Biography Wikipedia
Wikipedia:
The Dopefish is a fictional fish that originated in the fourth Commander Keen video game, Secret of the Oracle, released in 1991. The character has since evolved into a PC game industry in-joke, making appearances in games from Apogee's 1994 Wacky Wheels as well as titles as recent as the 2006 SiN Episodes: Emergence and 2007 Chili Con Carnage and more recently including 2011's Deus Ex: Human Revolution.
Physically, the Dopefish is a large green fish, with buck teeth. It is described in Keen 4 as "the second-dumbest creature in the universe" (a reference to the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the dumbest) with thought patterns that go "swim swim hungry, swim swim hungry". The game also mentioned that they would "eat anything alive and moving near them, though they prefer heroes". Whenever it does eat something, it turns to face the viewer and belches. id Software's Tom Hall later gave it its fake scientific name: Pisces swimeatus.
In October 1995, Joe Siegler of 3D Realms launched the Dopefish.com web site as an archive of all things Dopefish-related. Siegler reportedly maintained dopefish.com on company time while working for 3D Realms. Since launching, the site has inspired a variety of artwork and merchandise based on the character., including ASCII art, stuffed toys, and mugs.
Tom Hall first conceived of the Dopefish as one of 24 potential characters for Keen 4. In his words, "I just drew this stupid little fish". In the game, the Dopefish appears in one level, The Well of Wishes. In this level, the player must avoid being eaten by the Dopefish, along with other hazards, in an attempt to rescue a Council Member. The music for the level, titled Eat Your Veggies and originally composed by Bobby Prince for use in Keen Dreams, is also commonly associated with the Dopefish and has inspired some spin-offs compositions including Fish Polka and Dope Jaws by former 3D Realms Music and Sound Director Lee Jackson.
The Dopefish in video games
Appearances
Appearances are given in chronological order, and do not include fan-made add-ons. The Dopefish takes various forms from images to actual fish. It is often hidden and hard to find, and accompanied by the words "Dopefish lives!"
Commander Keen 4: Secret of the Oracle (1991), original appearanceWacky Wheels (1994), at the start line after a special maneuverQuake (1996), appears as a texture on a wallQuake II (1997), partly disemboweled, hanging on a hookBattlezone (1998), typing "DOPEFISH" in a success screen in the Red Odyssey expansion pack reveals a little introductory text about the DopefishSiN (1998), an alternately skinned "tropical fish" Descent 3 (1999), creating a new pilot with the name "Dopefish" reveals a photo of a fan in a Dopefish Halloween costumeQuake III Arena (1999), on a wall texture of a "zombified" DopefishDaikatana (2000)Commander Keen (2001), Game Boy Color versionAnachronox (2001), in one of the fish tanks on Rictus' shipMax Payne (2001), as a posterHyperspace Delivery Boy! (2001), as a statueWarcraft 3 (2002), Shrine of the UberfishEternal Daughter (2002), the only fish in the game are called DopefishHitman 2: Silent Assassin (2002), as a little desktop toySuperTux (2003), frozen in a wall of iceCongo Cube (2003)Red Faction (2003), N-Gage versionPsychonauts (2005), a round, green fish very similar in appearance to the Dopefish appears stuffed at a dockSiN Episodes: Emergence (2006), numerous instances in secret areasChili Con Carnage (2007), the marble fountain halfway through "Nice Biceps" is shaped like four DopefishTAGAP: The Apocalyptic Game About Penguins (2007), miniature versions of the fish can be found swimming in Antarctic waters"Portal (video game)" (2007), scratched on the wall after escaping the laboratorySven Co-op (1999–2011), appears in a locker in the level "Extended", and in a fish-tank in the level "Incoming"Dystopia (2007), appears in the Silo levelFortress Forever (2007), appearing very briefly in a trailerVoxelstein 3D (2008), appears in the center of a toilet bowlJailbreak Source (2008), appears in two of the levels, Metropolis and Woodneck.Escaped From The Underdark: Archipelago (2009) appears in a new fishing implementation.Flash-DooM 2D (2009) appears in the secret level together with Tom Hall and all the other ID employees from 1993.Charlie Brooker's Gameswipe (2009) (TV show) appears as graffiti in an unnamed game where the aim is to push Myleene Klass in a canal.Killing Floor (2009) can be found in a room near a Trader location on the map Mountain Pass.Warsow (2005–2009) can be found inside quad damage power-up.Rocketbirds (2009) appears on the wall outside Keen, Inc in Subway level.Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning (2008), can be found in the lower left rock wall on the Troll Country Scenario map. (upside down disguised as a rock)Alan Wake (2010), as a fishing guide poster inside a book-shop.Deus Ex: Human Revolution (2011), appears as graffiti in a Detroit alleyway.RAGE (2011), easter egg, appears in the Re-Run of Mutant Bash TV.Death Rally (2011), as a poster in the garage in the iOS version. NOTE: The poster is exactly the same one as in Max Payne & Alan Wake.Although for a short period of time a rumor circulated the fish-shaped object found in a Doom 3 pentagram was intended to be a Dopefish, in fact, when asked by a fan, id Software confirmed this was not the case.
Mentions
Although the Dopefish does not actually appear in these games, there is text mentioning him somewhere.
Rise of the Triad (1994)Terminal Velocity (1995), mentioned in the technical help as a command line parameter that "doesn't do anything"Duke Nukem 3D (1996), a hidden "Dopefish lives" graffiti in episode 1's last levelShadow Warrior (1997), mentioned by Lo Wang in some audio recordings not used in the gameJazz Jackrabbit 2 (1998), a message "Spaz ate the Dopefish" appears in a secret area in CarrotusReturn to Castle Wolfenstein (2001), built into the architecture of an unseen part of the multiplayer map "Das Boot."Devastation (2003), contains a cheat code named after the Dopefish. It gives the player all weapons, activates god mode, and gives money.Chip's Challenge Level Pack 2 has a level called Use The Fish with a hint that says "Translate anything not initially ice or water from SGA" and doing this gives the message "DOPE FISH LIVES".