But by 1993, 2D wasn't enough for these guys. They needed at least one more D to fully realize their ambition. "What if we remade Minotaur, but set it inside a tube?" Jason Jones probably didn't say, but that is indeed what Pathways into Darkness was. Minotaur in a tube. Of course, the tube was texture-mapped, fully utilized the then-epic Mac RISC chipset and featured creepy, convincing active-panning stereo sound. It sounded like you were in a tube. And it looked better than anything else on the machine at that time.
Coded on a Mac IIFX, Jason worked alone on the code, while his friend Colin Brent designed the graphics. To put that in perspective, there are currently about 65 full time people working at Bungie and a ton of contractors to boot.
The plot, which they'd actually started to consider at that time, featured Mayan pyramids, a sleeping god and alien infestation big concepts that would help define later efforts. They began to realize that telling a story was almost as important as collecting fruit and rescuing princesses.
These two fine-fettled fellows would hawk their wares, Cockney-style at every trade show and gathering they could find. Demonstrating how cool it looked was a lot easier than simply putting it out there, and people started to get it. Pathways started making inroads.
Awards, plaudits, trophies (including MacWorld's Game Hall of Fame, the MacUser 100, and Inside Mac Games' Adventure Game of the Year) and that greatest of all rewards cash - started to trickle into Bungie central. The money started to change them almost immediately. Seropian started blowing funds on things like rent, a T-Shirt and witnesses remember he'd order supersized fries like it was just nothing. Jones, stoic and stalwart though he was, began to warp under the pressure of the filthy lucre. He too started buying T-Shirts, medium sodas and even tipped waitresses. Alex took to cruising around in his almost brand-new Dodge Neon. Rollin' through Chi-town in tha mad hooptie. It was time for a reality check.
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