![]() The stark visual contrast between the handcrafted pixel art of the original Blood and the rudimentary 3D graphics of its less-loved 1998 sequel, captured this tension. This was unfamiliar technology, it was expensive and it would take a few years for Monolith to find its footing with it. This heralded the birth of DirectEngine, which would morph into LithTech – the engine that Monolith continues to use to this day.īut the early going with 3D wasn't easy. In 1996, Monolith received the Rendition Verite V1000, one of the first 3D-accelerated video cards. Monolith knew it had to be part of this revolution, and even as Blood was still in development there was already a team dedicated to building an in-house 3D engine. He sculpted all these characters and maquettes for Blood." Beloved though Blood was, it represented the end of an era in PC gaming, as 2.5D graphics made way for 3D-accelerated ones. "He got a sculpting degree from Wazoo and could make these amazing movie masks," says Garrett. It had comical Evil Dead-type dialogue and detailed sprites based on models sculpted by Kevin Kilstrom. "In this whole pedal-to- the-metal thing, Jason was like 'Let's just acquire Q Studios, let's get Nick in, let's give him stock, let's make him a part of this too.'" Blood was a much-loved game, eventually replacing Doom as the go-to deathmatch game at Monolith. "Q Studios was launched by our friend Nick Neilhard," Garrett recalls. ![]() While working on Claw, Monolith acquired Q Studios, which was working on the last – and arguably greatest – of the Build engine shooters, Blood. Right from the start, Monolith was a many-tendrilled beast, always finding itself on the technological boundaries of the medium. If you want in-depth features on classic video games delivered straight to your doorstop, subscribe to Retro Gamer (opens in new tab) today. This was right before Earthworm Jim came out too, so a good time for irreverent weird characters," Garrett tells us, proud of his pet project that would kickstart Monolith's resume. "I was obsessed with New Wave music, Adam And The Ants, all that stuff, so that whole romantic pirate outfits thing. It was Captain Claw – an anthropomorphic pirate cat who fought through packs of 'cocker spaniard' dogs in his pursuit of the Amulet Of The Nine Tails. Garrett was Monolith's original artist, and presented the rest of the team with a shelved project from his art school days. We almost instantly had this whole crew." With the studio complex set up in 1996 – complete with sound studio and other high-end extras – it was time for Monolith to make its first homegrown game. ![]() ![]() "I remember walking through it with my wife and she asked 'How are you ever gonna fill all these up?' We just began rounding up our friends from other companies. "We leased a bunch of buildings in this office park," says Garrett. Later that year, the Monolith team moved out of their Microsoft quarters to their first office – though perhaps 'compound' is a more fitting description. Jace's ever-growing network of contacts paid dividends too, when a Japanese company called Takarajimasha invested a sizeable amount of money into Monolith. They put all the money from their Microsoft work into the Monolith start-up pot. The Monolith team worked "out of a couple of closets" at Microsoft, making sample CDs while Jace continued to make contacts in the wider industry.
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