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Video: The making of GoldenEye 007

Former Rare developer Martin Hollis shares the story behind one of the best-selling Nintendo 64 games, one which many say proved first-person shooters could excel on consoles.

Game Developer, Staff

June 21, 2013

2 Min Read
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In this GDC Europe 2012 video, GoldenEye 007's director Martin Hollis shares the story behind one of the Nintendo 64's best-selling games, one which many say set the standard for single and multiplayer first-person shooters on consoles. As shared in this free GDC Vault video, GoldenEye 007's design began as a mix of Sega's on-rails shooter Virtua Cop and id Software's Doom, without a hint of multiplayer, and was developed on a $150,000 Silicon Graphics Onyx computer (an approximation of what the Nintendo 64 would become). To hear more interesting behind-the-scenes stories of how GoldenEye 007 became the iconic N64 game it is today, watch the free, hour-long lecture above. Session Name: Classic Postmortem: GoldenEye 007 Speaker(s): Martin Hollis Company Name(s): Zoonami Track / Format: Game Design Description: Considered by many to be one of the best and most addictive multiplayer gaming experiences on the Nintendo 64 -- or on any platform in the '90s really -- Rare's GoldenEye 007 set the standard for what a first-person shooter on a console could accomplish. Its single-player campaign was also much better than any movie tie-in deserved to have. 15 years after GoldenEye 007 first hit stores, its director Martin Hollis shares how his team created the biggest release for the N64 without Mario in its title, and how what started as a Virtua Cop-style on-rails project became the legendary FPS that paved the way for console shooters like Halo and countless others.

About the GDC Vault

In addition to this presentation, the GDC Vault offers numerous other free videos, audio recordings, and slides from many of the recent GDC events, and the service offers even more members-only content for GDC Vault subscribers. Those who purchased All Access passes to events like GDC, GDC Europe, and GDC China already have full access to GDC Vault, and interested parties can apply for the individual subscriptions via a GDC Vault inquiry form. Group subscriptions are also available: game-related schools and development studios who sign up for GDC Vault Studio Subscriptions can receive access for their entire office or company. More information on this option is available via an online demonstration, and interested parties can find out more here. In addition, current subscribers with access issues can contact GDC Vault admins. Be sure to keep an eye on GDC Vault for even more new content, as GDC organizers will also archive videos, audio, and slides from other events like GDC China and GDC 2013. To stay abreast of all the latest updates to GDC Vault, be sure to check out the news feed on the official GDC website, or subscribe to updates via Twitter, Facebook, or RSS. Gamasutra and GDC are sibling organizations under parent UBM Tech.

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