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John Carmack, Softdisk Publishing

Catacomb is a 2-D top-down third-person shooter created by John Carmack. It was originally created for the Apple II, and later ported to the PC. It should not be confused with The Catacomb, which is the second game in the series (originally named Catacomb II, but later renamed). It supports EGA and CGA graphics. Catacomb consists of fifteen levels in the Apple II version, ten levels in the PC demo disk promoting Gamer's Edge, and 30 levels in the full PC version (The Catacomb, aka Catacomb II). To progress to the next level you must step through a magic teleportation mirror. These mirrors are usually behind a locked door, requiring you to obtain a key to advance. In the game you play the magician Petton Everhail. At the start you are contacted by Terexin, High Wizard of the Kieralon who tells you how the Kieralon Empire has fallen. He convinces you to travel to the Kieralon Palace to collect his treasures and split them fifty-fifty.

John Carmack, Softdisk Publishing

Catacomb II from 1991 (later renamed The Catacomb for retail release in 1993) is the sequel to the original Catacomb (1990) and predecessor to Catacomb 3D (1991). Featuring much the same gameplay as its predecessor, it mostly builds on it with an extended 30 level campaign. It also adds the ability to save the player's current level position within nine save slots. Catacomb II does not change the game principle of its predecessor. Still, players explore the ruins from a top-down perspective, use their magical powers to fight enemies, and discover hidden passages. Petton Everhail, the most powerful magician in the world is hired to recover an enormous treasure buried deep beneath the ruins of the Kieralon Palace. However, the path to the treasure chamber is long and confusing and guarded by evil monsters such as goblins, skeletons, and worse.

John Carmack

Released a few years after its original creation, John Carmack's earliest written game is a fantasy RPG somewhat inspired by the early Ultima games. The story takes you to the peaceful town of Jaterus, about to become much less peaceful thanks to one Greymere. This evil archmage has taken up residence in a three-level dungeon, conveniently located just outside the city walls. More alarmingly, he has constructed the Shadowforge - a potent magical artifact that has enhanced both his power and ambition for conquest; Jaterus is first on his list. Your job is to quash his aspirations by finding and destroying the device. The town of Jaterus is your base of operations, its main attractions being the weapon and armor shops, the inn (where you can recuperate after a sojourn to the dungeon), the temple (where health potions are sold), and the tavern (which, besides refreshments, offers conversation - some of it helpful). The various random NPCs do not communicate, though. The dungeon is populated by Greymere's minions; some are randomly placed, others are not, and all must be bested in turn-based combat - the deeper you go, the tougher the bad guys. Fighting involves both melee and ranged attacks, and defeated monsters will bequeath both gold and experience. Leveling up will increase your maximum hit points, but no other stats are tracked. Some secrets await to be revealed along the way, too.

John Carmack

Wraith is a fantasy role-playing game like the author's previous effort Shadowforge, although it's set in a larger, more detailed world with an updated and expanded rule system. The worship of Metiria is being subverted all over the realm of Araithia; lords and commoners have turned their devotion to a newly-arrived evil power, the Wraith, whose monstrous armies now infest the island. You, guardian of the last Temple of the True Faith, are summoned to seek out and eliminate this evil.