Ken's Labyrinth
Description official descriptions
Ken's Labyrinth is a first-person 3D shooter. The protagonist has to escape from an underground labyrinth populated by monsters while trying to rescue his dog Sparky. The game plays similarly to Wolfenstein 3D and involves the protagonist traversing colorful maze-like areas, shooting monsters on the way with exotic weapons such as a bubble-gum gun. The game's stand-out feature are interactive elements: there are vending and slot machines in the stages which the player can interact with, as well as breakable walls.
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Screenshots
Promos
Credits (DOS version)
10 People (4 developers, 6 thanks)
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Reviews
Critics
Average score: 53% (based on 5 ratings)
Players
Average score: 2.5 out of 5 (based on 40 ratings with 8 reviews)
The Good
It had some interesting ideas.
The Bad
The graphics are awful, it has terrible beeper sounds, and the monsters look 2-D. And all of this in 1993! I thought we were way past beeper sounds. Come on! A year after Wolfenstein 3D and it's still about 10 times worse. I remember playing this game when I was 6 and thinking it was cool. So I downloaded it but I realized it sucked.
It has come to my attention that this game was made by a 12 year old. Good for him. I'm impressed. I know I wouldn't be able to make a game like this when I was 12 or even now. But that's why I don't make video games! Just because a game was made by a 12 year old does not make it a classic. This game sucks ass. Period.
The Bottom Line
Bad "3D" shooter. If you want a good 3D shooter try Wolf 3D or Doom.
DOS · by Attila (553) · 2002
The Good
I must admit, the first time I played this game, it REALLY CREEPED ME OUT! I mean, who doesn't think that a disturbing flying clay model head is kinda scary? This game was actually the FIRST EVER Wolfenstein 3D clone, so I don't care if you think it sux. The first version of the game was released a month before I was born and the Epic [Megagames] version of the game was released a month AFTER I was born, HAHA. For a game this weird, it actually has a nice plot, and it taught me that dogs are more intelligent than humans =D. Speaking of that your dog follows you around in episode 2. It was programmed in QBASIC, so I could easily modify the code (I'm only 12). This is a great game!!!
The Bad
There's not very many bad things about this game, but personally, here they are:
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Some monsters were creepy looking (Blue clay goblins; Green and Blue Demons; Those huge monster heads at the end of episode 1)
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Those martians inside spaceships are SOOO HARD. Because of them I don't think I'll ever beat episode 3...
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Near the end of the game it got kind of depressing (Hmm... about the same time MARTIANS started appearing). Not because it was a SAD game or something, but after being in this labyrinth for so long, It was getting a bit dark. Not only that, but the ending on the saved file seemed a bit hopeless as well...
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While looking at the game's source code, I keep finding references to 'French Fries" as an item, but I can't seem to ind the item anywhere in the game...
The Bottom Line
This is a very fun and action-packed, especially, if you like Wolfenstein 3D, or if you've had very weird nightmares in your past, hehe. You can't handle old games if you think this game sucks because it has bad graphics. ;-)
DOS · by Andrew Fimiani (3) · 2005
The Good
I know that a lot of people call this crap, but they don't realize that this game has been done by a 12-year old in 1992! Back then, it sure wasn't easy to make such games! The creator, Ken Silverman (of BUILD fame), had to figure out each aspect of 3D-game programming by HIMSELF! Can you really believe this engine actually blew me away?!
He also did fantastic MUSIC, very emotional... It will be in your mind for a few hours, after you've played this...
The Bad
It is waaaaaay too hard, even on easy mode! Also, the game has a really sad atmosphere, it even nearly got me crying.
The Bottom Line
You should check it out, it's definitely history! The first Wolf3D clone ever, programmed by a 12-year old... This is actually the very engine that would turn into BUILD some years after, and would become the base of great games such as Duke Nukem 3D and Blood! Oh, and you'll probably need some DOSBox or something if you want to hear the sound properly.
NOTE: As no-one has noted this before, I'll take the honors... This game is actually freeware, now. Ken has released it with permission of Epic back in 1999! Download this game at http://advsys.net/ken/. Good luck with it! Pure enjoyment guaranteed!
DOS · by PimPamPet (91) · 2003
Trivia
Competition
From Ken Silverman's page for the game:
Now here's something any true fan would appreciate. Epic Megagames shipped a small black hint manual with the full version of Ken's Labyrinth. In November 1999, I released the full version as freeware (see top of this page). As a bonus, I thought it would be cool to include the text of the hint manual. Andy Cotter wrote the original hint manual. Epic then edited it and spiced it up. On my website, I released the ORIGINAL unedited text written by Andy Cotter. In his original description to Episode 3, Level 8, there were a few extra lines:
"By the way, if you find a globe, save the game in front of it and ship the saved game off to us to win a prize (don't bother to if you used any cheat keys, we have ways of finding that out).'
I"'m glad Epic removed this since I never had any prize planned. In fact, I had completely forgotten about it. I'm sure if this made it into Epic's hint manual, I would have remembered! Instead, it quietly slipped out in 1999. For the curious, the globe is still there on Episode 3, Level 8 (Map 28).
"You could imagine my surprise when a fan by the name of Travis Rezka sent me his saved game on April 12, 2003 to claim his prize. At first, I had no idea what he was talking about - afterall, this was 10 years later! Because Travis was the first person to find the globe and point it out to me, he gets to have his name forever listed here on the official Ken's Labyrinth page. Yes folks, that's his prize. :) Nice job, Travis!"
Development
The following is from Silverman's page:
Note: Since all keyboards are different, some keyboard combinations may not work. I apologize in advance for this. Also, when I originally programmed Ken's Labyrinth (way back in 1992-1993), computers were a lot slower. I never bothered to check for the condition that a key could be held down too long. Good luck pecking at those keys!
Freeware release
On November 16, 1999, Ken Silverman, with permission from Epic MegaGames, decided to release the full version of Ken's Labyrinth for free. As of that date, Epic was no longer selling it, and some of their other old games as well. On March 17th 2004, a software development kit for Ken's Labyrinth was released and can be found on Ken Silverman's website
Future Group
Future Crew is credited for doing some artwork for the game. Sceners may recall the they're also responsible for creating the first major demo for the 386, Second Reality.
Inspiration
The inspiration for the dog Sparky came from a wooden dog Ken had in his house.
Legacy
Silverman went on to create the Build engine, which was used in Duke Nukem 3D, Shadow Warrior, and other titles. Ken's Labrynth, however, doesn't look anything at all like Build engine games--it was his first game and first engine.
Title
It's development title, WALKEN, was created as a concatenation of walk and Ken (Silverman that is).
Version differences
Believe it or not, there are actually three different Ken games. The first was called Walken. It's a precursor to Ken's Labyrinth. The second was called Ken's Labyrinth, and had nothing to do with Epic Megagames". It was actually released by Ken Silverman and his friend Andrew Cotter under the name of Advanced Systems. The third and final was a redone version of the Advanced Systems Ken released by Epic MegaGames.
Information also contributed by Adam Baratz, Andy Voss, Maw and Mullet of Death
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Related Sites +
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Download Ken's Labyrinth
Free, legal download of Ken's Labyrinth -- look for $KEN.ZIP -
Ken's "Ken's Labyrinth" Page
Ken Silverman has a section on his personal site devoted to this game. Besides downloading the full registered version, you can also download BUILD versions of the levels, early versions of the program, and source code, including an early version written for QuickBasic 4.5. -
LAB3D/SDL
LAB3D/SDL is a port of Ken's Labyrinth (using OpenGL and the SDL library) which runs on Windows, Linux and most other modern systems.
Identifiers +
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Contributors to this Entry
Game added by Trixter.
Windows, Linux added by Alsy.
Additional contributors: Adam Baratz, rey_, Pseudo_Intellectual, vedder, Patrick Bregger, Alsy.
Game added November 6, 1999. Last modified August 14, 2023.