Pathways Into Darkness

This page details one or more prototype versions of Pathways Into Darkness.

To do: There are more conversations with the dead people are in the game, and they appear to have plenty of interesting things.

On July 7, 1993, Bungie released a demo version of the game through America Online. The read-me file indicates the demo version was actually compiled on July 2, 1993 and indicates the version was called "Demo Version A1".

General Differences#

• Interestingly, the demo read-me file says the final game would have only gone until Wednesday. In the final, it goes until Friday, making the game much easier.
• The player can save anywhere in the demo version. To add some challenge and make gameplay more exciting, Bungie made the player go to red runes in order to save.
• A climb button is present and is needed in order to go up/down the stairs. In the final game, this is done automatically.
• Several dialogue boxes present in the final game, like the save game boxes that appear when booting the game up, are absent in this demo.
• If the player walks over dead German bodies, their rank is given. This was removed in the final version.
• Even if the demo is hacked so that the player is given a yellow crystal, the dead won't ever talk to the player.

Text Differences#

Anonymous German on "Ground Floor"#

 Muller, that bastard, never told us why
 we were here- just that we would be in
 the jungle for a few months. This jungle is 
 a humid, sticky hell.  I remember Cologne...

 Muller, that bastard, never told us what our
 mission here was- just that we would be in 
 the jungle for a few months. This jungle is
 a humid, sticky hell. I remember Cologne...

The final game made it so that the soldier specifically mentions a mission.

 Muller was our seargent.  An ugly, short little
 man.  Totally devoted our country.  A real
 bastard.  He shot me twice in the back.

 Muller was our captain. An ugly, short little
 man. Totally devoted to our country. A real
 bastard. He shot me twice in the back.

Muller changed ranks suddenly.

 Muller had some strange musical instrument 
 he brought with him from Germany. When he played it 
 on that strange symbol in the center of the floor, 
 both the doors opened.

 Muller had some strange musical instrument
 he brought from Germany. When he played it
 on that rune in the middle of the floor, those
 two locked doors opened. 

The text was made less ambiguous.

Walter on "Feel The Power"#

Walter doesn't mention his name in the demo version.

 No, NO! It's all I have left, 
 all I have to look at. There's plenty more ...

 Don't take it, it's mine! It's all I have left,
 all I have to look at. There's plenty more ... 

 A few ladders down, I think.
 There's a huge gold door we found the key for.
 There are eleven more ingots down there, 
 don't take mine!

 Somewhere a few ladders down there's a
 huge gold door Muller gave us the key for.
 There are eleven more ingots down there,
 don't take mine! Get your own! 

Walter's dialogue comes off ruder in the full versions than it does in Demo A1. Also, he mentions Muller in the full versions.

Hans on "They May Be Slow..."#

 Muller, damn him. This is all his fault. I'm 
 sure he's dead, somewhere- if you see him, 
 crack his skull for me.

 Muller, damn him. This is all his fault. I'm
 sure he's dead, somewhere... 

Hans apparently hated Muller so much he asked the player to crack his skull.

 How do you think? One of those shadowy things 
 enveloped and killed me. Nothing seemed to hurt it- 
 bullets, knives, grenades ... I even died 
 trying to punch or kick the thing.

 One of those shadowy things enveloped and
 killed me. Nothing seemed to hurt it-
 bullets, knives, grenades. I ran as far as I
 could, wounded, but I finally died here. 

Hans apparently was so desperate to defend himself, he actually tried to punch and/or kick for his life.

Unused Graphics#

Unique to this particular version is a graphic for a seventh crystal, which appears to be a bizarre mixture between the blue and yellow crystals. No dialogue appears to be related to it and the graphic itself is completely missing in the final version.

Also removed from the final game is a placeholder picture for items that have not yet been drawn.

Removed Text#

Mumble, mumble.  I'm Muller, but Bungie still didn't give me a script, sorry.

Note that even about a month before the game was completed, Bungie didn't write any dialogue for Muller. So, this is the only line Muller was given.

This conversation has not been coded yet.

Claude from "Evil Undead Phantasms Must Die!" also has no conversation tree to speak of.