iD Software is undoubtedly a company important to first-person shooter enthusiasts. When the developer released "Doom" in 1993, it was the beginning of a new era in gaming. Sure, it also started the dreaded "video game violence will rot the minds of out children" debate, but it's hard to argue that gaming isn't still taking cues from the seminal title. Just three years later, iD would release "Quake," and the first-person shooter genre was not only in 3D, it was possible to play against friends online. Today, online shooters are everywhere – just take a look at this year's E3 line-up – but it's getting harder and harder to remember the way things were 15 years ago.
The game has changed, but iD's John Carmack is looking to the past for a new "Quake."
I spent a ridiculous amount of time cooped up in a dorm room playing LAN matches of "Quake III Arena" back in the day – yes, I know I'm dating myself. Honestly, the "Quake" series as a whole had a huge influence on me, gaming wise, and I've looked forward to each release since first gawking in awe at the ability to deathmatch back in 1993. "Quake 4," in 2005, didn't resonate with me quite as much; maybe it was the lack of new ideas for multiplayer, maybe it was the change in direction that Raven Software brought as the series' new developer. Regardless, all I want is to feel the way I did back in 1993.
Speaking to Eurogamer, iD's John Carmack seems to feel the same way. While the company has no official plans to develop another "Quake," Carmack says that "factions" within the developer are looking to get back to the franchise's roots.
"Nothing is scheduled here, people are not building this," Carmack told Eurogamer. "We went from the 'Quake 2' and the 'Quake 4' Strogg universe. We are at least tossing around the possibilities of going back to the bizarre, mixed up Cthulhu-ish 'Quake 1' world and rebooting that direction. We think that would be a more interesting direction than doing more Strogg stuff after Quake 4."
While I've never been huge on the single-player campaign of "Quake," that may be in some small part to the direction the series went. After the first game, iD drastically changed the story. It sounds like the next "Quake" – if it happens – will go back to focusing on the first game's theme.
Of course, the first-person shooter genre has moved on, and sometimes it's better to let a sleeping dog lie. As much as I loved geeking out with my friends over "Quake" in the late '90s, can this old franchise really compete with the military-heavy, gritty realism of today's biggest sellers? I would like to think so, but that's really hard to say, and it depends a lot on how iD approaches the game. Occasionally, we forgive a game's faults because we look back on it with nostalgia.
"The way I think about some of those things, and I actually get into arguments with my wife about this, who loved the original Quake game, I looked at the original Quake as this random thing, because we really didn't have our act together very well," Carmack continued. "But because it was so seminal about the 3D world and the internet gaming, it's imprinted on so many people. It made such an impact in so many ways. Memory cuts us a lot of slack."
There's no indication from the interview that iD is looking to make "Quake 5," but there's definitely a strong impression that the company is interested in continuing the franchise. iD's CEO, Todd Hollenshead, makes the best case that you'll soon get back to fragging your friends online.
"People shouldn't worry that we're ever going to orphan or abandon 'Quake.' We are huge fans of the game internally," he said.
iD software is currently focused on releasing "Rage."