EL33TONLINE: News tag archive: doom
Anyone who knows a thing or two about legendary id Software graphics programmer and technical director John Carmack will be aware that the genius programmer and rocket scientist consumes books at an incredibly rapid rate, tearing through tomes of knowledge at an inhuman pace.
These books range a gamut of topics, from history and science to technology, programming and science fiction - and anything in-between - perfectly showcasing his philosophy of ‘learning everything from anything.’ Anything can be an opportunity to discover something new.
[Update] Added response from VP of PR and Marketing at Bethesda Softworks, Pete Hines. [End of Update]
Rumours and reports doing the rounds today concern the future (or not) of the next entry to id Software’s legendary DOOM series of first-person shooters.
While the original fellows behind id Software had all been making games for years before the company’s official formation in 1991, this legendary game development studio first rose to prominence with the release of a cult-classic side-scrolling platform game, Commander Keen.
After that watershed game which contained graphical and technical wizardry as-yet-unseen on the PC, id Software went on to release classic after classic, with Wolfenstein 3D, DOOM and DOOM II, Quake, Quake 2 and Quake 3: Arena, and DOOM 3 representing the studio’s last in-house developed title.
When PC gamers of the 90’s think back there must surely be one name that’s synonymous with their digital leisure antics of the period: John Romero.
Not only did Romero co-found legendary development studio, id Software, and work on seminal titles such as Wolfenstein 3D, DOOM and Quake, but good friend and fellow developer Tom Hall was there too (up until the beginning of DOOM II’s development), serving as id Software’s creative director, no less, and key contributor to the Commander Keen series that brought the team so much success in the first place.
After splitting up following their stints at id Software, rejoining at the ill-fated ION Storm, then joining up again at mobile developer Monkey Stone, then joining up again at Midway Austin, then parting ways again to try their respective hands at massively multiplayer online game development, John Romero and Tom Hall are once more working together in an official capacity at their new company, Loot Drop.
What kind of evil magic is this?! 27 games comprising titles from id Software and Bethesda Softworks’ back catalogue, all for $69.99?!
A celebration of that pagan ‘QuakeCon 2010’ ritual down in Dallas, Texas, no doubt!
I feel an unholy presence behind this ‘QuakeCon Pack,’ which is now available through the Steam digital download service to purchase.
Should you take advantage of this offer, you’ll save a whopping $233.35, which is the price you’d pay if you bought each of the games individually – games like DOOM 3, Fallout 3, Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, and more.
The full list of games available in the QuakeCon Pack is as follows:
This year’s QuakeCon begins today, and with it, a celebration of all things id Software (DOOM, Quake) with massive multiplayer tournaments, an enormous Bring Your Own Computer (BYOC) LAN event, all kinds of presentations and exhibitions, and what many would call the ‘crown jewel’ of the event, John Carmack’s annual keynote.
Every year, id Software’s co-founder, technical director and all-round genius John Carmack gets up on a stage and speaks at length (up to three hours sometimes) with no notes or prompts (except during the lengthy Q&A session) and goes on a stream of conscious ‘technical ramble’ about his work at id Software, the game industry, future directions, various programming challenges, and of course his rocketry work at his aerospace company, Armadillo Aerospace.
Sometimes, he even reveals id Software games.
The headline basically says it all: A Mega Man-themed DOOM total conversion by a fellow named Mike ‘CutmanMike’ Hill has been unleashed onto Mother Internet with a fully-featured multiplayer mode, sporting the addition of bots and a singleplayer section to practice with before ‘jumping online.’
In a particularly shocking turn of events, Bethesda Softworks (Oblivion, Fallout 3) parent company, ZeniMax Media, has completed its acquisition of the legendary DOOM and Quake developer, id Software, a historically staunchly independent studio. id Software CEO, Todd Hollenshead commented on the acquisition:
“This was a unique opportunity to team with a smart, sophisticated publisher like Bethesda Softworks where the interests of the studio and the publisher will be fully aligned in the development and marketing of our titles.
“In addition,” Hollenshead continued, “we will now have financial and business resources to support the future growth of id Software, a huge advantage which will result in more and even better games for our fans.”
Game developer and graphics programmer extraordinaire, John Carmack, who will continue at id Software as technical director, remarked:
In an interview with one of the motion-capture actors for the next entry into the mighty DOOM franchise, Brad Hawkins, it has been revealed that DOOM 4 could feature large squads of humans fighting together, comprised of both military personnel and civilians caught up in the fight.
This could mean that the battle against the demons of hell has shifted to Earth, as civilians and the military work together to repel the invasion, maybe even hinting at a more open style of gameplay, as opposed to previous entries’ corridor shooting. From the interview:
“[Filmmaker Mark Bristol] was very specific on the civilians having a certain personality and the military characters having a separate one as well. The body language of the civilians is less, well, ‘trained.’
“They carry their guns in a looser fashion and are a little sloppier when they run, a little more freestyle. The military characters are sharp as razors, with very swift moves, exact hand positioning and can turn on a dime.”
The interview, first appearing on GGL Wire, has since been removed, so we know the information has to have some merit to it! This titbit joins the other tiny bit of news about Doom 4, in which it was revealed that the game has authentic novelist, Graham Joyce, attached to the project in a writing capacity.
Source: RockPaperShotgun
id Software’s follow-up to their blockbuster series of DOOM games, DOOM 4, is set to get an authentic story written by an authentic author. What’s so special about this?
Well, the DOOM series, as players would know, isn’t well known for its breathtaking, thrilling story arcs, but rather the visceral actions of shooting and destroying zombies and demons. DOOM 3 had the assistance of Matt Costello as far as writing was concerned, but that game was still much more about the edge-of-the-seat action than edge-of-the-seat gripping story and dialogue.
So, to correct this perceived problem, id Software have hired on the services of one Graham Joyce, who has an incredible writing resume. Having written fourteen published novels, twenty-six short stories, won the British Fantasy Award four times, two Imaginaire awards and the World Fantasy Award, Joyce is top-class. He also lectures creative writing courses. He knows his stuff, then.
While Joyce’s exact role in the development of DOOM 4 and its story is unclear, he did disclose his involvement with the project thus:
“I can say that id have hired me to help develop the storyline potential.”
So that will have to be good enough, as id Software are probably only going to reveal anything further on the DOOM 4 project later this year, or after their next game, RAGE, ships.
Assault Heroes and Doom are the latest Arcade Hits coming to Xbox Live Arcade tomorrow at discounted prices. Both titles will be available at half price for 400 Microsoft Points each. For those still in the dark, the Arcade Hits programme offers best-selling XBLA games at permanently reduced prices.
Assault Heroes
Assault Heroes sees players stepping into the shoes of the only surviving member of an elite special forces unit searching for a secret underground lab. The game can be played alone or with a friend in the two-player cooperative mode, either online via Xbox Live or offline on the same screen. Team based campaigns feature enhanced weapons and special attacks.
Players will fight enemies from an armed 4x4, speed boat or on foot using miniguns, flak cannons, flamethrowers, grenades and nukes. The game features destructible terrain, detailed graphics and challenging levels as well as bonus sublevels.
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