The developers behind classic shooter GoldenEye 64 have officially ruled playing as Oddjob in the game’s multiplayer mode cheating. The GoldenEye movie reenergized the franchise after a six-year gap between instalments and introduced audiences to Pierce Brosnan’s suave take on the role. Video game tie-ins were expected of blockbuster films during this era, but outside of a few quality titles, most of these games were poorly executed and rushed out to make a release date.
Not much was expected of GoldenEye 64 – which came out two years after the movie – but it went on to become a groundbreaking classic. In addition to its addictive single-player mode that gave gamers previously unseen levels of interactivity with the environment, the multiplayer mode kept people playing for years following its release. This mode was a last-minute addition and added almost as an afterthought, but it soon became a must-have gameplay mode for other shooters.
Related: 15 Things You Didn’t Know About GoldenEye 007
While the game may not have aged as well as some other titles, GoldenEye 64 remains an undisputed genre classic. 2018 marks the 21st anniversary of the game, and in a new retrospective over at MEL Magazine, some of the team behind GoldenEye 64 have confirmed playing as Oddjob in multiplayer is cheating. In the game, the classic henchman is much shorter than the other characters, meaning auto-aim won’t lock on and bullets fly over his head. The game’s lead environment artist Karl Hilton had this to say on Oddjob’s inclusion:
We all thought it was kind of cheating when we were play-testing with Oddjob, but it was too much fun to take out and there was no impetus from any of us to change it. It’s clearly become part of the culture and folklore of the game — I noticed playing GoldenEye as Oddjob was mentioned in Ready Player One, so ultimately, I think it’s fine.
Gameplay and engine programmer Mark Edmonds also chimed in:
It’s definitely cheating to play as Oddjob! But that can just add to the fun when you’re all sitting there next to each other and berating/poking/hitting the person who chooses him. Personally, I like to pick Jaws and then beat the person with Oddjob just to show them! We could have put something in to stop this blatant cheating, but why not just let players decide on their own rules?
Playing as Oddjob adds a bit of spice to any deathmatch in GoldenEye 64 because he’s annoyingly tricky to hit, which adds an interesting dynamic. The developers also reflected on trying to add all the previous Bonds up to that point (Connery, Moore, Dalton etc) into the game as unlockable characters – an idea that was quickly scrapped once they learned the other Bonds hadn’t signed off on their likeness being used, and it would be too expensive to reach a deal with all of them.
GoldenEye 64 was also a breakthrough for first-person shooters, moving the genre away from the Doom-clone label and introducing gameplay features that soon became commonplace. The multiplayer mode is still being widely played today, and speedrunners are finding new and ever more inventive ways to fly through it.
More: Danny Boyle No Longer Directing Bond 25
Source: MEL Magazine
About The Author
