1,000 copies in 3 months, netting an estimated $15,000 in revenues by early March.[4] On May 9th, 2003, Marble Blast Gold, an expansion pack for the game, was released.[5]

On June 24th, 2003, the Windows version of Marble Blast received a retail release published by eGames known as Marble Blaster.[6] It was the base version of the game (as such, it did not include the Gold expansion pack; however, it included one level from it: Dive!). The game retailed for $14.99; it could also be purchased as a digital download from the eGames store.[7]

Marble Blast Gold was later ported to Microsoft's XBOX console in 2005.[8] Many of the game's levels would also be remade for the Xbox 360's Marble Blast Ultra in 2006.

A unique licensing agreement with Apple saw Marble Blast Gold pre-installed on tens of thousands of iMac G5 desktop computers and iBook G4 laptops in the mid-2000s.

Marble Blaster was reissued in 2007 by eGames, under its original title, Marble Blast.[9]

Marble Blast was delisted from all online marketplaces (including the GarageGames store) in 2011 due to a license agreement with IAC, the new owner of the Marble Blast intellectual property.

Development[]

MB-looking-down-concept

Early build of the game (September 2002)

In the summer of 2002, GarageGames and Monster Studios jointly began work on Marble Blast. Early into development, in June 2002, the game was tentatively titled "Marble Reaction" and described as "kind of like Marble Madness meets Super Monkey Ball meets Tony Hawk".[10]

The project leader was Mark Frohnmayer[2], also known as Nardo Polo. Frohnmayer was one of the Torque Game Engine's designers, and so he found himself as one of the game's main programmers. GarageGames intern Alex Swanson and Monster Studios employee Kevin Ryan were the game's level designers. Ryan did not contribute any levels to the Gold expansion pack; they were all created by Swanson.

Many of the game's assets were recycled from Chain Reaction, a different Monster Studios game that was also being developed at the time. The game's soundtrack was made by Tim Clarke, who also scored Chain Reaction; "Classic Vibe" is taken from the game. Chain Reaction's art style was created by Don Carson[11], the lead designer of Disneyland's Toontown attraction. Many of the assets he created were recycled for Marble Blast; Brian Hahn created the remaining artwork.[11]

Team[]

GarageGames[]

  • Mark Frohnmayer: Project lead & programmer
  • Alex Swanson: Level designer
  • Jay Moore
  • Liam Ryan
  • Tim Gift
  • Rick Overman
  • Pat Wilson
  • John Quigley
  • Kurtis Seebaldt
  • Matan Weissman

Monster Studios[]

  • Kevin Ryan: Level designer
  • Don Carson: Artist
  • Brian Hahn: Artist
  • Tim Clarke: Soundtrack
  • Jeff Tunnell

Gallery[]

Help/Credits[]

Promotional[]

References[]

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