1982 · Malcolm Evans · Arcade · Horror

3D Monster Maze

3D Monster Maze is a computer game developed from an idea by J.K.Greye and programmed by Malcolm Evans in 1981 for the Sinclair ZX81 platform with the 16 KB memory expansion. The game was initially released by J. K. Greye Software in early 1982 and re-released later the same year by Evans' own startup, New Generation Software. Rendered using low-resolution character block "graphics", it was one of the first 3D games for a home computer, and the first game incorporating typical elements of the genre that would later be termed survival horror.

Released: 1982
Platforms: Sinclair ZX81
Genres: Arcade Horror Maze Survival horror
Developers: Malcolm Evans
Publishers: J. K. Greye Software
Modes: Single-player
Perspective: First person
Themes: Action Horror
Country: United Kingdom
Languages: English

About

3D Monster Maze is a 1981 survival horror game designed by Malcolm Evans and published by J. K. Greye Software for the ZX81. Rendered using low-resolution character block "graphics", it was one of the first 3D games for a home computer, and one of the first games incorporating typical elements of the genre that would later be termed survival horror.

3D Monster Maze puts the player in a maze with one exit and a hostile monster, the Tyrannosaurus rex. There, the player must traverse the maze, from the first-person perspective, and escape through the exit without being eaten.

Keywords

dinosaurs
maze
survival horror
tyrannosaurus rex

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

The game uses an 18-by-16 cell maze which is randomly generated. Initially the T. rex lies in wait. Once the player starts moving, the beast begins hunting.

Thereafter, the T. rex may either calm down (if the player goes into a part of the maze that is far enough away), or become more active as the player comes closer. If the T. rex gets a direct view of its prey, the monster will run directly at the player.

Development

Greye. He worked in the aerospace industry, first in aircraft design, and then as a microprocessor scientist at Sperry Gyroscope in Bristol, United Kingdom. He received a ZX81 from his wife for his thirty-seventh birthday in April 1981. Rex and turning the Maze into a game.

K. Greye Software in late 1981.

Reception

The game was sold domestically in the UK and overseas, and became a hit shortly after it was released:

... when the ZX81 had just been launched, software standards were generally pretty low. One exception to this rule was a program called 3D Monster Maze, which has been a firm favourite with ZX81 owners since it first appeared ...