Game Design Scrapheap #3: NaziKill 3D
Submitted by Earok on Wed, 02/27/2008 - 22:42
Since I have been a bit slack on blog updates recently and also since I am not likely to have access to a computer for the next few days I decided that I would do two blog updates in a row.
Like many other people, the very first FPS game I ever experienced was the original Wolfenstein 3D. Having never before seen a game viewed from the first person perspective (outside of the simulator genre) I was utterly blown away by its immersion. Wolfenstein not only started the FPS genre, but also the ever popular sub-genre of WW2 FPS games where the player becomes a heroic patriotic American trying to save the world from the Nazis and their mastery of black magic, frankenstein science and S&M costumes.
Over a decade later I decided to have a go at programming an FPS in Blitz Basic 3D, and I thought a great way to start would be to make a game that was a parody, remake and tribute to the one that started it all.
Like many other people, the very first FPS game I ever experienced was the original Wolfenstein 3D. Having never before seen a game viewed from the first person perspective (outside of the simulator genre) I was utterly blown away by its immersion. Wolfenstein not only started the FPS genre, but also the ever popular sub-genre of WW2 FPS games where the player becomes a heroic patriotic American trying to save the world from the Nazis and their mastery of black magic, frankenstein science and S&M costumes.
Over a decade later I decided to have a go at programming an FPS in Blitz Basic 3D, and I thought a great way to start would be to make a game that was a parody, remake and tribute to the one that started it all.
NaziKill 3D
Uberchefnazi, the first boss
Both the title and concept of the game were conceived in my mind in mid 2005. The game was to be the cut down, single episoded 'shareware version' of the non-existant 'registered version' of NaziKill 3D (the backstory behind the fictional game development company is that they were forced into bankruptcy after the release of DooM, and since NaziKill sold no copies it faded into obscurity). The game would bug the player to buy the 'registered version' if he were to perform certain actions, such as pick up a weapon that is only available in the full game. The plot, if I recall correctly, went something like this:
You are Joe Joey "JJ" Jackson, an All American member of the All American Nazi Killing team of America. Deep in the Nazi homeland of Nazireichlande, you were captured in an attempt to shave the moustache of the Nazi king. Can you survive the horrors of Castle Nazisteinditz and escape to freedom?
Development
One of the levels in the "Castle" was a car park
I started the game by first developing a basic level designer and then building functions in it to test the level. I kept developing the level editor and eventually built the game into it instead of creating it as a seperate program. Since I am a pretty hopeless artist, just about all of the enemy art comes from Majik Monkees Image world, a place dealing with Wolfenstein 3D mod art.
What went wrong
The ending screen of the game was a very obscure reference to a secret level in Rise of the Triad.
There were three major problems I had with NaziKill 3D which prompted me to abandon the project and start a new one (I think it was Raid Over Moscow)
1# It was simply poorly programmed because of my (then) lack of experience with Blitz Basic 3D. Compare with where Derelict is at now - Derelict has acceptable AI pathfinding, smooth framerate on most computers, a very short loading time, lighting effects, non-flat walls and 3D objects whereas NaziKill had none of that. NaziKill was also a whole lot more buggy.
2# The title. Although I liked the title a great deal undoubtably there would be those who would be offended by it simply because the name had the word 'Nazi' and so it made me uncomfortable. Campy B-movie 'Surf Nazis must die' had its name changed from simply 'Surf Nazis' for similar reasons.
3# Humour, or lack thereof, while my original vision was to have a game that made light of Wolfenstein 3D and classic Shareware at every corner, NaziKill 3D was looking increasingly like a clone rather then a parody.
The moral of the story
There isn't really a moral this time, I don't regret making NaziKill 3D as I learned a great deal of Blitz programming techniques from it and I think the concept is still a good idea. I guess the morals can be 'don't risk offending anyone unneccessarily' and 'stay true to your original vision'
Afterwards
I briefly restarted the project last year with the new title Luger Me Now (one of the actual working titles for Wolfenstein 3D) but, asides from some concept art, there isn't anything to show for it. Luger Me Now is on a list of projects I may start after Derelict finishes production so who knows, it may still see the light of day, perhaps even before the end of the year.