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Lovecraft and Quake

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  • Lovecraft and Quake

    I think it would be great if someone knowledgeable wrote about the strong (dominant?) influence of the writing of H.P. Lovecraft on Quake.

    I'm a bad choice for doing this so I'll remain silent.
    Quakeone.com - Being exactly one-half good and one-half evil has advantages. When a portal opens to the antimatter universe, my opposite is just me with a goatee.

    So while you guys all have to fight your anti-matter counterparts, me and my evil twin will be drinking a beer laughing at you guys ...

  • #2
    Hrmm. Sounds interesting. I wonder if he described them just like they look in Quake.

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    • #3
      Jehar, a member of the Doom community interviewed Peterson for his takes on Lovecraft's influence in entertainment culture....
      Inside3d - Because you can't be Outside 3D!

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      • #4
        Kell...

        ...from Signs of Koth, func_msgboard, #tf etc. has done a bit of research in this area.

        Check out http://kell.leveldesign.org/stuff_lovecraftinquake.html , then cruise the rest of this awesome level designer's site.

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        • #5
          Originally posted by distrans
          ...from Signs of Koth, func_msgboard, #tf etc. has done a bit of research in this area.
          That is a very thorough link, distrans.



          Excerpt from the Kell Site:

          Originally posted by Kell ..
          Shub-Niggurath - this is the only overtly female entity in the mythos, but is never encountered in Lovecraft's own stories. Another writer, Robert Bloch ( who was Lovecraft's protege when he was a teenager, and went on to write the novel that was cinematised as 'Psycho' ) added this himself:
          "Something black in the road, something that wasn't a tree. Something big and black and ropy, just squatting there, waiting, with ropy arms sqirming and reaching..."
          Kell created the excellent and top quality episode called Contract Revoked (info/download page). There is a secret room (or maybe it is a library) on one of the maps that has a Lovecraft shrine or picture on the wall.



          Another excerpt from Kell's site:

          Cthon - contrary to popular interpretation, the name Cthon is probably not directly from Cthulhu, but from Brian Lumley's mythos 'Chthonians'. The word cthonic is in original greek kthon or xthonos which literally means 'dweller under the earth'. The depiction in Quake of an infernal-red monster is probably id's own stylisation ( quite right too ) but if you look closely at Cthon's face, you'll notice he hasn't got one; just a maw of crimson fangs opening vertically. The vertical mouth is taken from one of Lovecraft's creatures, the Gug.
          I didn't notice the Lovecraft connection until I finally figured out why a player named Nyarlathotep seemed so familiar (this was back in the dial-up days). I had rented the Necronomicon movie once, and I swear there was an "Alone in the Dark"-based movie from the mid-1990s but I can't find anything. One day I noticed the map of END map "Shub Niggurath's Pit" and added it all up and realized it wasn't a coincidence.

          Not necessarily a Quake secret, but it doesn't seem to be common knowledge.
          Quakeone.com - Being exactly one-half good and one-half evil has advantages. When a portal opens to the antimatter universe, my opposite is just me with a goatee.

          So while you guys all have to fight your anti-matter counterparts, me and my evil twin will be drinking a beer laughing at you guys ...

          Comment


          • #6
            Very interesting. Lefty and I were at a Buckethead concert last week, and I picked up a copy of the tour-only CD, The Elephant Man's Alarm Clock. There is one song (consisting of 4 movements) that the cover says is inspired by H.P. Lovecraft. I'm not into Lovecraft myself, but the song is bad ass, and I'd love to see what you who are into Lovecraft think about this tremendous piece of music. And even if you don't know Lovecraft from a turd in a bucket, I think it is worth hearing since both this song and Quake were inspired from the same source.

            I was looking at the musical tastes of all who posted in the "what are you listening to" thread, and even if you haven't heard much (or any) Buckethead, I think most of you would really dig this. Buckethead is, in my opinion, the world's greatest living guitarist, and a tremendously talented, eccentric, and visionary musician and songwriter. I suspect that a lot of you guys would be into his stuff if you were exposed to it.

            If interested, PM me for info on, um, how to hear this.
            Last edited by funkify; 03-20-2006, 08:52 AM.

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            • #7
              Originally posted by scar3crow
              Jehar, a member of the Doom community interviewed Peterson for his takes on Lovecraft's influence in entertainment culture....
              I know Jehar, apparently all of our base belongs to him : D

              But as for the influence, if you know where to look, Quake is filled with many more Lovecraft references than just Shamblers, Shalraths, and Shub Niggurath. Even some of the symbols in certain areas are Lovecraft's work. There may be an elder sign in Quake somewhere...
              "It's called being awesome, maybe you should try it." -Bank

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              • #8
                Originally posted by Baker
                There is a secret room (or maybe it is a library)
                on one of the maps that has a Lovecraft shrine or picture on the wall
                Here it is:



                ...and if you want to know more about Kell's Contract Revoked secrets, look here (spoilers!)


                Lovecraft fans should also visit this site:



                ˜jX

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