Caves of Qud co-creators consulted on Marathon, pitched absurd ideas

Caves of Qud co-creators Brian Bucklew and Jason Grinblat said on Bluesky last week they had "the real privilege" of working with Bungie as narrative preproduction consultants during the development of Marathon. Bucklew stressed they can't claim direct responsibility for much of what appears in Marathon, saying, "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.' But it was a really fun role." He described their influence as present but diffuse, helping to refine the tonal palette Bungie would paint with.

"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.

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