Commander Keen

Commander Keen is the main character in a series of computer games developed by id Software in the early 1990s, which were successful at replicating the side-scrolling action of the NES Super Mario Bros. games in DOS. The cartoon-style platformers are notable for their pioneering use of EGA graphics and shareware distribution, and because they were the first games by id Software, who went on to develop blockbusters like Doom and Quake. The games were also exciting to the PC gaming community of the time because of John Carmack's revolutionary smooth-scrolling graphics engine. Although developed by id, most of the Commander Keen games were published by Apogee Software, an already established PC shareware game publisher.

Keen in other games

Commander Keen made a cameo appearance in level 32 (a secret level) of Doom II, a later id game. He was displayed as hanged with a noose and the player could shoot him, making him explode in blood. This has been interpreted as id pronouncing Keen "dead": in other words, it is presumed that they do not intend to continue producing Keen games.

Related Topics:
Cameo appearance - Doom II - Hanged - Noose

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Keen also appeared as a hostage in Apogee's Bio Menace. Other elements from Keen can be found in the Apogee games Paganitzu, Crystal Caves, Cosmo's Cosmic Adventure, and Secret Agent. The first Duke Nukem game includes an offhand reference to Keen, and numerous other Apogee games have Keen on their default high score lists.

Related Topics:
Hostage - Bio Menace - Paganitzu - Crystal Caves - Cosmo's Cosmic Adventure - Secret Agent - Duke Nukem

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Apogee arch-rival Epic Games' Jill of the Jungle includes a news bulletin taking a swipe at Keen, who it claims has been forced into retirement by "those cool Epic heros" (sic).

Related Topics:
Epic Games - Jill of the Jungle

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The Dopefish, an enemy character from Secret of the Oracle, has appeared in many games over the years (such as in Quake and Max Payne) and continues to make hidden appearances in modern titles.

Related Topics:
Dopefish - Quake - Max Payne

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