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''3D Monster Maze'' is a Computer Game developed by Malcolm Evans in 1981 for the Sinclair ZX81 platform with the 16KB memory expansion. The game was initially released by J.K. Greye Software in early 1982 and re-released later the same year by Evans' own Startup , New Generation Software . Rendered using Low-resolution character block "graphics", it was the first 3D game for a Home Computer . New Generation Software went on to become a well-known Software firm with the Sinclair platform and continued to pioneer the 3D gaming technology for ZX81 and the later model Sinclair ZX Spectrum . The press immediately gave the game a title of a "firm favourite" of the ZX81 users. Decades later, it became popular with the Retrogaming community, inspiring remakes and fueling ZX81 Emulation projects. GAMEPLAY The game is played from the first-person perspective as a player making their way through a maze. The game uses a 16 by 16 cell Maze , which contains one exit and a hostile Monster , the '' Tyrannosaurus Rex ''. The object of the game is to escape through the exit without being eaten. Initially the ''T. rex'' lies in wait. Once the player starts moving, the beast begins hunting. Thereafter, the ''T. rex'' may either calm down (if the player goes into a part of the maze that is far enough away), or become more active as the player comes closer. If the ''T. rex'' gets a direct view of its prey, the monster will run directly at the player. by.]] The ''T. rex'' anxiety level, reported to the player as a statement in the status line, provides an indirect clue to the player's relative distance from the monster. These statements are: ''REX LIES IN WAIT'', followed by ''HE IS HUNTING FOR YOU'', ''FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING'', ''REX HAS SEEN YOU'', and ''RUN! HE IS BESIDE YOU'' or ''RUN! HE IS BEHIND YOU''. The player's speed is faster than the monster's, thus it is possible to escape by running (unless one gets trapped in a dead end). During the desperate attempt to outrun the monster, however, it's easy to get disoriented. The player can manually map the maze on a piece of paper with each step, but this becomes increasingly difficult as the pace increases. The fast pace can also lead to hard keyboard presses, which, in turn, can shake the computer/16K memory expansion connection, and lead to a sudden reset with several minutes worth reload time. Points are awarded for each step made by the player any time the dinosaur is on an active hunt. Since the player runs faster than the monster, it is possible to accumulate points by running around in circles with the monster just a few steps behind. works the best with a large rectangular course with a straight wall marking each turn. In such a case, the player can just wait in the corner until getting the "Rex has seen you" message, verify which side of the corner the monster is coming from, and run away several steps along the other side. Rex will continue on to the corner (where he has seen the player last), and see him again as soon as he reaches it. Meanwhile, the player can run on to the next corner, and repeat the same trick . Points are also given upon successfully getting away through an exit and into another maze. When the game ends, the player is informed about being " Sentence d to roam the maze forever", and then can either "appeal" or continue playing again in the last maze. If the appeal is attempted, it is rejected with 50% Probability , in which case the player is sent back to roam the last maze again. An appeal which is accepted effectively results in the computer Self-reset via BASIC's NEW Statement .HISTORY Development ''3D Monster Maze'' was the first game designed and developed by Malcolm Evans. He worked in the aerospace industry, first in aircraft design, and then as a microprocessor scientist at Sperry Gyroscope at Bristol , United Kingdom . He received a ZX81 from his wife for his thirty-seventh birthday in April 1981. Malcolm developed the game to test what the computer was capable of, and completed it by November. Friends persuaded Malcolm that the game was of high enough quality to sell and it was eventually published by J.K. Greye Software. When soon after that the Bristol branch of Sperry Gyroscope closed, Malcolm made a decision to concentrate fully on computer gaming. The firm New Generation Software he had founded kept producing 3D games for the Sinclair Research computers, and became synonymous with 3D gaming on this platform for some time . Some of his games were hailed by the gaming scene, but some titles occasionally drew criticism from reviewers for their fancy graphics but poor game plot. After releasing ''3D Defender'' and ''Breakout'' for the ZX81 , Malcolm switched the development efforts from ZX81 to ZX Spectrum as the latter model hit the market. In addition to republishing the ''3D Monster Maze'', the new firm also released such game titles as ''Escape'', ''Tunnel, 3D'', ''Knot in 3D'', ''Corridors of Genon'', ''Trashman'' and ''Travel with Trashman'', ''Light Magic'', ''Jonah Barrington's Squash'', ''The Custard Kid'' and ''Cliff Hanger''. Impact See Also: History of computer and video games The game had a significant impact on home computer gaming, as it brought in the three-dimensional graphics and the first-person perspective. This made it a landmark game in the history of computer and video games, a first both on a home computer and on the ZX81 at the same time. Landmark 3D games for other platforms that came before ''3D Monster Maze'' were Atari's '' Battlezone '' ( 1980 ), an Arcade 3D video game built with specialized Vector Graphics Hardware , and its predecessor '' Spasim '' ( 1974 ), running on Graphical Terminals of a big multi-user university computer. '' Star Raiders '', a space game for the Atari 8-bit Family of computers was released in 1979 . It featured a moving star field effect, creating an Illusion of 3D. However, no actual 3D Scene Rendering took place in that game; single frames gave no feeling of depth. While some sources consider ''3D Monster Maze'' to be the first in the First-person Shooter home/personal computer game genre, this classification can also be perceived as inexact, because there is no actual shooting (or other means of the player's active interaction with the environment, except for navigation) involved. The game is thus a First-person Adventure . After the release of ''3D Monster Maze'', it took more than ten years for the landmark 3D personal computer game literally living up to the first-person ''shooter'' title to arrive — '' Wolfenstein 3D '' ( 1992 ), the immediate predecessor of '' Doom ''. Critical acclaim The game was sold domestically in the UK and overseas, and became a hit shortly after it was released: |
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