QuakeCon 2012
Quakecon 2012 opens today, and Polygon is on the floor covering id Software's annual event.
'Dishonored' teaches the freedom and dangers of world-building
The world of Dishonored is entirely and completely new. Nobody — not even the folks at Arkane who are developing the game — has fully explored its streets, alleyways, and jagged skyline.
That's because when you're inventing a world, nobody ever tells you when you're done.
According to co-creative director Harvey Smith, the evolution of Dishonored was a slow, but radical one. Sea changes from one motif to another were common, and often pretty drastic.
"To be honest, it's not just that no one else knows what you're doing," Smith explained, "it's also we didn't know. Like, halfway through...
Rise of the Triad bails on modern shooter conventions
Rise of the Triad is the very definition of a niche title — it may very well be the game which established the definition in the first place. The original game took an already bombastic shooter formula and layered on thick sheets of craziness on top of it. It's all gibs and jump pads for as far as the eye can see; but despite that, it never gained the broad fan base of id's more iterated-upon corridor shooters.
Interceptor Entertainment doesn't plan on losing a single iota of Rise of the Triad's spirit with their upcoming remake. That's probably going to put off a lot of people —...
'Doom 4' will incorporate Oculus Rift VR tech
Doom 4 will receive the same virtual reality treatment given to Doom 3: BFG Edition by id Software innovator John Carmack, who revealed his plans during a QuakeCon 2012 interview.
Carmack has created a version of Doom 3: BFG Edition which utilizes the Oculus Rift, the VR display technology that's raised over $1 million on Kickstarter. Carmack has been an outspoken supporter of the hardware since endorsing the technology at E3 2012. He plans on incorporating what he's learned from his adapted Doom 3 software, and adding that functionality into the elusive Doom 4.
"I'm excited for once Doom 3...
'Dishonored' lets you make your master plan
Few things are more satisfying than watching a plan come together.
Dishonored is a game about making plans; about the constant evaluation of resources, environments and capabilities, and then the scheming of how to use them with maximum efficiency. As I learned in my QuakeCon demo, it is also about occasionally watching your plans come crumbling down around your ears.
The demo saw me crashing the party of the high society masquerade of one Lady Boyle by any means possible, at which point I would need to discover which masked attendee she was, and assassinate her. Reaching the party was...
'Doom 4' absorbed id Software's mobile development team
id Software's mobile development branch has been shut down as the company focuses its efforts on getting Doom 4 out the door, John Carmack confirmed during his QuakeCon 2012 keynote speech.
"We did make the decision to close up our mobile development, which saddens me a lot, in that I love doing the mobile work — taking that time, spending a month, a year or something working on a mobile project," Carmack explained, "but we had some developers on there that we wanted to bring onto the Doom 4 project.
"It was looked at as something that; yes, this is fun, this is fun for the company and...
'Doom 3 BFG Edition' trailer highlights 'The Lost Mission' levels
Doom 3 BFG Edition includes eight previously unseen levels collectively called "The Lost Mission," and id Software showed them off in a trailer that debuted at QuakeCon this afternoon.
The trailer focuses on a research specialist stranded in Mars City after the invasion from Hell wipes out just about everything in town. The "Lost Mission" levels are the major new element in the package that makes up the BFG Edition, which also includes all three original Doom titles as well as the Doom 3 expansion, "Resurrection of Evil." In addition, id Software remastered Doom 3 in 3D, so the forces of...
QuakeCon Steam deals revealed: 'Skyrim,' Fallout and more marked down
Bethesda and id Software's catalog of titles on Steam have been discounted to a tremendously marked down price point of $99.99 for the duration of this weekend, as part of the annual QuakeCon event.
The bundle, which is marked down from $456.59, includes all the Dooms, Quakes and Elder Scrolls titles on the platform, but does not include the recently released Dawnguard DLC pack. By pre-ordering Dishonored on Steam, you can actually mark the bundle's price down to $79.99 — and grab a free copy of Arkane's Arx Fatalis for free, to boot.
Each day during QuakeCon 2012, which runs from today...
Rise of the Triad remake confirmed at QuakeCon
Rise of the Triad, the classic 90s PC shooter from Duke Nukem developer Apogee Software, will be remade and released for Steam using Unreal Engine 3 later this year by Duke Nukem 3D: Reloaded developer Interceptor Entertainment.
The franchise's revival was announced onstage at QuakeCon today after being teased by the game's Twitter account earlier today. The game will traverse the cult-infested storyline of the original game, albeit in a fully 3D world to replace the Doom-like corridors of the original. Apogee and Interceptor are pricing the remake at $15.
"We were seeking a strong,...
QuakeCon 2012 opens today, and Polygon's on the floor
Quakecon 2012 opens today, and Polygon is on the floor covering id Software's annual event live.
Co-founder John Carmack will give the free conference's keynote at 3:00 p.m. EST today after a welcome address from id Software's Todd Hollenshead and Bethesda Softworks' Pete Hines. Over the next few days, the conference will host panels on making and designing games, hold tournaments with over $150,000 in prizes to distribute, and offer hands-on demos with games like Dishonored and Doom 3 BFG Edition.
"QuakeCon is the culmination of a dedicated group of gamers, ranging from casual to...
