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Why Quake is so special?

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  • Why Quake is so special?

    Recently I started playing some Quake single player again... (I know I am weird but I do not like DM too much, too fast and chaotic)

    Suddenly I was wondering... Why Quake? What is so special in this game more than the dozen of games I played afterwards or that I have ready to download in gog? For example I think I enjoyed Serious Sam more than Quake on the first play.

    Why I always go back to Quake?


    Did you ever wonder? I cannot believe that no other games are so good...

    For sure, I noticed I like Quake models more than pretty much any other game.
    I think it is because they are BIG, in most of other games models tend to be thin and small, in Quake the smallest enemy is a big dog or a huge fish! In the expansion there are exceptions like the Gremlin, but in fact I feel they are not "Quakeish" (ok, arguably the Zombie is thin, but it is special)

    Secondly the weird atmosphere, rotten wood, red terracotta, blood and dark stones, strange contraptions without apparent or human purpose. The alienation in some level is incredible I really think "why such a place should exist?" it shouldn't, yet it actually works!
    It is funny to think that this is probably an unwanted effect of the difficult design process of the game and it made the game memorable levels.

    Perhaps it is just the "right" moment I started playing it, in the now away 1996 my impressionable self was blown away and still I unconsciously love the game?



    I am not sure "Why," but definitely Quake is special to me and it is an incredible game.


    What makes Quake special to you? It must be if you read here...
    Contradiction is truth. Fear is freedom. Rights are privileges. Job is a commodity. Ignorance is strength.

  • #2
    I wonder about the same thing every day. I guess the world may never know.
    Quake is for nerds.

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    • #3
      Quake doesn't have an "end", it just abruptly stops at the end of a chapter and never continues.

      You defeat one mythos diety (shubby) and are left with the feeling of incompleteness... Leading you to an unfinished quest feeling.

      Quake is the bad guy in this "world", not Shub-niggurath.

      If anything Quake 1 was a small glimpse into the mythos world and what it could be (in game standards).

      The game leaves so much for imagination in the game story both future and past.

      It's a game beyond games that utterly leaves everything up to you and offers little explanation other then what you make of it, only pinning on hard facts where the matters matter.

      There are no sidequests in Quake, just survival and brutality, a lovely combination when it comes to action FPS games.

      I think all these reasons are the soul purpose why myself and many others compare other games to Quake and continue to return to the game... to relive the glimpse of a horrific world that could and should be.
      QuakeOne.com
      Quake One Resurrection

      QuakeOne.com/qrack
      Great Quake engine

      Qrack 1.60.1 Ubuntu Guide
      Get Qrack 1.60.1 running in Ubuntu!

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      • #4
        I think about this often as well I think it mainly boils down to the awesome atmosphere and simplicity yet perfection of the weapons and movement.

        This game is just oozing with identity I love it. All the enemies fill roles and are very memorable and personally I love the brown brown brown pallet of Quake.

        The incredible minds and story behind the development adds a certain mystique to it too.

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        • #5
          Originally posted by Schneiden View Post
          The incredible minds and story behind the development adds a certain mystique to it too.
          If you ever read Masters of Doom, you can learn quite a lot about not just Quake but Id software in general. Doom was a product of love and brotherhood, while Quake is a product of a cruel, bitter hatred.
          Quake is for nerds.

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          • #6
            Originally posted by Ebisu View Post
            Doom was a product of love and brotherhood, while Quake is a product of a cruel, bitter hatred.
            I do not really know the details of what happened between the two John, but it is really sad to think about it. Now with both gone id simply is not the same.

            But in a way I see the effect, DOOM3 really looks like a soulless game. Almost a tech demo. On the other hand Dai Katana was technologically poor with bad AI...
            Last edited by ezzetabi; 02-19-2015, 03:53 AM.
            Contradiction is truth. Fear is freedom. Rights are privileges. Job is a commodity. Ignorance is strength.

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            • #7
              Doom 3 was an amazing demo, but a very shallow game. Daikatana would have been good if it wasn't for it's large collection of minor problems that could have been solved by someone like Carmack. You're right, it sure is a damn shame.
              Quake is for nerds.

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              • #8
                Thats always been the true test of working on a team. When things are good Karma the end result is good. When there is bad Karma and the team is still functioning as a team toward a common means and does not let it effect productivity and keeps the target in sight, the emotional drive can sometimes produce extraordinary results. The trouble is that the harsh feelings are often left unresolved, and that means the team has worked together for the last time.

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                • #9
                  How most of you feel about Quake is how I feel about SOCOM FTB1. The difference is, John Carmack saw the genius of making his game open source, and it has maintained a form of relevance and sustainability because of this. Zipper Interactive on the other hand, are a bunch of douche bags that will completely discontinue your game and act like it never existed.

                  When they discontinued FTB1 servers and made no effort to open source the game, they left a sizable community in the dark. The game was only released on PSP. I'm sure I could dl a copy for Vita but, much like quake, the online play was most desirable.

                  All that being said, and to answer the title of this post... Quake is "special" because the author(s) made it possible for others to continue the game. This led to better engines, maps, possibilities and etc.. Growing up around and because of those possibilities were entire communities. It could be argued that Quake would have melted into obscurity and forgotten-land long ago if it weren't for the communities that embraced it's possibilities.
                  Last edited by MadGypsy; 02-20-2015, 08:16 AM.
                  http://www.nextgenquake.com

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