tl;dr version at the end.
Bringin' back the Keen!
Once upon a time, a fledgeling videogame company produced a new PC sidescrolling platformer on a brand-new game engine that instantly became received as a breakthrough. They released three of them - the first three episodes in an epic story.
Commander Keen in his first mission.
This company then turned around and released a few sequels to this game - three true sequels and a short side-quest. These sequels improved upon the series' formula tremendously, and won over a plethora of new fans.
Keen gets an upgrade.
Then all went silent. The series' story was not yet over - there were still three episodes left to go to complete the epic saga. But they never came as the gaming industry left behind the sidescrolling genre in favour of 3D gameplay.
Many years passed and a "retro" gaming rebirth began. Countless classic titles came back to life, and those series received new iterations, many of which sold millions upon millions, and continued selling.
In fact, this epic sidescroller also received some attention during the Retro Rebirth - its classic games were released for download on a popular download client! Gamers everywhere cheered.
However, nothing else came of it. And that alone is insufficient.
Insufficient!
The developer I speak of is iD Software, and the game series is Commander Keen. And the story must go on!
iD had planned the final trilogy, The Universe is Toast!, to release in 1992, but this never happened as they moved on to the 3D gaming scene and never looked back.
What Keen we have gotten was released on Steam back in 2007 as a collection of episodes 1 through 5, excluding the 3rd story arc, episode 6 - "Aliens Ate My Babysitter!"
Aliens Ate My Babysitter! title screen
Now, Steam isn't the only download client out there. In fact, every single gaming machine on the market today (this generation, that is) has a download service available on it. EVERY system is capable of having the Keen Collection ported to it. I feel iD should do exactly that - release the package as a downloadable on ALL download services - XBLA, PSN, WiiWare, DSiWare. All of them (although I feel it should be ALL Keen games (excluding the GBC one) - eps. 1-6 and Keen Dreams).
Sure, it'd require a bit of work, but seriously? It's not that much work and it'd be HUGE for the gaming industry. Imagine playing COMMANDER KEEN on your 360... and getting an achievement for being eaten by a Dopefish! It's a breath of fresh air for everybody, to be certain.
What after that?
After releasing the classic games, The Universe is Toast! should be finally released, also available for all systems. Rather than being a single package, it would be released episodically, similar to the Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People release method. Episode 7 would come out first, followed by Episode 8 a month or a few later, and Episode 9 finally coming out a while after that, finishing out the saga.
Then, when 9 has released, they should do the ENTIRE Keen Saga on a retail disc - the full Episodes 1-9 + Keen Dreams - for $40 or something.
As for what they would do with 7-9? Obviously, it would have to stay true to the classic Keen gameplay setup. I feel it should get an "upgrade", New Super Mario Bros-style. 3D models and rendering, but still play as a 2D sidescrolling platformer (yes, I'm saying 2.5D, for those familiar with the term).
Naturally, just like Keen 4-6 upgraded the gameplay mechanic from 1-3, Keen 7-9 would have to do the same. Perhaps the second analog stick/Wii IR/DS stylus (whatever you want, it all depends on what system you get it for) would allow Keen to aim his Neural Stunner in any direction. If not being aimed in any particular direction (analog is neutral), then he'd fire the traditional Keen way.
Or maybe Keen just gets a new item, pogo-stick-upgrade style. Really, this part's entirely up for discussion - maybe you guys should come up with some ideas.
And who can forget Paddle War? Episodes 7-9 need their own side-game(s). I'm thinking each one should get a unique game, like maybe a puzzle game (Puzzle Kombat, anybody?), or a small first-person splitscreen multiplayer game, who knows? There are a ton of possibilities. Come up with ideas for this too, yeah?
So, in summary...
Anyways, the point of this ever-so-long post is to generate interest in the idea, and to show iD that people would love to see this happen.
Classic Commander Keen needs to come to the consoles. Every console has a market for it - heck, iD's favourites, Wii and DS, likely actually are the BIGGEST markets for it.
The Keen story needs to be continued. Keen 7-9, The Universe is Toast, needs to be completed. A release on all systems (including PC, with Steam perhaps) must come to fruition. A new 2.5D Keen sidescroller updated for today's gameplay would be MAGNIFICENT.
So, express your support! Share right now what you think, and spread the word to other boards as well. I'm trying to show iD that there's interest, and the more gamers that jump on this, the more likely it's going to happen! Spread the word. Show iD that ol' Billy Blaze still has another epic run to make. It's time Commander Keen sees the light of day once again.
SW-5120-1900-6153
