Commander Keen
Developer(s)	id Software, Softdisk, David A. Palmer Productions
Publisher(s)	Apogee Software, Activision
Designer(s)	Tom Hall
Release date(s)	1990, 1991, 2001
Genre(s)	side-scrolling platform game
Mode(s)	single player
Platform(s)	MS-DOS, Game Boy Color
Media	floppy disk (1)
System requirements	IBM PC compatible, 640kB RAM
Input	keyboard, joystick, or Gravis PC GamePad

"Yorp" redirects here. For changes in the spin states of asteroids, see YORP effect.

Commander Keen is the main character in a series of video games developed by id Software in the early 1990s, which were successful at replicating the side-scrolling action of the NES Super Mario Bros. games in MS-DOS. The cartoon-style platformers are notable for their pioneering use of EGA graphics and shareware distribution, and because they were the first games by id Software. Id went on to develop blockbusters like Doom and Quake. The games were also exciting to the PC gaming community of the time because of John Carmack's revolutionary smooth-scrolling graphics engine. Although developed by id, most of the Commander Keen games were published by Apogee Software, an already established PC shareware game publisher. A screenshot of the title screen of Commander Keen 5, made with the DosBox MS_DOS emulator. ... A video game developer is a software developer (a business or an individual) that creates computer or video games. ... id Software is a computer game developer based in Mesquite, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. ... Softdisk is a software and Internet company based in Shreveport, Louisiana. ... Video game publishers are companies that publish video games that they have either developed internally or have had developed by a video game developer. ... Corporate logo of Apogee Software Apogee Software, Ltd. ... Activision, Inc. ... A game designer is a person who designs games. ... Tom Hall Tom Hall is a game designer born in Wisconsin. ... This is a listing of computer and video game genres with brief descriptions and examples from each genre. ... A side-scrolling game or side-scroller is a genre of video games in which the gameplay action is viewed from a side-view camera angle, and the onscreen characters generally move from the left side of the screen to the right in order to reach their goals. ... A screenshot of the original Donkey Kong. ... In computer games and video games, single-player refers to the variant of a particular game where input from only one player is expected throughout the course of the gaming session. ... This article is about computer and video games. ... Microsofts disk operating system, MS-DOS, was Microsofts implementation of DOS, which was the first popular operating system for the IBM PC, and until recently, was widely used on the PC compatible platform. ... The Game Boy Color came in a myriad of different colors, as did earlier incarnations of the Game Boy. ... A floppy disk is a data storage device that is composed of a ring of thin, flexible (i. ... One of the first PCs from IBM - the IBM PC model 5150. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... A computer keyboard is a peripheral modeled after the typewriter keyboard. ... For other uses, see Joystick (disambiguation). ... Original Gravis Gamepad for IBM PC The Gravis PC GamePad is a game port game controller produced by Advanced Gravis Computer Technology. ... The Yarkovsky-OKeefe-Radzievskii-Paddack effect, or YORP effect for short, is a second-order variation on the Yarkovsky effect which causes a small body (such as an asteroid) to spin up or down. ... This article is about computer and video games. ... id Software is a computer game developer based in Mesquite, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. ... The 1990s decade refers to the years from 1990 to 1999, inclusive. ... The Nintendo Entertainment System, or NES, is an 8-bit video game console released by Nintendo in North America, Brazil, Europe, Asia, and Australia. ... For other uses, see Super Mario Bros. ... Microsofts disk operating system, MS-DOS, was Microsofts implementation of DOS, which was the first popular operating system for the IBM PC, and until recently, was widely used on the PC compatible platform. ... A cartoon is any of several forms of art, with varied meanings that evolved from one to another. ... A screenshot of the original Donkey Kong. ... The Enhanced Graphics Adapter (EGA) is the IBM PC computer display standard specification located between CGA and VGA in terms of graphics performance (that is, colour and space resolution). ... Shareware is a marketing method for software, whereby a trial version is distributed in advance and without payment, as is common for proprietary software. ... Doom (or DOOM) is a 1993 computer game by id Software that is among the landmark titles in the first-person shooter genre. ... Zombies attacking the player. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... John Carmack circa 2004 John D. Carmack II (born August 20, 1970) is a widely recognized figure in the video game industry. ... A game engine is the core software component of a video game. ... Corporate logo of Apogee Software Apogee Software, Ltd. ... One of the first PCs from IBM - the IBM PC model 5150. ...

History

John Carmack, a game programmer at Softdisk, found a trick that would allow smooth-scrolling graphics in PC games, but only with the 16-color EGA graphics card. Softdisk rejected the technology because they wanted to continue to support customers who only had 4-color CGA cards. John Carmack circa 2004 John D. Carmack II (born August 20, 1970) is a widely recognized figure in the video game industry. ... Softdisk is a software and Internet company based in Shreveport, Louisiana. ... The Color Graphics Adapter (CGA), introduced in 1981, was IBMs first color graphics card, and the first color computer display standard for the IBM PC. The standard IBM CGA graphics card was equipped with 16 kilobytes of video memory. ...

Carmack and his Softdisk colleague Tom Hall used their own time to put together a clone of the first level of Super Mario Bros. 3, except for the hero, which they replaced with Dangerous Dave, a character from some of their games for Softdisk. They called it Dangerous Dave in Copyright Infringement and approached Nintendo with the demo, but the latter declined to enter the PC market at that time. Tom Hall Tom Hall is a game designer born in Wisconsin. ... Super Mario Bros. ... Dangerous Dave is a 1988 computer game by John Romero. ... Nintendo (Japanese: 任天堂, ニンテンドー Nintendō; NASDAQ: NTDOY, TYO: 7974 ) is an international company originally founded in Japan on November 6, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi to produce handmade hanafuda cards, for use in a Japanese playing card game of the same name. ...

The developers still thought their game technology had potential, so they left to form what would become id Software. The developers got in touch with Scott Miller of Apogee, who put up the money for Commander Keen's development, starting a profitable business relationship that would last until id self-published Doom. id Software is a computer game developer based in Mesquite, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. ... Scott Miller is a game programmer, producer, and level designer who is probably most famous for founding Apogee Software in 1987 and co-founding Gathering of Developers in 1998. ... Doom (or DOOM) is a 1993 computer game by id Software that is among the landmark titles in the first-person shooter genre. ...

Id's contract with Softdisk required them to write several more games for the company, one of which became Keen Dreams, called the "Lost Episode" of Commander Keen because it was not sold by Apogee as the others were.

The story

Billy Blaze is an eight-year-old boy genius (purported to have an IQ of 314) who has constructed a spaceship in his backyard from old soup cans and other household objects, called The Bean-with-Bacon Megarocket. When his parents are out and the baby sitter falls asleep, he dons his brother's Packers helmet and becomes Commander Keen, Defender of Earth. In the first game, he is exploring on Mars when Martians steal four spaceship components that he must get back. Along the way he finds a pogo stick that enables him to jump higher than normal, which he keeps with him during most of the later games. Keen also uses rayguns from his many alien foes against them. IQ tests are designed to give approximately normally distributed results, which causes a bell curve graph of IQ score frequency. ... Lower-case π (the lower case letter is usually used for the constant) The mathematical constant π ≈ 3. ... Note: Basketball teams from Chicago and Anderson once used the name Packers as well. ... Earth is the third planet from the Sun. ... Pogo Stick A pogo stick is device, usually considered a childrens toy, used for hopping up and down. ... Rayguns are a type of directed-energy weapon. ... Extraterrestrial life is life that may exist and originate outside the planet Earth. ...

At the end of the third game, his rival Mortimer McMire is revealed as the Grand Intellect, the mastermind behind the original game's Vorticon attempted attack on Earth. Mortimer is purported to have an IQ of 315, one point more than Billy's 314, and considers it his duty to kill and destroy all beings of lesser intelligence (i.e. the entire galaxy). He goes on to lead the Shikadi, a race of energy beings who name him the Gannalech. In episodes 4 and 5, he attempts to destroy the galaxy with the Shikadi Quantum Explosion Dynamo, but is yet again foiled by Keen. However, his true intentions are made clear - to destroy the universe, as he had his sister (Billy's babysitter) kidnapped by the Bloogs in order to distract him. In the Commander Keen computer games, Mortimer McMire is an evil 8-year-old genius and arch enemy of Commander Keen. ... Spoiler warning: The Vorticon are a race of grayish, dog-like, bipedal aliens featured in the Commander Keen computer games. ... IQ tests are designed to give approximately normally distributed results, which causes a bell curve graph of IQ score frequency. ... Spoiler warning: The Shikadi are a race of energy beings from the far side of the galaxy featured in the computer game Commander Keen. ... Spoiler warning: The Quantum Explosion Dynamo (QED) is an object featured in the Commander Keen computer game, in episode 5, The Armageddon Machine. ...

It is later revealed that Billy's full name is William Joseph Blazkowicz II, and that he is the grandson of William Joseph "B.J." Blazkowicz, the Allied war hero of Wolfenstein 3D. His father had changed his last name to Blaze for show biz. When spelt with a capital A, Allies usually denotes the countries supporting the Triple Entente who fought together against the Central Powers in World War I and against the Axis Powers in World War II. For more information, see the related articles: Allies of World War I and Allies of... Wolfenstein 3D (commonly abbreviated to Wolf 3D) is the computer game that started the first person shooter genre on the PC. It was created by id Software and published by Apogee Software on May 5, 1992. ...

The Keen games

Seven official Commander Keen games were released for the PC under MS-DOS. Many are considered "episodes" that were available separately. Under the shareware model, usually the first episode was available at no charge. Microsofts disk operating system, MS-DOS, was Microsofts implementation of DOS, which was the first popular operating system for the IBM PC, and until recently, was widely used on the PC compatible platform. ...

Commander Keen in Invasion of the Vorticons

1. "Marooned on Mars" (first released as shareware on December 14, 1990)

While Commander Keen is exploring Mars, the Vorticons steal four vital components of his ship and hide them in Martian cities, each guarded by a Vorticon soldier. In this episode, Keen acquires his trademark pogo stick and meets a variety of Martian aliens and robots. One such alien, a green critter with an eye on a stalk (called a Yorp) sneaks into his spaceship and comes along home.

2. "The Earth Explodes"

Keen returns to Earth only to find the Vorticon mothership hovering above, with its ray cannons locked on to eight of Earth's greatest wonders, including the Egyptian pyramids and the Sydney Opera House. Unlike the first game which had a happy and friendly atmosphere, almost everything in this game is hostile towards Keen, from the floating machine gun robots to the electrified floors. The engine has a couple of extra features such as light switches and moving platforms, making this game the hardest of the trilogy.

3. "Keen Must Die!"

Keen travels to the Vorticon homeworld in search of the mysterious Grand Intellect that has directed the Vorticons toward Earth. The game features the cities, parks and suburbs of the Vorticons, and their women, children, pets and mechanical toys make up the enemies. The Vorticon alphabet is also decoded in a school house, allowing for the player to travel to the other in-game locations and read the Vorticon signs. In the final level, Keen has to disable the "mangling machine", a large apparatus with many crushing parts controlled by the Grand Intellect. The Grand Intellect proves to be Keen's mortal enemy, Mortimer McMire.

December 14 is the 348th day of the year (349th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... For the Roman god, see Mars (mythology). ... A humanoid robot manufactured by Honda. ... The pyramids of Egypt, some of which are among the largest man-made constructions ever conceived , constitute one of the most potent and enduring symbols of Ancient Egyptian civilization. ... The Sydney Opera House is one of the most iconic landmarks in the world, and since its opening it has become a symbol of Sydney The Sydney Opera House is located at , in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. ...

Interlude

3.5. "Keen Dreams" aka The "Lost Episode" (published by Softdisk, not Apogee)

After refusing to eat his vegetables, Keen is sent to bed by his parents. He falls asleep, only to awaken in a strange vegetable kingdom led by the evil potato king Boobus Tuber, who has imprisoned other sleeping children there. This game uses an early version of the 'slanted 3-d' graphics engine used in the following three games. In the dream world, Keen does not have his trademark raygun and pogo stick, but has to defend himself with 'flower power' seeds that temporarily turn enemies into flowers. All enemies are nutritious vegetables, such as the Tomatooth, Broccolash, and Frenchy; whereas the collectable score items are sweets.

Vegetables in a market Tomatoes growing in a vegetable garden Venn diagram representing the relationship between fruits and vegetables For other uses, see Vegetable (disambiguation). ... Isometric drawing of a cube Isometric projection is a form of orthographic projection, or more specifically, an axonometric projection. ...

Commander Keen in Goodbye Galaxy!

4. "Secret of the Oracle" (first released as shareware on December 15, 1991)

Keen's newly finished homemade faster-than-light radio picks up a plot by the Shikadi to destroy the galaxy. He rushes to the planet Gnosticus IV to consult the members of the High Council, or Keepers of the Oracle, but discovers that they have been taken captive by monsters. This game is the first to use the full power of the slanted 3-d'ish perspective. It features huge levels and a wide variety of enemies, such as rocks that only move when your back is turned.

5. "The Armageddon Machine"

After getting information from the Oracle, Keen lands on a massive Shikadi space station, the Omegamatic, nicknamed the Armageddon Machine, and seeks out the mysterious Gannalech.

December 15 is the 349th day of the year (350th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Cherenkov effect in a swimming pool nuclear reactor. ... An oracle is a person or agency considered to be a source of wise counsel or prophetic opinion; an infallible authority, usually spiritual in nature. ... The space station Mir A space station is an artificial structure designed for humans to live in space, so far only low earth orbit. ... Spoiler warning: The Omegamatic is a large spaceship featured in the Commander Keen computer game in episode 5. ... Look up Armageddon in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Commander Keen in Aliens Ate My Babysitter

6. Aliens Ate My Babysitter (published by FormGen, who resold it to Apogee; now discontinued)

When Keen's baby sitter Molly is abducted by the Bloogs, Keen must come to her rescue by fighting his way through the inhabitants of the planet Fribbulus Xax.

Commander Keen (GBC)

• In 2001, Activision published a completely new Commander Keen game for the Game Boy Color, simply titled Commander Keen. The game, although developed with id's permission, did not involve any of the original Keen developers, but was instead a David A. Palmer Productions game. Most fans of the original games found this game to be a disappointment, as it strayed from the original gameplay and looks. Tom Hall doesn't consider this game canon. [1]

Activision, Inc. ... The Game Boy Color came in a myriad of different colors, as did earlier incarnations of the Game Boy. ...

Cancelled games

• An additional installment, tentatively titled The Universe is Toast!, was planned for Christmas 1992, but it never got off the ground as id moved on to Wolfenstein 3D and then Doom.

• Monkeystone Games made plans to release Keen Chronicles through a Softek International April 2002. It would have consisted of all Keen games packaged together for Microsoft Windows and Pocket PC, but it never got out of the planning stages, and was never even announced.^{[citation needed]} Industry Media's website features the logo that would have been used.

Christmas (literally, the Mass of Jesus Christ) is a traditional holiday observed on 25 December. ... Wolfenstein 3D (commonly abbreviated to Wolf 3D) is the computer game that started the first person shooter genre on the PC. It was created by id Software and published by Apogee Software on May 5, 1992. ... Doom (or DOOM) is a 1993 computer game by id Software that is among the landmark titles in the first-person shooter genre. ... Monkeystone Games logo Monkeystone Games is a video and computer game company founded by John Romero, Tom Hall, Stevie Case, and Brian Moon. ... Windows redirects here. ... Pocket PC A Pocket PC, abbreviated P/PC or PPC, is a handheld-sized computer that runs a specific version of the Windows CE operating system. ...

Keen in other games

Commander Keen made a cameo appearance in level 32 (a secret level) of Doom II, a later id game. He was displayed as hanged with a noose and the player could shoot him, making him explode in blood and authentic PC speaker sound effects. This has been interpreted as id pronouncing Keen "dead": in other words, it is presumed that they do not intend to continue producing Keen games. Commander Keen's cameo remains intact in the Gameboy Advance version of the game as well. Martin Scorsese appears briefly in an uncredited role in this scene from Taxi Driver, the first scene in which Cybill Shepherd appears. ... Doom II: Hell on Earth is a first-person shooter video game created by id Software. ... Suicide by hanging. ... The hangmans knot or hangmans noose (also known as a collar during Elizabethan times) is a well-known knot most often associated with its use in hanging. ... The PC speaker is the most primitive sound system used in IBM compatible PCs, and in fact used to be the only one in use in PC games before more technologically advanced sound cards such as AdLib or the Sound Blaster were introduced as ISA plug-in cards in the... The Game Boy Advance is a best-selling handheld. ...

Keen also appeared as a hostage in Apogee's Bio Menace. Other elements from Keen can be found in the Apogee games Paganitzu, Crystal Caves, Cosmo's Cosmic Adventure, and Secret Agent. The first Duke Nukem game includes an offhand reference to Keen, and numerous other Apogee games have Keen on their default high score lists. A hostage is a person (sometimes another entity) which is held by a captor (often a criminal abductor) in order to compel another party (relative, employer, government. ... Bio Menace is a 2D, side-scrolling, platform game both developed and published by Apogee Software in 1993 for MS-DOS. It was built on a licensed version of id Softwares Commander Keen engine, and was known as Bio Hazard during production. ... Paganitzu is a computer game created by Keith Schuler. ... Crystal Caves was a game written and published by Apogee. ... Cosmos Cosmic Adventure is a video game programmed by Todd Replogle and published by Apogee Software in 1992. ... Secret Agent is a video game written and published by Apogee Software. ... Duke Nukem is a platform video game developed and published by Apogee Software, featuring the adventures of Duke Nukem. ...

Apogee arch-rival Epic Games' Jill of the Jungle includes a news bulletin taking a swipe at Keen, who it claims has been forced into retirement by "those cool Epic heros". Epic Games, formerly known as Epic MegaGames and also known as Epic, is a computer game development company based in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. ... Jill of the Jungle is a trilogy of platformer computer games released in 1992 by Epic MegaGames. ...

The Dopefish, an enemy character from Secret of the Oracle, has become one of the biggest video game in-jokes and appeared in many games over the years (such as in all Quake games (except for Quake 4) and Max Payne) and continues to make hidden appearances in modern titles. Several poses of the Dopefish, accompanied by its far less famous cousin, the Schoolfish. ... An in joke is a joke whose humour is clear only to those people who are in a group that has some prior knowledge (not known by the whole population) that makes the joke humorous. ... Zombies attacking the player. ... Quake 4 is the fourth title in the series of Quake FPS computer games. ... Max Payne is a third-person shooter computer game developed by Finnish company Remedy Entertainment, produced by 3D Realms and published by Gathering of Developers in July, 2001. ...

In addition, the webtoon Bonus Stage has a character based off of Commander Keen. Bonus Stage Bonus Stage (abbreviated BS) is an action/adventure/comedy flash animated series by Matt Wilson that focuses attention on the randomness, sarcasm, and parodic moments of life. ...

Fan-made Keen games

A number of fan-made Commander Keen games of varying quality have been created, mostly using Klik & Play, Click & Create, Game Maker and similar game construction software. The Public Commander Keen Forum has a forum devoted to the announcement and discussion of these unofficial Keen games. Klik & Play is a software application that allows its users to create video games using a range of pre-existing artwork and animations and a range of GUI tools to create stand alone Microsoft Windows applications. ... The Game Maker interface. ...

CloneKeen is a game engine recreation that requires the original datafiles, and supports episodes one through three. It was programmed on and off by Caitlin Shaw since 2003, and finally released on October 18, 2005. It is available for Microsoft Windows, Linux, GP2X, and Sega Dreamcast. It has also been ported to the Sony PSP in February 2006. Game Engine Recreations are engine interpreters for video games that replace the original engine binary that came with the original game. ... October 18 is the 291st day of the year (292nd in Leap years). ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Windows redirects here. ... Tux the penguin, based on an image created by Larry Ewing in 1996, is the logo and mascot of Linux. ... The GP2X is a 2×AA battery-powered handheld game console, media player, and video game device, created and sold by GamePark Holdings of Korea. ... The Sega Dreamcast (Japanese: ドリームキャスト; code-named Blackbelt, Dural and Katana during development) was Segas last video game console. ... The PlayStation Portable (officially PSP), a handheld game console, is a product of Sony Computer Entertainment. ...

In the years since the release in early 2002 of utilities to modify the levels and graphics in the original Keen series, more than fifty mods have been made. Most of these have Commander Keen as the protagonist, but some use the Commander Keen engine to develop an entirely new game.

While most of the fangames are of poor quality, having problems dealing with clipping interface and playability, several of the mods are of similar or higher quality to the original games. The tools and utilities used to modify the games, as well as a body of accumulated knowledge of the Keen code, are constantly being updated and improved.

Much of this work has been done by Andy Durdin, who has written utilities for the editing of Keen graphics and levels. He has also done much in determining the inner-workings of the Keen engine, allowing many mods to be even more unique than the Commander Keen episode they were created from.

Trivia

• The foot and the death sound from Commander Keen 4 are found in the Fanimutation hit, French Erotic Film.
• In the Moon Palace level, if one positions keen over one of the small moons on the floor and waits, Keen will eventually bend over and drop his pants, hence the name of the level (see link).

Animutation is the practice of using Macromedia Flash to create absurd, silly, and corny videos of strange (usually non-English) music. ...

See also

• Standard Galactic Alphabet
• PCKF (Public Commander Keen Forum)

The Standard Galactic Alphabet (SGA) is an alphabet featured in many of the episodes of the Commander Keen series of computer games. ... The Public Commander Keen Forum, or PCKF for short, is an internet forum created by and for fans of the Commander Keen series of video games. ...

External links

• Keen Vorticons Official Apogee Page (shareware download link at bottom)
• Keen Galaxy Official Apogee Page (shareware download link at bottom)
• MobyGames' entry on the Commander Keen series
• Public Commander Keen Forum - Central forum of the Keen community.
• Keen:Modding - Forum dedicated to making Commander Keen mods.
• Beyond the Pogo - Large Commander Keen site containing most of the content created by the Keen community (fanart, fangames, programs, mods etc). Also hosts the Keencyclopedia and Commander Keen Newsletter.
• Keencyclopedia - An A through Z interpretation of all eight Commander Keen games, including the Game Boy Color edition.
• Keen: Art - A Keen Art foum dediacted to Keen Art, and sprites. It also offers free uploading!
• Cerebral Cortex 314 - Popular Commander Keen website. No longer regularly updated.
• Commander Keen Fan Site - Contains reviews and downloads of the games.
• Commander Keen Newsletter - (Usually) monthly e-publication featuring news from the Keen community (e.g. new mods, fanart).
• A Look Back at Commander Keen - "This article tells the story of Commander Keen - how it was made, what the people behind it felt, and some things you may never have known before about the game."
• Keen Galaxy - Keen Fansite. Mods, play Commander Keen online, level maps, fan games, SGA generator, installation guide and other Keen stuff.
• The Garg's Mod Maze - An exhaustive list of Commander Keen mods.
• The Standard Galactic Alphabet - A substitution cipher used to hide text such as hints and warnings in the games.
• Gnosticus VII - A review site for Commander Keen modifications.
• NicksSoft's Keen Fan Games - A site which includes many CK fan games including Commander Keen 2004
• S&F Prod.'s Commander Keen page
• CloneKeen - A modern re-working and port/clone of the first 3 Commander Keen episodes.
• Commander Keen Flash Game
• - Shot of Moon Palace secret