Circa 1996.

                1996 would not see the exponential speed of 90's tech slow down. If anything it somehow again took tremendous leaps. This is the year that many of the real time rendering breakthroughs and computing level so f interactivity would make possible the modern designs that we play today. The early 90's certainly where the start of it all but the canvas was narrow and limited. 1996 would see that canvas suddenly become wide and big, clear and orders of magnitude beyond what could have been imagined before.
                 Home computing was changing drastically in its reach. PDAs, computer powered phones, early LCDs all changed how easily it was to have compute and how portable it was. This market expansion of high end tech on every level to everyone came out in all the tech industry branches. Video games would see 3D gaming come into the forefront with companies like Nintendo and Sony having 3D capable boxes. Suddenly millions of gamers would have 3D gaming capable devices. PC would see the full extent of the philosophy. With early predecessors to graphics processing units like the Voodoo 1. Which of was a fantastic 3d accelerator for the year but lacked 2D functionality so users could often have two video related expansion cards in a single system. APIs like DirectX6 would help. Intel would continue to make tremendous p

rogress in CPUs and so would a new competitor AMD. Its impossible to understate the jump in hardware and software seen in 1996. I don't think many of us in the modern day remember or can realize how much happened. It'll take ten years to see the jump 1996 did in 12 months.
                                    1996 is fun where as the earlier years in this blog covered some of my earliest and youngest memories, 1996 has clear memories and nostalgia. Very much a child and not even a video gamer yet. I remember my parents and other adults talking about Dolly the Sheep for instance. I remember one of my first car rides home from school asking my mother who the President was and her saying Bill Clinton. It would only be a few more years until I got my first computer and all this would really start. Enough about my 28 year old self and time to revist some mile markers 1996 would have.
-MSNBC was launched
-Rupert Murdoch launched Fox News.
-The cost of a 30-second Super Bowl ad was $1,085,000
-Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S. voted to end their ban of hard liquor ads on television and radio
- Soda (Coca-Cola): 99 cents for six 12-ounce cans
-On July 7, Nelson Mandela stepped down as President of South Africa
-General Motors was America’s biggest company, followed by Ford Motor and Exxon Mobil.

     

The Long Halloween

               

  Raven Software took the formula established by DOOM and created a beautiful gothic twist on it that while looking and playing fantastically would do important things like seed the idea of item management in the FPS genre. By the end of October 1995 Raven Software would take all these concepts from a checkers  mentality to that of Chess. Hexen: Beyond Heretic is one of the most complex shooters of the 90's with a thickly woven weapons system around different classes, ammo, and mana. It would  also primitively set the stage for open levels that effect other levels and portal together connecting everything. Raven Software really tried to think outside the box. Hexen is a classic because of the studio mentality.
                   I really was surprised by Heretic but honestly even with that in mind I wasn't ready for Hexen. No really I wasn't ready for what a commitment this game is. While I haven't played every game in this blog start to finish I try to spend a good deal of time with them at the minimum. Hexen is a intricately woven game of player classes, weapons, quick use items, and big levels that react from objectives in other big levels. I can't say I have more than initial impressions of the game as such a deep and complex game wasn't in the span of my current..well attention span. However these are many of the reasons I think the game is brilliant and have to share what thoughts I do have from my experience.
                      I really bragged on Raven Software's last game because of its well done art and atmosphere. It really did things with idTech we hadn't seen before. Hexen however is probably the most beautiful shooter of its day and on the engine. It's obviously pushed way beyond what we saw in Heretic or DOOM II. The sprite work is some of the best I've seen from a game in this era.

The way spells and effects animate and also look the part is something to see. The game has such a strong visual identity with its gothic elements tied to a gore filled mature id legacy. The soundtrack while not on the level of Dark Forces is pretty great at matching the visual themes of the game. Hexen also features way more complex levels and detail. I'm surprised its still idTech. Multi sided pillars and  stone fortifications are plenty along with animated sprites and textures that give a very alive feel. Hexen looks and sounds beautiful and pushes the engine to new limits.
                            Hexen would have been a great joy to me in 1996 context. I love deep, rich games with multiple systems at play while still having plenty of violent constant combat. The sense of levels relieying on each other or being connected in any way even if by loading screen was a big thing back in 1996. Games like S.T.A.L.K.E.R or the more recent Wolfenstien games  have a modern take on this same concept. One reason I love this blog is just being astounded by getting a hands on with the progression of the genre. Inventory management, emergency items, classes all these things would come to shooters much, much later than Hexen. In an age where pen and paper RPGs still flourished and games like The Elder Scrolls owned fantasty, Hexen took and made its own violent FPS niche. As I mentioned earlier sadly as time of writing my experience with the game is fairly limited. Gman Lives is a Youtube personality whom I enjoy listening too and he was a big inspiration to follow my nostalgia. Gman Lives is also a big Hexen fan and knows the game very well for decades now. I recommend giving his video a watch if interested in this often forgotten but ever important game. I have such a new found love for Ravens Soft. This blog continues to deliver me unexpected bits of gratitude for a hobby and genre I love.

These Storm troopers can aim.

                       

  1995 would see the fps genre embrace fantastical already existing IPs.  The incredible breakthroughs in visceral immersion and controversial  violence had a generation falling in love with video games for completely new reasons.  Lucas Arts , a talented  video game industry love child of the house star was built, would bring their titular IP to the fps genre and while doing so create a classic.
                           Star Wars Dark Forces had the luxury of learning from its competitors. While the iconic id center gun industry standard was replaced by a more natural and immersive off center gun model. Its how all FPS games work in 2020 and I have to say I love it.  Even in the context of 1995 its nice to be able to see more of the screen other than my gun. Guns however are a pretty big weak point in this game. Its super slow to give you new weapons and rarely is anything useful other than  your blaster. Its super disappointing coming out off of Heretic.  Sure it looks and sounds Star Wars but it get old and boring so quick especially compared to the kings of genre during this time period.

                             Talking Star Wars though holy fuck how cool this must have been in 1995. The sounds, your gruff Han like character, the world and lore tidbits its all here. In an immersive first person perspective. DOOM and Heretic being the blast they where having a different and honestly nicer universe to be part of was refreshing for me and probably the genre.  The world building is here too. The game is beautiful. Featuring a notable jump in pixel quality and environmental detail than fps games/hardware of last year. That being said the level design is probably my least favorite part of this game. They look cool and produce a great Star Wars vibe but traversing them can be a pain, confusing and just bare and boring. In one area all the walls and textures where so similar it was disorienting.  It shows how much a talent id had in DOOM II's earth levels and how new these genre designs where. The sound is my favorite part of this game. Its so fucking rad and I cant imagine playing this back in the day and not thinking how fucking awesome that must be.
                             Dark forces is a revered classic by many. I tried over and over but never fell in love with it or would up liking it very much. The slower, immersive pace is interesting and honor worthy but it just feels flat and boring compared to its contemporaries. The game did a bad job of keeping me interested and aside for a sewage ride puzzle level that was honestly a blast I didn't love anything else I played. I'm reminded why this blog also brings important context. Dark Forces deserves its praise but I personally found it lack luster. I'm glad now I can appreciate what fans or critics are saying about it though after spending some hands on time with the game.                                                              

Circa 1995

Odin's Eyes

                While 3D level design and ambiance may have be new territory for game design at the end of 1994,Heretic was a step ahead of the competition. The level design is  reminds me of the simple joys of game play. Interacting with a 3d space in a creative and tactical way, while wanting to explore and experience every odd trap, moving platform maze, hidden item room and beautiful vista the game has to offer. Paired with an industrial 90's take on fantasy trope music, a beautiful use of color and pixel art makes the game engrossing on a auditory, visual and even environmental level.  Falling in love with Heretic was easy.
                  Lets talk about how wild some of these levels where. The game does slog through a couple introductory levels getting the players feet wet. Once the game picks up though it rarely drops off. Not every level is cranked to 11 but I've not found pacing to be a problem the game having all but finished the first chapter of the game so far. Where as DOOM II was more worried about not getting in your way Heretic wants the level design, maze like structure , platforming and sense of exploration to be in your face every second of every moment. I honestly felt like a rat running down a maze for it. There is rarely a moment in Heretic where you don't have line of sight of the next door, platform, wall or power up you want to go seek out. It constantly keeps you engaged. I find this amazing for the time and here is where my nostalgia goggles are glued to my eye balls. Heretic does something I never felt with DOOM. It makes you really engage in this 3d space. It becomes a living area. This is the best window 1994 would give us to the power the medium would later gain in letting gamers experience and wander to places they never could on their own. Its one of the pillars of video game faith that makes it a special form art unlike anything else.

                   Heretic lays that foundation well. Ravensoft was very experimental in level design however the game somehow feels vaguely uniform in its design choices. It almost feels as if they had a more managed approach to level design as a studio than say Id. The way the secret rooms, power ups, weapon locations and colored keys are guarded sounds like DOOM on the outside. Its the complex yet intuitive lengths that Ravensoft went to make it work and fun that I find special. "The Gatehouse" for instance isn't best example of this but it is the level that made me fall in love with Ravensoft's thought process. "The Cathedral" really shows what the art side of Ravensoft could accomplish. Stained glass windows, rivers, stone walls and complex geometry are beautiful accomplishments for 1994 and still hold up. "The Crypts' with its multiple platforms raising in elevating with a flat strafing moat around and enemies on each horizontal plane made for a wild fucking ride. Yes I did just say three levels that take place in a row. I'm not even done with the first chapter "City of the Damned" and I'm in love with the world Heretic has
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                     Lets talk about the usable inventory. Heretic was the first fps game to have a unusable inventory. Ammo and health vials litter the level like DOOM or any other shooter of the era. What Heretic's inventory does is allow you to store things like invincibility rings, time bombs to drop on enemies or more mystical things like the Wings of Wrath or Tome Of Power. This inventory while not the most intuitive to use can be used at any time. It brings in a level of tactical play going through both the level and enemies engagements. Holding on to more rare items in case the emergency use or tough enemy encounter may need. Or having a Quartz flask ready when no health vials are left and enemies have you literally against the wall. It made me think how often we get stuff like this in games now.  It's extremely common FPS design to have some usable items or things to swap in and out of use in single player shooter campaigns these days but Heretic did it first and I can only imagine how such a simple but effective new feature set must have felt at the tell end of a DOOM clone heavy year.
                         I'm so happy this early in the blog and I'm already in love with a game I never played before. Heretic is a blast from the past and while far from perfect a must play if you love games of this era. It likely and by no means should dethrone DOOM II as the 1994's fps of the year but it should be on your list of timeless gems. The visuals, level design, mystical setting and magical "staffs" make it a fun ride. The inventory system was innovative and would go on to contribute in to the genre in a timeless and essential way.

                   

Little less blood, lot more magic.

     

    Heretic's dark fantasy violently earns its place in hell alongside DOOM. It's 90's edge lord mixed with DnD is a testament to how these games fit in culture of the day. Mystic staffs, gauntlets and devices to shred through all kinds of undead and dark magic. It's violent, fun and a beautiful graphics feat. This is my first time with Heretic. A game I decided belonged on this blog and would give me a rare first timers chance on one of these games. Raven Software's first hit fills my heart with all the feelings and memories that made me set out on this blog. So playing its been a real treat thus far.
           Heretic sent 1994 out with a bang. DOOM II and its clones may have had the share of the year but right before Christmas, Raven Software brought something while not wholly original , felt different enough to not just justify its' existence but be enjoyable. It was the first fps game to feature a usable inventory system. It pushed a modified Id Tech 1 engine in all kinds of new and colorful ways in a fantasy setting. The game still has a lot of quick and violent shooting and gore that I'm honestly wondering how used to the industry was after the earlier part of the year. In 1994 this would have been a very mature game like the rest of its genre, offing a nice reprieve from Nintendo's family systems. I started luke warm with this game and very quickly found myself really enjoying it. By no means does it dethrone its' older cousin but its a hidden gem I wish now more people knew about.

               The movement in Heretic feels a good bit slower and different in dynamic than the in and out  of DOOM II. Heretic's controls are largely outdated by today and took some getting used too. Perhaps I'm still getting used to them but after some time with the game I find it to be a fair bit slower and more direct line of firing sight than its older cousin. Strafing seems nigh impossible to do properly so I usually wind up zipping from one point to the next until I can line up sight at the appropriate distance from the enemy and fire. I find enemies ranged attacks do interact mostly alright with this system of movement. For instance enemies tend shoot less projectiles in general than some other shooters of the time. Also this gives the player some small windows and mobility options of when to go through the games quick inventory system and use items or potions. It really goes to show how much in infancy fps games where in 1994. Basic movement systems and dynamics could vary wildly between games. I can see why Heretic has the game design choices it has and honestly I have a lot of fun with the game in part because of its movement choices. Its not great and certainly no where on DOOM II's level of fun.
                 Aesthetic is something that really makes us all fall in love with games and I'd be mistaken to not give Heretic a massive amount of credit here. The fantasy setting and art direction of this game look great. I remember in the last blog talking about the cost of realtime 3d graphics in comparison to 2d graphics at the time. It's no Nintendo SNES master piece in art direction and visuals but in my opinion looks drastically better than DOOM which ran on the same engine. The game is no stranger to color. Spells, magical lightning, fire, water all these things are colored vibrantly and displayed in a very respectable way for the age. Castles and stone towers rise to the sky with entry in and up, all surrounded by moats filled with water crossed with draw bridges. This was some cutting edge PC shit. Sure a lot of the games weapons where reskins of DOOM weapons. The staff that shoots magic orbs is the pistol exactly. Dragon orb staff is the plasma gun etc. But the effect of having them and firing them with corresponding repainted enemies is still a lot of fun. Its a nice fresh coat of paint that does plenty of new and fun things.
                      By the end of 1994 we see the genre taking shape. Most of these games would be called DOOM clones one way or another but its clear set rules and design guide lines where taking place. Technology while advancing was playing some catch up. Many people probably had trouble running DOOM back when it launched. But the potential audience and market saturation of capable hardware was much bigger by the end of 1994.  It's clear despite this 3d gaming and fps gaming where very much limited in their infancy. I'm having a blast with Heretic.I haven't even got to its quick item use. I'm by no means done with the game and 1994 just yet.

Labyrinth

                           DOOM II's level design lets all that sweet movement I was just raving about shine. DOOM II came from a day when a handful of talented staff could make the entire level design of a video game. Because of this it takes on an artistic quality once you become familiar with the game. Personality takes hold be it John Romero's lovecraftian hallways with horror shows flickering in the light or Sandy Peterson's often chaotic and demon horde focused mosh pits like my first favorite level of the game "Tricks and Traps". Sandy Petersen. Shawn Green. American McGee. and of course John Romero made magic happen.
                     
DOOM II easily could have been a failure if these young industry innovators hadn't had a grip on the future. DOOM's movement system as I've said is utterly brilliant but it'd completely when to waste in the wrong play ground. These maps have an arcade quality to them. Your timed, there's often all or most of the weapons littered or hidden about the level. We all know the DOOM key card staple made possible by the often maze like design of intersecting rooms, hallways, elevated platforms and later even a city. In the mid 2000's and well into the Xbox360/PS3/DX9 generation of games shooters often saw very linear style levels. But DOOM can often get you lost. It makes the game so interesting. While some levels like ever boring spotty encounters in "Waste Tunnels" didn't do much for me but the game picked up quick and I found favorites with every level designer, looking for secrets, more BFG ammo and enemies the game has a great bar of quality it rarely falls below.
                      The DOOM engine, Id Tech 1, was something incredible for its day. But despite that artist still have very little pixel and color space to work in. The price of true 3d gaming becomes apparent. Where artistic wonders like Donkey Kong Country came out in all its 2D glory, DOOM was letting us run through rooms shredding down demons. The cost though of this shows. Often the same metal walls, gross dirt, or textured goop your walking through repeats itself so much the entire environment looks the same. Its great to see the buildings show up in the second chapter of the game.The game obviously cant render much of a city but the game suddenly shifts into using much more verticality and planes of it which makes it pretty fun and maintains the "illusion" well for its setting.
                       Putting on the historical glasses and I have to stress just how innovative these guys had to think. There wasn't much of a FPS genre to build from, no real set rules or accepted general quality of life practices.  I found EGM's vintage 1994 review of the game and Chris Nashawaty puts its perfectly,

                         

"But while a slew of other point-and-shoot game titles like Ground Zero Texas and Lethal Enforcers provide the same time-killing high of mindlessly blowing opponents to a pulp, what really sets Doom and Doom II apart from the pack is their graphics. Using 3-D modeling and scrolling, Doom II gives you a real feeling of space and speed as you zoom down the game’s claustrophobic, mazelike hallways. Maybe even too much speed."

                           

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