Hey, I've started playing Quake 1 yesterday and I'm weirdly addicted to it, can't put it down. It's still as good as ever. I miss its design in contemporary FPS. Today I've stumbled upon this and it sums up my thoughts perfectly:
Reasons why Quake 1 single player is still good:
1. Dark atmosphere:
Many recent games are very atmospheric to be sure, but few if any can match the dark, gothic, and generally malevolent atmosphere Quake has. Quake, with it's complete detatchment from real world/typical sci-fi enviroments, has a sense of inhospitability that is most effective at fostering a desire to overcome it, kill things and escape. The only game I have seen that has bettered Quake's *type* of atmosphere is the wonderfully bleak and nasty Zerstörer, a Partial Conversion for.......Quake.
2. Visceral style:
Along with the atmosphere created by the general theme of the game, there are plenty of other touches that Quake has which enhance it's visceral style. In particular, the close combat monsters, who want to take the fighting up front and personal and rip your head off, the simple, effective and non-tactical weapons, the cheerfully exploding "crunchy" gibs, the joys of the Quad, and the general fast pace and violence involved - all of which fits right in to the dark atmosphere.
3. Fun gameplay:
Quake 1's gameplay is still fun after all these years, because it's simple, dynamic, and brutal - the focus is on action, rather than planning, tactics and sneaking around. Now, I like sneakiness as much as the next man, but Quake's style of gameplay has it's place too. Additionally, it's far less easy to die in Quake than it is in recent games, meaning you can worry more about killing rather than dying, and you can try whack stuff and "brave" combats, and often get away with it.
4. Simplicity and ease of use:
Quake is easy to get to grips with, and harder to get confused or stuck in, due to the focus on action over complexity. The weapons fit well with this, they are simple and direct, with no confusing fire modes or side effects. It's an ideal game for a quick blast of violence, especially with the focus on individual levels - pick it up, shoot things, put it down.
5. Weird monsters:
Some of the Quake monsters, especially the real *monsters*, are very original and weird - and unlike any classical or mythological monsters. In particular, monsters like the Fiend, Shambler, Vore, Scrag, Spawn, Chthon, and even the Ogre (with it's weapons) have plenty of cool and nasty touches (like not having eyes!), and their original style and sheer "monsterousness" adds to the feel of the game.
6. Medieval/crossover themes:
This is one distinctive aspect that few other games have: As well as normal medieval styles, Quake has medieval styles blended with hi-tech aspects, and completely original gothic styles like Episode 3. These alone set it apart from most games and enhance the dark and grimy feel - and there is plenty of potential to blend all sorts of medieval/gothic themes that you won't find elsewhere. Further, you get to use hi-tech weapons in these medieval enviroments - another unusual touch.
7. Vast number of custom levels:
There are far more custom Quake 1 single player levels than all the other recent games added together, including plenty that are superior to the original game. This gives a huge choice and variety of levels, and means there are far more excellent levels to choose from than in other games. This is what can keep Quake single player going for a long, long time.
8. Potential for improvement:
The basic designs and gameplay in Quake and the arbitrary nature of the game means that it is very easy to improve on the original. Both with and without QuakeC, there are almost unlimited tweaks, designs, styles and ideas that can be added and explored - and indeed the game can often be much improved by their appropriate usage. In fact, there still seems to be almost unlimited potential for ideas that have yet to be explored...
9. Improvability of basic story:
Quake has a very basic "story" which, although increasingly untrendy in this story driven age, does have some benefits. It makes it more suitable for expansion, as there are so many of people's own ideas that can be added. It gives people the opportunity to add a lot to the story with both complex and simple Quake stories of their own (Casspq1, for example). And it also makes it harder for people to produce levels that don't fit in at all with the Quake concept - because that concept is rather vague, vague level ideas can be explored.
10. Scary music:
Well, it's only a minor point, but Quake's original music is the best and most atmospheric I have heard so far. It's certainly weird and spooky enough to fit the style of the game very well, far more so than rawk and pseudo-dance soundtracks fit more recent games.
11. Direct controls and physics:
Along with the simplicity of the game, Quake's controls are also simple and easy to pick up, and feel more "direct" than other games - the response of the controls feels as if the game does exactly what you tell it, without any time lag or vagueness. Also, the air control allowed by Quake's physics makes tricky jumps far more reasonable and fun than in games without air control.
12. Speedrunning potential:
Obviously speedrunning is an esoteric aspect of FPS games, that only a few people have the patience/stupidity/mad skillz (delete as applicable) to participate in. However, the excitement it can bring to it's devotees, and the entertaiment speedrun demos can bring to players in general should not be underestimated. Quake seems to be by far the best game for speedrunning, due to the straightforward map designs, lack of complex missions, the ease of control, and the potential for amazing tricks.
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