
Release
1973
Player score
Awaiting reviews
Platform families
Not announced
Connected releases
Core game only
Game data from IGDB
Editorial overview
What it is
Maze originated or disseminated a number of concepts used in thousands of games to follow, and is considered one of the earliest examples of, or progenitor of, a first-person shooter. Uncertainty exists over its exact release date, with some accounts placing it before Spasim, the earliest first-person shooter with a known time of publication. Gameplay is simple by later standards. Players wander around a maze, being capable of moving backward or forwards, turning right or left in 90-degree increments, and peeking through doorways. The game also uses simple tile-based movement, where the player moves from square to square. Other players are seen as eyeballs. When a player sees another player, they can shoot or otherwise negatively affect them. Players gain points for shooting other players, and lose them for being shot. Some versions (like the X11 port) had a cheat mode where the player running the server could see the other players' positions on the map. Occasionally in some versions, a duck also appears in the passage.
Play styles
Single player · Multiplayer
More like this
Perspective
First person
Themes
Action
Cinematic archive
Official footage, in-game captures, and production artwork—collected into one immersive gallery.
Gameplay video
Production dossier
Cast, creators, hardware, release history, and the details that define how this game plays.
PDP-10
Imlac PDS-1