video game maze — Blog

Maze video games have a long history and where some of the biggest games from the video arcade era. Wikipedia has a whole page listing hundreds of retro maze games and the first maze game was developed in 1959 !!! Of course you needed a massive mainframe to play it…but it existed. Some of the most famous maze games are Pac-Man and all its sequels, Dig Dug, Gauntlet, and Rally-X. The game Maze, developed in 1973 brought us a first person shooter game that was played in a maze. Today I want to discuss one of the games inspired by that original first person game, Ken’s Labyrinth.

The History of Ken's Labyrinth

Ken's Labyrinth is a first-person shooter (FPS) game developed by Ken Silverman when he was 17 years old and published by Epic MegaGames in 1993. The game is notable for being one of the first FPS games to feature interactive sprites and textures, as well as for its innovative use of the Build engine.

Silverman began development on Ken's Labyrinth in 1991, when he was still a teenager. The game was originally called Walken, and it was inspired by the Wolfenstein 3D engine. Silverman quickly realized that he could do more with the engine than just recreate Wolfenstein 3D, so he began to add new features and ideas.

One of the most significant features that Silverman added to Ken's Labyrinth was the ability to interact with sprites and textures. This meant that players could interact with objects in the environment, such as vending machines, slot machines, and even the enemies themselves. This was a major innovation at the time, and it helped to set Ken's Labyrinth apart from other FPS games.

Another innovative feature of Ken's Labyrinth was its use of the Build engine. The Build engine was a new rendering engine that Silverman developed specifically for the game. The Build engine allowed for more detailed and complex levels than previous FPS engines, and it also allowed for more realistic lighting effects.

Ken's Labyrinth was released in 1993, and it was met with positive reviews from critics. The game was praised for its innovative features, its challenging gameplay, and its tongue-in-cheek humor. Ken's Labyrinth was also a commercial success, selling over 100,000 copies.

Take a look at some of the gameplay:

The success of Ken's Labyrinth helped to launch the career of Ken Silverman. Silverman went on to develop the Build engine, which was used in many popular FPS games, including Duke Nukem 3D, Shadow Warrior, and Blood.

Here are some additional facts about Ken's Labyrinth:

The game was originally released as shareware, with the first episode available for free. The full game was available for purchase.
The game was inspired by the Wolfenstein 3D engine, but it also incorporated elements from other games, such as Doom and The Legend of Zelda.
The game's levels were designed by Ken Silverman and his friend Andrew Cotter.
The game's soundtrack was composed by Ken Silverman.
The game was released for MS-DOS, and it has since been ported to other platforms, including Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux.

Want to give it a quick play ? There are plenty of emulators out there. Here is one to try.

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Today I want to give some background on Gotcha, the first arcade maze game, which came out in the Fall of 1973. Some of you may be thinking, but I thought Mouse in the Maze (1959) was the first computerized maze game. And you would be correct…which is why the word “arcade” is so important in my first sentence. Then, because we have short attention spans and can’t seem to keep on subject you may think - - - 1959 ? There were computer games in 1959 ? Yes, and those computers filled an entire room !! If you want to stay off subject you can read about Mouse in a Maze here and see that enormous computer.

And we are back. For now. Gotcha ! Also from my research, Gotcha was the first color video game. Today it would be hard to find a game not in color, but I do recommend 2 Japanese games featuring Samurai - Trek to Yomi and Ghost of Tsushima: Kurosawa Mode. It didn’t take me long to get off track.

Let’s look at the gameplay of Gotcha. I will describe what you will see in the gameplay video below. Like all early games things were pretty simple. Two small specs are in a maze looking structure - they are a plus sign and a box. The goal is for one player to pursue the other, and then they switch roles. Each round has a time limit between 30 seconds and 2 minutes depending on the machine you are playing on. You get a point for catching the other person. In the background is a beeping sound that gets louder and closer together the closer a person is to being caught. Worst. Soundtrack. Ever ?

Does this look like a fun game ? No. But in 1973 it may have kept you busy for a few minutes when you weren’t playing Pong !

Want to learn about more maze games ?

A Tribute to Pac-Man, the Ultimate Maze Game

Entombed, the Scrolling Maze Video Game from 1982