MDK

For other uses, see MDK (disambiguation).

MDK
North American PC cover art
Developer(s)Shiny Entertainment[a]
Publisher(s)
Producer(s)
Designer(s)
Programmer(s)
  • Andy Astor
  • Martin Brownlow
Artist(s)
Writer(s)Nick Bruty
Composer(s)
SeriesMDK
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows, MS-DOS, Mac OS, PlayStation
ReleaseMicrosoft Windows & MS-DOS
Mac OS
  • WW: 1997
PlayStation
Genre(s)Third-person shooter
Mode(s)Single-player

MDK is a 1997 third-person shooter video game developed by Shiny Entertainment for Microsoft Windows and subsequently ported to Mac OS by Shokwave,[6] and to the PlayStation by Neversoft. The game was published on all systems by PIE in North America, while Shiny Entertainment handled the European release. It initially debuted in March 1997 for Windows and in November of the same year for PlayStation. Later on, MDK became available on GOG.com in September 2008[7] and on Steam in September 2009.[8]

The game tells the story of Kurt Hectic, a janitor who reluctantly attempts to save Earth from an alien invasion of gigantic strip mining city-sized vehicles named "Minecrawlers". The Minecrawlers are ruthlessly harvesting Earth's natural resources and crushing any people and cities that get in their way. Assisted by his somewhat eccentric boss, Dr. Fluke Hawkins, an inventive scientist, and an unusual robotic companion named Bones, Kurt embarks on a quest to infiltrate each Minecrawler and eliminate its pilot. After accomplishing this dangerous task, he must return to Dr. 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 very ambitious things, they wrote their own programming language. 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 30 fps 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 the use of sniper mode. The most often repeated criticisms included 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, 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.[9]

  1. ^ "MDK Arrives". GameSpot. May 5, 1997. Archived from the original on October 5, 2000. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
  2. ^ "Save Up to Half Price on Software". Daily Record. March 27, 1997. p. 19. Retrieved December 10, 2023. MDK//Acclaimed as the most revolutionary 3D game ever//Free Game Pad Worth £17.99//£34.99//Out Now//Rated 94% PC Gamer Game of the Month
  3. ^ "Disks + Discs Computer Store". Staffordshire Newsletter. November 14, 1997. p. 28. Retrieved December 10, 2023. Just in Stock//Final Fantasy 7 (Play)...£41.99//Courier Crisis (Play)...£36.99//MDK (Play)...£39.99
  4. ^ "PSX MDK To Hit Stores This Week". PSX Nation. November 10, 1997. Archived from the original on January 18, 1998. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
  5. ^ "Sony PlayStation Available Software sorted by Release Date @ www.vidgames.com". June 11, 1998. Archived from the original on June 11, 1998. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
  6. ^ "MDK has made it to the Mac!". Shokwave Software. Archived from the original on November 27, 2013. Retrieved August 8, 2013.
  7. ^ "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.
  8. ^ "Steam". Facebook. September 17, 2009. Archived from the original on February 26, 2022. Retrieved June 19, 2016.
  9. ^ Sinclair, Brendan (November 13, 2007). "Interplay restarting dev studio". GameSpot. Archived from the original on March 29, 2014. Retrieved February 7, 2016.


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