The arrival of 3D technology in computer games marked a revolutionary shift, opening up entirely new dimensions—literally and figuratively—for interactive entertainment. While the concept of 3D visuals had existed since the earliest days of computing, it wasn’t until the mid-1980s that developers began experimenting with rudimentary forms of three-dimensional gameplay.
One of the first attempts was Scarabaeus (also known as Invaders of the Lost Tomb) on the Commodore 64, which featured pseudo-3D maze exploration and atmospheric gameplay. It hinted at the immersive possibilities of depth and perspective, even within the limitations of 8-bit systems.
The real breakthrough came with The Sentinel in 1986, created by Geoff Crammond. This game offered a fully explorable 3D landscape rendered using solid polygons—a technical marvel at the time. Soon after, games like Driller, part of the Freescape series, allowed players to navigate complex 3D environments and solve spatial puzzles, paving the way for future first-person exploration titles. Damocles: Mercenary II took this even further by offering a seamless, open solar system where planets orbited in real time, and players could explore entire cities or spaceports in full 3D.
Flight simulators were among the first genres to fully embrace 3D. Titles like Falcon and Gunship delivered realistic aircraft physics and cockpit views, immersing players in highly detailed aerial combat and reconnaissance missions. Meanwhile, driving simulators such as Hard Drivin' introduced textureless polygonal tracks, stunts, and crashes in real-time 3D, while Formula 1 Grand Prix pushed the realism envelope with accurate racing physics and authentic Grand Prix circuits.
Role-playing games also found new life in the 3D era. Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss (1992) was groundbreaking: a dungeon crawler with a first-person perspective, full mouse-look, and real-time movement in a fully rendered world. Around the same time, shooters like Spear of Destiny, the prequel to Wolfenstein 3D, brought fast-paced action to enclosed 3D environments, setting the stage for the FPS explosion.
A milestone came with Frontier: Elite II, which combined real-time planetary systems with an enormous galaxy, all in seamless 3D. It expanded on the legacy of Elite and offered a sandbox space sim experience unlike anything before.
Finally, the mid-1990s brought 3D technology to the masses with games like Tomb Raider in 1996. Lara Croft’s acrobatic exploration and combat in vast polygonal environments marked a turning point in both gameplay and character-driven storytelling, showing just how far 3D gaming had come in just over a decade.
From primitive shapes and wireframes to expansive, immersive worlds, 3D technology fundamentally reshaped the medium of computer games and laid the foundation for modern game design.
