Aug 2, 2011

Quake

QuakeCon isn't just a celebration of all things id Software (and a touch of Bethesda) it's also one of the longest running bring-your-own-computer gaming events in the world.

Oh and this year, on top of the keynote, the panels, the gaming rigs, there's a chance to get your hands on Rage.

If you've never been, but want to swing by this week - yes, this week - don't worry. Kotaku is happy to help you survive the rigors of QuakeCon attendance.

If this is your first time attending the con, don't go unprepared. Armed with the right gear, some helpful hints and a heaping dose of common sense, you'll survive all four days of one of computer gaming's biggest LAN parties.

And if you see a Kotaku editor you recognize at the Con, don't be shy.

Gear Up

• Shoes: While many of those attending Quakecon come to set up camp in the bring your own computer area, there's enough other things going on that an entirely different group of people show up to take in the games, the panels, the talks and the demos. Most BYOCers will likely not need to do a ton of walking, the other type will find themselves doing a lot of cross-hotel wandering. Stay comfy in a pair of Supernova Riot 2 Trail-Running shoes, Vans or Clarks Desert Boots.

• Clothes: Dallas is a blisteringly hot city. A Texas city so warm it's called the Devil's Oven.. not really, but I call it that. And why not? During my time in the Dallas-Forth Worth area, the city hit temperatures topping 115°. So be sure to bring plenty of t-shirts and shorts. But don't forget that the sweeping BYOC area, and it's oodles of temperature sensitive gaming rigs, is kept quite chilly by the pumped in air, so you might want to bring along some sweats too.

• Gear Bag: Bring roomy, mostly empty, reliable storage—tote bag, backpack, over-the-shoulder courier bag—to QuakeCon. Stuff it with the bare essentials, like your phone, camera and snacks. Mishka NYC's Panzer rucksack and Gravis' line of bags come highly recommended, as does Incase's nylon series.

• Electronics: Most important, bring a camera. You'll see some amazing gaming rigs, meet some wonderful folks and check out some great games. You'll want to snap pics.

• Your Rig: This is, afterall, a mammoth LAN party, so you may want to bring your gaming rig. If you're headed to the BYOC, don't forget to pack your monitor and PC/Mac (desktop or laptop) plus your keyboard, mouse, and headphones. As an alternative, this year you can bring a console instead. Just remember that everything you need needs to fit in the allotted three feet of table space.

• Rig Transportation: Have a plan so you don't break your back or equipment. With all the equipment you're bringing, be sure you have something to transport everything in – be it a dolly, a cart, or your old Radio Flyer.

• Water & Snacks: Hosting a con in a hotel has its advantages. Namely, good eats. You can't survive on BAWLs all weekend. While you'll have plenty of time to venture off to downtown Dallas for some choice food, there's also plenty of options at the hotel. QuakeCon favorites include Media Grill + Bar (lunch and dinner) and Gossip Bar (breakfast). There's also room service, but remember they stop serving each night at 12am. If you want to keep things cheap you might want to stock up on your own grub. Clif Bars and bananas. And whatever you do don't forget the water, plenty of water. (I like the Thermos Intak) should tide you over and keep you hydrated, letting you save your dedicated meals for something finer.

• Vitamins & Protection: The all-nighters and panels can wreak havoc on your eating patterns, so supplement with vitamins, especially since you're going to be around tens of thousand of people handling mice, controllers and keyboards. Keep some Purell around and wash those hands or you'll come back from the Con with the Nerd Flu.

Eat, Drink, Sleep, Go

• Eat: It would be a crime against humanity, and your gut, if you made your way to Dallas and never ventured outside the hotel to grab a bite to eat. The city is packed with amazing places to grab unforgettable meals. I can't even begin to summarize all of the places you could go, so I'll just mention a few highlights and leave it to more savvy and familiar commenters to expand the list. Mike Anderson's BBQ is, like all great barbecue joints, an outwardly forgettable restaurant. But inside you'll find the ribs, pulled pork and brisket that made this joint the Dallas Observer's pick for best barbecue in the city. The Angry Dog is a great place to pick up a great burger. Sfuzzi's Pizza is a must if you're visiting the town, as is the Heart Attack Grill.

• Drink: You might want to check out the Inwood Lounge at the Inwood movie theater if you're in the mood for a mean martini. Barcadia? Yes please. Combining beer with video games never gets old. NEVER. You should also take the time to check out Deep Ellum, home to nearly 50 clubs, restaurants and shops in what was once the warehouse district of Dallas. Back in the day they had some pretty amazing jazz bars too.

• Sleep: QuakeCon is back at the Hilton Anatole, so that's your best option for where to stay. To save on your room, make sure you reserve using the QuakeCon block. As of this morning they still had rooms available.

• Go: Getting to the convention is fairly straight forward. You'll just need to find your way to the Hilton Anatole, 2201 North Stemmons Freeway, in Dallas. No Comic-Con or E3 epic lines here.

The Big Show

• Hours: Thursday through Sunday, the Con kicks off at 9 a.m. Thursday morning, with the hall opening at 10 a.m. and scheduled events throughout the rest of the week.

QuakeCon: A Brief History

QuakeCon is a free bring-your-own-computer gaming event held annually in Dallas, Texas hosted by id Software, makers of Quake, Doom and soon Rage.

The event started in 1996 as a grassroots gathering of fans of Quake at a Garland, Texas hotel. The event ended with a surprise appearance by id Software developers, who weren't a part of organizing the original event. John Carmack chatted with the group of 100-or-so people about the future of id and game development.

The event has been held annually since, growing to more than 8,500 people last year.

After you've secured your BYOC spot, if you're going to, make sure to check out the keynote. It's become tradition at QuakeCon that John Carmack does a keynote address, and it's always worth a listen, as he's sure to deliver thoughts on where he sees the game industry going in the coming years. And if you don't understand everything he says… that's okay.

• It's Not Just About Quake: It might be called QuakeCon, but this LAN party has people playing everything and anything under the sun - FPS, RPG, fighting games… they're all welcome. And for the first time ever, the public will be able to play id's latest, Rage, in the exhibit hall. If you want to hop on before the lines start, be ready when the exhibit hall opens.

• The Exhibits and Panels: Outside of the BYOC, there's plenty of fun at this year's event – including gameplay presentations for Skyrim and Prey 2, as well as panels featuring members of id Software, Bethesda, Insomniac, Respawn, and Arkane Studios.

• Master Pancake Theater: For the fourth year running, comedy group Master Pancake Theater will be delivering laughs to QuakeCon attendees. Whether you're on Team Jacob, Team Edward, or Team WTF, you'll definitely want to catch their performance Friday night at 9 pm.

• And Don't Forget the Quake: Big surprise – QuakeCon has some of the best Quake players in the world. If you're not already participating in the tournaments, be sure to catch the finals in the grand ballroom on Saturday night.

Out and About

Don't take the time to travel all of the way to Dallas Texas and then not look around. The city isn't just host to the biggest Quake tournament and LAN in the world, there's also plenty of fun things to do in your down time. Schedule in a few days post show to see the sites.

Deep Ellum is so great it warrants two mentions in this guide. Built in the late 1880s, this Dallas landmark became famous for jazz back in the 1920s. Nowadays you can find all sorts of walk-up clubs with live music to satisfy any tastes.

Of course it would be crazy to go to Dallas and not check out The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza. The permanent exhibit details the life and sudden death of President John F. Kennedy in the spot where that fatal shot was fired from.

If you've got the time it's probably worth swinging over to relatively nearby Fort Worth where you can check out a more Texas version of Dallas, complete with cowboys in big hats, a daily cattle run right through the streets of the city... kinda, and Billy Bob's Texas, the world's largest honky tonk.

Most importantly, don't forget: This is a show about everything that makes id games so wonderful. Have fun! And don't worry if you miss something, we have you covered.

—-

Have some Quakecon survival tips to share with the group? Please leave them in the comments!

[ Image credits: Heart Attack Grill, QuakeCon, Dallas Wiki ]

A special thanks to Tracey Thompson and the folks at Bethesda and id for helping out with this guide.

You can contact Brian Crecente, the author of this post, at brian@kotaku.com. You can also find him on Twitter, Facebook, and lurking around our #tips page.

Comic books! Movies! Video games! Toys! There's so much to see and do at the San Diego Comic-Con, it can be a little overwhelming. Don't worry, Kotaku is happy to help you survive the rigors of comic book convention attendance.
If this is your first time attending the San Diego Comic-Con, don't go... More »

Jun 23, 2011

John Carmack recounts Quake

Quake III Arena

id Software wizard John Carmack has recounted the experience of creating Quake, the seminal first-person shooter that turns 15 today.

"My defining memory of the game was fairly early in development, when I no-clipped up into a ceiling corner and looked down as a Shambler walked through the world with its feet firmly planted on the ground," Carmack, who is knee deep in Rage development, said on the Bethblog.

"This looked like nothing I had ever seen before; it really did seem like I had a window into another world. Of course, as soon as he had to turn, the feet started to slide around because we didnt have pivot points and individual joint modifications back then, but it was still pretty magical.

"It seems silly now, but at the time we were very concerned that people wouldn't be able to deal with free look mouse control, and we had lots of options to restrict pitch changes and auto-centre when you started moving."

Carmack goes on to describe the game's online play as "almost an accident". He has kind words for its 3D graphics and modding, however.

"The most important thing about Quake for me was that I met my wife when she organized the first all-female Quake tournament. She still thinks Quake was the seminal achievement of id, and she glowers at me whenever I bemoan how random the design was."

At E3 Carmack outlined his vision of the next Quake game - what would perhaps be Quake V - in an interview with Eurogamer.

"Nothing is scheduled here, people are not building this," Carmack said. "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.

"We certainly have strong factions internally that want to go do this.

"But we could do something pretty grand like that, that still tweaks the memory right in all of those ways, but is actually cohesive and plays with all of the strengths of the level we're at right now."

Video:

Jun 20, 2011

Before They Were Famous: id Software

Quake

Time for another "before they were famous" here on Total Recall. Last time we looked at Bungie, creators of the Halo franchise. This time? We're looking at id Software, the team behind Wolfenstein, Doom and Quake.

I'm going to preface this entire thing by saying that if you're at all interested in the history of video games, and in particular the PC and id Software, you owe it to yourself to read the amazing Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture, which goes into a lot more detail than I'm about to.

That's for later, though. For now, we're going to run through the early years of one of the most important studios in the industry, and look at the games they made before they made the ones which got them famous.

id was founded in 1991, after a number of its earliest members (John Carmack, John Romero, Adrian Carmack and Tom Hall) met while employed at Softdisk, a weird hybrid of a magazine, games developer and demo disk distributor. Yet perhaps the most interesting thing about the studio's early years predates the formation of the actual studio.

A year earlier, John Carmack and John Romero had built, from the ground-up, a PC port of Nintendo's Super Mario Bros. 3, at the time a remarkable feat given PCs weren't supposed to be able to handle side-scrolling like a console could. Initially a crude demo using characters from a Romero game built for Softdisk called Dangerous Dave, (and which they christened Dangerous Dave in Copyright Infringement) the guys eventually had Mario looking so good, and so faithful to the original, they contacted Nintendo about licensing the game from the Japanese company for release on the PC.

While Nintendo of course turned the offer down instantly, another party had become secretly interested in the team's work. With games like Dangerous Dave attracting a cult following, a representative from publisher Apogee began writing to Romero under the guise of a fan, so as not to alert Softdisk, as he had every intention of luring the guys away to make their own games for a living using the concept of shareware, which would see part of a game given away for free to tempt people to pay for the whole thing.

Tempted by this offer, and capitalising upon the platforming technology they'd built for the Mario demo, the team whipped up a side-scroller called Commander Keen, released in December 1990, which quickly became a hit. Keen was a small boy transported into a science-fiction saga, armed with a trusty laser pistol and defended by an oversized...Green Bay Packers helmet.

This only brought about the attention of the team's employers at Softdisk, however, who rather than crack down on them (the guys had been using Softdisk computers after office hours to compile the code for their games) offered to go into business together. That deal fell through when the existing Softdisk management baulked at the idea, though, so in February 1991 id Software stopped being "a bunch of Softdisk guys working in their spare time" and began operations as an independent video game developer.

While it continued developing Commander Keen games for a number of years, id's first new titles were both games that would be critical to the studio's future success. In April 1991, id released Hovertank 3D, one of the first games to ever be played from a first-person, 3D perspective on the PC. It followed this up in November 1991 with Catacomb 3D, an adaptation of an old John Carmack fantasy title dropped into the same revolutionary 3D engine.

These games, while important in their own right for their technological prowess for the time (3D and first-person being normally reserved for poorly-detailed flight simulators), are best remembered now for being essentially testbeds for the engine used in Wolfenstein 3D, released in 1992.

From Wolfenstein, one of the earliest blockbusters in PC gaming, things went from strength to strength for the team, who despite some high profile personnel changes (like Romero's departure to make the disastrous Daikatana in 1996) would go on to release classics like 1993's Doom, 1996's Quake and a number of well-received sequels for both, not to mention also being responsible for engine technology that has powered many other developer's games like Half-Life.

Total Recall is a look back at the history of video games through their characters, franchises, developers and trends.

Jun 17, 2011

John Carmack's vision for the next Quake

Quake III Arena

id Software's John Carmack has outlined his vision for the next game in the Quake series.

While confirming that the next Quake is not in development, Carmack told Eurogamer there are "strong factions" within the US developer that want to create another game in the seminal first-person shooter series.

And discussions are pointing towards going back to the first game's quirky roots.

"Nothing is scheduled here, people are not building this," Carmack said.

"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.

"We certainly have strong factions internally that want to go do this.

Quake began life on PC in 1996. It involved a marine travelling through alternate dimensions to prevent an alien invasion. Quake 2 followed a year later, introducing the alien planet Stroggos. 2005's Quake 4 continued the story.

The first Quake is credited with pioneering online FPS gaming, but Carmack believes it benefits from rose-tinted nostalgia goggles.

"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.

"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."

Adding his thoughts into the mix, id CEO Todd Hollenshead said: "People shouldn't worry that we're ever going to orphan or abandon Quake. We are huge fans of the game internally."

id Software's next game is Rage, due out on PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 this October. Doom 4 follows. After that, who knows?

Video:

May 3, 2011

This Is What It Takes To Play Duke Nukem Forever On PC (And What It Might've Taken 14 Years Ago)

Quake

Gearbox Software, the developer controlling the reins of Duke Nukem Forever, revealed the official minimum specs required to play the game on a PC today. That's an important milestone that lets us know Duke Nukem Forever is one step closer to actual release and it helps us answer the question "Can my PC handle that much Duke?"

The minimum and recommended hardware specs probably aren't too surprising. It's a game less demanding than, say, Crysis 2 in its minimum requirements, on par with many of its modern-day shooter peers. But here they are, should you finally be considering a PC upgrade now that Duke Nukem Forever is here. (Or is scheduled to be on June 14.)

Duke Nukem Forever

Minimum Specifications

OS: Windows XP/Vista/7
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo @ 2.0 Ghz / AMD Athlon 64 X2 @ 2.0 Ghz
Memory: 1 GB
Hard Drive: 10 GB free
Video Memory: 256 MB
Video Card: nVidia GeForce 7600 / ATI Radeon HD 2600
Sound Card: DirectX Compatible

Recommended Specifications

OS: Windows XP/Vista/7
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo @ 2.4 Ghz / AMD Athlon 64 X2 @ 2.6 Ghz
Memory: 2 GB
Hard Drive: 10 GB free
Video Memory: 512 MB
Video Card: nVidia GeForce 8800 GTS / ATI Radeon HD 3850
Sound Card: DirectX Compatible

Now, I don't know if you've heard, but Duke Nukem Forever has been in development for some time. About 14 years, give or take, and through multiple video game engine life cycles. It was, at one point, being built on id Software's Quake II engine. Later, it was being built on Epic Games' original Unreal engine.

So, I thought it might be interesting to see what a difference 14 years makes in terms of system requirements. So here are the minimum and recommended specs for Quake II and Unreal, based on id Software's web site and the back of this Unreal jewel case I have sitting on my desk for some reason.

Quake II

System Requirements

A 100% Windows 95/98/ME/NT 4.0/2000-compatible computer system (including compatible 32-bit drivers for CD-ROM drive , video card, sound card and input devices)
Pentium® 90 MHz processor (133 recommended) or higher or Athlon® processor
16MB RAM required for Windows 95/98, 24MB required for all other supported operating systems
Quad-speed CD-ROM drive (600 K/sec. sustained transfer rate)
100% Microsoft®-compatible mouse and driver
25MB of uncompressed hard disk space for game files (Minimum Install), plus 45MB for the Windows swap file
Supports network and Internet play via IPX and TCP/IP

Unreal

System Requirements

CPU: P166 MHz or better (200MMX recommended)
MEMORY: 16MB RAM (32MB recommended)
AVAILABLE HD SPACE: 100MB min. (450 recommended)
DISTRIBUTION MEDIA DRIVE: CD-ROM
AUDIO SYSTEM: Windows 95 Compatible Sound Card
VIDEO SYSTEM: PCI Local Bus Video Card
O/S: Windows 95/Windows 98/Windows NT
NETWORK AND INTERNET PLAY: via TCP/IP

Mar 3, 2011

Romero turns attention to casual gamers

DOOM II

John Romero, legendary designer of seminal first-person shooters Wolfenstein 3D, Doom and Quake, is turning his attention to a new type of gamer Facebook gamers.

"We have satisfied hardcore gamers for decades," the id Software co-founder told Venture Beat.

"Now it's time for the rest of the world. Our opportunity is to teach the rest of the world how to play games."

Romero hopes to achieve his goal through the California-based developer Loot Drop. Its small team plan to publish games for multiple social game publishers.

Loot Drop has funding from social game publisher RockYou, which will publish Romero's first game soon.

But Romero's already tasted sweet success in the social game space with Facebook game Ravenwood Fair, which a whopping 10 million people play every month.

Romero's new role as the designer of the next big social experience is a far cry from the one that made his name.

Romero co-founded id Software with John Carmack, Adrian Carmack and Tom Hall, and designed some of the most influential games of all time.

Romero left to start Ion Storm and created the controversial Daikatana. In 1997 he appeared on an advert for the game that said: "John Romero's About To Make You His Bitch....Suck it down." That didn't go down well, and some 10 years later Romero apologised to fans for it.

After Ion Storm closed in 2001, Romero formed mobile game developer Monkeystone Games. After leaving that company, he joined Midway Games in 2003. He left two years later, starting MMO developer Slipgate Ironworks, which became the core studio of Gazillion. That didn't work out as planned, either.

Now the 43-year-old has a very different outlook on the creation of videogames, and believes in experiences fuelled by virtual item purchases. "The game industry is dropping down on top of social," Romero said. "We don't have a view of strip mining the players for cash. When a player gives you money, you want them to feel good about giving you that money."

Romero will launch four Loot Drop games this year, to be published and marketed by other companies.

Gear Up

Eat, Drink, Sleep, Go

The Big Show

QuakeCon: A Brief History

Out and About

See Also

The Traveler's Guide to E3

The Traveler's Guide To San Diego Comic-Con

Duke Nukem Forever

Quake II

Unreal