Summary
It’s been a while since we had a proper, single-player installment in theQuakeseries. 20 years this year, as a matter of fact, since the launch of Quake 4. Things could have seemingly been oh so different though as a designer atid Softwarejust shared screenshots from a reimagining of the original Quake.
Thao Le, an environment artist who has been working on games at id since 2008,shared the screenshots on their webpage- thank youDr. Hingis on Twitterfor bringing attention to them. The designer shared various shots of a project they were working on that they describe as a reimagining of the first Quake game, released in 1996, and if it looks like aDoom/Quake hybrid, there’s a very good reason for that.
Thao Le notes that their Quake recreation was built partly using assets from Doom. Presumably, the Doom reboot in 2016 as if this new take on Quake really was something that id planned to be a fully-fledged release, it was scrapped around the time that it was working on that iteration of Doom.
There’s A Timeline Where We’re All Playing A Modern-Day Quake Right Now
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The dev notes that the environments were created using IdTech 5, an older engine that has since been replaced at the studio, but one that was used to build games like Rage,The Evil Within, and Wolfenstein: The Old Blood. The backdrops of what a modern-day Quake might have looked like aren’t the part of this reveal fans of the series are most excited about though - it’s the Shambler.
While most of the screenshots just show what the environment might have looked like in a new Quake, Thao Le also built a Shambler using IdTech 5. Shamblers remain one of the most grotesque and horrifying creatures id has ever dreamt up, so to see what one might have looked like in such graphic detail is quite something.
The site also includesimages from the scrapped Doom 4: Hell On Earth. The project was far enough along that there’s even footage of it out there (thanks,Polygon), but it was ultimately scrapped afterBethesdadidn’t think it felt enough like Doom. Thao Le notes on their site that they were tasked with helping to create an abandoned city for the game, sharing some of what they created.
Although there’s no sign of a new Quake in sight, there is some good news. There’s every chance that the reason id has opted not to revive Quake is becauseDoom: The Dark Ages, which launches tomorrow, is as close to Quake as Doom has ever been. If you’ve got a Quake itch that needs scratching, The Dark Ages might just do the trick.
