Wolfenstein 3D is a video game that is generally regarded as having popularized the first person shooter genre on the
PCIBM PC compatible computers are those generally similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT. Such computers used to be referred to as PC clones, or IBM clones since they almost exactly duplicated all the significant features of the PC architecture, facilitated by various manufacturers' ability to...
. It was created by
id Softwareid Software is an American video game development company from Mesquite, Texas. The company was founded in 1991 by four members of the computer company Softdisk: programmers John Carmack and John Romero, game designer Tom Hall, and artist Adrian Carmack...
and published by
Apogee Software3D Realms is a publisher and video game developer based in Garland, Texas established in 1987. It is best known for popularizing the shareware distribution model and as the creator of franchises on the PC such as Duke Nukem, and also the publisher of other franchises such as Commander Keen and...
. Released on May 5, 1992 for
MS-DOSMS-DOS is an operating system developed by Microsoft. It was the most commonly used member of the DOS family of operating systems and was the main operating system for personal computers during the 1980s. It was preceded by M-DOS , designed and copyrighted by Microsoft in 1979...
, the game was inspired by the 1980s
Muse SoftwareMuse Software was a software and computer game publisher and developer for the first generation of home computers. They first published for the Apple II, and later expanded to the Commodore 64, Atari, and the IBM PC....
computer games
Castle WolfensteinCastle Wolfenstein is a stealth-based computer game, one of the first in the genre, developed by Muse Software for the Apple II. It was first released in 1981 and later ported to DOS, the Atari 8-bit family and the Commodore 64.-Description:...
and
Beyond Castle WolfensteinBeyond Castle Wolfenstein is a 1984 computer game by Muse Software. It is the sequel to the innovative and successful Castle Wolfenstein, a prototypical stealth game...
. It has been ported to a wide variety of systems.
In
Wolfenstein 3D, the protagonist is an American soldier (Polish descent) named William "B.J." Blazkowicz attempting to escape from the titular
NaziNazism, known officially in German as National Socialism , is the totalitarian ideology and practices of the Nazi Party or National Socialist German Workers’ Party under Adolf Hitler, and the policies adopted by the dictatorial government of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945.Nazism is often considered...
stronghold; there are many armed guards, as well as attack dogs. The building has a number of hidden rooms containing various treasures, food supplies, and
medical kitsA first aid kit is a collection of supplies and equipment for use in giving first aid. First aid kits may be made up of different contents depending on who has assembled the kit and for what purpose...
, as well as three different
gunIn military parlance, a gun is a muzzle or breech-loaded projectile-firing weapon. There are various definitions depending on the nation and branch of service. A "gun" may be distinguished from other firearms in being a crew served weapon such as a howitzer or mortar, as opposed to a small arm...
s and
ammunitionAmmunition, often informally referred to as ammo, is a generic term derived from the French language la munition which embraced all material used for war , but which in time came to refer specifically to gunpowder and artillery. The collective term for all types of ammunition is munitions...
.
Wolfenstein 3D was released as
sharewareThe term shareware, popularized by Bob Wallace, refers to proprietary software that is provided to users without payment on a trial basis and is often limited by any combination of functionality, availability or convenience. Shareware is often offered as a download from an Internet website or as a...
, which allowed it to be copied widely. The shareware release contains one episode, consisting of 10 missions (
levelsIn video games, a level is a discrete subdivision of a video game's virtual world or set of challenges.Each level almost always has an associated objective, which may be as simple as walking from point A to point B, though the objective can be far more elaborate than that...
). The commercial release consists of three episodes including the shareware episode, and a
mission packAn expansion pack, expansion set, or supplement is an addition to an existing role-playing game, tabletop game or video game. These add-ons usually add new game areas, weapons, objects, and/or an extended storyline to a complete and already released game...
called "
The Nocturnal Missions". Like the shareware episode, each commercial episode contains 10 levels, bringing the game to a total of 60 missions. The game was originally released on the PC and then ported to Macintosh computers,
Apple IIGSThe Apple IIGS, the fifth model inception of the Apple II, is the most powerful member of the Apple II series of personal computers made by Apple Computer...
,
Acorn ArchimedesThe Acorn Archimedes was Acorn Computers Ltd's first general purpose home computer based on their own 32-bit ARM RISC CPU. The name is also commonly used to describe computers which were based on the same architecture, even where Acorn did not include 'Archimedes' in the official name.-Early...
,
Super NESThe Super Nintendo Entertainment System or Super NES is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
,
Atari JaguarThe Atari Jaguar was a video game console, released by Atari Corporation in . It was designed to surpass the Mega Drive/Genesis and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in processing power. It was in competition with 3DO and later consoles that made up the Fifth generation of video game...
,
Game Boy AdvanceThe Game Boy Advance is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color...
, and
3DOThe 3DO Interactive Multiplayer is a video game console originally produced by Panasonic in . Further renditions of the hardware were released in by Sanyo and Goldstar. The consoles were manufactured according to specifications created by The 3DO Company, and were originally designed by Dave...
. The
source codeIn computer science, source code is any collection of statements or declarations written in some human-readable computer programming language...
of the game was published by id Software on July 21, 1995 under a non-profit EULA, starting the long tradition at id Software of
openingOpen source is an approach to the design, development, and distribution of software, offering practical accessibility to a software's source code. Some consider open source as one of various possible design approaches, while others consider it a critical strategic element of their operations...
the entire source code (but not data) to an old game. Some unofficial ports to different platforms like
LinuxLinux is a generic term referring to Unix-like computer operating systems based on the Linux kernel. Their development is one of the most prominent examples of free and open source software collaboration; typically all the underlying source code can be used, freely modified, and redistributed,...
and add-ons have been developed.
Synopsis
The first three episodes of the game focus on the character of William "B.J." Blazkowicz's attempts to escape from Castle Wolfenstein and overthrow the Nazi regime.
In the first episode,
Escape from Castle Wolfenstein, B.J., an
AlliedThe Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . The involvement of the Allies in World War II was either natural and inevitable they were invaded or under the direct threat of invasion by the Axis or compelled by concerns that the Axis powers...
spy, had been captured while trying to find the plans for Operation Eisenfaust, and was imprisoned in Castle Wolfenstein. Initially armed only with a knife and a pistol (obtained by overpowering the guard in his cell), B.J.'s initial goal is merely to escape the castle prison. Taking on SS guards, stealing their machine guns and ultimately acquiring a chain gun, he eventually finds himself face to face with the Episode One boss, the head prison guard Hans Grosse.
Having defeated Hans and escaped the castle, B.J. moves on to the second episode,
Operation: Eisenfaust. B.J. finds out that the operation is real, and that the Nazis are creating an army of undead mutants in Castle Hollehammer. When the episode begins, B.J. has just entered the castle; the walls are covered in
mulchIn agriculture and gardening, is a protective cover placed over the soil, primarily to modify the effects of the local climate. A wide variety of natural and synthetic materials are used.- Purposes :...
, and the first enemies found are mutants with third arms grafted into their chests holding pistols. The episode boss is the mad scientist Dr. Schabbs, the creator of the mutants. His defeat signals the end of this biological war.
Die, Führer, Die! is, chronologically, the final episode. Fighting through Nazi soldiers, and attacking the bunker under the
ReichstagThe Reichstag building in Berlin was constructed to house the Reichstag, parliament of the German Empire. It was opened in 1894 and housed the Reichstag until 1933, when it was severely damaged in a fire supposedly set by Dutch communist Marinus van der Lubbe, who was later beheaded for the crime....
, the major centerpiece of the game is reached in the final mission, where the boss is none other than
Adolf HitlerAdolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , popularly known as the Nazi Party...
himself (equipped with a robotic suit and four chain guns).
The Nocturnal Missions form a prequel storyline, focusing on the Germans' plans for
chemical warfareChemical warfare involves using the toxic properties of chemical substances as weapons to kill, injure, or incapacitate an enemy....
(Giftkrieg).
A Dark Secret deals with the initial pursuit of the scientist responsible for the development of the weaponry; B.J.'s task is to enter the weapons research facility and hunt down another mad scientist, Dr. Otto Giftmacher (Poison Maker).
Trail of the Madman is a rather ornate episode taking place in clean and stylish Castle
ErlangenErlangen is a Middle Franconian city in Bavaria, Germany. It is located at the confluence of the river Regnitz and its large tributary, the Untere Schwabach.Erlangen has more than 100,000 inhabitants....
. Ostensibly, the episode's goal is to find the maps and plans of the chemical war, guarded by Gretel Grosse (Hans' sister). Hitler's image appears throughout this episode, as posters and wall mosaics, symbolizing his imminent rise to power. All levels are designed with fashion, much decoration, and opulence.
The story comes to a close in
Confrontation, set in Castle Offenbach; a summation of everything that has gone before, including the mutants (in the secret level only), three clones of Hans Grosse (in the secret level only), and the overall "feel". The final battle is fought between B.J. and the leader of the chemical war initiative, General Fettgesicht (Fat Face).
Gameplay
- The following section describes aspects of the original MS-DOS versions. The various ports often implemented changes.
Each episode features ten levels (or "missions") which have to be finished sequentially. Only nine levels need to be completed; hidden in one of the first eight missions was an entrance to the tenth, secret level. The secret level of the third episode was notable in that it recreated one of the original
Pac-Manis an arcade game developed by Namco and licensed for distribution in the U.S. by Midway, first released in Japan on May 22, 1980. Immensely popular in the United States from its original release to the present day, Pac-Man is universally considered as one of the classics of the medium, virtually...
levels, complete with ghosts, seen by the player from Pac-Man's perspective.
Wolfenstein 3D was the first game to use the
ExMxIn video games, "ExMx" is a common format for naming levels and the corresponding file names. The "E" and "M" mean "Episode" and "Mission" or "Map" respectively. The numbers put in place of the "x"s identify the exact level in the game...
map/level naming convention.
Each episode has a different boss who has to be killed in the final mission in order to complete the episode. Unlike normal enemies, boss enemies are drawn from one angle instead of eight, so the player can't sneak up on them or take them by surprise; when first encountered they are always facing the player. Bosses also won't notice the player or become active until they see the player. When most bosses are killed, a replay (called a "deathcam") of the boss's death is shown; the episode then ends. In other levels, behind the boss is an exit from the stronghold; entering it causes the camera to rotate around to face Blazkowicz and show him running out and jumping in elation (complete with a
freeze frameA freeze frame shot is used when one shot is printed in a single frame several times, in order to make an interesting illusion of a still photograph....
of him in mid-air). In the version released for the Macintosh, all the bosses, except the final boss,
Adolf HitlerAdolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , popularly known as the Nazi Party...
, drop a gold key when killed which opens a door to the end of the level. Hitler was proclaimed the 15th greatest
video game bossA boss is an enemy-based challenge which is found in video games. A fight with a boss character is commonly referred to as a boss battle...
in history by
The PhoenixThe Phoenix is the name of several alternative weekly newspapers published in the United States by Phoenix Media/Communications Group of Boston, Massachusetts including the Boston Phoenix, the Providence Phoenix, the Portland Phoenix and the now-defunct Worcester Phoenix...
.
Despite the presence of Hitler as an episode boss, the game bears no resemblance to any actual Nazi plans or structures. Indeed, many of the level designs are highly fanciful; at least three levels heavily feature
swastikaThe swastika is an equilateral cross with its arms bent at right angles, in either right-facing form or its mirrored left-facing form. Archaeological evidence of swastika-shaped ornaments dates from the Neolithic period and was first found in the Indus Valley Civilization of the Indian...
-shaped room layouts and maps, going as far as having one level built entirely of a
tessellationA tessellation or tiling of the plane is a collection of plane figures that fills the plane with no overlaps and no gaps. One may also speak of tessellations of the parts of the plane or of other surfaces. Generalizations to higher dimensions are also possible. Tessellations frequently appeared in...
of them.
The early concept of the game included some innovative
stealthStealth game is a video game genre in which the player must avoid detection, using stealth to evade or ambush antagonists. Games in the genre employ mechanics such as hiding in shade, disguises, and noise which can alert enemies. Some games allow the player to choose between a stealthy approach or...
concepts - dragging dead bodies, swapping uniforms with fallen guards, silent attacks, etc., like in the old 2D Wolfenstein games, which focused more on stealth than action. These ideas were dropped however, since they drastically slowed the game down and made the controls complicated.
Development
To render the walls in pseudo-3D, the game used
ray castingRay casting is the use of ray-surface intersection tests to solve a variety of problems in computer graphics. The term was first used in computer graphics in a 1982 paper by Scott Roth to describe a method for rendering CSG models.-Usage:...
, a special case of ray tracing. This technique sent out one ray for each column of pixels, checked if it intersected a wall, and drew
texturesTexture mapping is a method for adding detail, surface texture, or colour to a computer-generated graphic or 3D model. Its application to 3D graphics was pioneered by Dr Edwin Catmull in his Ph.D. thesis of 1974.-Texture mapping:...
on the screen accordingly, creating a one dimensional depth buffer against which to clip the scaled
spritesIn computer graphics, a sprite is a two-dimensional/three-dimensional image or animation that is integrated into a larger scene....
that represented enemies, powerups, and props.
Before
Wolfenstein 3D, the technology had already been used by id Software in 1991 to create
Hovertank 3DHovertank 3D is a first-person shooter computer game developed by id Software and published by Softdisk in April, 1991 that is the first first-person shooter and is sometimes inaccurately claimed to be the first 3D game for MS-DOS, although it was preceded at least by Microsoft Flight Simulator,...
and
Catacomb 3DCatacomb 3-D is the first in a series of 3-dimensional computer games in the Catacomb series created by the founders of id Software...
for
SoftdiskSoftdisk is a software and Internet company based in Shreveport, Louisiana. Founded in 1981, its original products were disk magazines...
, albeit using only
EGAThe Enhanced Graphics Adapter is the IBM PC computer display standard specification located between CGA and VGA in terms of color and space resolution. Introduced in 1984 by IBM for its new PC-AT, EGA produces a display of 16 simultaneous colors from a palette of 64 at a resolution of up to...
16-color graphics (which the game was designed to use, early in development). Other games using the
Wolfenstein 3D game engineA game engine is a software system designed for the creation and development of video games. There are many game engines that are designed to work on video game consoles and desktop operating systems such as Microsoft Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X...
or derivatives of it were also produced, including,
Blake Stone,
Corridor 7Corridor 7: Alien Invasion is a first-person shooter computer game developed and published by Capstone Software. It was widely ignored for its outdated Wolfenstein 3D engine, which was technologically surpassed by Doom at the time...
,
Operation Body CountOperation Body Count is a 1994 first-person shooter that used the Wolfenstein 3D ray casting engine. It was developed and published by Capstone Software.- Plot :...
,
Super Noah's Ark 3D,
Rise of the TriadRise of the Triad: Dark War is a first-person shooter video game that was first released on February 17 1995 and developed by Apogee Software...
, and
Hellraiser (Unreleased Color Dreams game planned for the PC and the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)).
According to id Software programmer John Carmack, the game's engine was inspired by a technology demo of
Looking Glass Studios'Looking Glass Studios was a computer game development company during the 1990s.The company originally formed as Looking Glass Technologies, when Blue Sky Productions and Lerner Research merged....
/
Origin'sOrigin Systems, Inc. was a computer game developer based in Austin, Texas that was active from 1983 to 2004...
first-personIn video games, first person refers to a graphical perspective rendered from the viewpoint of the player character. In many cases, this may be the viewpoint from the cockpit of a vehicle. Many different genres have made use of first-person perspectives, ranging from adventure games to flight...
CRPGA computer role-playing game is a broad video game genre originally developed for personal computers and other home computers. While technically not a separate genre, and sharing the same defining characteristics as console RPGs there are nonetheless general tendencies that make them distinct...
,
Ultima Underworld: The Stygian AbyssUltima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss is a first-person computer role-playing game developed by Blue Sky Productions and published by Origin Systems...
from 1991. Carmack claimed he could make a faster renderer. In this he was successful. The Wolfenstein engine lacks many features present in the Underworld engine, such as ceiling or floor height changes, sloped floors and lighting, but it runs well on relatively weak hardware.
"Holo-walls" are walls created by mapmakers using a glitch in the PC version's engine. They are walls that the player can walk through, and are used in some total conversions to simulate windows that players can climb through, and hedges that players can walk through. One way of creating holo-walls is to place a dead guard in a wall.
Wolfenstein 3D supports the following sound technologies: for sound effects,
PC SpeakerA PC speaker is a monophonic 2.25 inch magnetic driven midrange speaker, later replaced by a piezoelectric tweeter , built into some IBM PC compatible desktop computers. The first IBM Personal Computer, model 5150, employed a standard 2.25 inch magnetic driven speaker as a tone generator...
and
Sound BlasterThe Sound Blaster family of sound cards was the de facto standard for consumer audio on the IBM PC compatible system platform, until the widespread transition to Microsoft Windows 95, which standardized the programming-interface at application-level , and the evolution in PC design led to onboard...
; for digitized sound, Disney Sound Source and Sound Blaster; and for music,
AdlibFounded by Martin Prevel, a former professor of music and vice-dean of the music department at the Université Laval, Ad Lib, Inc. was a manufacturer of sound cards and other computer equipment...
and Sound Blaster.
Controversy
Due to its use of Nazi symbols such as the
SwastikaThe swastika is an equilateral cross with its arms bent at right angles, in either right-facing form or its mirrored left-facing form. Archaeological evidence of swastika-shaped ornaments dates from the Neolithic period and was first found in the Indus Valley Civilization of the Indian...
and the anthem of the Nazi Party,
Horst-Wessel-LiedThe Horst-Wessel-Lied , also known as Die Fahne hoch from its opening line, was the anthem of the Nazi Party from 1930 to 1945...
, as theme music, the PC version of the game was confiscated in Germany in 1994, following a verdict by the Amtsgericht München on January 25, 1994 (Az. 2 Gs 167/94). Despite the fact that Nazis are portrayed as the enemy in
Wolfenstein, the use of those symbols is a federal offense in Germany unless certain circumstances apply (see articles
86 StGB and
86a StGB (in German)). Similarly, the
Atari JaguarThe Atari Jaguar was a video game console, released by Atari Corporation in . It was designed to surpass the Mega Drive/Genesis and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in processing power. It was in competition with 3DO and later consoles that made up the Fifth generation of video game...
version was confiscated following a verdict by the Amtsgericht Berlin Tiergarten on December 7, 1994 (Az. 351 Gs 5509/94).
Due to concerns from Nintendo of America, the Super NES version was modified to not include any swastikas or Nazi references; furthermore, blood was replaced with sweat to make the game seem less violent, and the attack dogs in the game were replaced by giant mutant rats. Employees of id Software are quoted in
The Official DOOM Player Guide about the reaction to
Wolfenstein, claiming it to be ironic that it was morally acceptable to shoot people and rats, but not dogs. Two new weapons were added as well. The Super NES version was not as successful as the PC version.
Aborted contest attempts
Level E2M8 features a giant hidden "pushwall" maze consisting of 181 nearly identical 2x2 rooms. Depending on the path taken through the maze, the player is eventually led to treasure, an extra life, or a surprise encounter with Hans Grosse. One and only one correct path leads to a room containing a sign saying "Call Apogee Say
AardwolfThe aardwolf is a small, insectivorous hyena-like mammal, native to Eastern and Southern Africa. The name means "earth wolf" in Afrikaans/Dutch. It is also called "maanhaar-jackal" and "protelid"...
." (In some versions there is also an extra life in this room.) This was to have been part of a contest, where the first person to find the sign and carry out its instructions would have won a prize. While no prize was ever decided, preliminary discussion suggested the prize may be registered copies of all Apogee games for life.
However, because the first level editors and cheat programs for the game were released within days of the full version of
Wolfenstein 3D, many players were able to find the sign with minimal effort. Additionally, a cheat code was soon discovered and published that allowed the player to view all of the in-game sprites, including the "Aardwolf" sign. As a result, the planned contest was abandoned before it was ever officially announced, or the grand prize even settled upon. The maze and the sign were left in the game as
Easter eggA virtual Easter egg is an intentional hidden message, in-joke or feature in an object such as a movie, book, CD, DVD, computer program, web page or video game. The term was coined – according to Warren Robinett – by Atari after they were pointed to the secret message left by Robinett...
s; a text file included with the registered version distributed by Apogee explained the story behind the "Aardwolf" sign and asked gamers not to call in and say it (many did anyway). A 1997 commercial re-release by
ActivisionActivision, Inc. is an American video game developer and publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles. Its first products were cartridges for the Atari 2600...
removed the sign and replaced it with graphics depicting a pile of bones.
After completing an episode, the player is given a three-letter code in addition to a total score and time. This was part of a high-score contest that was abandoned for similar reasons to the "Aardwolf" one; the code would have been used to verify that a player got that score legitimately, without use of cheat codes.
Legacy
Wolfenstein 3D anticipated the first-person shooter games that continue to be popular today. There were few imitations or clones until the release of id Software's
Doom in 1993. The other most notable games are
Rise of the TriadRise of the Triad: Dark War is a first-person shooter video game that was first released on February 17 1995 and developed by Apogee Software...
in 1994 and
Duke Nukem 3DDuke Nukem 3D is a first-person shooter computer game developed by 3D Realms and published by Apogee Software. It was released on January 29, 1996 for the PC. It is a sequel to the platform games Duke Nukem and Duke Nukem II published by Apogee...
in 1996. Most of these games were distributed via the same shareware strategy as
Wolfenstein 3D.
The game's success ensured that id Software quickly became a high profile developer. id's development efforts were closely watched by fans of the game, and when it released its next first-person shooter,
Doom, it was guaranteed a receptive audience. Rather than rely on the technology that made
Wolfenstein a hit, however,
Doom introduced several technological leaps over
Wolfenstein 3D. The technology in
Doom outdid that of
Wolfenstein 3D by being playable over a network. It also provided different levels of height (while
Wolfenstein 3D didn't have any stairs or platforms at all), a lighting system (
Wolfenstein 3D only had full brightness), multiple levels of detail and characters with more detail and animation than those in its predecessor; it also added a multiplayer mode:
Deathmatch, which grew in popularity as online gaming became widespread.
Ports
The game was ported to the
Super NESThe Super Nintendo Entertainment System or Super NES is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
,
Atari JaguarThe Atari Jaguar was a video game console, released by Atari Corporation in . It was designed to surpass the Mega Drive/Genesis and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in processing power. It was in competition with 3DO and later consoles that made up the Fifth generation of video game...
,
Mac OSMac OS is the trademarked name for a series of graphical user interface-based operating systems developed by Apple Inc. for their Macintosh line of computer systems. The Macintosh user experience is credited with popularizing the graphical user interface...
,
3DOThe 3DO Interactive Multiplayer is a video game console originally produced by Panasonic in . Further renditions of the hardware were released in by Sanyo and Goldstar. The consoles were manufactured according to specifications created by The 3DO Company, and were originally designed by Dave...
,
Apple IIGSThe Apple IIGS, the fifth model inception of the Apple II, is the most powerful member of the Apple II series of personal computers made by Apple Computer...
,
Acorn ArchimedesThe Acorn Archimedes was Acorn Computers Ltd's first general purpose home computer based on their own 32-bit ARM RISC CPU. The name is also commonly used to describe computers which were based on the same architecture, even where Acorn did not include 'Archimedes' in the official name.-Early...
,
Game Boy AdvanceThe Game Boy Advance is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color...
,
PlayStation 3The PlayStation 3 is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment, and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series...
,
Xbox 360The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft, and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles....
and
iPhoneThe iPhone is an Internet and multimedia enabled smartphone designed and marketed by Apple Inc. Because its minimal hardware interface lacks a physical keyboard, the multi-touch screen renders a virtual keyboard when necessary...
/
iPod TouchThe iPod Touch is a portable media player, personal digital assistant, and Wi-Fi mobile platform designed and marketed by Apple Inc. The product was launched on September 5, 2007, at an event called The Beat Goes On. The iPod Touch adds the multi-touch graphical user interface to the iPod line...
. Many of the ports had different sounds, graphics, and levels. Some didn't even use the
DOSDOS, short for "Disk Operating System", is a shorthand term for several closely related operating systems that dominated the IBM PC compatible market between 1981 and 1995, or until about 2000 if one includes the partially DOS-based Microsoft Windows versions Windows 95, 98, and ME.Related systems...
version's episode format.
Some of the ports were derived from other ports and not from the original game. Both the Atari Jaguar and the Mac versions were based on the code of the Super NES port. However, both were developed independently of one another; the Jaguar port by id Software under the cooperation of Atari and the Mac port by
MacPlayMacPlay was the name used by a series of two American publishers of Macintosh computer games. No game has been published under the MacPlay brand name since 2004.- 1990 - 1997 Period :...
(the 3DO port was also developed by this team, making it mostly identical to the Mac version). The Apple II
GS port was in turn based on the Mac port.
The Super NES version of the game is notable for being heavily censored and edited, due to the Nintendo of America's censorship policy at the time. Due to this, most of the blood in the game was replaced with sweat (save for B.J.'s face becoming progressively bloodier as health dropped), and Nazi references were removed.
Adolf HitlerAdolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , popularly known as the Nazi Party...
, who was a character in the game, had his moustache removed and was renamed "Staatmeister" and the dogs were replaced by giant rats. Additionally, in Germany, the blood was turned green.
In several of the ports (specifically, the Atari Jaguar, Mac, and 3DO versions) the game's
spritesIn computer graphics, a sprite is a two-dimensional/three-dimensional image or animation that is integrated into a larger scene....
and textures are redrawn as 128×128 pixel sprites, rather than 64×64 pixel sprites, allowing more detail in the game's characters and objects. However, they are drawn from one angle, like the bosses, eliminating the stealth element of the game.
In the Atari Jaguar port, the status bar was removed, with only displays for health, the head of B.J., ammo, and keys. Since there was no score, the treasure added to the player's health. There was also a flamethrower, rocket launcher, pistol and chaingun which were based on graphics from
Doom.
The Mac port and all derivative versions are the only ones to use authentic German voices and speech, recorded by native Germans. The other versions contain broken German phrases, with incorrect article and adjective usages, mostly stemming from the misunderstanding of the genders of the nouns.
Unlike the other ports, the
Game Boy AdvanceThe Game Boy Advance is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color...
port closely resembled the PC version of the game. Differences to the PC version included the removal of music and a change in the save system: players have to complete a floor before they can save, but they can have up to 4 save games on one cartridge. It also used strong mipmapping which made objects and walls in the distance very pixellated.
It was also released on Xbox Live Arcade and PSN on June 3, 2009 for 400 MS points ($5).
Mission Pack
Wolfenstein has a mission pack called "Wolfenstein 3D Super Upgrades". It can be downloaded as a zip file from the
3D Realms3D Realms is a publisher and video game developer based in Garland, Texas established in 1987. It is best known for popularizing the shareware distribution model and as the creator of franchises on the PC such as Duke Nukem, and also the publisher of other franchises such as Commander Keen and...
website. It contains Wolf Creator, a random map generator; MapEdit, a level editor/creator; and replacement gamefiles for the original game. It comprises at least 800 new levels (floors). It was released in 1993.
Sequels
Wolfenstein 3D was followed by several related games. A first person shooter game called
Rise of the TriadRise of the Triad: Dark War is a first-person shooter video game that was first released on February 17 1995 and developed by Apogee Software...
was going to be the sequel to
Wolfenstein 3D, but the idea was postponed, and the game took off in a different direction.
Spear of DestinySpear of Destiny, often also called Spear, Wolfenstein: Spear of Destiny or just SoD, is a 1992 first-person shooter computer game developed by id Software and published by FormGen Corporation, and is the prequel to id Software's Wolfenstein 3D...
, a
prequelA prequel is a work that supplements a previously completed one, and has an earlier time setting.The widely recognized term was a 20th-century neologism, and a portmanteau from pre- and sequel .-History:Though the word "Prequel" is of...
to
Wolfenstein 3D, released a short time after the original game, using the same engine.
Return to Castle WolfensteinReturn to Castle Wolfenstein is a first person shooter video game published by Activision and originally released on November 19, 2001 for Windows. The single player game was developed by Gray Matter Interactive and Nerve Software developed its multiplayer mode...
(
RtCW), a first-person shooter reboot to
Wolfenstein 3D, released in 2001. The gameplay and the setting are similar to the original, but the graphics and audio elements receive an upgrade due to the
Quake III ArenaQuake III Arena , is a multiplayer first-person shooter computer and video game released on December 2, 1999. The game was developed by id Software and featured music composed by Sonic Mayhem and Front Line Assembly...
rendering engine.
RtCW begins as the first game does, but from there the two games' storylines diverge. Overall,
RtCW bears little resemblance to its predecessor, beyond the title and the setting. A small bit of nostalgia is available to players of
RtCW with a console command. Activating 'cg_uselessnostalgia' via the in-game console overlays a replica of the original game's interface across the bottom of the screen. However, as the name of the command implies, this interface does not keep track of vital game statistics, such as the player character's health or remaining ammunition. The
XboxThe Xbox is a video game console produced by Microsoft. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console market, and competed with Sony's PlayStation 2, Sega's Dreamcast, and Nintendo's GameCube...
version of
RtCW contains the full emulated version of
Wolfenstein 3D as a bonus for beating the game, while the PC version of RtCW-Game-of-the-Year-Edition features the game as a bonus.
Wolfenstein: Enemy TerritoryWolfenstein: Enemy Territory is a free multiplayer first-person shooter video game set during World War II. It was originally planned to be released as a commercial expansion pack to the popular FPS Return to Castle Wolfenstein and later as a standalone game...
is a spinoff to
RtCW, released in 2003. It is a free full-version multiplayer-only game, featuring elements from
RtCW. RtCW ET was meant to be a sequel to RtCW, but the single player was scrapped before finishing, since they had already fully finished the Multiplayer aspect of the game the developers decided to give it away for free rather than waste it and scrap it alongside with the singleplayer.
A new game, simply called
WolfensteinWolfenstein is a science fiction first-person shooter video game co-developed by Raven Software, id Software, Pi Studios and Endrant Studios and published by Activision. It is the sequel to Return to Castle Wolfenstein, and uses the id Tech 4 engine...
, was created for
Microsoft WindowsMicrosoft Windows is a series of software operating systems and graphical user interfaces produced by Microsoft. Microsoft first introduced an operating environment named Windows in November 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces...
,
Xbox 360The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft, and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles....
and
Playstation 3The PlayStation 3 is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment, and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series...
. It was developed by
Raven SoftwareRaven Software is an American video game developer.The company was founded in 1990 by brothers Brian and Steve Raffel. In 1997, Raven made an exclusive publishing deal with Activision and was subsequently acquired by them....
, developer of
Quake 4Quake 4 is the fourth title in the series of Quake first-person shooter computer games. The game was developed by Raven Software and distributed by Activision. Raven Software has collaborated with id Software, the creators and historical developers of preceding Quake games...
, and released August 18, 2009 in North America.*
Wolfenstein RPG, a RPG continuation of the Wolfenstein franchise, previewed at
QuakeConQuakeCon is a bring-your-own-computer computer gaming event with a competitive tournament held every year in Dallas, Texas, USA. The event, which is named after id Software's game Quake, sees thousands of gamers from all over the world attend every year to celebrate the company's gaming dynasty...
2008. It is a full version game released for mobile phones in 2009..
See also
- Hovertank 3D
Hovertank 3D is a first-person shooter computer game developed by id Software and published by Softdisk in April, 1991 that is the first first-person shooter and is sometimes inaccurately claimed to be the first 3D game for MS-DOS, although it was preceded at least by Microsoft Flight Simulator,...
(1991) - id Software's first 3D game.
- Catacomb 3-D (1991) - id's second first person shooter, and the game that Wolfenstein 3D's engine is based on.
- Maze War
Maze War is a historically significant video game....
(1973) – The first FPS style game, written for the Xerox AltoThe Xerox Alto was an early personal computer developed at Xerox PARC in 1973. It was the first computer to use the desktop metaphor and graphical user interface ....
.
- Spasim
Spasim was a 32-player 3D networked computer game by Jim Bowery involving 4 planetary systems with up to 8 players per planetary system, released in March 1974...
(1974) – A first-person shooter computer game, played on the PLATO network.
- 3D Monster Maze
3D Monster Maze is a computer game developed by Malcolm Evans in 1981 for the Sinclair ZX81 platform with the 16 KB memory expansion. The game was initially released by J. K. Greye Software in early 1982 and re-released later the same year by Evans' own startup, New Generation Software...
(1981) – Credited as the original first person perspective game released for a home/personal computer.
- Ken's Labyrinth
Ken's Labyrinth is a first-person shooter DOS game, released in 1993 by Epic Megagames . It was mostly coded by Ken Silverman, who went on to design the Build engine that was used for rendering a first-person viewpoint in Apogee Software's Duke Nukem 3D...
– a game written in the same time period completely independently to mimic the Wolfenstein 3D engine graphics before the source was released.
- Super 3D Noah's Ark
Super 3D Noah's Ark is a video game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and for DOS. It was released by the biblical video game producer Wisdom Tree in 1994. It was the only commercial SNES game that was not officially sanctioned by Nintendo...
- a clone of Wolfenstein 3D for the SNES.
External links
- Wolfenstein 3D at 3D Realms
3D Realms is a publisher and video game developer based in Garland, Texas established in 1987. It is best known for popularizing the shareware distribution model and as the creator of franchises on the PC such as Duke Nukem, and also the publisher of other franchises such as Commander Keen and...
- Wolfenstein 3D at id Software
id Software is an American video game development company from Mesquite, Texas. The company was founded in 1991 by four members of the computer company Softdisk: programmers John Carmack and John Romero, game designer Tom Hall, and artist Adrian Carmack...
- Wolfenstein 3D at MobyGames
MobyGames is a website which catalogs computer and video games, both past and present. The site contains an extensive database of video game information...