Join us as we dig into the 3D Realms Vault with never-before-seen notes, articles, and material from our 30-year legacy. Our first post covers early design tips from the one and only Tom Hall.
In the early nineties, the legendary game designer worked on classics such as Commander Keen, Wolfenstein 3D and Doom as the Creative Director of id Software.
In 1993, he joined 3D Realms (then known as “Apogee”) to develop Rise of the Triad and support development of the Duke Nukem series. He had his hands in several Apogee/3D Realms titles then, from Duke Nukem II to Terminal Velocity, Rise of the Triad, Hocus Pocus, and Prey. A complete list of what Tom did would be longer than this document, but a few selected highlights are worth noting. Specifically, the deathmatch design, some laser gfx, and the story from Terminal Velocity. Tom was also responsible for a lot of the "character items" and the story for Duke Nukem II, including the famed merchandise items, which were part of the foundation of the eventual "character" of Duke as we knew him in future titles.
In 1994, there were few rules as to how games were designed. As such, Tom was one of the fathers of today’s design laws and philosophies.
Below is a never-before-seen memo from Tom, in which he shares his game design tips and tricks.
Enjoy!
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