Before it created Doom, id Software made a name for itself with its Commander Keen series of PC platformers. But before that, it was hoping to port Nintendo games to computers and even went so far as to make a prototype of Super Mario Bros. 3 for PC.
Now, to commemorate Commander Keen's 25th anniversary, programmer John Romero has released the first public video showing what its Super Mario Bros. 3 prototype looked like.
Completed on 28th September, 1990, id (then known as Ideas from the Deep) was testing the waters of its new side-scrolling engine. "Back in the day, side-scrolling on PC was very difficult," said Digital Foundry's tech guru Rich Leadbetter. "id cracked it."
Read more…