History of Wolfenstein (Part 1) - Gaming Historian

Part 2 is here: • History of Wolfenstein...
Part 3 is here: • History of Wolfenstein...
Gaming Historian begins the history of the Wolfenstein series, which began all the way back in 1981 on the Apple II. This episodes covers the origins, as well as Wolfenstein 3D.
'Future Gladiator', 'Easy Day', 'Minima', 'Twisted', 'I Feel You', 'Senbazuru' by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
creativecommons.org/licenses/b...
'Floating in Space' by Purple Planet www.purple-planet.com
'Black Box in the Ground' by Dan O'Connor (DanoSongs.com)
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[@Anghellik9]

It's nothing short of astonishing how much the original Castle Wolfenstein games expected you to do. The sorts of things that a lot of people would assume came around the release of Metal Gear or Metal Gear Solid were present in a game released on the Apple II in 1982.

[@LGR]

Excellent overview, dude. Just got an Apple II+ the other day and it came with both Wolfenstein disks, so it's great timing! Looking forward to part two.

[@retroguy74]

CLIIINT!!! WHAT UP!

[@east3myway]

How did you get an apple II?

[@GamingHistorian]

Thank you, sir!

[@LarryKoopa]

***** yeah .. all the time ... i think he never heard of something like doom ...

[@LarryKoopa]

Lazy Game Reviews i dont have an apple II ... !!+!! yeah ... ... can you send me that computer so i can play beyond castle wolfenstein ?

[@GamingHistorian]

This video should have been up about 5 hours ago, but KZbin was processing it for awhile. It might take a bit for HD to kick in. Thanks for your patience!

[@teknifix]

Looked good to me. I remember playing this game on an old 8086 with a CGA monitor and the viewer really small.. and I still thought it was awesome. I still play the first episode occasionally. It's a classic. Thanks for this!

[@nickhalcon428]

When does part 2 upload? 👍

[@HeatmanMKIII]

I Dont care the wait, any good made video, about ID Software is a plus to the internet!

[@MetalHippie83]

you need to find somone to turn that piano intro into 8-bit, that would make your intro amazing.

[@AzumiRM]

Thanks! Very interesting video. I grew up with the (2nd) wolfenstein and PC gaming in general. Always following the franchise.

[@Viva_Reverie]

Wolfenstein 3D was one of the first games I ever played, and although nowadays I'm not much into first-person shooters, I still love W3D for its speedy nature and arcade-y feel.

[@aaronthebox]

Same here, I was like 6 and used to play it on my dad's work computer after school all the time. I'll never forget the term "Mein Laiben!"

[@facupov]

same, today the FPS market its so over-saturated that i hate the genre, but Wolfenstein was pretty unique then

[@theguy3851]

@Viva reverie Didn't expect to see you here, I loved your JoJo part 3 vid!

[@SuperKlondike64]

Weirdly enough, I actually somewhat prefer Wolf3D over Doom.

[@Captain_Neckbeard]

Wolfenstein 3-D and doom got me into shooters. I've been playing them ever since.

[@MagnumBoy50cal]

Silas S. Warner died forgotten and in misery at 2004. Sometimes life is so unfair.

[@batmandalorian5504]

Agreed. That guy was a legend when I was a kid. Here's a couple links about his history, the 2nd one has a transcription of his obituary from his Wife. It's really touching stuff. www.filfre.net/2012/01/silas-warner-and-muse-software/ games.greggman.com/game/silas_warner/

[@thatdapperfellow]

He was older than Methuselah. That's a pretty good run.

[@karlhans6678]

RIP

[@suniface71]

Never let great game designers be forgotten nor their games.

[@Morningstar91939]

At least two men remember and respect him and the games he created.

[@kaitbelll]

"I CAN TALK" Nice voice there, Santa!

[@stevenstrnad3586]

Am I crazy for thinking that Wolfenstein 3d's graphics have aged well?

[@joshuaprz3]

Nope. The simplicity of the graphics make the game look great, imo.

[@cruelrobot12k]

No

[@-Joyfull]

You're not the only one. I can play this for life and not throw it away.

[@purrbox7514]

Not at all. Well drawn graphics always look good no matter how low rez and basic they are. Some old arcade games still look amazing today, take street fighter2 for example.

[@todesziege]

I feel the chunky character proportions fit the game very well.

[@rerez]

Awesome video! It's great to see the history of the original Wolfenstein game! :D

[@Ghostlight2006]

First

[@edgemaxxer1573]

@@Ghostlight2006 what

[@StealthyWombatGaming]

It’s a great to see the history of your mom

[@vykintasrakutis2503]

@@StealthyWombatGaming peak comedy

[@kevinedwards7670]

I can only imagine how it felt for that team to get praise from the game's original creator. Silas is a class act.

[@CanadianRetro]

Wow, I just leaned a ton about the franchise that shaped my childhood. Thank You.

[@GamingHistorian]

You're welcome!

[@thanksfernuthin]

I cannot convey how jaw droppingly amazing Wolfenstein 3D was when my friends and I first saw it. We never imagined something like that would be possible on a PC. No game as ever effect me as much.

[@SonofTiamat]

That was great. I had no idea the original Wolfenstein was so innovative for its time; It had gameplay elements you'd expect to see in modern games. That's way ahead of its time.

[@purrbox7514]

I remember when it came out, it was absolutely ground breaking and literally everybody at the time wanted to get a PC so they could play it. It put the PC on the map as a genuine gaming platform and many see it as the point where the PC overtook the Amiga.

[@Rebel_Railroad_Productions]

The Wolfenstein series is one of my all-time favorite FPS franchise.

[@ConnerTheWaffle]

That Santa is LEGIT nightmare fuel ;___; ...pls

[@theshadowgamer12]

hi conner waiting for a new video of yours

[@GamingHistorian]

I CAN TALK

[@robinblyth5342]

And I can call the cops

[@nitumaki3817]

Is this the real corner waffle man?

[@arnekristofferbhler3905]

Conner, I would not expect you here with your PG channel!

[@HerryLaff]

If you haven't already, doing a History of DooM would be friggin' amazing.

[@TheNM22Show]

Wolfenstein 3D was a big part of my childhood, but I never knew about the previous Wolfenstein titles! Great video as always!

[@andresbravo2003]

It’s been 30 years since Wolfenstein 3D released for MS-DOS Computers. Quite a cool history to check it out!

[@franzmarruffo5718]

Grew up with an 386 PC with DOS, this game and doom change my entire life. Thanks ID, geniuses!

[@Ryzon321]

I grew up playing Wolfenstein 3D, then Doom, moving on to making levels, which could be so frustrating... oh the memories... Cheers great video.

[@pagb666]

6:55 John Romero working on Doom's E1M7, my fave level ever

[@SeekerLancer]

Great stuff. Wolfenstein 3D was one of my introductions to the PC. The genre may have grown since then but I'll always have a soft spot for the game that let me fight Hitler in a mech suit.

[@MessrDookie101]

I've been steeping myself in the PS4 Wolfenstein franchise by Bethesda and this was EXACTLY the video I was looking for but didn't know it. Thanks again for a quality upload, my dude.

[@Xx1SailorScoutxX]

This is one of the games that made 1st person shooters cool. I played wayyyyy too much of this back in high school LOL

[@JesseJaceThomas]

The still of John Romero...looks like he's editing a Doom WAD maybe?

[@brillopad6901]

Awesome, I'm so happy I got to grow up during that era, I'm almost 42 and still gaming. I have fond memories of Wolfenstein and Doom. I sure would love to see you do a history on the King's Quest games.

[@L33PL4Y]

I think one of the reasons your videos are so engaging (besides just being flat-out well presented, researched, paced, and written) is your incredible use of music. You know exactly the right kind of music to use in the right situation, be it badass or somber or quaint. You're very good at what you do, Norm. Major kudos.

[@Captain_Rhodes]

when the 3D version came out it was realy groundbreaking. i remember it like yesterday. how time flies

[@DubiousGamingOnline]

Awesome history on the title. Totally fascinating. good work.

[@jacemachine]

Great selection of the end music. Great episode as well. I am very much looking forward to the next one. Keep up the great work!

[@scotty2hotty4067]

Thanks for making this it was awesome, keep it up

[@Druman19]

May I suggest a book titled Masters of Doom? You probably are already well aware of it, as a lot of the things you talked about are in that book. Anyway, it's a facinating story of id. Great video by the way!

[@Spiderotter]

Druman19 I've read it. It was a nice piece of history

[@cloudtx]

You did some fine work on this Historian!. Truly fascinating how the original game was so innovative for its time, just like Wolfenstein 3D shaped the shooter genre. The story about the original creator meeting ID's team was also quite beautiful. Can't wait for the next one, Return to Castle Wolfenstein was one of the first shooters I ever played on PC.

[@jesternario]

It's kinda funny, the guy made Castle Wolfenstein because he was tired of the Robot and sci-fi genre. Now adays, thanks to Castle Wolfenstein, the Nazi genre is played out and sci-fi robot fighting games are novel.

[@abysmal]

Yes, and later the robot fighting games will get stale, then WW2 based shooters will become popular again. Funny how history repeats itself in waves, ha?

[@DeadPixel1105]

+abysmal I can't wait for games to rotate back to WWII era. I miss them.

[@jesternario]

My point is that the game made the nazi things old, while sci-fi is more interesting to people.

[@jesternario]

***** I'm sorry, but seriously!? The Science Fiction genre as a whole has only been around since around the early 1900s. They have been writing books on war-based fiction for centuries. Well before that time. Hell, if you include plays and mock-battles done in the Colleseum in Rome, the War genre has been around for mellenia.

[@jesternario]

Let me put it this way. Trends come and go. Science Fiction came, and then Wolfenstein and other games, books, and movies based on WWII came and pushed it out. Then zombie stuff came and pushed THAT out. Now, sci-fi is pushing out the zombie stuff. Nazi games are considered tired and boring, while sci-fi and space opera are returning.

[@ucitymetalhead]

That was very interesting and the end credits music rocks.

[@felipemiranda7357]

Amazing quality of investigation guys. I loved it.

[@mogiethefirst]

Awesome job! I am really going to look forward to this series because I could tell the love that you put into editing each frame in this episode.

[@famtomerc]

Forget another stupid Steve Jobs movie, I want a movie about Id software and the creation of wolfenstein 3d!!!

[@dragonballsoundeffects5991]

The story won't fit for a movie

[@alptigin5438]

Famtomerc www.amazon.com/Masters-Doom-Created-Transformed-Culture/dp/0812972155

[@Person-fr5md]

+AGE (Anime and Gaming Entertainment) Who the fuck cares!!!!???1/1?1//1/1?1/1/1/?!?1?1/!?/1/1/1?

[@Estragon17]

+Famtomerc No! We must have even MORE Steve Jobs movies! .. until one of them doesn't suck!

[@ChristopherCoxFilm]

Actually the idea of 4 nerds in their 20's working together to create one of the most influential video games of all time sounds like a great idea. They start out as just fans, become creators, face challenges like the controversy, maybe some friendship drama sprinkled here and there, and end with them showing their creation to the Friendly Giant himself, finally getting the recognition they always dreamed of. Maybe call the movie "Id" or something like that.

[@heywoodjablowme1624]

The original Castle Wolfenstein on my Apple ][ used to scare the hell out of me when I was just a kid. Out of bullets, out of grenades, desperately trying to escape that SS Trooper hot on your tail... my heart still pounds thinking about that game. Great video!

[@2SeizeTheDay]

One of my absolute favorite videos of yours. I point people towards this video to get into your channel. I've watched it a few times since you uploaded it.

[@alexblackburn2247]

the ending music is fantastic

[@Hedgeyy]

Been watching your videos for a very long time, and I'm consistently impressed by what I hear and see. Your videos are great sir, and I'm glad you're still making them.

[@riograul2043]

Thank you so much for making these series

[@Korudo]

Simply professional. I really enjoy this show, and I'm grateful to learn about Wolfenstein's history this way. Thanks, and keep up the great work.

[@mrs.yellow_ledbetter2911]

Woah, Gaming Historian! You're almost at 100,000 subs now! Congratulations! Every day for the past week I've been watching marathons of your videos and I've noticed your subscribers increasing drastically with each passing day. You very well deserve it and a whole lot more! I love every video. They're so entertaining, fun, and educational.

[@pungentcorpse]

You make the most polished videos on youtube. GOOD JOB MAN!

[@Meachumz]

Wow. What an amazing video. The attention to detail and the flow of the story are unprecedented.

[@RosePhoto1]

Excellent research! These shows are like geek gold. Well done.

[@lostboy710]

This is the best video yet! Superb work Man. U truly are a awesome history teacher.

[@berserker1877]

Just subscribed, great show and really enjoyed the part about the id software guys finally meeting the Warner guy who made the original game and everything came full circle. It was like their destinies intertwined.

[@DovahRS]

I appreciate channels like this

[@zackschilling4376]

Great work as always Norm, its nice to see you crankin these videos out a lil faster

[@OtisWhitaker]

Your videos are some of my favorites. So glad you seem to be uploading way more frequently.

[@elviswjr]

Wolfenstein 3D was the first FPS game I ever played and, surprisingly, the person who introduced it to me was my technology teacher in middle school. He used to let us play it in class during our free time; that, along with Lemmings. That was some of the most fun I ever had at school.

[@brucifer48060]

These keep getting better and better. Great job super informative.

[@isocubesoftware2713]

Thanks a lot for this video. Very informative and well-produced. Nice speaking voice. Also, it is great hearing a backstory that you haven't heard a thousand times before. I was glued to the screen.

[@treebeard3958]

Really enjoy all your uploads, thanks for taking the time to make all of them.

[@TheWiddaC]

Ive only been subscribed for a couple of weeks but youre videoes are quickly becoming some of my favourites because of how interesting and well made they are Looking forward to part 2 Peace!!

[@ogjuggalo4545]

i use to play the hell out of all these pc games as a kid, i loved mapedit on wolf3d lol

[@BoxesWorld]

Just amazing. This is one of the most important games ever made. It's good to see a video on it. Puts a tear in my eye. :')

[@ingvenning4993]

Thanks for making these!

[@Compucles]

I'm glad you mentioned the popular modding scene with the game. I particularly love that very Barney mod you showed in the video.

[@grandgojira8182]

I love how you hyped up castle wolfenstein with the epic music and then the footage was revealed great job

[@Soundole]

You have spun a great narrative around these events, really entertaining to watch :)

[@ethanjohnson7685]

I'm glad you didn't just brush over the original to talk about the shooter iterations. I'm doing my own series of gaming history videos and I really believe that Castle Wolfenstein is an incredible landmark in gaming by itself and deserves a lot of recognition. I'll be doing a lot more research into Silas Warner and a couple other early developers soon, so hopefully their story can be told in more detail than we've had previously.

[@PsDnK]

Oh yeah, The Gaming Historian does it again. Keeps being amazed and learning funny facts I never knew about. Great job!

[@nickbogucki709]

I did not know the story behind (Castle) Wolfenstein before the PC game. Wolfenstein on the Apple II that is surprising I would have never thought! My brother and I watch your videos religiously and we are always excited to see new ones! Keep up the good work Gaming Historian and thank you for the time that you take out of your day to make these videos!!! Looking forward to Wolfenstein Pt. 2! P.S. My brother and I are arguing over the Amiibos you have there, please let us know!!

[@rickonami]

Can't wait for part 2.

[@nymrad9377]

This is fascinating.... in fact so is your whole channel! I've been on it for hours now!

[@MrTweej]

There's a book called Masters of Doom that goes into the history of ID. If I remember correctly (it's been years since I read it), John Carmack wasn't thrilled about adding secret areas in Wolfenstein. He thought it felt like an inelegant hack. They made a PC version of Super Mario Bros 3 and tried to sell it to Nintendo... anyway, the book is a must read.

[@DBZking119]

have you ever thought about doing an episode about doom? that would be really kick ass

[@nicolashrv]

there is already a documentary of around 40-50min about DOOM and is the most complete ever, nothing much can be added to it.

[@mds0014]

awesome episode!! its so interesting to hear about the things that inspired ground breaking events.

[@brandonkito]

I'm loving the regular content Norm! Keep up the great work!

[@zulemabarboza9369]

I just came back from not watching your channel for a long time and I’m glad I came back

[@saigancat]

Amazing video man, I have fond memories of when my sister and I found a shareware disk for Wolfenstein 3-D. We played through episode 1 dozens of times.

[@anthonyrobinson8810]

i remember buying this game at the dollar store in woodbine mall like 28 years ago. 286 days memories I tell you. I also remember this guy being band or something like that.

[@Lokiren686]

Excellent video. Very excited for the next part!

[@r.brouwer1665]

you got me hooked on this episode and wanting more.

[@RetroR0bbie]

Such quality videos

[@dashboarder1177]

this vdo made me cry ....made emotional ..recalling my childhood ...thankyou for this vdo ..

[@willbelasco]

Great video, Norm. I think this is your best edited video yet. Extremely well done.

[@KamikazeKid]

I love this channel :) Especially the old school content I wasn't alive for. Good man Norman!

[@porjay]

This is really really good thanks for making!

[@allaboutpolitics]

Loved it man. Great work!

[@thaddeusmcgrath]

Awesome video.I have been reading Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture by David Kushner and found your video also enjoyable. The guys at I.D. software in that era were creative and wild at heart living off pizza and soda!

[@TheGamedawg]

I like that growing Amiibo collection in the back. Great video too, I never knew this much about Wolfenstein before.

[@lutallica83]

beautiful work, man! I always wondered about Wolfenstein and its history. It's so interesting how creativity works and how these developers were inspired in different ways until we finally got the end product that revolutionised the gaming industry forever!

[@JakeMcaulay]

Shit I gotta say that was probably my favourite videos of yours the production was like a feature length documentary can't wait to see the other parts

[@gigglypink]

Great episode! Super informative! Thanks Gaming Historian

[@Nighthawk1982]

Hi gaming historian just found out about your video's this is the first video that I begin to watch😃 as a gamer that loves to play games, really like it that you explane games from the begining how things started learning so much about it.really enjoy to watch keep up the good work gaming historian 😃👍

[@DrDemonq8]

awesome work man, i love these kind of videos, keep it up!

[@gravesclayton3604]

I played the original Castle Wolfenstien Game weeks on end back in 1981 on our Apple II. It was an endless maze and you had to hand-draw your maps. You might peep into a room and dart back out with a brief image of what to expect, but the guards and especially the SS might not be in the same place when you went back in! Also, each time you re-started the game, the rooms and their contents would change. It was not as easy as you might think, especially for the era of early games. Grenades thrown though a doorway to another room could also kill enemies off-screen. And then the SS would chase from room to room, so you had better have a good memory. It was so engrossing that your nerves were on end and just a shout from an unseen SS could make you jump or give you heart failure, lol! Any real-life distractions could make you jump out of your skin, too, it was that engrossing! I miss it dearly, lol! Then can Beyond Castle Wolfenstien, and I had an Apple IIe! OMG, just hearing the few scenes here really takes me back! What it lack in graphics only added to your imagination, as rooms and door switches, and desk positions would change as well! Getting the bomb to Hitler without blowing yourself up was frantic, and there were absolutely no cheats, so you died many, many times just figuring out a winning strategy. In my opinion, it remains one of the best 1st-person, live action, stealth and strategy games of the 80's! I Bought and played ALL the ID Wolf 3D until my 386 finally died in 1997! Bought the books, and everything I could, because, aside from maps to the secret levels and pushwalls, there still were no cheats until you won the games in earnest the 1st time through. I still have all my dikettes, but no more computers that old to play on. Wolf 3D is, or was, available in simulator mode about 5 years ago to run on my Mac G3 & G4, and I played it until I lost the files somewhere, lol!

[@genemachine02]

Dude, your video history is just stellar. Subscribed! Looking forward to watching more of your awesome content.

[@SledgeNE]

Wolfenstein 3D was my first Wolfenstein-Game in the 90s. There was a christmas-version which i liked so much.

[@shineonugrzydieman]

Thanks for these reviews - they're great.

[@MixedNutsProductions]

Man, the amount of hours spent playing Wolfenstein 3D's shareware. Couldn't get enough of it.

[@Waifu4Life]

Your best video yet, keep it up.

[@sanosuke2999]

Great video. I can't wait for part two. It was entertaining and informative.

[@lockh33d]

Another awesome and informative vid! Keep up the good work!

[@losalfajoresok]

Norm, your videos always have my insta-like even before pressing the play button. As always, congratulations on your fine work sir.