| Catacomb | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Softdisk |
| Publisher(s) | Softdisk |
| Director(s) | Tom Hall |
| Designer(s) | John Carmack John Romero |
| Programmer(s) | John Carmack |
| Artist(s) | Adrian Carmack |
| Platform(s) | |
| Release | 1990 |
| Genre(s) | third-person shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Catacomb is a 2-D top-down third-person shooter created, developed, and published by Softdisk.[1][2] It was originally created for the Apple II, and later ported to the PC. It should not be confused with The Catacomb, which is the second game in the series (originally named Catacomb II, but later renamed). It supports EGA and CGA graphics.
All the Catacomb titles, including the Catacomb 3D games, are now distributed legally by Flat Rock Software through their own web store and via GOG.com. The source code to the game was released by Flat Rock in June 2014 under GNU GPL-2.0-or-later in a manner similar those done by id Software and partners.[3][1]
Gameplay[edit]
In the game the player assumes the role of the magician Petton Everhail, who is contacted by Terexin, High Wizard of the Kieralon, who tells how the Kieralon Empire has fallen and how the player must travel to the Kieralon Palace to collect and split his treasures. Catacomb consists of fifteen levels in the Apple II version, ten levels in the PC demo disk promoting Gamer's Edge, and 30 levels in the full PC version (The Catacomb, aka Catacomb II). To progress to the next level the player must step through a magic teleportation mirror. These mirrors are usually behind a locked door, requiring a key to advance. There are four different attacks: Fireball, Super Fireball, Bolt (powerful strike in one direction), and Nuke (powerful strike in all four directions). The Fireball and Super Fireball attacks can be cast an infinite number of times. The Bolt and Nuke consume a scroll each time they are cast. The player starts the game with three Bolt scrolls and two Nuke scrolls. Additional scrolls are scattered through the levels. There are five different enemies: Goblin, Skeleton, Ogre, Gargoyle and Dragon.
Development[edit]
The game Catacomb was initially developed by programmer John Carmack for the Apple II and Apple IIGS personal computers.[4] In 1990 Carmack joined Softdisk, a software company based in Shreveport, Louisiana. There he worked together with game developer John Romero, who initiated a bi-monthly disk magazine called Gamer's Edge. Customers could subscribe to Gamer's Edge to receive one or more PC games from Softdisk at a two-month interval. In July 1990, Softdisk CEO Al Vekovius told Carmack and Romero that in order to attract subscribers, the Gamer's Edge sampler disk should contain two games. Since those two games had to be developed within the challenging time frame of only a single month, the two developers decided to port two of their existing Apple II games to PC. Carmack rewrote his game Catacomb for PC, while Romero ported Dangerous Dave. Both games were finished before the deadline and published on the Gamer's Edge sampler disk. [5]: 85–87
In the following years, John Carmack and John Romero would continue to work together on successful games such as Wolfenstein 3D and Doom. The enemy movement code in Wolfenstein 3D is based on code from Catacomb.[4] According to the book Masters of Doom, Carmack and Romero became aware of eachothers strengths and weaknesses while working on the ports of Catacomb and Dangerous Dave. This knowledge enabled them to work together effectively. [6]: 39–40
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ a b Early id Software game engines open-sourced by Gareth Halfacree on bit-tech.net (9 June 2014)
- ^ Commander Keen Episode I: Marooned on Mars - The Early Years of id Software by Travis Fahs on ign.com (23 Sep 2008)
- ^ Larabel, Michael (6 June 2014). "id Software's Softdisk Open-Sources Some Really Old Games". Phoronix. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
- ^ a b Carmack, John (8 July 2019). "John Carmack on X: "That is my old game Catacombs! Written for 8 bit apple 2 and 16 bit 2GS, then ported to PC. The enemy movement code in Wolfenstein 3D can be traced all the way back there."". Twitter. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
- ^ Romero, John (2023). Doom Guy: Life in first person. Abrams Books. ISBN 978-1-4197-5811-9.
- ^ Kushner, David (2004). Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture. Random House. ISBN 978-0-8129-7215-3.