Quake 4 Q&A - Design, Squads, Multiplayer, Weapons
We sit down with Raven's Eric Biessman and Jim Hughes, and with id Software's Tim Willits, for an update on Quake 4.
First-person shooters let you charge through environments, blasting everything that isn't you. Doom, released in 1993, was the best first-person shooter of the time, letting you charge through hordes of monsters at blazing speeds. Quake (1996) let you not only fight a whole new set of enemies in full 3D, but also let you play against other players over the Internet (with a little jury-rigging, anyway). It's now 2005, and publisher Activision and developers id Software and Raven Software (a longtime collaborator with id) are now hard at work on Quake 4--the next game in the long-running shooter series. The new game will actually be a continuation of 1997's Quake II (alien invasion and all), but it will have an enhanced version of id Software's powerful Doom 3 technology behind it. We sat down with Raven project lead Eric Biessman, Raven lead designer Jim Hughes, and id Software lead designer Tim Willits for more details on the game.
GameSpot: Can you go into how much of a split there will be between large outdoor areas and indoor corridor and hallway environments? Is Quake 4 intended to focus on one or the other (being an outdoor shooter or a corridor crawl)?
Eric Biessman: We've been trying to get a lot of diversity. We have a pretty solid mix of indoor and outdoor levels, [as well as] vehicle levels that keep you outside for a while.
Jim Hughes: We've got a pretty healthy variety. There is fighting outdoors, both on foot and in vehicles.
GS: Can you tell us about the way squads will work in the game--how in depth will players be able to get when playing in a squad? How in depth are squad tactics being modeled in the game (will there be actual fireteams with assault, support, medic, and sniper units)?
Tim Willits: You're not a squad commander in Quake 4. You're a guy who is taking orders, not barking orders. But we wanted to make communication with your squadmates straightforward and intuitive. Basically, you'll have missions where you may have to escort or protect a VIP, meet up with your squadmates [after losing them], and so on. Different squadmates, like the tech marine and the medic, will give you armor and healing. What we really wanted to do in Quake 4 was to make your squad, which is Rhino Squad, consist of unique personalities. So, you're not just in a squad with a bunch of redshirts, you're actually part of a squad. You have these familiar guys that you'll see and interact with throughout the whole game. It really adds depth to the story and context for what you're doing and why you're doing it.
EB: We wanted to give players a lot of story beyond "going around and blowing things up." That was one of the main reasons we decided to add the squads. Like Tim said, the squad in Quake 4 is totally about meeting and getting used to different people, so it ends up being your story along with their story as you go through the game.
TW: One of the cool things about working with Raven is that these guys have a lot of experience with squad-based games, from games like Elite Force and Soldier of Fortune, so it's not like they're doing it for the first time. They're doing it again, and doing it better.
GS: Tell us about the importance of your teammates in the game. We understand that your teammates will actually have names and individual personalities--how crucial to the story will they be? Will there be escort or protection missions in which players will have to ensure certain teammates live? About how much of the game will you play in a squad, and about how much will you be alone?
EB: For much of the game you should feel like you're running with a squad, even if it isn't your squad. We're trying to make players feel like they're a part of an actual war, and they're on the front with the marines. There is a point in the game where things change and you are on your own for a bit, but for the majority of the game, you'll be surrounded by other marines.
GS: What can you tell us about the vehicles in the game? How many will there be and what purposes will they serve?
EB: We have the hovertank, which has whole missions built around it--really pushing the outdoors stuff and battling against larger enemies and other enemy vehicles. We also have the walker, which is intended to make players really feel powerful. It can absorb a lot of damage and will really let players mow down a whole bunch of enemies, and [this vehicle] will be featured in outdoor areas and some indoor areas as well.
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- Activision
- Raven Software
- Sci-Fi First-Person...
- Release: Oct 11, 2005 »
- ESRB: Mature
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