Today is going to be more of a timeline of games that came out in the 1990s, along with a brief description about each of these games and a little bit on how they came to be. Note that I'm NOT going to go into the specifics of EVERY game in the 1990s, nor am I going to be super in-depth about the developmental history of the games I list. Today is meant to be a brief introduction to different kinds of 1990s games, their development, and what these games are about. I originally planned to cover all the years of the 1990s game timeline today, but I realized that's a TON of content. So, for today I'll cover 1991-1992. Tomorrow I'll finish 1993-1994! Then I'll do 1995-1999, where each year will be on its own day. Then we'll move onto old school game engines.
Let's begin! I'd consider the 1990s to be when the rise of 3D gaming occurred. You'll soon see why!
1991 -
Catacombs 3-D -
Catacombs 3-D was released in November 1991 for MS-DOS and is considered one of the first landmark first-person shooter (FPS) games of its time. It was actually one of the first games to utilize 3D graphics. John Carmack (programmer and designer), John Romero (programmer), Robert Prince (composer), and Jason Blochowiak (programmer) were the creators of the game. The goal of the game is very simple: you play as a wizard by the name of Petton Everhail, where you descend into a catacomb in the Towne cemetery to defeat the evil lich (an undead necromancer) called Nemesis. The goal is to save your friend by the name of Grelminar. The player has infinite ammo and must take out a bunch of weird, fantastical creatures by shooting magic orbs out of Everhail's hand!
Catacombs 3-D gameplay screenshot
1992 -
Wolfenstein 3D
Wolfenstein 3D is a first-person shooter game developed by Id Software and released in May, 1992 for MS-DOS. Inspired by Ultima Underworld in the making at the time and its game engine, programmer John Carmack invented a faster 3D game engine that restricted the viewport rendering to a single plane. This engine was used to make Catacombs 3-D. After seeing promise in Carmack's new engine and wanting a more violent video game, John Romero proposed a remake of the 1981 classic shooter game, Castle Wolfenstein. Using Carmack's engine, John Romero and Tom Hall designed the game together and made it fast-paced and violent. Wolfenstein 3D was a commerical success, selling over 200,000 copies by the end of 1993. Hence first-person shooting became more and more popular, as it actually inspired other companies to begin making their own first-person shooters. Wolfenstein is all about playing as a spy William "B.J." Blazkowicz during World War II, as he escapes from a German prison camp. The goal is to make your way to the elevators throughout the level and defeat soldiers with a variety of different weapons and ammo pickups!
Wolfenstein 3d gameplay
Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss
Ultima Underworld is a first-person role-playing game (RPG) released in March 1992 by Blue Sky Productions. This game is considered a MAJOR landmark title because it was WAY ahead of its time! It is considered the first role-playing game to contain a fully 3D environment. It introduced a lot of technological advancements that have never been seen before, such as looking up and down, grabbing items within the 3D world to add to your inventory, flying, and even a map that you can draw on! The game takes place in "The Great Stygian Abyss", which is a large multi-floor dungeon with a failed utopian civilization. You play as "The Avatar", where you must save the baron's kidnapped daughter in the Stygian Abyss. This game greatly inspired the Elder Scrolls series, Bioshock, and Deus Ex. Without Ultima, I don't even think the Elder Scrolls would've been the way it is now! There is a lot of developmental history, so I won't touch up on that right now (maybe later on).
Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss gameplay screenshot
Alone in the Dark
Alone in the Dark is a 3D survival horror game developed by Infogrames for the MS-DOS in 1992. Frédérick Raynal was the visionary behind this game. In 1989, he was a programmer at Infogrames and was making a port to a 3D game called Alpha Waves. In doing this port, he was inspired to program an character creation and animation tool. In 1991, Infogrames CEO, Bruno Bonnell, thought of an idea to use matches to light up a dark environment for a game. Raynal was intrigued with the idea, and since he loved horror movies, he proposed the game. The game is set in the 1920s in Louisiana. You play as a private investigator, Edward Carnby (or Emily Hartwood depending on who you choose), where your goal is to investigate a suicide in a haunted mansion called Derceto. Immediately when you arrive, the doors lock behind you and you become stuck in the mansion. It is your mission to find out what happened at the mansion by roaming around and gathering items for your inventory to solve puzzles and fight enemies (ghosts, zombies, rat-like creatures, etc). It is like an open-world story-driven game and requires your survival instincts. The story and gameplay were inspired by Edgar Allen Poe and H.P. Lovecraft short stories. Alone in the Dark inspired survival horror games like Resident Evil. This game has a very good story! I definitely recommend it.
Alone in the Dark gameplay screenshot