Spear of Destiny

Copy protection

When you answer incorrectly too many times at the copy protection screen, one of the things the game does is call you a pirate. However, if you enter a certain word to bypass the doc check, it will produce the message "Greetings Professor Falken, would you like to play Spear of Destiny?", a reference to the movie War Games.

Development history

Spear of Destiny took the id team two months to create the game from start to finish.

German index

On March 31, 1999, Spear of Destiny was put on the infamous German index by the BPjS. For more information about what this means and to see a list of games sharing the same fate, take a look here: BPjS/BPjM indexed games.

Spear of Destiny is violating §86a of Germany's penal code (for using characteristics of unconstitutional organizations), therefore it is illegal to produce, distribute, import, export and use it in the public. This does not mean it is illegal to just own the game.

Inspiration

The Spear of Destiny is actually based on the lance, that according to the Gospel of John, has been used at the Crucifixion to wound the side of Christ. With the passing of time, the lance was the subject of many legends, both old and modern. The game's storyline has more things in common with the modern ones, especially the one detailed in Trevor Ravenscroft's 1973 book, The Spear of Destiny. According to it, possession of the Spear would bring its owner the power to conquer the world, but losing it would bring immediate death. The relic had been owned by a succession of powerful European rulers down through the centuries and eventually came to be in the possession of the Habsburg Dynasty. Hitler stole it from Habsburg's treasury at the Hofmuseum in Vienna, when he conquered Austria in 1938. It fell into the hands of the Americans in 1945 and it is said that later that day, in fulfilment of the legend, Hitler committed suicide.

iPhone version

Spear of Destiny was released on the iPhone as a free update to Wolfenstein 3D on October 28, 2009.

Title screen

A second title screen is shown when you finish the game. You can see it here.

Information also contributed by BrandeX, Brolin Empey, John Romero, Kabushi, Roger Wilco, and Xoleras