Wolfenstein 3D

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Wolfenstein 3D
Studio id software
Publisher Apogee Software
Interplay
Bethesda Softworks
Senior Developer Tom Hall , John Romero ,
Adrian Carmack , John Carmack
composer Robert Prince
Erstveröffent-
lichung		 May 5th 1992
platform MS-DOS , SNES , Atari Jaguar , 3DO , Game Boy Advance , Acorn Archimedes , Apple IIGS , Windows , macOS , Mac OS Classic , PC-98 , Linux Xbox 360 , PlayStation 3 , iOS
genre Ego shooter
Subject Second World War
Game mode Single player
control Keyboard , gamepad
system advantages
preconditions		 Intel 286 or comparable processor, VGA graphics
medium 3.5 " floppy disk ; download
language English
Age rating
PEGI recommended for ages 12 and up
information Indicated in Germany until October 2019.

Wolfenstein 3D is a video game from the US development studio id Software that was first released for MS-DOS in May 1992 . Wolfenstein 3D is considered a groundbreaking milestone in video game history. The game with rudimentary 3D graphics is set in a Second World War scenario, but has clear science fiction and trash elements ("Mecha-Hitler"). Wolfenstein 3D was confiscated nationwide in Germany in 1994 due to the display of symbols of unconstitutional organizations and indexed because of the depiction of violence . It was not until September 2019 that the seizure was lifted and one month later it was also de-indexed. After the first release in 1992, the first person shooter also appeared on numerous other platforms. In 2001, with Return to Castle Wolfenstein , another offshoot came onto the market that reinterpreted the scenario.

Action and gameplay

In Wolfenstein 3D you slip into the role of the fictional American soldier of Polish descent William "BJ" Blazkowicz , who at the beginning has to free himself from his Nazi captivity at Wolfenstein Castle. These missions are repeated in up to six different areas / episodes. To achieve this goal, the player must fight his way through different levels of the building.

The player looks at the game from a first-person perspective and can move the figure through the room or let it act using keys.

Wehrmacht soldiers , SS men and German shepherds face the player as opponents , in later missions you also have to deal with opponents such as zombies . As the final boss, for example, Adolf Hitler in a Mech suit or a rocket-shooting General Fettgesicht make their appearance.

History and dissemination

With Hovertank 3D and Catacomb 3-D, the US-American developers id Software had already gained experience in the development of 3D shooters of the first perspective in 1991. Wolfenstein 3D was developed by id Software on a NeXTcube under NeXTStep , ported to MS-DOS and published by Apogee Software on May 5, 1992. The setting was taken over by Castle Wolfenstein from Muse Software in 1981, which was already available as a graphic adventure for the Apple II and was expanded to include the third dimension. The game was a milestone in the development of first-person shooters , especially in terms of its technical implementation.

The first episode of Wolfenstein 3D was distributed as shareware so that interested users could try it out for free. The other episodes of the game were then offered for sale. The first three episodes included the struggle for freedom through to the fight against an armored Adolf Hitler. The expanded version doubled the game content to a total of six episodes.

The mazes in which Wolfenstein 3D plays are simulated using raycasting . All rooms are the same height and are on the same horizontal plane. The representation of the game environment is technically based on a grid that indicates the position of wall blocks, empty spaces and, for example, doors. Walls can therefore only run in a straight line in north-south or east-west direction and thus only be arranged at right angles . The walls are covered by textures , which z. B. for reasons of computing power for the floor and ceiling was out of the question. The north and south-facing walls have a slightly darkened texture and thus create the impression of a shadow, which benefits the spatial perception. The opponents and all other level decorations are not constructed as three-dimensional objects (made of polygons ), but implemented as sprites that are reduced or enlarged according to the distance.

The simple conception results in a lack of technical sophistication. Wolfenstein 3D runs almost without any problems with an 80286 processor. In 1992, due to the drop in prices for processors, the computing power required for Wolfenstein 3D was already available.

The source code of Wolfenstein 3D-Engine was published in August / September 1995 under an id-owned license; it is now hosted in a GitHub repository. However, the game content is still protected and the property of id Software, which continues to offer the game for sale.

For the 20th anniversary of the game, a free browser version was released in May 2012. Because of its importance, Wolfenstein 3D is also repeatedly quoted in newer games. Among other things, two bonus levels based on this were created in Doom 2 and the first level of Wolfenstein 3D was also incorporated as an Easter egg in Wolfenstein: The New Order (2014) .

Modifications

For buyers of the six-episode version, an editor was supplied with which both objects and levels in Wolfenstein 3D can be completely changed. The tool also has image processing options so that objects that appear in the game such as doors, wall elements or opponents can be alienated or completely replaced. This resulted in several modifications available to date .

Some modifications were widespread, the best known is probably the "Christmas Wolfenstein". Here the opponents, the Wehrmacht soldiers or SS men, were replaced by Santa Clauses and snowmen who were armed with snowballs. In addition to the adversaries, the environment was also adapted, so flags and wall portraits were exchanged for Christmas pictures and Christmas trees and filled the corridors and rooms of the levels. There were also modifications that dealt with pop culture, such as variants in which the cartoon characters Beavis and Butt-Head from the music channel MTV acted as opponents. Another modification also replaced the opponents with the figures from Mortal Kombat and its dragon symbol, the existing wall decoration. Other modifications changed the setting, there was also a “Red Alert” mod, in which Hitler was replaced by Stalin and the Wehrmacht by the Red Army.

In 1994 the Christian first-person shooter Super Noah's Ark 3D by Wisdom Tree was released as a standalone game for the SNES and in 1995 for the PC . The game environment is based entirely on the Wolfenstein 3D engine licensed by id Software. Mainly textures and noises were exchanged, the level design was adopted almost unchanged from the original.

Jurisprudence and legal situation

Wolfenstein 3D was seized or confiscated about two years after publication by the Munich District Court on January 25, 1994 (Az. 2 Gs 167/94) and by the Tiergarten District Court on December 7, 1994 (Az. 351 Gs 5509/94) . These resolutions are statute-barred after ten years.

Due to the legal situation, German game magazines avoided naming the titles for a long time. Since Wolfenstein 3D was often used as a benchmark for earlier first-person shooters , it was B. “Bad Wolf 3D”, “Wolkenheim 4D” or “Hundefelsen 4E”.

Indexing and Seizure

With an announcement in the Federal Gazette No. 20 of January 29, 1994, Wolfenstein 3D was approved by the Federal Testing Office for Writings Harmful to Young People (BPjS) because of its depiction of violence and not because of the Nazi symbols used according to § 86a StGB such as swastikas, Hitler pictures or the Horst-Wessel -song indicated in the title menu: "the decisive factor for indexing the game immanent glorification of vigilantism thought and the positive assessment and weighting was rather designed anreißerisch death scenarios." (decision No. 4601 (V).).

The prequel Spear of Destiny , published in the same year as Wolfenstein 3D , was indexed on March 31, 1999; confiscation or confiscation is not known.

On November 29, 2018, the game with criminal law relevance was transferred to list part B by the authority, which has now been designated as the Federal Inspectorate for Media Harmful to Young People, when the indexing threatened to expire after 25 years in accordance with Section 18 (7) sentence 2 JuSchG (decision no.G 4 / 18); As a reason for the further indexing, the BPjM gives court decisions according to § 86 StGB ("Dissemination of propaganda material of unconstitutional organizations"), which stand in the way of a list deletion according to § 18 Abs. 5 JuSchG.

It was not until September 2019, after 25 years, that the seizure pursuant to Section 86 of the Criminal Code was lifted by the Munich District Court. A month later, the game was also de-indexed.

Decision of the Frankfurt Higher Regional Court 1998

On March 18, 1998, the Higher Regional Court in Frankfurt am Main sentenced a "supporter of the nationalist scene" under Section 86a of the Criminal Code for distributing Wolfenstein 3D via a mailbox (Az. 1 Ss 407/97). In the decision, the court expressed the following general legal view with regard to a possible teleological reduction of the facts as obiter dictum : "Rather, the protective purpose of § 86a StGB requires that no symbols of unconstitutional organizations are shown in computer games." Wolfenstein 3D also does not suggest that the marks or symbols were in the rooms of the enemy: If such use in video games were generally permitted, children and young people in particular could get used to them and become more receptive to the ideology of National Socialism. The so-called social adequacy clause, which allows use if it serves art, was not observed, which is why the so-called "Wolfenstein judgment" was viewed increasingly critically from a legal point of view in the following years.

On the basis of this decision, USK marking was refused for a long time as soon as NS symbols were included in the game to be tested in accordance with § 86a StGB. The Supreme State Youth Authorities responsible for the sovereign administrative act of the USK marking justified this with an administrative uncertainty of such a marking in view of the case law. Since this practice brought with it enormous legal uncertainty for (potential) providers or producers of such games, there was a de facto blanket ban on Nazi symbols in video games in Germany for a long time, regardless of the context and intention of their use and the increasing classification of computer games as an art form; Regardless of this, symbols could in principle be used legally within the meaning of Section 86a of the Criminal Code, also since a USK marking is not a necessary condition for publication in Germany. On August 9, 2018, the administrative practice was changed in favor of individual decisions, made possible by a new legal opinion of the Supreme State Youth Authorities. This enabled, among other things, the international version of Wolfenstein: Youngblood to receive a USK mark.

More Wolfenstein titles

The following other Wolfenstein titles existed as early as the 1980s :

  • In 1992, a direct sequel to Wolfenstein 3D called Spear of Destiny came on the market, but it brought hardly any changes and thus looked more like an add-on. Apogee later wanted to bring out a real second part without id Software, which then became the game Rise of the Triad , which no longer had any relation to Wolfenstein.
  • In 1993 a port for Nintendo's SNES came on the market. In this implementation of the game, the National Socialist symbols and Hitler portraits were alienated and the sequence of the episodes reversed in all versions worldwide. The final boss is the mech master and the state master, who portrays Hitler without a beard. In addition, the sheepdogs have been replaced by oversized rats and the blood, except for Blazkowicz's face in the health indicator, has been replaced by sweat; in the German version the blood is colored green there.
  • In 1994 an implementation for the Atari Jaguar followed , with some differences in content and minor technical developments.
  • In 2002, a 1-to-1 conversion of the original for the Game Boy Advance was released . Only the background music is not available.

After Wolfenstein 3D , id Software developed Doom . Unlike Wolfenstein 3D and Spear of Destiny needed a Doom 80386 - processor .

In 2007 the film Der Goldene Nazivampir von Absam 2 - The Secret of Kottlitz Castle was released , which uses elements from Wolfenstein 3D with the permission of id Software .

In Wolfenstein 3D was followed by other first-person shooter:

  • In May 2014 another offshoot appeared with Wolfenstein: The New Order . However, the first person shooter is no longer set in World War II, but continues the story of BJ Blazkowicz in an alternative year 1960. The National Socialists won the war and are ruling the world. The title was developed by Machine Games on the basis of id Tech 5 without the involvement of id Software and published by Bethesda Softworks for PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One as well as PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4. In May 2015 the history of The New Order was published under the title Wolfenstein: The Old Blood .
  • In October 2017, Bethesda released Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, the direct sequel to The New Order . The successor was released for PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4. In June 2018, an implementation for the Nintendo Switch followed . Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus was again developed by Machine Games, the id Tech 6 was used as the engine . Three story extensions were released for download between December 2017 and March 2018.
  • In July 2019, Wolfenstein: Youngblood, an offshoot of The New Colossus, was released for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch. The co-op shooter takes place in occupied Paris in the 1980s. BJ Blazkowicz is not playable, but his two daughters. The game was developed by Machine Games in collaboration with Arkane Studios. As the first part of the series, Wolfenstein: Youngblood is available in Germany without any changes to the content; both the adapted German version and the original version with Nazi symbols received approval from the USK for the German market. Both versions are offered separately.
  • At the same time as Wolfenstein: Youngblood , the offshoot Wolfenstein: Cyberpilot for HTC Vive and PlayStation VR was launched. The virtual reality game is set before the story of Youngblood . Was developed Wolfenstein: Cyber Pilot of Machine Games. The USK also gave the uncensored international version of the game with Nazi symbols an age rating.

In addition to the series, a game with the semantics of Wolfenstein 3D was written in JavaScript (Wolfenstein 5K) as part of the 5K contest , with the main goal of keeping the code below 5  kB .

An adapted version of Wolfenstein 3D for the iPhone has been available in the App Store since 2009 .

On June 3, 2009, Wolfenstein 3D was released on the Xbox Live Marketplace and PlayStation Network . However, due to the subject matter and the level of violence, the game is not available in Germany.

overview

Surname Year of publication platform developer Publisher USK annotation
Castle Wolfenstein 1981 Apple II, Commodore 64, Atari 400/800 Muse software Muse software unchecked Indexed until 2012.
Beyond Castle Wolfenstein 1984 Apple II, Atari 8-bit, Commodore 64, DOS Muse software Muse software unchecked
Wolfenstein 3D 1992 DOS, SNES, Atari Jaguar, 3DO u. a. id software Apogee software unchecked Indexed and confiscated nationwide by 2019.
Spear of Destiny 1992 DOS, SNES, Atari Jaguar, 3DO u. a. id software FromGen Corp. unchecked Indexed until 2019.
Return to Castle Wolfenstein 2001 Windows, Linux, Mac Gray Matter Interactive
Nerve Software 		Activision , Aspyr from 16 years Localized German version with content adjustments.
German and international version indexed (List B).
Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory 2003 Windows Splash Damage Activision from 16 years Multiplayer shooter; Publication as freeware .
Return to Castle Wolfenstein: Tides of War 2003 Xbox Nerve software Activision unchecked No publication in Germany, indexed (List A).
Return to Castle Wolfenstein: Operation Resurrection 2003 PlayStation 2 Raster Productions Activision unchecked No publication in Germany, indexed (List A).
Wolfenstein RPG 2008/09 Java ME, BREW, iOS id Software
Fountainhead Entertainment 		Electronic Arts unchecked No publication in Germany.
Wolfenstein 2009 Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 Raven Software
Pi Studios 		Activision from 18 years German version heavily cut and withdrawn after publication.
Original version indexed (List B) and confiscated nationwide.
Wolfenstein: The New Order 2014 Windows, Xbox One, PlayStation 4,
Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 		MachineGames Bethesda Softworks from 18 years Localized German version with content adjustments.
Since 2019 also available in Germany as an international version with Nazi symbols.
Wolfenstein: The Old Blood 2015 Windows, Xbox One, PlayStation 4 MachineGames Bethesda Softworks from 18 years Stand-alone extension for Wolfenstein: The New Order .
German version with adjustments. Since 2019 also available in Germany as an international version with Nazi symbols.
Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus 2017 Windows, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Switch MachineGames Bethesda Softworks from 18 years Continuation of Wolfenstein: The New Order .
Publication in Germany as a localized version with content adjustments and international version with Nazi symbols.
Wolfenstein: Youngblood 2019 Windows, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Switch MachineGames
Arcane Studios 		Bethesda Softworks from 18 years Spin-off . Publication in Germany as a localized version with adaptations and international version with Nazi symbols.
Wolfenstein: Cyber ​​pilot 2019 Windows, PlayStation 4 MachineGames
Arcane Studios 		Bethesda Softworks from 18 years Virtual Reality - Spin-off for PlayStation VR , Windows Mixed Reality and HTC Vive .
Publication in Germany as a localized version with adaptations and international version with Nazi symbols.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ History of Wolfenstein 3D. 3D Realms, archived from the original on October 12, 2014 ; accessed on December 5, 2018 .
  2. ↑ LICENSE.DOC on github.com/id-Software/wolf3d
  3. ↑ wolf3d on github.com
  4. ↑ Wolfenstein New Order: Secret Easter Egg. (No longer available online.) In: chip.de. May 22, 2014, archived from the original on June 5, 2014 ; accessed on June 1, 2014 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.chip.de
  5. ↑ Sebastian Schwiddessen: Swastikas and illegal symbols in computer games Artistic status and social adequacy of video games - Current developments in business and jurisprudence . In: Computer and Law . No. 2/2015 . Publishing house Dr. Otto Schmidt, 2015, p. 93 .
  6. ↑ a b Culture of abuse - of brutal discourse behavior in cyberbullying . In: Federal Testing Office for Media Harmful to Young People (Ed.): BPJMAKTUELL . No. 2/2019 . Forum Verlag Godesberg GmbH, 2019, p. 87 (Listed in the category for seizures / confiscations according to §§ 86, 86a, 130, 130a StGB).
  7. ↑ a b JMS report . No. 6/10 . Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, December 2010, p. 60 ( nomos.de [PDF] Listed in the category for seizures / confiscations according to §§ 86a, 130, 130a StGB).
  8. ↑ a b Stefan Köhler: 25 years of Wolfenstein 3D - the shooter grandfather who led to the swastika problem. In: Gamestar.de. Webedia Gaming GmbH, May 5, 2017, accessed on August 23, 2019 .
  9. ↑ Konstantin Ewald: The cross with the hook - anti-constitutional symbols in computer games. (PDF, 1 MB) Originally published in Gamesmarkt 6/2010 on March 24, 2010. Retrieved August 23, 2019 .
  10. ↑ Tobias Messmer: Is a swastika the same as a swastika? The handling of the state protection of minors with anti-constitutional symbols in the digital game 1985-1994. History and Digital Games Working Group, August 23, 2019, accessed on August 23, 2019 .
  11. ↑ Culture of insult - of brutal discourse behavior in cyberbullying . In: Federal Testing Office for Media Harmful to Young People (Ed.): BPJMAKTUELL . No. 2/2019 . Forum Verlag Godesberg GmbH, 2019, p. 50 (Not listed under seizures / confiscations.).
  12. ^ JMS report . No. 6/10 . Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, December 2010, p. 39 ( nomos.de [PDF] Not listed under confiscations / confiscations.).
  13. ↑ Announcement No. 12/2018 on carrier media harmful to minors. In: Federal Gazette. Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection, December 27, 2018, accessed on August 23, 2019 (direct link not possible).
  14. ↑ Wolfenstein 3D is indexed on list B. In: schnittberichte.com. December 27, 2018, accessed August 24, 2019 .
  15. ↑ Wolfenstein 3D indexed on part B of the list. In: foruncut.com. December 21, 2018, accessed August 24, 2019 .
  16. ↑ https://www.schnittberichte.com/news.php?ID=15165
  17. ↑ https://www.schnittberichte.com/news.php?ID=15282
  18. ^ A b Benjamin Dankert, Philipp Sümmermann: Swastikas in Films and Computer Games Developments and current debates on dealing with anti-constitutional symbols. (PDF) In: BPJM-Aktuell 2/2018. Federal testing agency for media harmful to minors, accessed on August 24, 2019 .
  19. ↑ Konstantin Ewald: The cross with the hook - anti-constitutional symbols in computer games. (PDF) Originally published in Gamesmarkt 6/2010 on March 24, 2010. Retrieved August 24, 2019 .
  20. ↑ a b Marc Liesching: Swastikas in film, television and computer games Use of anti-constitutional symbols in entertainment media. In: BPJM-Aktuell 3/2010. Federal testing agency for media harmful to minors, accessed on August 24, 2019 .
  21. ↑ Sebastian Schwiddessen: Swastikas and illegal symbols in computer games Artistic status and social adequacy of video games - Current developments in business and jurisprudence . In: Computer and Law . No. 2/2015 . Publishing house Dr. Otto Schmidt, 2015, p. 93 .
  22. ↑ Sandro Odak, Michael Herold: German Wolfenstein-2-Version - This is what the lawyer says: "The swastika ban is a misconception." Interview with Kai Bodensiek. Webedia Gaming GmbH, November 22, 2017, accessed on August 24, 2019 .
  23. ↑ USK Advisory Board decides to expand the guiding criteria to take into account the social adequacy of digital games. In: USK.de. Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle Unterhaltungssoftware GmbH, August 5, 2019, accessed on August 24, 2019 : "Previously, such games were not allowed to be tested."
  24. ↑ Identifiers of unconstitutional organizations. The practice of FSK, USK, KJM and BPjM. (PDF) In: BPJM-Aktuell 2/2018. Federal testing agency for media harmful to minors, accessed on August 24, 2019 .
  25. ↑ David Martin: Swastikas in Games: "Games are not films" - Interview with the Supreme State Youth Authority. Interview with Uwe Engelhard. In: PCGames.de. COMPUTEC MEDIA GMBH, March 6, 2014, accessed on August 24, 2019 .
  26. ↑ Stephanie Stark: From Wolfenstein to the assassination attempt in 1942: § 86a StGB. Grimme Institute. Gesellschaft für Medien, Bildung und Kultur mbH, accessed on August 24, 2019 .
  27. ↑ USK will in future consider social adequacy when it comes to age ratings of games. In: USK. Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle Unterhaltungssoftware GmbH, August 9, 2018, accessed on August 24, 2019 .
  28. ↑ Christian Albustin: Why there could soon be more swastikas in video games. In: RP ONLINE. RP Digital GmbH, August 17, 2018, accessed on August 24, 2019 .
  29. ↑ a b c Wolfenstein: Youngblood receives an uncensored USK approval on schnittberichte.com (accessed on June 26, 2019)
  30. ↑ The next "Wolfenstein" game will also appear in Germany with Nazi symbols on spiegel.de (accessed on June 26, 2019)