Rise of the Triad

Rise of the Triad
Cover art by Les Dorscheid
Developer(s)	Apogee Software
Publisher(s)	Apogee Software
Distributor(s)	FormGen
Director(s)	Tom Hall
Producer(s)	Tom Hall George Broussard Scott Miller
Designer(s)	Tom Hall Joe Siegler Marianna Vayntrub
Programmer(s)	Mark Dochtermann Jim Dosé William Scarboro
Artist(s)	Chuck Jones Tim Neveu Susan Singer
Composer(s)	Robert Prince Lee Jackson
Engine	Wolfenstein 3D engine
Platform(s)	MS-DOS, Microsoft Windows, Linux,iOS
Release	MS-DOS December 21, 1994 (shareware) February 17, 1995 (full version) Microsoft Windows March 3, 2009 (GOG.com) July 1, 2013 (Steam, as part of the Apogee Throwback Pack) iOS February 6, 2010
Genre(s)	First-person shooter
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

Rise of the Triad is a first-person shooter video game, developed and published by Apogee Software (3D Realms) in 1994. The player can choose one of five different characters to play as, each bearing unique attributes such as height, speed, and endurance. Its remake was designed by Interceptor Entertainment and released by Apogee Games in 2013.

Rise of the Triad is a typical early first-person shooter game, as the single-player mode's objective is to stay alive, kill as many enemies as possible, and collect keys in order to proceed through the game's levels successfully. Occasionally, special tactics and simple problem-solving skills are required to reach seemingly unreachable locations. Although most levels are fairly linear, there are some maps that were intentionally designed to avoid that, which have multiple exits.

The player can choose between several characters: Taradino Cassatt, Thi Barrett, Lorelei Ni, Doug Wendt, and Ian Paul Freeley. Each character bears unique characteristics; for instance, Doug Wendt moves rather slowly yet can sustain a particularly large amount of damage, while Lorelei Ni has fewer hit points but is very quick and accurate. Taradino Cassatt is the only character available in the shareware version of the game and has average statistics: average health, average speed, average accuracy.

There are numerous different types of enemies in the game that have different strengths and capabilities. Certain enemies can perform particular actions, such as sometimes begging for their life if the player has delivered enough damage to them and faking their death. Some enemies dodge the player's attacks, while others lie in the ground to ambush the player. Other enemies can shoot nets to restrain the player, or steal and use weapons from the player.

There are four different bosses, which are tough enemies that the player has to defeat at the end of each episode. The bosses are General Darian, Sebastian Krist, NME (Nasty Metallic Enforcer), and El Oscuro, who is the head of the cult known as the Triad. All enemies are digitized actors, mostly played by Apogee employees and their friends and family.