Dark Designs

* Catacomb (1990)
	+ Catacomb II (1991)

*3D DOS Games:*

* Catacomb 3D (1991)
	+ Catacomb Adventure Series (1992-1993)
		- Catacomb Abyss (1992)
		- Catacomb Armageddon (1992)
		- Catacomb Apocalypse (1993)

*Apple II & IIGS:*

* Catacombs (1991)
	+ Sylvan Idyll (1992)
		- Ether Quest (1993)
			* Sand Trap (1994)
* Catacomb Abyss IIGS (1994; unreleased)

*Related Games:*

* **Dark Designs** (1990-1994)
* Commander Keen (1990-1991)
* Dangerous Dave (1988-1993)
* Hovertank 3D (1991)
	+ Wolfenstein 3D (1992)
		- Blake Stone (1993-1994)

*Recreations:*

* Catacomb: ABYSS (2013)
* Catacomb WebGL (2017)
* Catacomb 3D FPS Maker (2019)

*Homage Games:*

* Rombo (2008)
* Two Lords (2008)
* Rombo Rush (2011)
* Bad Vibes (2017)
* Catacombs of the Damned (2018)
* Panty Panic Princess (2019)
* Crypt 3D (2019)
* Glacierbound (2020)
* The Vigilance of Nephthys (2020)
* Arkos (2021)
* Trial of the Sorcerer (2021)
* Crypt of the Slime Lord (2022)
* UNNAMED HERO IN THE UNDERWORLD (2022)
* Wizordum (TBA)

**Dark Designs** is a series of computer role-playing games originally created by John Carmack and published by Softdisk.

## Setting

Apparently set in a shared universe with *Catacomb*, being based on Carmack's *Dungeons & Dragons* campaigns, the games take place some time after the death of Grelminar. His skills in cross-planar magic live on in his magical staff, which is now being sought by a team of heroes in order to stop an extra-dimensional invasion.

## Engine

The engine is a grid based pseudo 3D projection similar to *Wizardry*, restricted to 90 degree angles and a draw distance of only a few tiles, and is Carmack's first foray into the concept. He returned to first-person projection with full horizontal rotation for *Hovertank 3D* (and eventualy full rotation with *Quake*, although *Doom* had already introduced a height component). One feature present in *Dark Designs* appears in *Catacomb 3D* in the form of descriptive text that adds additional elaboration for areas of the game. The Apple II version featured only monochrome wire-frame world graphics, while the DOS version features patterned walls and the Apple IIGS releases had either colours or later full on textures (similar to *Hovertank* and later *Catacomb 3D*).

## First Trilogy

* Dark Designs I: Grelminar's Staff (1990) - Softdisk #103, SoftDisk-GS #9, Big Blue Disk #52 (February 1991)
* Dark Designs II: Closing the Gate (1990) - Softdisk #109, SoftDisk-GS #12, Big Blue Disk #54 (March 1991)
* Dark Designs III: Retribution! (1991) - Softdisk #116, SoftDisk-GS #17

All originally developed for the Apple II, the first two titles were also ported to MS DOS.

A *Dark Designs Character Editor* was released on Softdisk #134.

Enhanced ports to the Apple IIGS were also produced.

## Second Trilogy

Developed by Peter Rokitski exclusively for the Apple II, who also developed the sequels to *Catacombs*.

* Dark Designs IV: Passage to Oblivion (1994) - Softdisk #146
* Dark Designs V: Search for Salvation (1994) - Softdisk #151
* Dark Designs VI: Restoration (1994) - Softdisk #157

## External Links

* Dark Designs series - MobyGames
* Dark Designs - CRPG Addict
* Dark Designs - Weekend Waste Monster
* Dark Designs - RPG Codex (Dark Designs III)
* Dark Designs I - Grelminar's Staff (MS DOS) - Internet Archive (playable in browser via Dosbox)