Happy Friday, everyone! For this week's "Funday Friday" conversation, I'm going to talk about something that helped bring my interest in technology: gaming. I'm not sure how many gamers we have in our community, but I imagine there are more than a handful. If you happen to be one, did you know that Wolfenstein 3D launched 31 years ago today, on May 5, 1992?
Wolfenstein 3D was not the first game under the Wolfenstein label, but it arguably is the game that made the name famous. It became an immediate success, selling over 200,000 copies in its first year (remember, this is 1992).
Considered by many as the grandfather of 3D shooters, it paved the way for games like Doom and Quake. While there were other first-person games before it, such as Spasim and Maze War, Wolfenstein accelerated the concept like never before.
It made a significant mark on the gaming world with fluid VGA graphics rendered at a high frame rate (high for '92!), made great use of dramatic stereo sound effects (reminds me of my Sound Blaster), and fast-paced first-person shooter action, which was revolutionary for the time.
Interested in learning more about the making of Wolfenstein 3D? Rock Paper Shotgun posted an article last year you may find interesting: John Romero reflects on the making of Wolfenstein 3D, crunch and finding time for creative exploration.
If you're looking for a bit of nostalgia, you can find the game at a variety of places for PC as well as mobile. You can also play it in a browser on Classic Reload: https://classicreload.com/wolfenstein-3d.html
Happy 31st anniversary, Wolfenstein 3D!
And if you haven't checked it out yet, @Alexander Stevenson has an interesting topic he posted in the IoT area today: Engineering Students in New Jersey to Bounce LoRa Signals Off the Moon.
