quakecon posts

Id Software's annual keynote by its co-founder John Carmack at QuakeCon 2009 ran well over two hours with Carmack seemingly not taking a breath as he unloaded on id's plans for the future, his own feelings on next-gen games technology, his rocket company and even his new electric car. Here are just some of the highlights:

• Carmack doesn't see id Software's recent acquisition by ZeniMax Media as a sell out. Indeed he finds it liberating because, "I don't have to attend any more board meetings" which means he can concentrate on doing programming work at the office. id Software has been an acquisition target for a long time; Carmack said that just after Wolfenstein 3D was released, id was almost bought by Sierra Online.
• Speaking about their upcoming game Rage, Carmack referred to it as a "people game". Unlike previous id games which were mostly about monsters trying to kill you, there are real characters that you interact with in the game.
• Carmack is a big believer in the iPhone for games. Indeed he said its likely that all of id's mobile game products will be exclusively made for the iPhone. Carmack sees id making three kinds of mobile games; the classic id game ports, the variant RPG games like Doom RPG and Wolfenstein RPG, and all new original products. Carmack said in that latter category you can expect a Rage tie-in game. Carmack predicted that id will release a new mobile game every other month for the next year or so.

Check out more tibits after the jump:

If you were wondering if there was going to be any news about id's next major Doom game (also known as Doom IV) you are going to have to wait at least one more year. During id Software's QuakeCon press conference today, id's head man Todd Hollenshead stated that the developer is still not ready to chat about the game yet . . . but hinted strongly that they will finally reveal some info at QuakeCon 2010 next year.

During the keynote speech by id's master programmer John Carmack following the press conference, Carmack gave the smallest of hints about the game, saying the next Doom title is the first game they have worked on since Doom II that they didn't have to create new technology. The game will share the same id Tech 5 graphics engne with id's next game Rage.

id Software's upcoming post-apocalyptic action game Rage may be coming to other platforms besides the PC but in terms of performance PC owners will love this bit of news. According to id's master programmer John Carmack (being interviewed by Computer and Video Games) the PC and Xbox 360 versions of the game will run at a perfect 60 frames per second.

That's compared to the PS3 version which Carmack says runs only at 30 fps. He states, "The PS3 lags a little bit behind in terms of getting the performance out of it. The rasteriser is just a little bit slower - no two ways about that." Oh and for you Mac fans, Rage is confirmed to still be coming to that platform as well. We bet Macs go up to 60 fps too.

This year's QuakeCon event will have the usual stuff from id Software's free gaming event. A big Quake Live LAN tournament, a massive BYOC area, exhibits, sneak peaks of id's upcoming projects . . . but there's also a chance for someone to walk away from QuakeCon with a new car.

Yep, that custom 2010 Ford Shelby Mustang GT500 Coupe pictured above could be yours if you attend the event from August 13-16 at the Gaylord Hotel in Grapevine, Texas. The car, valued at $52,000, is being given away by the gaming oriented communications program Ventrilo. 100 tickets will be given out during QuakeCon and folks can win a ticket in various ways during the show, including random drawnings. Of course just one of the tickets will be picked at the end of QuakeCon to win the Mustang.

For you gearheads, the version being given away at QuakeCon has a "six speed transmission mated to a supercharged 5.4 liter V-8 pumping out a brutal 540 horsepower and 510 lb-ft of pavement destroying torque." Anyway you size it, this is a true muscle car.

With QuakeCon 2009 now less than a month away, the organizers of the free game tournament and show have now announced their plans for the tournament section of the event. Main sponsor id Software will be using their recently launched free-to-play FPS Quake Live as the main game for the professional and open tournaments.

The Quake Live Masters Tournaments will have 64 of the best Quake Live pro players competing in 1-on-1 matches at QuakeCon 2009 for over $25,000 in prize money including $14,000 for the champion. In addition the Quake Live Open Tournament will allow 128 amateurs to compete for $2,500 in cash including $1,500 for the winner. Both tournaments will be sponsored by Intel. id Software is also sponsoring a Quake Live Capture The Flag tournament where 32 teams of four will battle for $22,000 in prize money including $12,000 for the winning team.

Details on how players can enter the tournaments can be found at the Quake Con web site. As we previously reported the event has been moved from its original location to the Gaylord Hotel in Grapevine, Texas where it will be held August 13-16.

Even with id Software's purchase by ZeniMax Media last week, plans for QuakeCon 2009 are continuing. However the annual free LAN event-game convention is getting a last minute venue change. Instead of the previously announced Hilton Anatole Hotel in Dallas, the venue has changed over to the Gaylord Hotel in nearby Grapevine, Texas. The Gaylord Hotel previously hosted the 2004 and 2005 QuakeCons.

According to today's press announcement, this change will allow QuakeCon 2009 to have a bigger BYOC area, a biggest exhibitor area and "totally new events and entertainment." Folks who had made QuakeCon resevations at the previous hotel will find that those reservations have been canceled. id plans to announce when reservations will be made available for the Gaylord Hotel soon, at equal or lesser rates. The dates for QuakeCon 2009 have not changed; it will still be held August 13-16.

The fallout (pun intended) from Wednesday's news of id Software being acquired by ZeniMax Media is still being felt and today our sister site Joystiq and other media outlets got to speak with id co-founder John Carmack and the other principles involved. Here's a quickie summary of the important bits:

• Joystiq asked about the possibility of the id Tech 5 graphics engine being used in other games that are being developed by ZeniMax Media. It's CEO Robert Altman said, "We'll certainly take advantage of the expertise and brain of John Carmack throughout the organization. Specifically, what we will do with the technology, the id tech engine, and the proprietary technology that's been developed here, is to be discussed. We haven't determined how we are going to handle that proprietary technology, going forward. So, it's just one of the agenda items for us as we integrate these organizations."

When we and other web sites post up galleries of booth models for events such as E3 2009, it's always assumed that the models are there just for eye candy. Surely the babes know nothing about the products they are trying to sell, right? Well, not necessarily. CNBC's web site has a feature on a booth model agency that prides itself on hiring models that also happen to be gamers.

The agency, Charisma+2, was founded in 2008 by Yvonna Lynn (pictured above) who felt there was a niche to be filled by creating a company of models for events like E3, Comic-Con, QuakeCon and others. It can also be a way to break into the game industry. Lynn states, ""The main idea is to help these guys and girls get their foot into the door in an industry they normally would not have access to That's especially true with the ladies, because this is such a hard industry for women to break into."

13 years ago today, id Software released Quake, the first game in a first person shooter franchise that continues to be one of the most well known in the PC gaming industry. With five full games based on the series, an number of official and unofficial expansion packs, tons of mods and total conversions and a currently running web browser online-only game, the Quake series continues to be popular even with major shift in emphasis.

On the day that the Quake series become a teenager, Big Download decided to look back at the entire game series. From it's start as a near-Doom clone to the Stroggos storyline to its multiplayer emphasis to its current incarnation as a free-to-play shooter, the series has had many different versions in a relatively short time span.

Click on the image to the right to continue reading Happy 13 Birthday Quake

It's been a while since the QuakeCon web site has gotten an extensive design revamp but this week the site that promotes id Software's annual free LAN event/convention got a new look that's far more slick than the previous design. The revamp also includes an all new logo for the event that's also much different than previous versions.

While the event is free to attend as always, registration is required, especially if you want to be in the massive BYOC area. Registration begins at 9:30 pm ET on Friday. The event itself will be held on August 13-16 and once again will be held at the Hilton Anatole Hotel in Dallas, Texas. We expect that id will be showing off upcoming game projects such as Rage and maybe (if John Carmack feels up to it) the fourth Doom game.