History VideoGame / Wolfenstein3D

* ExpansionPack: The "Lost Episodes" of ''Spear of Destiny'', which consist of two new 21-level episodes with most of the graphics and sounds replaced (and a rather thin plot consisting of "the Nazis stole the Spear back; go get it again"). None of the "new" weapons or enemies actually behave any differently due to that data being hard-coded into the executable, however, and the second expansion inexplicably features the same bosses as the first.

* NintendoHard: A classic example. This is an old school game with an old school difficulty level. Enemies can kill you in just 3 or 4 shots at full health, are all equipped with HitScan weapons, and health and ammo is a lot more scarce than in ''Videogame/{{Doom}}'' or ''Videogame/{{Quake}}''. Charging blindly into a room guns blazing like in ''Doom'' is a good path to "[[{{Yahtzee}} Nazi bullet bumrape]]". Instead more methodical room-clearing is encouraged, especially on the higher difficulties.

* {{Ghostapo}}: The supernatural occurences in ''Spear of Destiny'', what with Blazkowicz facing [[spoiler:Satan himself!]].

* NoSwastikas: The SNES version had, by Nintendo's request, [[NoSwastikas all swastikas and other Nazi imagery removed]], the attack dogs turned into giant rats, and Hitler modified to be just a "generic" dictator (by shaving off his mustache and calling him Staatmeister).

-->''[[StateSec Schutzstaffel!]] *shoots* [[GratuitousGerman Mein leben!]]''

''Wolfenstein 3D'' was also released for the SNES, created by Wisdom Tree. They also produced an unlicensed [[TheMoralSubstitute Christian-themed modification]] (Read: [[{{Plagiarism}} level-for-level copy]]) based on the SNES port, ''Super 3D Noah's Ark'', which changed the guns into a fruit-shooting slingshot and the enemy soldiers into animals. Rumor has it Apogee willingly let them use the engine, being angered at the ''Wolf 3D's'' bowdlerization at Nintendo's hands.

[[http://wolfenstein.bethsoft.com/ Now online to celebrate its 20th anniversary.]] Get Psyched! (and ruin your productivity...).

The story is [[ExcusePlot simplicity itself]]: American soldier B.J. Blazkowicz is imprisoned in the Nazi prison Wolfenstein, and must walk through endless corridors, find keys and shoot Nazis until he escapes. Following chapters, which could be mail-ordered, had somewhat more out-there storylines, with ''Operation: Eisenfaust'' requiring you to thwart a Nazi doctor performing horrible biological experiments, and ''Die, Fuhrer, Die!'' allowing you to take down AdolfHitler himself. As [[StupidJetpackHitler he attacks you in an]] ''[[PoweredArmor armored battle suit]]'' with ''[[GatlingGood quad-miniguns]]''. There's also a prequel trilogy of episodes, entitled the "Nocturnal Missions", in which B.J. assassinates a Nazi chemical weapons scientist (''A Dark Secret''), uncovers his plans for a chemical war (''Trail of the Madman'') and finally kills the general carrying it out (''Confrontation'').

* TheMaze: Quite a few of the levels have mazes, but the most extreme example is the Aardwolf maze in [=E2M8=].
** [=E3M7=] has a very large one you need to clear to find the secret exit. The entrance to it is also hidden, as there is no key to the locked door that leads to it (there's a pushwall just to the left of the door). [[http://www.vgmaps.com/Atlas/PC/Wolfenstein3-D-Episode3-Floor7.png Even with a map]] you'll still probably get lost a few times.

** E3M7 has a very large one you need to clear to find the secret exit (even the entrance to it is hidden, as there is no key to the locked door you think leads to it). [[http://www.vgmaps.com/Atlas/PC/Wolfenstein3-D-Episode3-Floor7.png Even with a map]] you'll still probably get lost a few times.

* GlassCannon: Attack dogs. Faster than other enemies, can deal high damage with their bites, but they only have a single hitpoint.

''Wolfenstein 3D'' is a {{shareware}} game developed by Creator/IdSoftware in just two months, and published by Creator/ApogeeSoftware in May, 1992. Often regarded as the first true FirstPersonShooter, although very primitive entries in the genre had been available since 1973, it's the TropeCodifier and pretty much any modern FPS traces its gameplay's descent back to it.

''Wolfenstein 3D'' was also released for the SNES, with [[NoSwastikas all swastikas and other Nazi imagery removed]], the attack dogs turned into giant rats, and Hitler modified to be just a "generic" dictator (by shaving off his mustache and calling him Staatmeister). Wisdom Tree also produced an unlicensed [[TheMoralSubstitute Christian-themed modification]] (Read: [[{{Plagiarism}} level-for-level copy]]) based on the SNES port, ''Super 3D Noah's Ark'', which changed the guns into a fruit-shooting slingshot and the enemy soldiers into animals. Rumor has it Apogee willingly let them use the engine, being angered at the ''Wolf 3D's'' bowdlerization at Nintendo's hands.

* HitScan: Given its primitive status, almost all weapons (with the exception of the projectile weapons wielded by some bosses and the ''Fake Hitlers' '' fireballs) are done like this.

!!Get Psyched!:
* AdvancingBossOfDoom: Most of the game's bosses are fought in standard arenas with plenty of room to manuever around them.

* ChestBlaster: The mutants in episode 2 have guns implanted in their chests, meaning they can fire at you instantly while other enemies need to take a half-second or so to aim first.

* DogFoodDiet: You can eat dog food for health.
* DummiedOut

* EliteMooks: SS Guards and Officers.

* FakeDifficulty

* GatlingGood: Aside of the bosses, the Gatling Gun is the player's ultimate weapon in the original Wolfenstein 3D & Spear of Destiny.

* GratuitousGerman
** See the [[http://www.mac-archive.com/wolfenstein/talk.html list]] for all of them.
--> ''"SCHUTZSTAFFEL!"''
--> *is shot* ''"MEIN LEBEN!"''
** Fixed in the Spear of Destiny's "Lost Episodes" with actual German actors, swapped out for JustAStupidAccent with a peppering of PoirotSpeak in ''[=RtCW=]''.

* HitScan: Given its primitive status, almost all weapons (with the exception of the projectile weapons wielded by some bosses and the ''Fake Hitlers' '' fireballs) are done like this.
* HundredPercentCompletion: The game scores you on enemies, treasure and secrets found in each level, although getting all 100%/100%/100%s is physically impossible on at least one level ([=E2M8=] due to a lot of mutually exclusive secrets) and technically impossible on a few ([=E5M5=], [=E5M8=], [=E6M2=], [=E6M7=] and [=E6M8=] all have secret walls that, due to an engine bug, push a square too far, either blocking off an area containing treasure or parking on the treasure itself rendering it inaccessible). It is possible to circumvent the bug with some trickery by pausing the game just as the pushback wall moves two spaces; if done correctly it should stop.

* IdiosyncraticDifficultyLevels: "Can I play, Daddy?", "Don't hurt me!", "Bring 'em on!" and "I am Death incarnate!"

* LargeAndInCharge: The bosses are all about 8 feet tall. Even the two scientist characters. The only exception is Hitler himself, and even he is about 7 feet tall once you get him outside of his Power Armor.

* MoreDakka: All three weapons are effectively the same weapon and use the same ammo. The only difference is the firing rate.
* NaziGold: Collect it for scorepoints.

* SequenceBreaking

** A couple to id's previous game, ''VideoGame/CommanderKeen''. Try inputting the cheat code from episodes 4-6 and you'll get a message saying "Commander Keen is also available from Apogee but then, you already know that - right Cheatmeister?!" It even still works in versions not sold by Apogee. See a pic of the box [[http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=33dyt6e&s=5 here]].
** Related to the above one, the hint sheet for the game gives a brief biography of B.J. Blazkowicz, including revealing that he's Keen's grandfather.

* ThoseWackyNazis

Often regarded as the first true FirstPersonShooter. Although very primitive entries in the genre had been available since 1973, it's definitely the TropeCodifier and pretty much any modern FPS traces its gameplay's descent back to it. ''Wolfenstein 3D'' was a shareware game developed by Creator/IdSoftware in just two months, and published by Apogee Software in May, 1992.

The story is [[ExcusePlot simplicity itself]]: American soldier [[ShoutOut B.J. Blazkowicz]] is imprisoned in the Nazi prison Wolfenstein, and must walk through endless corridors, find keys and shoot Nazis until he escapes. Following chapters, which could be mail-ordered, had somewhat more out-there storylines, with ''Operation: Eisenfaust'' requiring you to thwart a Nazi doctor performing horrible biological experiments, and ''Die, Fuhrer, Die!'' allowing you to take down AdolfHitler himself. As [[StupidJetpackHitler he attacks you in an]] ''[[PoweredArmor armored battle suit]]'' with ''[[GatlingGood quad-miniguns]]''. There's also a prequel trilogy of episodes, entitled the "Nocturnal Missions", in which B.J. assassinates a Nazi chemical weapons scientist (''A Dark Secret''), uncovers his plans for a chemical war (''Trail of the Madman'') and finally kills the general carrying it out (''Confrontation'').

''Wolfenstein 3D'' was a reimagining of the original ''CastleWolfenstein'' and ''BeyondCastleWolfenstein'', 2D [[StealthBasedGame Stealth-Based Games]] released in the 1980s. It was followed by ''Spear of Destiny'' in 1992, and in 1994 by "Return To Danger" and "Ultimate Challenge", two further missions for ''Spear of Destiny''; ''ReturnToCastleWolfenstein'' {{reviv|al}}ed the franchise in 2001, leading to the ''Enemy Territory'' spinoff and ''another'' sequel simply titled ''VideoGame/{{Wolfenstein}}''. As a tribute to ''Wolfenstein 3D'', ''Videogame/{{Doom}} 2'' contained two secret levels with this game's style.

[[http://wolfenstein.bethsoft.com/ Now online to celebrate its 20th anniversary.]] Get Psyched! (and ruin your productivity...). In addition, a new installment, ''VideoGame/WolfensteinTheNewOrder'' is being developed by [[VideoGame/EscapeFromButcherBay Machine]] [[VideoGame/TheDarkness Games]]

Has now a [[Characters/Wolfenstein3D character sheet]].

** This works both ways unfortunately. If an enemy gets the drop on you and shoots you at point-blank range, you will almost certainly lose over half your health. The [[DemonicSpiders Mutants]] are the most infamous for doing this because of their unreal reaction time.

* GenreShift: The first two Castle Wolfenstein games are top-down stealth games, while the games from 3D onward are {{First Person Shooter}}s

* GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere: The Angel of Death in Spear of Destiny.
* GlassCannon
** Attack dogs. Faster than other enemies, can deal high damage with their bites, but they only have a single hitpoint.
** B.J. himself probably counts, given that on the default difficulty you can be killed by just 3 or 4 straight shots from a pistol at close range.
* {{Gorn}}: Some of the boss deaths are surprisingly graphic and over-the-top (complete with a "Let's see that again!" replay.) Hitler actually ''disintegrates'' into a squishy pile of goo and organs upon death.

* GuiltBasedGaming: The [[http://www.afadoomer.com/wolf3d/svn/pk3/Language.txt quotes when you try the exit the game]], which ''Videogame/{{Doom}}'' also copied. ("For guns and glory, press N. For work and worry, press Y.")

* LightningBruiser: The Ubermutant has standard boss health and damage output, combined with being the fastest enemy in the entire game.
* LoadingScreen: GET PSYCHED!

* PowerArmor: Hitler has one.

* [[StupidJetpackHitler Stupid Power Armor Hitler]]: That's even the page image.

** You can do something similar in [=E2M9=] and trap yourself in the health room if you push the three secret walls in a particular way, although this particular instance borders on UnwinnableByInsanity.

* ZombifyTheLiving: The Episode 2 boss is Dr. Schabbs, a DeadlyDoctor who flings syringes full of a "corpsokinetic animation serum". If B.J. Blazkowicz loses all of his health to a syringe, his HUD portrait turns an ashen color as he becomes an undead mutant like those fought throughout the level.

* AdolfHitler: With ''four miniguns'' and a [[PoweredArmor mecha suit]].
* AdvancingBossOfDoom: Most of the game's bosses are fought in standard arenas with plenty of room to manuever around them. The Ubermutant from Spear of Destiny, however, is fought in a series of one-way hallways, making it impossible to circle around him. You pretty much have to constantly retreat while firing at him, which is made even tougher by the fact he's the fastest enemy in the game.
* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: While not every boss is a High Value Target[=/=]commander (the Grosse siblings and the Ubermutant are just enforcers), every High Value Target[=/=]commander is a boss (even the scientist characters). Even Hitler is a boss! Once you blow up his PoweredArmor, he's only about 1/2th as tough as the regular bosses, but with [[MoreDakka extra dakka]]. He's still got several times as much health as the EliteMooks and wields dual miniguns, though.

* BondOneLiner: At the end of Episode 3.
--> "Sieg heil, huh... Sieg Hell."

* ChestBlaster: The mutants in episode 2 have guns implanted in their chests, meaning they can fire at you instantly while other enemies need to take a half-second or so to aim first. The gigantic [[KingMook Ubermutant]] boss from Spear of Destiny has upgraded it to a ''chaingun''.
* CombatMedic: Dr. Schabbs, a MadScientist and one of the bosses.

* DegradedBoss: Hans Gross makes irregular appearances after Episode 1. Twice in a weird push-wall maze in Episode 2, and Three times in the SecretLevel of Episode 6 where at least one must be killed to finish the level. (Unless you lure a guard into [[SequenceBreaking opening the locked door]] for you.)

* FlunkyBoss: Most bosses are fought solo, while Hitler has a handful of officers protecting him. General Fatface, the Nocturnal Missions final boss, is accompanied by ''a small army'' of guards and EliteMooks.

* GatlingGood
** Taken to comical levels; Hans Grosse, Trans Grosse, and Grettle Grosse DualWield TWO Gatling Guns, the Uber Mutant has a Gatling Gun implanted into his chest, General Fettgesicht & Barnacle Willheim both prefer a Gatling gun in one hand, and a pistol-rocket-launcher in the other, while the [[TheDragon Death Knight]] has TWO Gatling Guns and TWO shoulder-mounted Rocket-Launchers, making the Death Knight appear to be wearing black PoweredArmor. Finally, Adolf Hitler has PoweredArmor that has FOUR Gatling Guns, but this is only cosmetic (and temporary), and does not actually double his firepower. The Mech suit is an excuse to give Hitler a lot more HitPoints than most bosses.
** Of course, the Gatling Gun is the player's ultimate weapon in the original Wolfenstein 3D & Spear of Destiny.

* HitScan: Given its primitive status, almost all weapons (with the exception of the projectile weapons wielded by some bosses and the ''Fake Hitlers' '' fireballs) are done like this.

* HitScan: Given its primitive status, weapons are done like this.

** A couple to id's previous game, VideoGame/CommanderKeen. Try inputting the cheat code from episodes 4-6 and you'll get a message saying "Commander Keen is also available from Apogee but then, you already know that - right Cheatmeister?!" it even still works in versions not sold by Apogee. See an pic of the box here: http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=33dyt6e&s=5

[[http://wolfenstein.bethsoft.com/ Now online to celebrate its 20th anniversary.]] Get Psyched! (and ruin your productivity...). In addition, a new installment, {{VideoGame/WolfensteinTheNewOrder}} is being developed by [[VideoGame/EscapeFromButcherBay Machine]][[VideoGame/TheDarkness Games]]

* NintendoHard: A classic example. This is an old school game with an old school difficulty level. Enemies can kill you in just 3 or 4 shots at full health, are all equipped with hitscan weapons, and health and ammo is a lot more scarce than in ''Videogame/{{Doom}}'' or ''Videogame/{{Quake}}''. Charging blindly into a room guns blazing like in ''Doom'' is a good path to "[[{{Yahtzee}} Nazi bullet bumrape]]". Instead more methodical room-clearing is encouraged, especially on the higher difficulties.

* [[StupidJetpackHitler Stupid Power Armor Hitler]]

* {{Ghostapo}}
** Possibly subverted. The mutants, while undead-looking, are a result of scientific rather than supernatural experimentation, and the flying, fireball-shooting Hitler Ghosts are, according to the ''ReturnToCastleWolfenstein'' manual, [[DoingInTheWizard decoys hung from the ceiling by wires.]]
** This is played fairly straight in {{VideoGame/Wolfenstein}}, however.

** Other levels have secrets that bypass a good proportion of the level; for example, in [=E3M6=], a secret allows you to obtain the silver key without having to face the room of EliteMooks right before it.

* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: While not every boss is a High Value Target[=/=]commander (the Grosse siblings and the Ubermutant are just enforcers), every High Value Target[=/=]commander is a boss (even the scientist characters).
** Hitler is a boss! Once you blow up his PoweredArmor, he's only about 1/2th as tough as the regular bosses, but with [[MoreDakka extra dakka]]. He's still got several times as much health as the EliteMooks and wields dual miniguns, though.

* BrutalBonusLevel: The Episode 3 secret level is pretty brutal, but brilliant fun too, while the Episode 4 secret level is practically a death trap unless you know the exact route to the exit (or are just plain crazy!).
** Episode 6's secret level is fairly easy if you just want to exit quickly, but if you are seeking [[HundredPercentCompletion 100% completion]], it is arguably the hardest map in the entire game.

* CriticalHit: On occasion, if you manage to shoot a Nazi before it is alerted, you can kill him in 1-2 shots. This is especially noticeable with [[EliteMooks SS Guards]] who normally require several hits to die as they have about twice the HitPoints of most guard types. Whether this is pure luck or not is ultimately found in the source code for the game.

* DummiedOut: "Call Apogee, Say Aardwolf!" It's still there ([=E2M8=]), if you know how to get to it.

* FakeDifficulty: Unfortunately, the game engine can only support a certain number of sprites on screen at any one time before it stops drawing them. Certain levels, notably [=E4M10=], suffer from FakeDifficulty when the enemies turn invisible.

* GatlingGood: Taken to comical levels; Hans Grosse, Trans Grosse, and Grettle Grosse DualWield TWO Gatling Guns, the Uber Mutant has a Gatling Gun implanted into his chest, General Fettgesicht & Barnacle Willheim both prefer a Gatling gun in one hand, and a pistol-rocket-launcher in the other, while the [[TheDragon Death Knight]] has TWO Gatling Guns and TWO shoulder-mounted Rocket-Launchers, making the Death Knight appear to be wearing black PoweredArmor. Finally, Adolf Hitler has PoweredArmor that has FOUR Gatling Guns, but this is only cosmetic (and temporary), and does not actually double his firepower. The Mech suit is an excuse to give Hitler a lot more HitPoints than most bosses.

* {{Ghostapo}}: Possibly subverted. The mutants, while undead-looking, are a result of scientific rather than supernatural experimentation, and the flying, fireball-shooting Hitler Ghosts are, according to the ''ReturnToCastleWolfenstein'' manual, [[DoingInTheWizard decoys hung from the ceiling by wires.]]
** This is played fairly straight in {{VideoGame/Wolfenstein}}, however

* GlassCannon:

* GratuitousGerman: See the [[http://www.mac-archive.com/wolfenstein/talk.html list]] for all of them.

* UnwinnableByDesign: Whatever you do, in the pushback mazes of [=E2M8=], [=E4M2=] and [=E6M10=], don't box yourself in! If you do, let's hope you saved at the start of the level, otherwise you have to start the episode all over again.