The first survival horror game?
3D Monster Maze was a 1982 computer game for the Sinclair ZX81, one of the first home computers to be launched in the UK. At this time the closest thing to a “scary” video game was Atari’s Hunted House (also 1982), on the 2600 console. Haunted House was however very much a 2D affair, more than this it had to rely on your imagination to conjure up the horrors that lurked within the game, and occasionally a small ghost graphic.
So there is an argument to say that 3D Monster Maze is the first truly scary “survival horror” game. Later the formula would be perfected with games such as Alone in the Dark (1992) and Resident Evil (1996), and if you want a dinosaur related survival horror, Dino Crisis (1999) on the PlayStation.
SPOILER ALERT – Scroll to the end of this article and you will be eaten by a 3D Dinosaur!
Background to 3D Monster Maze and the ZX81
As an 11 year old with an interest in computers, what better birthday present could I get but the latest in home computing. During the 1980’s you could buy computers from John Menzies, which for the under 50’s was a store a bit like WH Smith but with more calculators. On unpacking my new best friend I plugged it into the mains and my old black and white TV, tuned to channel 36, and started typing in some BASIC commands on the plasticky membrane keyboard.
After about 10 lines of code I got an out of memory error. Apparently I had filled the 1K of memory. So Dad got me a 16K RAM pack, which was attached to the expansion board at the back and was literally held on with velcro. As long as you didn’t jog the keyboard too hard and dislodge the unit, this extra memory let you type in (and load) much larger programs.
ZX81 Graphics
The ZX81 was not ideally suited to rendering the kind of 3D graphics required to create a realistic first person game such as 3D Monster Maze. The display was limited to a monochrome 8×8 pixel character set that could be placed in only 32 columns and 24 rows. Most games before (and to be fair including) 3D Monster Maze had to rely on letters that looked like game characters, for example a capital “O” could be used as a PacMan, and “.” as the pills.
Fortunately there were some block characters that represented “pixels’, albeit with an effective resolution of 64 x 48 when placed on the screen together.
This was the graphical environment that the programmers of 3D Monster Maze had to work with. Remember this was a first person perspective 3D game, back when you had to load the game from tape, and the computer would randomly reset at regular intervals when it got too hot. To say it was a programming challenge was an understatement.
Introducing the first 3D game for the ZX81
3D Monster Maze, from a company called New Generation Software, saw you attempting to escape a walled maze while being stalked by a Tyrannosaurus Rex.
A creepy looking clown, drawn in classic blobs and letters from the ZX81 character set was your introduction to the game, inviting you to enter the maze, as if it was some kind of travelling circus attraction.
Given the limitation of the computer’s graphics, the effect was surprisingly realistic, with the maze having a feeling of depth as you wandered the stark conrridors.
The game managed to really ratchet up the tension as you tried to escape from the Tyrannosaurus, with the status line on the screen telling you how close Rex was. A bit like Doom did over 10 years later, the tension while you waited for the monster to appear made the game. The game did provide some clues as to where Rex was as you traversed the maze:
- REX LIES IN WAIT
- REX IS HUNTING YOU
- REX HAS SEEN YOU
- RUN HE IS BESIDE YOU
- RUN HE IS BEHIND YOU
- FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING
That last one was the final warning before you came face to face with Rex, and the effect of the words on the screen really did make you feel you were being stalked. 3D Monster Maze would end when you found the exit or were eaten by Rex, and you were awarded a score telling you how long you had survived the maze before completion.
At the point of being eaten you were given the option of trying again, or forever wandering the maze – presumably Rex obediently spat you out rather than digesting you?
The first video game jump scare?
This is the part you have all been waiting for – here’s Rex!
In reality, the approaching dinosaur was pre-rendered in only 6 frames of graphics, simulating the effect of a 3D monster lurching out of the distance towards you before eating you whole.
Legacy of 3D Monster Maze
Many games would follow that perfected the survival horror genre, the previously mentioned Dino-Crisis for the PlayStation being closest to the premise of 3D Monster Maze.
But the ZX81 game came from a time when lone programmers, often working in their bedrooms, could release a number 1 selling video game. It’s also proof that you don’t need high definition colour graphics and surround sound to create an atmospheric gaming experience.
if you would like to try for yourself there is an online ZX81 simulation here.
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