When we approached 3D Realms for comment on
the Mansion Mutants Massacre and the Keen Three manhunt, they became
very unhelpful.
"Go away. We are in no way associated
with Commander Keen or Billy Blaze. Although we do distribute the
Commander Keen PC games, they were created by id Software, which no
longer exists. You will not find anything here that you are looking
for."
"You cannot come back here. This is a
restricted area. So now you will be leaving."
"Go away. We're, like, closed or
something."
"Grrrrrr!"
Something seemed to indicate that some of
these guys were a few inchworms short of a foot.
We left quickly.
Even though Billy Blaze was dead, the
legend of Commander Keen survived. The Vorticons and Galaxy
titles were still being sold, but were more of collectors' items that
playable software; most newer computers at this time were too advanced
to run the classic Commander Keen games in their state-of-the-art
operating systems. It was as if the world was at last forgetting Keen.
And it was the realization of this fact that initiated Commander Keen
into the hall of fame of the minority cult. Along with the likes of
Elvis Presley, Alfred Hitchcock and Classic Star Trek,
Commander Keen had risen to a place in the world of alternative pop
culture. Commander Keen would live on, at sci-fi conventions and in the
mythos of computer programmers worldwide. Even today, the world is never
short of Commander Keen impersonators.
Many people still believe that Billy Blaze is alive; 72 sightings of
Billy Blaze, with his traditional Commander Keen uniform and pogo stick,
were made in 2001 in the state of Texas alone.
But although Billy Blaze died outside his own secret hideout on
December 16, 2000, his alter ego still had an extra life up his purple
sleeve...
