Quake 4 Designer Diary #1 - The Characters of Quake 4
Get the details on the major characters are in Quake 4, and how Raven Software came up with their names.
Quake 4 isn't just an Xbox 360 launch title and one of the biggest PC games of the year. It's also the latest chapter in the blockbuster franchise that established the 3D shooter as we know it today. However, Quake 4 is the first game in the series that isn't being designed directly by id Software. Development duties went to Raven Software, the company responsible for the Star Trek: Elite Force and Soldier of Fortune games, as well as the last two Star Wars: Jedi Knight games. Combine Raven's reputation with id's cutting-edge graphics technology, and you know why Quake 4 is an action game on everyone's list this year. In this first chapter of our designer diary series for Quake 4, two members of the development team describe how they named the various characters in the game. Names may sound like little things, but clearly a lot of thought went into them
Dramatis Personae
Bob Love and Eric BiessmanRaven Software
Like any large creative project, the names used in Quake 4 have some history behind them. For the hero's squad, we came up with a long list of potential names. In the "mythical names" section of the list, we came across "Unicorn," and our project lead, Eric Biessman, saw this and quickly created a skin for our hard-as-nails Marine with the logo of a doe-eyed unicorn and rainbow on his chest plate. Needless to say, Unicorn was dropped from the list. Soon after that, it was eventually decided to have animal names for all the squads. Having previously been a tank company's name, Rhino squad became the name of the hero's band of Marines. -- Bob Love, writer/programmer
The overriding goal of creating Rhino squad was that each member has a distinctive voice that can be easily identified over the radio. We played with a bunch of different accents, and when we wound up with our final mix, and the team's makeup was decided, it was fairly easy to choose names. -- Eric Biessman, lead designer
Rhino Squad
Corporal Matthew Kane
Age: 23
Born: Lunar Colony, New Hope
Height: 5' 11"
Weight: 180
Above all else, Corporal Matthew Kane is a survivor. He was involved with the disaster on Space Station Armstrong and was the only one to emerge alive. But exactly what happened there may never be known--he is under the strictest orders to remain silent. After several months of recuperation, Kane was assigned to Rhino squad. This was due to Lieutenant Voss, who saw Kane's potential to be a truly valuable asset to the team. However, the squad knows him only from his mysterious reputation. They don't trust him, and they believe he might be too much of a loose cannon. Yet with their upcoming mission on Stroggos, they will quickly find out just what Matthew Kane is capable of.
The name Kane was used because Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek, is said to have always used a hard "K" sound in the names of his heroes. Plus, Kane just sounds badass. -- BL
1st Lieutenant Scott Voss
Age: 30
Born: Mars Colony, Kingsland
Height: 5' 10"
Weight: 170
After the death of its former commander, Lieutenant Daily, Rhino squad wasn't sure it would ever find someone capable of leading it. Then the squad met Lieutenant Scott Voss. He epitomizes the old saying, "It's not so much the size of the dog in the fight as it is the size of the fight in the dog." He's not physically large or overtly demanding, but there is something about his demeanor that demands respect from even the most reckless Marine. Rhino squad knows very little about Voss because he never speaks of his past. But were he to talk, they would hear tales of the horrors he endured after being captured during the Mars riots. He was tortured for six months before being freed; he still suffers nightmares and is highly claustrophobic after having been placed in a coffin and buried for days at a time. Voss knows Rhino squad questions his reasoning for bringing Matthew Kane into the group. But Voss has a sneaking suspicion this new guy just might prove to be Rhino squad's most valuable asset in its battle against the Strogg.
Lieutenant Voss got his name because it rhymes with "boss." -- EB
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Quake 4 Designer Diary #1 - The Characters of Quake 4
Get the details on the major characters are in Quake 4, and how Raven Software came up with their names.
- Jul 29, 2005
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