Summary

Release Year: 1990
Genres: Platform
Platforms: DOS
Developers: id Software
Publishers: Apogee Software

Commander Keen in Invasion of the Vorticons: Keen Must Die! (1990)

Commander Keen in Invasion of the Vorticons: Keen Must Die! is a side-scrolling platformer game developed by id Software and published by Apogee Software in 1990. It is the first game in the Commander Keen series, and was a critical and commercial success, helping to launch id Software into the forefront of the gaming industry.

The game follows the adventures of Billy Blaze, an eight-year-old genius who creates an alter-ego named Commander Keen to defend the Earth from alien invaders. Keen must travel across eight different planets, defeating the Vorticons and their leader, Grand Intellect, in order to save the day.

Commander Keen was groundbreaking for its time, featuring innovative gameplay and charming graphics. The game’s side-scrolling levels are filled with challenging platforming puzzles and enemies, and Keen must use his pogo stick and various weapons to overcome them. The game also features a number of hidden secrets and bonus areas, which add to its replay value.

Commander Keen was also one of the first games to use id Software’s revolutionary Doom engine, which would later be used in the development of Wolfenstein 3D and Doom. The Doom engine allowed for fast and fluid gameplay, and its use in Commander Keen helped to set the standard for future platformers.

Commander Keen was a critical and commercial success, selling over 1 million copies worldwide. The game was praised for its innovative gameplay, charming graphics, and memorable characters. Commander Keen has been ported to a number of different platforms over the years, and remains a popular game among retro gaming fans.

Gameplay

Commander Keen is a side-scrolling platformer game in which the player controls Commander Keen as he travels across eight different planets, defeating the Vorticons and their leader, Grand Intellect. Keen must use his pogo stick and various weapons to overcome the game’s many challenges, including platforming puzzles, enemies, and bosses.

The game’s eight planets are each unique, with their own distinct enemies and challenges. Keen must use his wits and skills to overcome each planet’s obstacles, and eventually reach Grand Intellect’s lair.

Commander Keen’s arsenal of weapons includes a blaster, a ray gun, and a pogo stick. The blaster is Keen’s primary weapon, and can be used to defeat enemies from a distance. The ray gun is a more powerful weapon, but it has limited ammo. The pogo stick can be used to jump over obstacles and enemies, and can also be used to attack enemies by bouncing on their heads.

Commander Keen also has a number of special abilities that he can use to overcome challenges. These abilities include the ability to double jump, the ability to slow down time, and the ability to create a force field.

Development

Commander Keen was developed by id Software, a small game development company founded by John Carmack, John Romero, and Tom Hall. The game was originally conceived as a way to showcase the Doom engine, which was still in development at the time. However, the game quickly evolved into a standalone project, and became one of id Software’s first major successes.

Commander Keen was developed on a shoestring budget, and the team had to be creative in order to create the game’s graphics and sound effects. The game’s art was created by Kevin Cloud, who used a variety of techniques to create the game’s distinctive look. The game’s sound effects were created by Bobby Prince, who used a variety of unconventional methods to create the game’s memorable sounds.

Release

Commander Keen was released on December 14, 1990, for MS-DOS. The game was a critical and commercial success, selling over 1 million copies worldwide. Commander Keen was ported to a number of different platforms over the years, including the Commodore Amiga, the Atari ST, and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System.

Legacy

Commander Keen is considered to be one of the most important video games of all time. The game’s innovative gameplay, charming graphics, and memorable characters helped to set the standard for future platformers. Commander Keen also helped to launch id Software into the forefront of the gaming industry, and the company would go on to develop some of the most popular and influential video games of all time, including Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, and Quake.

Commander Keen remains a popular game among retro gaming fans, and the game has been re-released on a number of different platforms over the years. The game’s source code was also released in 2014, allowing fans to create their own Commander Keen levels and mods.