In search for missing fan-games and mods
Posted: Sat May 25, 2019 10:43
In the old PCKF, in most cases in the Unofficial Keen Games and Release subforums, I've found information on several fangames and a few mods which are not available in the KeenWiki. There is (almost) nothing related to those games in today's PCKF, too. In case anyone of you still has one of the following fan-made works, it would be really nice if you reuploaded them somewhere so that they can be added to KeenWiki. Most of them were released between 2004 and 2007. The original download links are all dead now (already checked Wayback Machine).
Requesting Critique (2005)
Pre-beta demo (2006)
KeenX Latest and Hiatus (2007)
Commander Keen in the Cosmic Heist Enigma a.k.a. KeenX by Vitamin Zach. Galaxy-style fangame written in C++, "on hold" since 2007. Its website Keen Koncepts still exists with tech demos, screenshots and more, but it was last updated in 2005 and lacks the 2006 and 2007 releases, including the latest level editor.
Decline - VERSION 11 Update Available (2005)
Decline v12 (Source Out) (2005)
Commander Keen Decline by alex87. Made with Game Maker. Appears to be an arcade-style game where Keen has to collect as many points as possible. Alex also released the source.
(Received the game from Spleen, except for the source, will upload it soon.)
Paddle War Deluxe (2004, no replies left)
Paddle War Deluxe by BBalazs. Probably is what the title implies.
My crappy keen game (2004, no replies left)
A "crappy Keen game" by alex87. Made in less in than two minutes according to Alex. I don't know anything about its content.
Dance Keen (2006)
Dance Keen by Genius314. A music game in the form of a Java applet. Was inspired by TMST's Disco Keen, but while fragments of Disco Keen survive, Dance Keen disappeared entirely.
RKeen - Change Pink to Red! (2006)
RKeen Series - Change Pinkt to Red! (all finished) (2006)
RKeen5 and 6 by Q90. Skin mods that change Keen's pink shirt to a red shirt in Keen 5 and 6.
(topic lost, 2004)
Commander Keen: The Lost Oracle by John Eubank a.k.a. Twilight Dragon. The long-defunct website, later followed by another site, didn't feature any downloadable game.
However, John posted something in the Release Forum in 2004. All I know is that it had to do with a renewed engine, the thread is lost. I found mentions of this game in the current PCKF and Keen: Modding, enemies designed by Ceilick were to appear in The Lost Oracle.
(Received 2003 versions of the game from TCL999, will upload them soon.)
InsideTheWeb post (1999)
Demo of Real Keen Player by therealdopefish. Shortly after its release, Ilsoap created a level pack, which survives. The demo was available on at least two sites in addition to therealdopefish's one, including CC314.
New Isis and Contest (topic not restored yet, 2001)
The Mystery of Isis II level editor by the Isis Team. The March 2001 demo of Isis came with a level editor. The team needed level designers and held a level design contest. This was also mentioned on Commander Keen Nexus.
(no topic)
Commander Keen in Keen 4 as a Vorticon by Fordka a.k.a. James Behr. Skin mod, Keen is replaced by a Vorticon Elite and the Council Member by the Vorticon King, there are some more graphical changes. This was added to Beyond the Pogo in January 2006. Fordka adapted many Keen 1-3 creatures to the Keen 4-6 style, but all the download links don't work, just like the one of the mod (the images of the sprites were also on Freewebs, which are gone). Interestingly, I don't remember any PCKF/Modding member named Fordka or James Behr, though he posted multiple comments on DOS Classics...
Works that are available again:
commander keen And The Grand Intellect ONLINE (GET IT NOW) (2004)
CKGI 2.1 Sprite help (2005)
Commander Keen and The Grand Intellect by Creative madman. A two-player platform game made with Game Maker where Keen and Mort fight it out. It had a little webpage (no screenshots archived), the actual game files were hosted by Commander Spleen.
Thanks to Spleen.
10 New levels for Keen 4-6!! (2006)
SupFanat's Keen 4, Keen 5 and Keen 6 Level Pack. According to KeenWiki, Shikadi's 2009 The Rapid Pack contains the first fan-made Keen 6 levels, but SupFanat released the levels three years earlier. History needs to be rewritten! SupFanat continued to work on the levels, but I don't recall any more releases.
Thanks to Malvineous.
Usermade Keen 4-6 levels? (2002)
More Keen 4 levels by ChargingMoose. ChargingMoose did not only create the first fan-made Keen 4 level, he also released the first set of Keen 4 levels. In his first thread, ChargingMoose told about "many more levels" and posted two screenshots in September 2001. While he didn't finish the level pack, he released what he had in July 2002. The file could still be at ChargingMoose's 50megs site, even though the link was removed. I wonder whether ChargingMoose still has the password for the site (in case he reads this).
Thanks to the author.
Creating a new Keen fangame (2006)
Multimedia Fusion Commander Keen Engine emulation... (2006)
Keen:Return by DaVince21. Abandoned platform game made with Multimedia Fusion, only the source was released (the second topic was created by a different Keener, DaVince posted the file on the second page).
Thanks to the author. It's actually a predecessor of the abandoned Sphere-based Project Keen.
RKeen - Change Pink to Red! (2006)
RKeen Series - Change Pinkt to Red! (all finished) (2006)
RKeen4 by Q90. Skin mod that changes Keen's pink shirt to a red shirt in Keen 4.
Still had a backup of this one. I don't have RKeen5 and 6, though.
Update: baCK, version 0.02 (2006)
baCK by OnkelPeterle. Appears to be a Galaxy clone in an early state.
Thanks to Spleen.
Keen Galaxies Demo (2007)
Keen Galaxies by TCL999. Abandoned game made with Click and Create, seems to be a mix of genres. Keen battles enemies in space with his BwB and flies to different planets where he has to complete missions, according to the author's description.
Thanks to the author.
...Test your keen skillZ... (2003)
Three Keen 1 levels by Captainkeen. In addition to Test Your Keen Skillz which can be found in the KeenWiki now, a separate set of 3 levels (3levels.zip) by the brother of Eazyjay a.k.a. Joriz was posted in the above thread.
Thanks to TCL999.
(topic lost, 2003)
An unnamed Keen 1 mod by Krayzie Thug03 is mentioned in issue 19 (2003-08-31) of the Commander Keen Newsletter. I never heard about the mod and its creater before. A long-defunct Keen fansite had the ZIP of that alpha/teaser under the name k1pro.zip, but the link is dead.
Thanks to TCL999.
Return of the Vorticons (2007)
Return of the Vorticons by KeegTech (StupidBunny). Like Keen Galaxies, it was released by its author long after the abandonement. Created with The Games Factory, also features a mini-game.
Thanks to the author.
(Removed the first Isis II demo from the list, it was available all the time under the working title Commander Keen: Infinity.)
By the way, I recently "rediscovered" a remake of Shadow Keen 1 released by Levellord as a birthday present for Spleen in 2005. At least I don't remember that any Keen site had it, including KeenRush's former sites. There were only two replies to Levellord's announcement (in the Misc. forum). Part 2 stars Spaceman Spiff rather than Keen now, equipped with anti-gravity boots (patched pogo). The KeenWiki article made no mention of the remake until I added it two weeks ago. What I've seen looks promising, it's too bad that there are major bugs again (you can only access a few levels in Part 1 as the teleporters don't work properly). I wish for a version of this mod with everything fixed and maybe some extra stuff like music, a kind of "definitive edition" of Levellord's first mod (or mods, rather). And I'm surprised that my name appears in the high scores of a mod I was not even aware of.
Requesting Critique (2005)
Pre-beta demo (2006)
KeenX Latest and Hiatus (2007)
Commander Keen in the Cosmic Heist Enigma a.k.a. KeenX by Vitamin Zach. Galaxy-style fangame written in C++, "on hold" since 2007. Its website Keen Koncepts still exists with tech demos, screenshots and more, but it was last updated in 2005 and lacks the 2006 and 2007 releases, including the latest level editor.
Decline - VERSION 11 Update Available (2005)
Decline v12 (Source Out) (2005)
Commander Keen Decline by alex87. Made with Game Maker. Appears to be an arcade-style game where Keen has to collect as many points as possible. Alex also released the source.
(Received the game from Spleen, except for the source, will upload it soon.)
Paddle War Deluxe (2004, no replies left)
Paddle War Deluxe by BBalazs. Probably is what the title implies.
My crappy keen game (2004, no replies left)
A "crappy Keen game" by alex87. Made in less in than two minutes according to Alex. I don't know anything about its content.
Dance Keen (2006)
Dance Keen by Genius314. A music game in the form of a Java applet. Was inspired by TMST's Disco Keen, but while fragments of Disco Keen survive, Dance Keen disappeared entirely.
RKeen - Change Pink to Red! (2006)
RKeen Series - Change Pinkt to Red! (all finished) (2006)
RKeen5 and 6 by Q90. Skin mods that change Keen's pink shirt to a red shirt in Keen 5 and 6.
(topic lost, 2004)
Commander Keen: The Lost Oracle by John Eubank a.k.a. Twilight Dragon. The long-defunct website, later followed by another site, didn't feature any downloadable game.
However, John posted something in the Release Forum in 2004. All I know is that it had to do with a renewed engine, the thread is lost. I found mentions of this game in the current PCKF and Keen: Modding, enemies designed by Ceilick were to appear in The Lost Oracle.
(Received 2003 versions of the game from TCL999, will upload them soon.)
InsideTheWeb post (1999)
Demo of Real Keen Player by therealdopefish. Shortly after its release, Ilsoap created a level pack, which survives. The demo was available on at least two sites in addition to therealdopefish's one, including CC314.
New Isis and Contest (topic not restored yet, 2001)
The Mystery of Isis II level editor by the Isis Team. The March 2001 demo of Isis came with a level editor. The team needed level designers and held a level design contest. This was also mentioned on Commander Keen Nexus.
(no topic)
Commander Keen in Keen 4 as a Vorticon by Fordka a.k.a. James Behr. Skin mod, Keen is replaced by a Vorticon Elite and the Council Member by the Vorticon King, there are some more graphical changes. This was added to Beyond the Pogo in January 2006. Fordka adapted many Keen 1-3 creatures to the Keen 4-6 style, but all the download links don't work, just like the one of the mod (the images of the sprites were also on Freewebs, which are gone). Interestingly, I don't remember any PCKF/Modding member named Fordka or James Behr, though he posted multiple comments on DOS Classics...
Works that are available again:
commander keen And The Grand Intellect ONLINE (GET IT NOW) (2004)
CKGI 2.1 Sprite help (2005)
Commander Keen and The Grand Intellect by Creative madman. A two-player platform game made with Game Maker where Keen and Mort fight it out. It had a little webpage (no screenshots archived), the actual game files were hosted by Commander Spleen.
Thanks to Spleen.
10 New levels for Keen 4-6!! (2006)
SupFanat's Keen 4, Keen 5 and Keen 6 Level Pack. According to KeenWiki, Shikadi's 2009 The Rapid Pack contains the first fan-made Keen 6 levels, but SupFanat released the levels three years earlier. History needs to be rewritten! SupFanat continued to work on the levels, but I don't recall any more releases.
Thanks to Malvineous.
Usermade Keen 4-6 levels? (2002)
More Keen 4 levels by ChargingMoose. ChargingMoose did not only create the first fan-made Keen 4 level, he also released the first set of Keen 4 levels. In his first thread, ChargingMoose told about "many more levels" and posted two screenshots in September 2001. While he didn't finish the level pack, he released what he had in July 2002. The file could still be at ChargingMoose's 50megs site, even though the link was removed. I wonder whether ChargingMoose still has the password for the site (in case he reads this).
Thanks to the author.
Creating a new Keen fangame (2006)
Multimedia Fusion Commander Keen Engine emulation... (2006)
Keen:Return by DaVince21. Abandoned platform game made with Multimedia Fusion, only the source was released (the second topic was created by a different Keener, DaVince posted the file on the second page).
Thanks to the author. It's actually a predecessor of the abandoned Sphere-based Project Keen.
RKeen - Change Pink to Red! (2006)
RKeen Series - Change Pinkt to Red! (all finished) (2006)
RKeen4 by Q90. Skin mod that changes Keen's pink shirt to a red shirt in Keen 4.
Still had a backup of this one. I don't have RKeen5 and 6, though.
Update: baCK, version 0.02 (2006)
baCK by OnkelPeterle. Appears to be a Galaxy clone in an early state.
Thanks to Spleen.
Keen Galaxies Demo (2007)
Keen Galaxies by TCL999. Abandoned game made with Click and Create, seems to be a mix of genres. Keen battles enemies in space with his BwB and flies to different planets where he has to complete missions, according to the author's description.
Thanks to the author.
...Test your keen skillZ... (2003)
Three Keen 1 levels by Captainkeen. In addition to Test Your Keen Skillz which can be found in the KeenWiki now, a separate set of 3 levels (3levels.zip) by the brother of Eazyjay a.k.a. Joriz was posted in the above thread.
Thanks to TCL999.
(topic lost, 2003)
An unnamed Keen 1 mod by Krayzie Thug03 is mentioned in issue 19 (2003-08-31) of the Commander Keen Newsletter. I never heard about the mod and its creater before. A long-defunct Keen fansite had the ZIP of that alpha/teaser under the name k1pro.zip, but the link is dead.
Thanks to TCL999.
Return of the Vorticons (2007)
Return of the Vorticons by KeegTech (StupidBunny). Like Keen Galaxies, it was released by its author long after the abandonement. Created with The Games Factory, also features a mini-game.
Thanks to the author.
(Removed the first Isis II demo from the list, it was available all the time under the working title Commander Keen: Infinity.)
By the way, I recently "rediscovered" a remake of Shadow Keen 1 released by Levellord as a birthday present for Spleen in 2005. At least I don't remember that any Keen site had it, including KeenRush's former sites. There were only two replies to Levellord's announcement (in the Misc. forum). Part 2 stars Spaceman Spiff rather than Keen now, equipped with anti-gravity boots (patched pogo). The KeenWiki article made no mention of the remake until I added it two weeks ago. What I've seen looks promising, it's too bad that there are major bugs again (you can only access a few levels in Part 1 as the teleporters don't work properly). I wish for a version of this mod with everything fixed and maybe some extra stuff like music, a kind of "definitive edition" of Levellord's first mod (or mods, rather). And I'm surprised that my name appears in the high scores of a mod I was not even aware of.