Wikipedia:Today's featured article/May 5, 2017
Wolfenstein 3D is a first-person shooter video game developed by id Software, published by Apogee Software and FormGen, and originally released on May 5, 1992, for MS-DOS. Its innovative, ray casting-based game engine (illustration shown) was designed by John Carmack. The player assumes the role of Allied spy William "B.J." Blazkowicz during World War II as he escapes from the Nazi German prison Castle Wolfenstein and carries out a series of crucial missions against the Nazis. Wolfenstein 3D was the second major release by id Software, and was released through Apogee in two sets of three episodes as shareware; the first episode was available free of charge, to drive interest in purchasing the rest. An additional episode, Spear of Destiny, was released as a standalone retail title through FormGen. Wolfenstein 3D was a critical and commercial success, garnering numerous awards and selling over 200,000 copies by the end of 1993. The game popularized the first-person shooter genre, established standards of fast-paced action and technical prowess for subsequent games in the genre, and showcased the viability of the shareware publishing model. (Full article...)