Jetpack (1993): A Free DOS Puzzle-Platformer Built Around Fuel Management
What if a platformer never let you jump? By 1993, Commander Keen and its imitators had more or less standardized […]
Platformer
Electro Man (1992): A Free DOS Platformer Built Around Teleporters
The early-90s shareware scene was flooded with side-scrolling platformers trying to out-Keen Commander Keen, and most of them leaned on
Another World (1991): The Solo-Made DOS Classic
How Éric Chahi built Another World alone in ~2 years using rotoscoped polygon animation instead of sprites — plus DOSBox setup and tips.
Duke Nukem (1991): The 2D Platformer Before Duke 3D
Before the chain-gun and one-liners, Duke Nukem was a 1991 Apogee shareware platformer. Development history, DOSBox setup, and the Duke Nukum name story.
Dangerous Dave (1990): The Game That Sparked id Software
John Romero’s 1990 Softdisk platformer led to a joke Mario demo that convinced its creators to found id Software. Here’s the real sequence of events.
Hocus Pocus (1994): Apogee’s Best-Looking DOS Platformer
Hocus Pocus paired VGA fantasy art with elemental magic bolts and a full freeware release — here’s how Moonlite Software’s platformer holds up.
Prince of Persia (1989): The Rotoscoped Sword-Fight Story
How Jordan Mechner filmed his brother and a swashbuckler film to animate Prince of Persia’s movement and combat — plus a 60-minute clock that never stops.
Jill of the Jungle (1992): The Quiet Start of Epic Games
How a bedroom coder’s rebranded shareware company used a jungle-warrior platformer to fund the studio that would later build Unreal Engine.