E3 2001 Preshow ReportMyth III: The Wolf Age

Myth III: The Wolf Age makes a significant break from the first two games in the series, introducing a fully 3D engine and a new development team. The first games were known for their 3D camera and terrain system, and all the units were rendered as 2D sprites for performance reasons. Ritual Entertainment's Tiki skeletal animation system, which was used for Heavy Metal: F.A.K.K.2 and American McGee's Alice, will animate the new game's fully 3D polygonal models. Take Two received the rights to the Myth world from Bungie when Microsoft acquired the studio last summer, and the new developer working on the game is Mumbo Jumbo, a studio formed in part by staff from Ritual.

The game will contain many names and units familiar from its predecessors, such as berserks, myrkridia, dwarves, soulless, and warlocks. However, Myth III takes place during the Wolf age, which was 1,000 years ago. The prequel features the legendary warrior Connacht the Wolf and his lieutenant Damas. Both of these figures from Myth's history later rose to join the fallen lords that players battled in the first two games.

Myth III will be shown in playable form at GodGames' E3 Promised Lot. The E3 demo build will contain three single-player maps--a small village, desert badlands, and a forested landscape--and 13 completed units, including two new units: the hearthguard and Connacht himself. The game's development just reached a significant development milestone, which marks the working integration of a number of key features: the Tiki animation, 3D trees and shrubbery that move with the wind, true-color terrain texturing, and real-time lighting and shadows. The game is said to be on schedule for a fall release, and it's planned to go beta in September.