On Thursday, the legendary Quake franchise celebrated its 10th birthday.
Carmack’s baby pushed the boundaries of PC gaming back in 1996 with features that had never been seen before. The style was a major departure from other 3D shooters of the time, with a blend of horror and fantasy that kept gamers on edge. The engine itself included complex textured 3D environments and polygon-modelled enemies with intelligence - graphical features that paved the way for today’s games.
It was a game that lead to massive demand for Intel’s first-generation Pentium processors and it was a game that created demand for 3D graphics accelerators, or video cards. Video cards have become an important part of any computer, and they’re going to become even more important when Windows Vista arrives early next year. I’ve got the Beta on DVD here, but I’ve yet to find the time to sit down and install it on my home computer.
Sadly though, they don’t make games like Quake anymore - it’s too risky to try something new or radical these days…