Quake Quake
Quake Quake
Developer(s)
Developer(s) id Software Midway Games (N64) Lobotomy Software (SS) Pulse Interactive (mobile) Publisher(s)
Publisher(s) GT Interactive (PC) PXL computers (Amiga) MacSoft (Macintosh) Midway Games (N64) Sega (SS)
Pulse Interactive (mobile)
Macmillan Digital Publishing USA (Linux) Activision/Valve Corporation (Steam) Designer(s)
Designer(s) John Romero (lead designer), American McGee, Sandy Petersen, Tim Willits Programmer(s)
Programmer(s) John Carmack Version
Version 1.08 (DOS) 1.09 (WinQuake) 1.09/0.98 (GLQuake) Platform(s)
Platform(s) Amiga, Falcon, IRIX, Macintosh, PC (DOS, Linux, Windows), N64, OS/2, Risc PC, Saturn, Solaris, Windows Mobile, Zeebo, source ports to additional platforms
Release date(s)
Release date(s) • NAJune 22, 1996 Genre(s)
Genre(s) FPS Mode(s)
Mode(s) Single-player Multiplayer Rating(s)
Rating(s) ESRB: M ESRB: T (SS) BBFC: 15 OFLC: MA15+
USK: 18 Media
Media Compact disc (1), download, cartridge
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System requirements
System requirements66 MHzProcessor FPU
8 MBRAM 80 MB Hard disk space 1 MB Graphics card
IRIX 5.3 / Linux 1.3.88 / MS-DOS 5.0 / Solaris 2.5.1 / Windows 95
Quake
Quakeis a first-person shooter video game that was released by id Software on June 22, 1996. It was the first game in the popularQuakeseries of video games. It was made available on Steam on August 3, 2007.[1]
History History
A preview included with id's very first release, 1990'sCommander Keen, advertised a game entitledThe Fight for Justiceas a follow-up to the Keen trilogy. It would feature a character named Quake, "the strongest, most dangerous
person on the continent", armed with thunderbolts and a "Ring of Regeneration." Conceived as a VGA full-color side-scrolling RPG,The Fight for Justicewas never released.
Pre-release and Pre-release and QTestQTest
Quakewas given as a title to the game that id Software was working on shortly after the release of Doom II . The earliest information released describedQuakeas focusing on a Thor-like character who wields a giant hammer, and is able to knock away enemies by throwing the hammer (complete with real-time inverse kinematics). At the start, the levels were supposed to be designed in an Aztec style, but the choice was dropped some months into the project.
Early screenshots then showed medieval environments and dragons. The plan was for the game to have more RPG-style elements. However, work was very slow on the engine, since John Carmack, the main programmer of Quake, was not only developing a full 3D engine, but also a TCP/IP networking model. (Carmack later said that he should have done two separate projects which developed those things.) Eventually, the whole id team began to think that the srcinal concept may not have been as wise a choice as they first believed. Thus, the final game was very stripped down from its srcinal intentions, and instead featured gameplay similar to Doomand its sequel, although levels and enemies were closer to medieval RPG style rather than science-fiction. Praised throughout the gaming community, it quickly dethroned previous FPS titles and revolutionized the way multiplayer games were developed.
Before the release of the game or the demo of the game, id software releasedQTest on February 24, 1996. It was described as a technology demo and was limited to three multiplayer maps. There was no single player support and some of the gameplay and graphics were unfinished or different from their final versions. Nevertheless, the game's multiplayer support causedQuakeservers to spring up everywhere overnight. QTest also gave gamers their first peek into the filesystem and modifiability of the Quake engine, and many entity mods (that placed monsters in the otherwise empty multiplayer maps) and custom player skins began appearing online before the full game was even released.
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Development Development
Quakewas programmed by John Carmack, Michael Abrash and John Cash. The level and scenarios were designed by American McGee, Sandy Petersen, John Romero and Tim Willits. The graphics were designed by Adrian Carmack, Kevin Cloud. Music and sound design was by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails fame.
Family Tree of Quake engines
Quake family tree, showing games and engines based on id Tech 2 The game engine developed forQuake, the Quake engine, popularized
several major advances in the 3D game genre: polygonal models instead of prerendered sprites; full 3D level design instead of a 2.5D map; prerendered lightmaps; and allowing end users to partially program the game (in this case with QuakeC ), which popularized fan-created modifications (mods).
Gameplay Gameplay
Quakehas two fundamental modes of gameplay: single player and multiplayer .
Single Player Single Player
In single-player mode, players explore and navigate to the exit of each level, facing many challenging monsters and a few secret areas along the way. Usually there are buttons to press or keys to collect in order to open doors before the exit can be reached. Once reaching the exit, the game takes the player to the next level.
Before the start level, there is a set of three pathways with easy, medium, and hard skill levels; in order to reach the Nightmare skill level (described in the game manual as "so bad that it was hidden, so people won't wander in by accident"[2]), the player must drop through the water before the Episode 4 entrance and jump into a secret passage.
Quake's single-player campaign is organized into four individual episodesof about eight levels each (each including a secret level, one of which is a "low gravity" level —Ziggurat Vertigo in Episode 1,
Dimension of the Doomed —that challenges the player's abilities in a different way). As items are collected, they are carried to the next level, each usually more challenging than the last. If the player dies, he must restart at the beginning of the level. However, games may be saved at any time.
Upon completing each episode, the player is returned to the hubStart level, where he can then enter the next episode.
Each episode starts the player from scratch, without any previously collected items. Episode I (which formed the shareware or downloadable demo version of Quake) has a boss in the last level. The ultimate objective at the end of an episode is to recover a magic rune. After all of the runes are collected, the floor of theStart opens up to reveal an entrance to the End level which contains the final boss.
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Multiplayer Multiplayer
In multiplayer mode, players on several computers connect to a server (which may be a dedicated machine or on one of the player's computers), where they can play against each other. Typically in multiplayer mode, when a player dies he can immediately respawn, but loses any items he has collected and so must start collecting them again.
Similarly, items that have been picked up previously respawn after some time, and may be picked up again.
The single-player campaign can be played in co-op mode.
The most popular multiplayer modes are all forms of deathmatch. Deathmatch modes typically consist of either free-for-all(no organization or teams involved), one-on-oneduels, or organizedteamplaywith two or more players per team (or clan). Teamplay is also frequently played with one or another mod. Typically, no monsters are normally present, as they serve no purpose other than to get in the way and give away the player.
The gameplay inQuakewas considered unique for its time because of the different ways the player can maneuver through the game. For example: bunny hopping or strafe jumping can be used to move faster than normal, while rocket jumping enables the player to reach otherwise-inaccessible areas (or just move faster), at the cost of some self-damage. The player can start and stop moving suddenly, jump unnaturally high, and change direction while moving through the air. Many of these non-realistic behaviors contribute to Quake's appeal. The nature of the gameplay is often fast and frenzied, and has become considerably faster over the years as players mastered advanced movement techniques.
There is obvious skill needed to react quickly, aim precisely, dodge other players' shots, and jump across tricky spaces. As Quake did not include any automap, it also requires considerable knowledge of the sometimes confusingly-contorted maps (made more complex by the frequent use of teleporters) as well as careful planning in order to collect needed items and conserve health and ammunition. Strategies include regularly picking up items to prevent one's opponent from having access to them and controlling certain critical areas of each level. Duels often take place with opponents mostly out of sight of each other, jockeying for position and carefully stocking up on items, with sudden changes in speed of play when one player or the other gains an advantage. Sound also plays a central role in keeping track of other players and even items in the game, so many players use headphones to give the clearest sound and directionality. Teamplay adds even more tactical layers, with different ways to communicate and cooperate.
MultiplayerQuakewas one of the first games that people singled out as a form of electronic sport. Most notable was Dennis "Thresh" Fong who won John Carmack's Ferrari 308 at the Microsoft-sponsored Red Annihilation tournament in 1997.
Story Story
The player takes the role of an un-named protagonist sent into a portal in order to stop an enemy code-named
"Quake". Previously, the government had been experimenting with teleportation technology, and upon development of a working prototype called a "Slipgate", this enemy has compromised the human connection with their own teleportation system, using it to insert death squads into the "human" dimension, supposedly in order to test the martial capabilities of humanity.
The sole surviving protagonist in Operation Counterstrike is the player, who must advance, starting each of the four episodes from a human held but overrun military base, before fighting through into other dimensions, traversing these via slipgate or their otherworld equivalent. Once passing through each slipgate, the player's main objective is to survive and locate the exit which will take him to the next level, not unlike that of id Software's previous hit, Doom. The game consists of around 28 separate "levels" or "maps", grouped into four episodes. Each episode represents individual dimensions that the player can access through magical portals (as opposed to the technological Slipgate) that are discovered over the course of the game. At the start of each episode, the player is deployed in a futuristic military base and he has to find a slipgate that will take him to the alternate realm. The various realms consist of a
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number of gothic, medieval, as well as "fire and brimstone"-style caves and dungeons with a recurring theme of hellish and satanic imagery reminiscent of Doom(such as pentagrams and images of demons on the walls). The latter is inspired by several dark fantasy influences, notably that of H. P. Lovecraft; most notably, Dimensional Shamblers appear as enemies, the "Spawn" enemies are called "Formless Spawn of Tsathoggua" in the manual, the end boss of the first episode is named Chthon, and the final boss is named Shub-Niggurath (though actually resembling a Dark Young[3]). Some levels have Lovecraftian names, such as the Vaults of Zin and the Ebon Fortress. Originally, the game was supposed to include more Lovecraftian bosses, but this concept was scrapped due to time constraints.
It should be noted, however, that by the time the game was released the specifics of the story had become relatively unimportant and somewhat disorganized. This is mainly due to a last-minute mix of two different game designs: lead level designer John Romero wanted to make a dark fantasy hand to hand combat/RPG hybrid game, while level designers Tim Willits and American McGee wanted to make a more futuristic, Doom-like game. Ultimately the Doom-like mechanics were implemented and many of the dark fantasy design elements were incorporated into the
graphics and visual effects of the game.
Sequels Sequels
After the departure of Romero, the remaining id employees chose to change the thematic direction substantially for Quake II , making the design more technological and futuristic rather than Lovecraftian fantasy.Quake 4followed the design themes of Quake II , whereasQuake III Arenamixed these styles, as it existed in a parallel continuity that housed several "id all-stars", from various games, as playable characters.
The mixed settings occurred becauseQuake II srcinally began as a separate product line. [4]Unfortunately, due to the failure to gain rights to the title they wanted, id designers were forced to fall back on the project's nickname of
"Quake II ." Since any sequel to the srcinal Quakehad already been refused, it became a viable way of continuing the series without actually continuing the storyline or setting of the first game.
Expansions Expansions
There have been two official expansion packs forQuake. The expansions pick up right where the first game left off, use all the same weapons and powerups, monsters and gothic atmosphere/architecture and continue/finish the story of the first game and its protagonist. A third unofficial expansion pack, Final Mission: Abyss of Pandemonium, was developed by the Impel Development Team.
Quake Mission Pack 1: Scourge of Armagon Quake Mission Pack 1: Scourge of Armagon Quake Mission Pack 1: Scourge of Armagon
Quake Mission Pack 1: Scourge of Armagonis the first official mission pack released on February 28, 1997. It was developed by Hipnotic Interactive. It features fifteen new single player missions, a new multiplayer arena, and gameplay features not srcinally found in Quake, including rotating structures and breakable walls. New enemies include Centroids, large cybernetic scorpions with nailguns, Gremlins, small goblins that can steal weapons and multiply by feeding on enemy corpses, and Spike Mines, floating orbs that detonate when near the player. New weapons include, Mjolnir, a large lightning emitting hammer, a laser cannon, which shoots bouncing bolts of energy, and a Proximity Mine Launcher, which fires grenades that attach to surfaces and detonate when an opponent comes near.
The storyline follows Armagon, a general of Quake's forces, planning to invade Earth via a portal known as the 'rift'.
Armagon resembles a giant gremlin with cybernetic legs and a combined rocket launcher/laser cannon for arms.
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Quake Mission Pack 2: Dissolution of Eternity Quake Mission Pack 2: Dissolution of Eternity Quake Mission Pack 2: Dissolution of Eternity
Quake Mission Pack 2: Dissolution of Eternitywas the second official mission pack, released on March 31, 1997.
Developed by Rogue Entertainment, it featured sixteen new single player levels as well as several new enemies and bosses. New enemies included Electric Eels, Phantom Swordsmen, Multi-Grenade Ogres (which fire cluster grenades), Hell Spawn, Wrath (floating, robed undead), Guardians (resurrected ancient Egyptian warriors), Mummies, and statues of various enemies that come to life. The bosses were Lava Men, Overlords, large Wraths, and a dragon guarding the "temporal energy converter". Rather than offering new weapons, the mission pack gave the player new ammo for already existing weapons, such as "lava nails" for the Nailgun, cluster grenades, rockets that split into four in a horizontal line, plasma cells, and a grappling hook to help in moving around the map.
Modification Modification
Quakecan be heavily modified by altering the sounds, graphics, or scripting in QuakeC and due to its popularity, has been the focus of many fan "mods". The first mods were small gameplay fixes and patches initiated by the community, usually enhancements to weapons or gameplay with some new foes. Later mods were more ambitious and resulted inQuakefans creating versions of the game that were drastically different from id Software's srcinal release.
The first majorQuakemod wasTeam Fortress. This mod consists of Capture the Flag gameplay, but with a class system for the players. Players choose a class, which creates various restrictions on weapons and armor types available to that player, and also grants special abilities. For example, the bread-and-butterSoldier class has medium armor, medium speed, and a well-rounded selection of weapons and grenades, while the Scout class is lightly armored, very fast, has a scanner that detects nearby enemies, but has very weak offensive weapons. One of the other differences with CTF is the fact that the flag is not returned automatically when a player drops it: running over one's flag in Threewave CTF would return the flag to the base, and in TF the flag remains in the same spot for preconfigured time and it has to be defended on remote locations. This caused a shift in defensive tactics compared toThreewave CTF .Team Fortressmaintained its standing as the most-played online modification of Quakefor many years.
Another popular mod wasThreewaveCapture the Flag(CTF), primarily authored by Dave 'Zoid' Kirsch.Threewave CTF is a partial conversion consisting of new maps, a new weapon (a grappling hook), power-ups, some new textures and new rules of game play. Typically, two teams (red and blue) would compete in a game of Capture the flag, though a few maps with up to four teams (red, blue, green, and yellow) were created. Capture the Flag has become a standard game mode included in most popular multiplayer games released afterQuake, in addition to Deathmatch first introduced in Doom.
Rocket Arenaprovides the ability for players to face each other in small, open arenas with changes in the gameplay rules so that item collection and detailed level knowledge are no longer factors. A series of short rounds, with the surviving player in each round gaining a point, instead tests the player's aiming and dodging skills and reflexes.Clan Arenais a further modification that provides teamplay using Rocket Arenarules.
Future versus Fantasyadded 12 (later increased to 16) classes based on various concepts, intended for both single and multiplayer games. Eventually it would become registerware and include new monster types in single player. It was notable for its Purge multiplayer mode, in which two teams fought over an Altar attempting to make a player a Diety and grant their team blessings to kill the enemy and hold the altar for points to win the game; and its Quest mode which amped up the difficulty of the singleplayer or cooperative multiplayer game and included leveling up to gain new weapons. The classes in FvF were: Quake Marine, Laser Android, Cyborg Camper, Sniper, Wasteland Warrior, Fighter, Mage, Ninja, Cleric, Monk, Deity, DooM (or MooD) Marine, Alien, and Time Traveller. Each class had its unique traits and the total weapon count was 80. FvF did not become as popular as Team Fortress or CTF but had its loyal players. One of its creators made a sequel with a new engine called Purge Jihad.
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One category of mod, "bots", were introduced to provide surrogate players in multiplayer mode.