| Myth | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Bungie Studios, MumboJumbo |
| Publisher(s) | Template:CoTemplate:Co |
| Year introduced | [[1997]] |
| Genre(s) | Real-time tactics |
Myth and Myth II were developed and self-published by Bungie Software between 1997 and 1999. As a result of Bungie's sale to Microsoft in 2000, the company lost the franchise rights to Take-Two Interactive. Myth III: The Wolf Age was developed by MumboJumbo and released by Take 2 in 2001; it received generally good reviews, though many cited a number of bugs in the initial release.
The Myth games are categorized as real-time tactics, representing a departure from established real time strategy titles such as Warcraft and Command & Conquer; resource retrieval and unit construction were entirely removed to focus on squad- and soldier-level tactics. Some have argued that this has given the game a far greater sense of realism than its contemporaries. Reviewers have cited the series' (at the time) revolutionary use of 3D environments, use of weather effects, and realistic physics engines as reasons for this. To many, Myth set the standard for the type of strategy that the Total War series of games made popular.
The games were also remarkable for depth of free multiplayer support, intense and continuing fan activity on the web (including a wide range of fan-created mods), and simultaneous Macintosh and Windows development and release.
Post-Bungie Myth
Development of the Myth series was halted by Bungie, but fan groups have been given access to the source code and have taken it upon themselves to keep the series up to date. Also, after a long period of slow decline in membership, Bungie.net shut down its Myth servers. Bungie.net went down in 2001, and Bungie.net II in February 2002. Fortunately for players, multiplayer for the game was continued through such fan-based public servers as MariusNet and Playmyth.net (Playmyth.net has since ceased operation). Such servers are maintained by volunteers and funded by donations from the players.