Marble Blast Gold

Marble Blast Gold

Developer(s)	GarageGames (Windows, Mac OS, Linux) Oberon Media (Xbox)
Release date	May 9, 2003
Platforms	Windows, Mac OS, Linux, Xbox
Status	Unavailable for purchase as of 2011 Available at the community-run marbleblast.com
Engine	Torque
Related	Marble Blast Ultra PlatinumQuest

Marble Blast Gold is a 3D platformer developed by GarageGames and published by Monster Studios and was originally released in 2002 as "Marble Blast", and in 2003 as "Marble Blast Gold". Gold was released for the original Xbox in 2005 before Ultra was released for the Xbox 360 in 2006. A version for the Net Jet, Marble Blast XP, was released in 2007. The game was delisted in 2011 due to licensing issues with InterActiveCorp, which is the current owner of the Marble Blast IP. The developers would go on to create Marble It Up! in 2018, a spiritual successor to the Marble Blast games.

The game was very popular in the late 2000s, with several mods such as PlatinumQuest, Marble Blast Emerald and STOP DeluXe being created.

History

The game was originally named "Marble Reaction". The game was described by the developers as "kind of like Marble Madness meets Super Monkey Ball meets Tony Hawk". The project leader was Mark Frohnmayer, also known as Nardo Polo with the level designers being Kevin Ryan and Alex Swanson. The game was officially launched on the GarageGames store in December 2002, as a Windows-only download for $14.95 USD. Ports to Mac and Linux would be made in January and February 2003 respectively. In May 2003, an expansion pack named Marble Blast Gold was released, adding 28 new levels to the campaign. Gold retailed for $19.95 USD and owners of the previous Marble Blast game could upgrade to Gold for $5 USD. The game was also pre-installed on several Macintosh computers in the mid to late-2000s which was one of the big reasons the game was so popular. Several prominent community members joined during this time, such as IsraeliRD and Xelna. In 2005, the game was ported by Oberon Media to the original Xbox with improved graphics.

Marble Blast Gold was delisted from most stores in 2011 due to licensing issues with the new IP owner, IAC. The only place where you can buy Marble Blast now is MacGameStore, or by tracking down a physical copy of Marble Blaster, the eGames retail re-release.

• 

  One of the very first versions of the game, when "Marble Reaction" was still the game title.

• 

  An early screenshot of Upward Spiral, showing a different skybox and timer compared to the final version.

• 

  An early screenshot of Tube Treasures. Note the sign, gem icon and the Super Jump icon. All of these were changed in the final version, and the sign seems to be edited in, as it overlaps the timer.

• 

  The Xbox version running in xemu

Cheats

The console can be opened by pressing the tilde key (~). By entering the command $testcheats=1;, various cheats such as a level editor and GUI editor can be enabled. In a level, press F11 to open the level editor, and press F4 to get all the various options. From here, you can place interiors and shapes (such as power-ups and hazards) in the level. This is what was used to create various custom levels in the early days of the game's lifespan. To open the GUI editor, press F10.

• 

  Console

• 

  GUI Editor (F10)

• 

  Mission Editor (F11)

Custom Levels

"Trapdoor Monster Course" by marbleman; An example of a classic custom level.

Marble Blast levels are created using the level editor. In the early days of the game, the go-to way to make levels was to use pre-existing interiors. However, with Marble Blast Platinum's release in 2007, many people started using QuArK or Torque Constructor to make levels. This is still the case today, but with Torque Constructor not functioning properly on newer hardware, many people have discovered alternatives such as Trenchbroom or Blender.