35 years ago today, Commander Keen in Invasion of the Vorticons - Episode 1: Marooned on Mars was released. This DOS game might be somewhat lost in the sands of time, obscured by stellar PC gaming achievements soon to follow, but its success was important as it led directly to the establishment of id Software. You know, the folks behind Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, and other beyond-seminal 3D FPS titles.
The theme topic of this first Commander Keen title isn’t really important. What was groundbreaking at the time was John Carmack’s development of smooth scrolling on PCs – something of a challenge in the Enhanced Graphics Adapter (EGA) era. This side-scrolling engine was originally designed for a Super Mario Bros. 3 port to PC, but Nintendo didn’t bite, leading to the release of this brand-new game IP as a technology vehicle/showcase.
