3D Monster Maze

3D Monster Maze
an anatomically inaccurate T-Rex glowers at the viewer as it strides through a maze towards them.
The tape cover
Developer(s)Malcolm Evans
Publisher(s)J. K. Greye Software
Platform(s)ZX81, Android
Release
Genre(s)First-person maze Survival Horror
Mode(s)Single-player

3D Monster Maze is a survival horror video game developed from an idea by J.K. Greye and programmed by Malcolm Evans and released in 1981[1] for the ZX81 with the 16 KB memory expansion. The game was initially released by J. K. Greye Software in December 1981 and re-released in 1982 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,[2] 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.

J.K.Greye Software went on to become a very successful games company, publishing six Game Tapes for the Sinclair ZX81; two use 3D graphics: 3D Monster Maze and 3D Defender, both designed by J.K.Greye and programmed by Malcolm Evans.

New Generation Software went on to become a well-known software firm with the Sinclair platform and continued to pioneer the 3D gaming technology for ZX81 and the later model ZX Spectrum. The press immediately gave the game a title of a "firm favourite" of the ZX81 users. Decades later, it became popular with the retrogaming community, inspiring remakes and fuelling ZX81 emulation projects.[3]

  1. ^ a b "Your Computer magazine Volume 2 Issue 1". 1981.First known advertisement for 3D Monster Maze.
  2. ^ "The Wonderful Computers of Clive Sinclair". 2002-09-17. Retrieved 2008-05-21. A look at Sir Clive Sinclair's computers.
  3. ^ Chris Cowley <[email protected]> (2002). "vb81". vb81 — Sinclair ZX81 Emulator. Archived from the original on 20 April 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-30. A ZX81 emulator packaged with 3D Monster Maze and other famous games; licensed under the GPL (but written in Visual Basic). Usable for playing and viewing the BASIC portion of the game on the Microsoft Windows.