MDK (video game)

MDK is a 1997 third-person shooter video game developed by Shiny Entertainment for Microsoft Windows. It was ported to Mac OS by Shokwave,[3] and to the PlayStation by Neversoft. It was published on all systems by PIE in North America, with Shiny Entertainment publishing it themselves in Europe. The Windows version was released in May 1997, and the PlayStation version in November. The game was released on GOG.com in September 2008,[4] and on Steam in September 2009.[5]

For other uses, see MDK (disambiguation).
MDK
North American PC cover art
Developer(s)Shiny Entertainment[lower-alpha 1]
Publisher(s)
Producer(s)
Designer(s)
Programmer(s)
  • Andy Astor
  • Martin Brownlow
Artist(s)
Writer(s)Nick Bruty
Composer(s)Tommy Tallarico
SeriesMDK
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows, MS-DOS, Mac OS, PlayStation
ReleaseMicrosoft Windows & MS-DOS
Mac OS
  • WW: 1997
PlayStation
  • WW: November 21, 1997[2]
Genre(s)Third-person shooter
Mode(s)Single-player

The game tells the story of Kurt Hectic, a janitor who reluctantly must attempt to save Earth from an alien invasion of gigantic strip mining city-sized vehicles named "Minecrawlers". These Minecrawlers are removing all of earth's natural resources, and crushing any people and cities that get in their way. Aided by his boss, the possibly insane inventor and scientist Dr. Fluke Hawkins, and a robotic two-legged/four-armed dog named Bones, Kurt must infiltrate each Minecrawler, and fight his way to the pilot, whom he must then kill before returning to Hawkins' in-orbit space station, the Jim Dandy.

Conceived and co-designed by Nick Bruty, MDK was Shiny's first PC game, and was notable for using software rendering, requiring a Pentium or equivalent microprocessor, rather than necessitating any GPU enhancements, despite its large 3D levels and complex polygonal enemies. As the developers were attempting things never before seen in a PC game, they had to write their own programming language from scratch. Additionally, when in sniper mode, the player has the ability to zoom up to 100x, but the developers chose not to employ any of the standard solutions to pop-up, such as clipping or fogging. They also worked to ensure the game ran at a minimum of 30fps at all times on all machines. The game's original system requirements were a 60 MHz Pentium, 16MB of RAM, 17MB of hard drive storage, an SVGA compatible video card, and a Sound Blaster or equivalent sound card.

MDK received generally positive reviews, with critics praising the gameplay, the level design, the sardonic sense of humor, the game's technical accomplishments and, in particular, the use of sniper mode. The most often repeated criticisms were that the game was too short and the story was weak. The game was a commercial success, and Interplay approached Bruty to work on a sequel immediately. However, he was already developing Giants: Citizen Kabuto, and so BioWare was hired to develop the game. MDK2 was published for Windows and the Dreamcast in 2000, and for the PlayStation 2 (as MDK 2: Armageddon) in 2001. In 2007, Interplay announced a third game was planned, but it was never made.[6]

Gameplay

For the most part, MDK is a run-and-gun third-person shooter. It also features several minigames, and allows the player to enter first-person mode at any time they wish so as to use their sniper weapon.[7] The basic design of the game involves distinct individual levels in which the player character, Kurt Hectic, must infiltrate a "Minecrawler", fight his way through an array of enemies, tackle some rudimentary puzzles, and reach the control centre, where he must then eliminate the pilot in a boss fight. Every level is completely different; enemies, level design, aesthetic, and control centre layout, with a different strategy required to eliminate each pilot.[8]

During the run-and-gun gameplay, the player must frequently use Kurt's "ribbon chute", a parachute contained within his outfit that can be used indefinitely. The chute allows Kurt to make long jumps, survive long falls, and utilize updrafts. It deploys immediately, and retracts automatically when not being used.[9] Kurt also has access to a smart bomb type (Close air support) feature, where he can call Max to fly a bomber over the battle area and drop bombs on the enemies.[10] To call Max, Kurt must have collected an airstrike pickup within the game. He must enter sniper mode to select the area he wants Max to target. Additionally, the airstrike can only be used in exterior locations on the Minecrawler.[11] Other weaponry in the game includes grenades, "The World's Most Interesting Bomb" (when Kurt throws the bomb, all enemies within the vicinity will approach it, at which point Kurt can detonate it),[12] "The Very Large Hamster Hammer" (a giant hammer that causes the ground to vibrate violently, damaging any nearby enemies),[13] and "The World's Smallest Nuclear Explosion" (used for opening locked doors).[14]

In addition to the run-and-gun/sniper modes, there are several additional gameplay modes in MDK. All levels start out with an "atmospheric entry" in which Kurt jumps from his base ship, the Jim Dandy space station, which is in orbit around Earth, to the Minecrawler on the planet's surface.[15] As he descends, the Minecrawler activates its radar, which, if touched, triggers the launch of anti-air missiles, which must be dodged.[16] Some levels feature Kurt taking over an enemy bombing ship and performing bombing runs, some feature a glider which Kurt must ride to a specific location. One level features several snowboarding sequences, where Kurt must navigate obstacles while destroying enemies.[17] Additionally, once a level has been completed, the Minecrawler disintegrates, and is sucked back into the energy stream from which it emerged, taking Kurt with it. Kurt then has a set period of time in the energy stream, during which he pursues a health power-up, which, if collected, grants 150% health for the start of the next level. If he touches the walls of the stream, he loses health and decelerates. At the end of the set period, Max will enter the stream on a tether and pull Kurt back to the Jim Dandy.[18]

Sniper mode in MDK. Bullet selection is on the left; health is indicated in the circle on the right. Above the health meter is the current zoom of the sniper weapon. The three "bullet cams" are at the top of the screen.

Kurt's main defense against his enemies is his "Coil Suit", a skin-tight armor made of a Kevlar-like material,[19] and created on a "nuclear-blast proof sewing machine".[15] This suit serves as a bulletproof vest during the combat sections of the game, and also protects Kurt from friction and heat during the atmospheric entry sections.[16] Kurt's weapon is a chain gun, which is attached to his arm, and carries unlimited ammo.[20] The other major weapon in the game is a sniper gun. This is created when Kurt detaches his chain gun from his arm and mounts it onto his helmet.[21] The sniper weapon can zoom up to 100x, and has the capability of supporting five different types of ammunition, including homing missiles and mortar shells.[22] Kurt does not actually see out of the helmet, rather, he sees out of a HUD, which he uses to aim. There are also three "Bullet Cams" that track each projectile and linger briefly after impact, showing any damage done.[23] However, when Kurt is in sniper mode, he is unable to move, and can thus be easily targeted by enemies.[24]

The enemies in MDK are a collective of aliens called "Streamriders" under the command of Gunter Glut. Each Minecrawler is manned primarily by various types of soldiers named "Grunts."[25] Some areas contain "Grunt generators" which create an infinite number of enemies until destroyed.[24] Apart from Grunts, and each Minecrawler's unique pilot, Kurt also encounters various types of robots, tanks, automated and manned turrets, animals, small attack ships, troop transport ships, and sentry drones.[7]

Plot

The story of the game begins in 1996 when inventor/scientist Dr. Fluke Hawkins believes he has made a revolutionary discovery; an outer space phenomenon he calls "Flange Orbits". However, when he approaches the scientific community with his discovery, he is ridiculed. Determined to prove his colleagues wrong, Hawkins builds a space station, the Jim Dandy, and bribes aboard his laboratory janitor, Kurt Hectic, by means of Hungarian goulash. He then launches the station into orbit, projecting that the mission will last five days.[26] However, after a week, Hawkins realizes Flange Orbits do not actually exist, but rather than return to Earth in shame, he decides to remain on the Dandy to try to discover something, anticipating another week in space. Kurt is extremely unhappy with this development, but once Hawkins shows him how to program the VCR, he calms down.[27]

A year later, having made no discoveries, Hawkins begins work building a genetically engineered robotic dog, which he plans to call "Bones".[28] After a year, Bones is fully operational, although both Bones and Kurt prefer the name Max. Despite having four arms and two legs, and being full of energy, Max proves more than a little reluctant to help Hawkins with the chores on the Dandy, proving more interested in tending to his vegetable garden.[29]

Another year passes without Hawkins making a breakthrough until he notices streams of energy moving through the Solar System towards Earth. He sends a warning down to Earth (along with some of Max's oranges), but is ignored.[30] Upon reaching Earth, the streams disgorge gigantic "Minecrawlers", city-sized vehicles designed to strip mine the natural resources from a planet, crushing anything in their path. The aliens, known as "Streamriders", and under the command of Gunter Glut, easily demolish Earth's military forces, and so Hawkins decides to take action to save the planet.[31][32] Hawkins reasons the only way to fight the aliens is with his newly invented "Coil Suit", but due to his advancing years and Max's extra pair of legs, Kurt is the only one who can wear it, and, thus, becomes the very reluctant hero.[33]

As such, Kurt is dispatched on "Mission: Deliver Kindness", entering the Minecrawlers from above, and destroying them from the inside-out, shooting his way through to the pilot, whom he then kills, before being extracted back to the Jim Dandy. Kurt fights his way through a number of Minecrawlers, destroying them one by one, until he reaches the Crawler piloted by Gunter Glut himself. Kurt destroys the final Minecrawler, but Glut captures Max, and escapes into an energy stream leading to his base ship. Kurt gives chase and frees Max, who tricks Glut into eating him. Max then kills Glut by exploding him from within. The two then escape and destroy Glut's ship. The ending sequence is a monochrome mix of a French music video ("Non Non Rien N'a Changé" by Billy Ze Kick) and clips from the MDK promotional video.

Development

Origins

MDK's writer, co-designer and co-artist Nick Bruty has said the initial impetus for the game was his desire to move away from the type of game on which he had previously been working; family-friendly games such as Aladdin (1993), The Jungle Book (1993), Earthworm Jim (1994) and Earthworm Jim 2 (1995), all of which Bruty had worked on for the Sega Genesis. According to Bruty,

MDK was a reaction, or outburst, from having worked back-to-back on cartoon games such as Aladdin, Jungle Book and Earthworm Jim. Don't get me wrong, I loved working on those games and learning new styles; but my heart is in fantasy and science fiction. I knew straight away that this was what I wanted to do next.[7]

Bruty's first image for the game was a doodle of an armor suit with a self-contained machine gun, and a helmet that could be used as a sniper rifle. Once he had this concept in place, he wrote a rough draft of the story, and brought together a small team of people with whom he had worked before; programmer Andy Astor, designer Tim Williams, artist and designer Bob Stevenson, animator Shawn Nelson and, later, programmer Martin Brownlow.[7] One of the first decisions the team made was not to develop the game for the system with which they had the most experience, the Sega Genesis, but instead to develop it for the PC, making it Shiny's first PC game.[34]

Developing for the PC brought a number of advantages, not the least of which was it allowed the team to make the game using 3D computer graphics. As Bruty explains, "I wanted to work on PC because the game was 3D, which wasn't an option on consoles at that point." Tim Williams explains another advantage of working on PC was "it meant I wouldn't have to tone the game down to deal with the Sega and Nintendo's ratings boards. I loved [the concept]. I could see immediately the game would have a unique look and plenty of design opportunities. We were all big fans of the Alien movies and H. R. Giger, so that probably had some influence."[7] As Shiny intended the game to be gory, even going so far as to study tapes of people dying in gruesome manners to see the effects of violent deaths on the human body, this lack of censorship was ideal.[35] Once the decision was made to develop for the PC, the team quickly decided they wanted to make a game that would push the boundaries of PC gaming beyond anything seen up to that point.[14]

The naming of Kurt Hectic was inspired by two disparate sources. In the early stages of development, some of the team saw the 1993 Mike Leigh film, Naked, in which David Thewlis' character says to a junkie, "What is it like in your head? Hectic?" Bruty and Williams loved the line, and decided Hectic should be the character's surname. When trying to think of his first name, they wanted to name him after someone who lived a notoriously hectic life, and settled on Kurt Cobain.[7]

Gameplay development

At the time, the shooter game market was dominated by first-person shooters, most of which worked off the template set by Doom and Quake. However, the developers were never interested in making a first-person shooter.[14] Bruty was particularly passionate about this aspect of the game, arguing "I feel the player is more involved in the world when they can see their own character."[7] Williams agrees; "We wanted the player to see all the cool actions the main character would be performing, so third-person was the natural choice and challenge we went for."[7]

From the earliest stages of level design, it was decided each level would begin with a free-fall minigame, before the level proper begins.[14] Initially, the plan was for Kurt to travel through each level on a futuristic motorcycle, which would morph around him to protect him and would be integrated into his Coil Suit. However, this idea was ultimately scrapped in favor of a more straightforward 3D "run-and-gun" style gameplay.[14] Another early concept which was scrapped was that sniper mode would only be available to the player during the boss fight at the end of each level. This was changed so the player could use sniper mode whenever they wished.[7] An early concept which did make it into the final game was the notion of ridiculous weaponry. One of the first such weapons conceived was the "World's Smallest Nuclear Bomb," as the team wanted to come up with the most over-the-top way imaginable to open a door.[14]

Design

Every level in the game was designed primarily by a different level designer, which is why every level looks and feels so different from all the rest.[14] To ensure Kurt and the enemies in the game moved as realistically as possible, their movements were created using motion capture, a relatively new technology in video game development at the time.[36] Unlike previous motion capture games, however, the motion scripts for individual limbs were split up, allowing the developers to mix and match them and thus build a greater variety of animations.[37] In terms of designing the character of Kurt, the most important aspect was ensuring a smooth transition from the third-person mode to the sniper mode. This was when the developers decided to make Kurt's sniper rifle the same gun as his machine gun; rather than having to stop and extract a new weapon when switching modes, Kurt simply attaches the gun to his helmet. This also made sense within the milieu of the game as it made Kurt's Coil Suit a completely self-contained one-gun offensive/defensive ensemble.[38] In designing the suit, Bruty stated "At the time most of the other action games out there were very clunky and hardcore-looking. I wanted something with more flair and elegance. I remember looking at a lot of old Spanish armour for the decoration and flourish."[7] A 3D model of Kurt was used for the atmospheric entry sequences while pre-rendered sprites were used in the majority of the gameplay for performance purposes.

When designing the enemies, each enemy type was sketched on paper, before being built as a 3D wire-frame model, which would then be placed into the gaming environment. Once the model was in the game it was "generated using texture-mapped polygons and then animated using the information gathered from the motion capture system." For the larger enemies, the polygon structure was so detailed as to allow players to shoot individual body parts, such as legs, arms, and in some cases, even shoot out the eyes of particular enemies.[39]

Technology

Because the game was attempting things never before seen in a PC game, the team decided to write their own programming language from scratch. However, rather than simply having the programmers write the language, the designers and artists also worked on it, allowing a more collaboratively creative atmosphere than is usual, and facilitating the language to work specifically to accommodate the elements of the game which the designers and artists wished to achieve.[40]

Because sniper mode was a major part of the game, with the ability to zoom up to 100x, the team decided not to employ any of the usual techniques to limit pop-up, such as clipping and fogging.[41] A major technical issue was that of frame rate. Shiny felt most PC games maintained frame rate by using big pixels in low resolution, which works as long as the game is not running SVGA mode.[41] Based on their experiences developing for consoles, they wanted to take a different approach; using small pixels in high resolution. They set a target of maintaining a constant frame rate of at least 30fps at all times on all machines, and so they simply play-tested the game multiple times. Any moment when the frame rate dropped below 30, they either removed something from that particular part of the game, rewrote the graphics code, or altered the artwork until they could get the frame rate back up to where they wanted without having to reduce the resolution or increase the pixel size.[42] According to Bruty, "We had no idea how fast we could get the engine when we started. The game would run too slow if we textured everything, so some parts were just flat-shaded for speed. We did our best to make that look like a design choice, or shadows, but it was a tricky balance."[7]

When the game debuted at the 1996 E3 event in April, producer David Perry emphasised that he felt Shiny's lack of experience on the PC was to their advantage; "instead of simply rewriting a game that's already been written and having to meet a set of expectations, we can shoot really high."[43] He also argued the huge levels and more colorful environments than usually seen in PC shooters meant the game should stand out from the competition; "this is tons more work than most people are used to seeing a PC do."[43]

MDK was designed at a time when 3D gaming was becoming popular, but GPUs hadn't had much of an impact on game development, and as such, "graphics would be designed to operate in software."[7] Ultimately, the initial release of the game relied wholly on software rendering, without any additional GPU requirements. The game's original system requirements were a 60 MHz Pentium (although 90 MHz was recommended), 16MB of RAM, 17MB of hard drive storage for basic installation (37MB for full installation), an SVGA compatible video card, and a Sound Blaster or equivalent sound card; very basic specs even for the time.[44] However, patches were later released that added support for then-popular 3D APIs.[7]

Mac OS port

Playmates Interactive finalized the publishing deal for a Macintosh version of MDK in August 1997, but the conversion to the Macintosh OS had already been in development for some time before that.[45] This version was bundled with the original iMac.

PlayStation port

In December 1996, it was revealed the game was being ported to the PlayStation by Neversoft.[23] The Neversoft team had an initial deadline of six months.[46] According to developer Mick West, the sheer size of the PC version presented problems for the port, but in some respects, the PlayStation version would improve on the PC version;

The PC version keeps a lot of data resident whilst you go between areas. We're going to spool a lot more between the areas. And we're also compressing the data, which leads to a little bit of degradation on things like animations but it's hardly noticeable at all. It looks almost identical, in terms of the amount of animations and the amount of graphics in the game. But we have a lot more colors on screen. On the PC, they're limited to using one 256-color palette. We're not limited at all, we can use as many palettes as we like. Each texture in the game has its own palette, which means effectively we've got 32,000 colors on screen at once, which gives a lot more vibrancy to the look of the game. We're also using proper transparency. We're going to be doing some lighting effects that they don't have the power to do on the PC.[23]

Because the PC version was still months away from completion when work on the PlayStation port began, the Neversoft team had to continually adjust their work in response to updates they received from Shiny.[46]

Meaning of "MDK"

While the precise meaning of the title's three-letter acronym is never revealed during the game, the gaming press and fans adopted "Murder, Death, Kill",[47] which was coined as a neologism in the 1993 film Demolition Man. Another possibility is documented in the game manual, where Kurt's mission is named "Mission: Deliver Kindness".[16] It could also stand for the first initials of the game's characters; Max, Dr. Hawkins, and Kurt.[22][48] In the README for the PC version of the game, it is stated "It stands for whatever we say it stands for on any given day; i.e., today it stands for Mother's Day Kisses..."[49] In the European PC release, the background images during installation present many possible meanings for the letters; one of which is "Murder, Death, Kill". In the Japanese release, on the back cover it says in bold yellow letters: "My Dear Knight". During the installation of MDK2, various meanings are shown, again including "Murder, Death, Kill". The original meaning of "MDK" from the company's initial promo video was in fact "Murder Death Kill".[50] In a 2009 interview with NowGamer, David Perry revealed that because the North American publisher PIE was supposed to make toys based on the game, they did not like the title, so the words were removed and simply replaced with "MDK".[51]

In 2011 on the official GOG.com forum for the game, Nick Bruty (creator of MDK) posted that the letters do indeed stand for "Murder Death Kill".[52]

Reception

It received generally positive reviews on both PC and PlayStation. The Windows version holds an aggregate score of 89% on GameRankings, based on five reviews.[53] The PlayStation version holds a score of 76%, based on six reviews.[54]

Next Generation reviewed the PC version of the game, stating that "MDK is a game that no self-respective gamer will want to miss."[59] GamePro gave it a perfect 5.0 out of 5 in all four categories (graphics, sound, control, and funfactor), saying it "easily lives up to all its rampant hype, delivering one of the year's most creative, engrossing, and just plain fun games." The reviewer particularly applauded the "floating third-person view", Kurt's arsenal of abilities, the effective realization of the setting, and the varied gameplay experiences.[56] Game Revolution's called the game "Non-stop 3D shooting, killing, exploding, dodging, parachuting, running, ambushing, assassinating, jumping, mind blowing action!" He commented that it stands out from other games with its requisite parachuting skills, sniping mode, bombing minigame, and acerbic sense of humor. He concluded "MDK combines sweet graphics and 'revolutionary' gameplay and design concepts to put it in a class by itself."[22] GameSpot's Jeff Sengstack called it "a visually exciting, mentally challenging shooter with a humorous and twisted viewpoint." He praised the wide-open environments, variety of visual styles, gameplay innovations, sniper mode, humor, ingeniousness of the puzzle designs, and the originality of some of the weaponry and enemies, though he was critical of the controls and the short length of the game.[17]

Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM) and IGN both strongly approved of the quality of the PlayStation port, particularly citing the retention of all the content of the PC version and the addition of the new warp rooms.[55][47] IGN's Jay Boor said it "has to be one of the most impressive PC to PlayStation ports I have ever seen."[47] However, GamePro noted that the graphics, though outstanding by PlayStation standards, were downgraded from the PC version, and judged that the new content was not enough to merit a replay from those who had already played the PC version. They nonetheless gave the PlayStation version a perfect 5.0 out of 5 in all four categories (fun factor, graphics, sound, and control), remarking, "MDK is riveting, combining tensely paced run-n-gun gameplay with the stealthy, strategic stalking that the sniper helmet enables."[57] EGM and GameSpot were not as convinced, citing polygon breakup, control issues, excessively low difficulty, and the brevity of the game.[55][24] Crispin Boyer of EGM summarized, "This heavily hyped shooter/platform hybrid is intense, fun, funny, over the top - and over way too soon."[55] GameSpot's Josh Smith wrote "MDK is something of a mixed bag. Amazing graphics style, but little graphical consistency. Awesome combat action, but little combat challenge. Great puzzles, but they're really pretty simple, and the whole game can be solved without using too many brain cells."[24] Reviews widely praised the sniper mode,[55][24][47][57] graphics,[55][24][57] and overall unique gameplay and style.[55][24][57]

Sales and sequel

The game was both a critical and a commercial success, and Interplay decided to begin work on a sequel immediately.[7] According to the publisher, global sales of MDK surpassed 400,000 copies by June 1998.[60] Its sales had reached 500,000 copies by early 2000.[61] Interplay approached Bruty for ideas, but he didn't want to go straight into another MDK game; "I hadn't liked rushing from Earthworm Jim to its sequel without a creative break, and I felt the game suffered because of that." In any case, his new development studio, Planet Moon Studios, was already working on Giants: Citizen Kabuto. Bruty asked Interplay if they would consider waiting until he was finished on Giants before beginning on MDK2, but they chose to press on with the game without him, handing development over to BioWare.[7]

TV series

An animated TV series based on MDK, to be produced by Mainframe Entertainment, was announced with plans to air in the fourth quarter of 1998,[62][63] but it was never realized.

Notes
  1. Ported to Mac OS by Shokwave and ported to PlayStation by Neversoft

References
  1. "MDK Arrives". GameSpot. May 5, 1997. Archived from the original on October 5, 2000. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
  2. "MDK (PlayStation)". IGN. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
  3. "MDK has made it to the Mac!". Shokwave Software. Archived from the original on November 27, 2013. Retrieved August 8, 2013.
  4. "Q&A: GOG.com's DRM-free downloadable games". GameSpot. September 8, 2008. Archived from the original on January 5, 2016. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
  5. "Steam". Facebook. September 17, 2009. Retrieved June 19, 2016.
  6. Sinclair, Brendan (November 13, 2007). "Interplay restarting dev studio". GameSpot. Archived from the original on March 29, 2014. Retrieved February 7, 2016.
  7. Mason, Graeme (November 1, 2015). "Behind the scenes of MDK". GamesTM. Retrieved February 7, 2016.
  8. Williams, Tim; Herrington, Scott (1997). "Mission: Deliver Kindness" (PDF). MDK PC Instruction Manual (UK). Shiny Entertainment. p. 20. BKL-ICD-329-M. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 10, 2016. Retrieved February 23, 2016. From what our intelligence sources indicate (you got me, it's me and Bones looking at things from our lab), each Minecrawler is equipped with a master pilot. Knock this guy off and by all reasoning, the whole shebang comes to screeching halt.
  9. Williams, Tim; Herrington, Scott (1997). "Kurt's Instruction Manual" (PDF). MDK PC Instruction Manual (UK). Shiny Entertainment. p. 18. BKL-ICD-329-M. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 10, 2016. Retrieved February 23, 2016. Now, you'll notice a small lump on the shoulder. This is nothing, but the larger mass in the centre of your back is the Ribbon Chute. This is an invention of mine that I can't wait to see tested (sorry, Kurt — I had no time to try this out.) All indications show that it should work. Use it to retard your gravitational access to the ground. Open and retract it as often as you want. There's a built-in safety feature that prevents you from accidentally setting it off while you're on the ground.
  10. Williams, Tim; Herrington, Scott (1997). "Controls" (PDF). MDK PC Instruction Manual (UK). Shiny Entertainment. p. 4. BKL-ICD-329-M. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 10, 2016. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
  11. Williams, Tim; Herrington, Scott (1997). "Gameplay Tips & Techniques" (PDF). MDK PC Instruction Manual (UK). Shiny Entertainment. p. 6. BKL-ICD-329-M. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 10, 2016. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
  12. Williams, Tim; Herrington, Scott (1997). "Mission: Deliver Kindness" (PDF). MDK PC Instruction Manual (UK). Shiny Entertainment. p. 23. BKL-ICD-329-M. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 10, 2016. Retrieved February 23, 2016. This technology came from my research in motivating children to eat their vegetables, but now it certainly comes in handy in popping off the heads of alien invaders. Funny, eh? Just toss the bomb and watch 'em come running to it! They may be ruthless scavengers from space, but they have little chance of avoiding the alluring elements of this bomb! I've added sections to it that resemble the aliens themselves so you will not fall under the bomb's near-hypnotic spell.
  13. Williams, Tim; Herrington, Scott (1997). "Mission: Deliver Kindness" (PDF). MDK PC Instruction Manual (UK). Shiny Entertainment. p. 23. BKL-ICD-329-M. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 10, 2016. Retrieved February 23, 2016. A smashing success that will vibrate the ground in a 12.9 (Richter scale) simulated earthquake. Launch it and run like the dickens!
  14. Davison, John, ed. (1998). The Making of MDK. London: Dennis Publishing. p. 10.
  15. Williams, Tim; Herrington, Scott (1997). "Kurt's Instruction Manual" (PDF). MDK PC Instruction Manual (UK). Shiny Entertainment. p. 18. BKL-ICD-329-M. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 10, 2016. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
  16. Williams, Tim; Herrington, Scott (1997). "Mission: Deliver Kindness" (PDF). MDK PC Instruction Manual (UK). Shiny Entertainment. p. 20. BKL-ICD-329-M. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 10, 2016. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
  17. Sengstack, Jeff (May 6, 1997). "MDK Review (PC)". GameSpot. Archived from the original on February 4, 2015. Retrieved August 9, 2013.
  18. Williams, Tim; Herrington, Scott (1997). "Mission: Deliver Kindness" (PDF). MDK PC Instruction Manual (UK). Shiny Entertainment. pp. 20–21. BKL-ICD-329-M. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 10, 2016. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
  19. Davison, John, ed. (1998). The Making of MDK. London: Dennis Publishing. p. 9.
  20. Williams, Tim; Herrington, Scott (1997). "Kurt's Instruction Manual" (PDF). MDK PC Instruction Manual (UK). Shiny Entertainment. p. 19. BKL-ICD-329-M. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 10, 2016. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
  21. Williams, Tim; Herrington, Scott (1997). "Kurt's Instruction Manual" (PDF). MDK PC Instruction Manual (UK). Shiny Entertainment. p. 19. BKL-ICD-329-M. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 10, 2016. Retrieved February 23, 2016. You can attach the chain gun to your faceplate and it morphs into a long range sniper gun! This is another one of my almost-tested inventions (it should work, Kurt, trust me, the figures don't lie). I originally had this in mind for bird spotting, but when attached to a sniper's rifle, I'm afraid the general temptation to graze the hind feathers off the birds was too much.
  22. Lee, Johnny (May 5, 1997). "MDK Review (PC)". Game Revolution. Archived from the original on October 26, 2004. Retrieved August 9, 2013.
  23. "MDK". IGN. December 18, 1996. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
  24. Smith, Josh (February 12, 1998). "MDK Review (PS)". GameSpot. Archived from the original on February 10, 2016. Retrieved August 9, 2013.
  25. Williams, Tim; Herrington, Scott (1997). "From the Journal of Dr. Fluke Hawkins" (PDF). MDK PC Instruction Manual (UK). Shiny Entertainment. pp. 16–17. BKL-ICD-329-M. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 10, 2016. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
  26. Williams, Tim; Herrington, Scott (1997). "From the Journal of Dr. Fluke Hawkins" (PDF). MDK PC Instruction Manual (UK). Shiny Entertainment. p. 10. BKL-ICD-329-M. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 10, 2016. Retrieved February 23, 2016. Date: Aug. 14, 1996 3:45 GMT (Blast Off). Journal Entry 00.0001: It's about time! I remember now how infuriating those NASA bureaucrats and their blasted red tape are when you want to get anything done. This is my ship, not theirs, dang-it, so what's the big deal? That aside, my work on studying the Flange Orbits is under way! Our takeoff was a tad premature but Kurt and I made it into orbit in one piece and I've adjusted the trajectory to counter for the early launch. We were heading straight for the Sun, but we're okay now. The mission is scheduled for five days and already I can see Kurt's desire to return to Earth. I've decided to keep this journal to record the significant events of the expedition in their proper order (self-note: just the material that will assist the nominating committee of the Nobel Institute in recognising me for my contributions to Astronomical Research). If anything of an extraordinary nature happens while we're up here, I'll put it in this log. THINK OF IT!! We're now in orbit and my instruments will prove to the scientific community the existence of Flange Orbits ... the most revolutionary discovery of the cosmos since Einstein's time/space work (relativity speaking). I'm going to be listed with the greats — Copernicus, Gallileo, Mark Hamill!
  27. Williams, Tim; Herrington, Scott (1997). "From the Journal of Dr. Fluke Hawkins" (PDF). MDK PC Instruction Manual (UK). Shiny Entertainment. p. 11. BKL-ICD-329-M. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 10, 2016. Retrieved February 23, 2016. Date: Aug. 22, 1996 2:43pm GMT. Journal Entry 00.0008: Big disappointment. Flange Orbits do NOT exist. My work at the observatory (terrestrial viewpoint, WHAT was I thinking?) must have altered the instrument's perceptions, somehow. Have decided to stay up here until I discover SOMETHING of use to the scientific community (beats returning to Earth to face massive amounts of criticism and ridicule). My reputation as a scientist is at stake here! At least now I have plenty of time to dedicate to my research and discoveries, this time, NOT having to worry about atmospheric distortion effects. I have plenty of raw materials to work with, (what with the now surplus Flange Orbit survey equipment), to create incredible new inventions ... I've told Kurt about my decision to stay up here for a while longer. He was reluctant at first, but once I showed him that the VCR was programmable, he loosened up a bit. I expect my work to last only another week or so. I'm going to need a little more help around here.
  28. Williams, Tim; Herrington, Scott (1997). "From the Journal of Dr. Fluke Hawkins" (PDF). MDK PC Instruction Manual (UK). Shiny Entertainment. p. 12. BKL-ICD-329-M. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 10, 2016. Retrieved February 23, 2016. Date: June 21, 1997 (Really Not Sure) GMT. Journal Entry 00.0232 I've started work on a genetically engineered "worker dog" who will be more than my right hand up here. I'll give him the bulk of the chores (that should lighten Kurt's mood a bit), and teach him the fine art of listening. If nothing else, it should give Kurt someone else to talk to. I think I'll call him "Bones."
  29. Williams, Tim; Herrington, Scott (1997). "From the Journal of Dr. Fluke Hawkins" (PDF). MDK PC Instruction Manual (UK). Shiny Entertainment. p. 13. BKL-ICD-329-M. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 10, 2016. Retrieved February 23, 2016. Date: May 8, 1998 (?) GMT. Journal Entry 00.0445: Almost a year now since I built Bones and he's been a boon to me. Kurt insists on calling him Max (why, I'll never know), and his spirits have been lifted greatly. I think I gave Bones too much intelligence though, because he actually resents having to do any work around here. Although I did not install vocal cords (thank the stars!), his little body pouts with the best of them. Other than "fixing" things on the station, Bones spends the majority of his time studying books and tending his vegetable patch which he built on top of the ship. Other than expressing disdain from time to time, Bones works out well for a six-armed dog (when I programmed the computer to design him to be an efficient assistant, it added two more arms to him. Go figure.)
  30. Williams, Tim; Herrington, Scott (1997). "From the Journal of Dr. Fluke Hawkins" (PDF). MDK PC Instruction Manual (UK). Shiny Entertainment. p. 15. BKL-ICD-329-M. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 10, 2016. Retrieved February 23, 2016. Date: November 5, 1999 (?) GMT. Journal Entry 00.0601: I'm continuing my study of the strange electronic "Stream" effect that now seems to be hopping from one planet to the next, towards the inner planets of the system. After some intense studying and brilliant calculations, I've determined that these phenomenon (the electrical streams) are truly gigantic in size! You see, my research indicates the farther away an object is, the smaller it appears to the human eye — the only exception, of course, is the Sun. With this knowledge at my disposal, I hypothesise that the stream is not growing in mass, but actually coming our direction at an alarming rate of speed! Okay, Bones and I are doing the studying. It actually looks like it's coming close enough to our position to allow us to study it close up. I've notified Earth of my findings, (heck, I even sent them a basket of Bones' oranges), yet, they all seem unconcerned. Hey, it's their barbecue ... ARRRGGHHH! We've been hit!!! The stream is here ... Earth is in direct path must— warn— no— time—
  31. Williams, Tim; Herrington, Scott (1997). "From the Journal of Dr. Fluke Hawkins" (PDF). MDK PC Instruction Manual (UK). Shiny Entertainment. p. 15. BKL-ICD-329-M. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 10, 2016. Retrieved February 23, 2016. Date: November 7, 1999 No GMT. Journal Entry 00.0602: The people of Earth have been taken over by an alien force known as the Streamriders, led by a being known as Gunter Glut. Their plan is quite simple, really — they drive around massive Mining Cities (miles in diameter!) and consume all matter underneath. They are after either the rich mineral and metal deposits of the major cities of Earth, or our potato harvests, and nothing but scorched, blackened ground is left in their wake. Why do they always pick the most populated areas for their attacks!!?? Why, can you tell me? Why?? Why?? Why?? Why?? Why?? Earth's defence forces are shattered. Anyone at this point who escaped destruction is in no condition to mount a counter-offensive. Thanksgiving is cancelled. I guess it's up to me to reclaim the planet for humanity.)
  32. Williams, Tim; Herrington, Scott (1997). "Mission Deliver Kindness" (PDF). MDK PC Instruction Manual (UK). Shiny Entertainment. p. 22. BKL-ICD-329-M. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 10, 2016. Retrieved February 23, 2016. 09:47 am GMT, somewhere over Kirkcaldy, Scotland. The aliens can revert their beings from solid to pure energy, thereby transversing the electromagnetic stream that they use as an intergalactic freeway for their gargantuan Mining Cities. They strip the planet's crust down past the bedrock whilst extracting minerals every second that they are allowed to do so. They are preparing the world for complete takeover and have run over some of the most famous cities in their treks: Kirkcaldy, Scotland; Igotskyrunsky, Russia; Perth, Australia; Chagrin Falls, Ohio; Crawley, England; Mill Valley, California)
  33. Williams, Tim; Herrington, Scott (1997). "From the Journal of Dr. Fluke Hawkins" (PDF). MDK PC Instruction Manual (UK). Shiny Entertainment. p. 17. BKL-ICD-329-M. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 10, 2016. Retrieved February 23, 2016. Date: November 7, 1999 (a little later) (No Greenwich) Journal Entry 00.0603: Due to my advanced years and Bones' extra arms (disqualifying him from even fitting in the suit), Kurt has been elected as hero. This will give me the time I need to supervise the work effort and invent new items for use in battle against the Streamriders. I've been working day and night on his equipment and suit (thank the stars the coffee machine was fixed!), and now it's up to Kurt to save the remaining population from complete annihilation. Luckily, most of my inventions (in one form or another) were in storage from my work over the last few years. A few tweaks here, a couple of amps there and he'll be ready for action. Bones has been assisting me in getting the suit (and Kurt) in battle-ready condition. I guess this is it.
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