In celebration of the 35th anniversary of id Software, co-founded by John Romero, a retrospective video has been released about one of the company’s lesser-known titles: Catacomb 3-D. This game, developed in 1991, marked a significant milestone in the evolution of first-person shooters (FPS), despite not achieving great commercial success at the time.
A commercial failure, but of great creative importance
Catacomb 3-D was the result of an agreement with Softdisk, where id Software maintained an intense development cycle of just two months. During this time, the team began to experiment with texture mapping and 3D graphics, which later allowed games to be accessible on less expensive consumer hardware. At that time, the term “FPS” did not yet exist, and id’s early developments were compared to top-down arcade shooters.
In retrospect, Romero shares experiences alongside other veterans of the industry, such as Tom Hall and John Carmack, who reflected on the impact of Catacomb 3-D. Although it only generated about $5,000 in revenue, the team began to realize that they had taken a crucial step towards a new style of gameplay that emphasized player immersion. “Adrian almost fell out of his chair when he turned and came face to face with a troll. That’s when we knew we were onto something transformative,” Carmack stated.
This spark of innovation led to the development of Wolfenstein 3-D, which is often considered the grandfather of the FPS genre. Romero concluded that it all started with Catacomb 3-D, a precursor that laid the groundwork for future successes like Doom and Quake. To commemorate this anniversary, Romero Games is offering a classic reissue of Catacomb 3-D along with other related products on their website.
