Quake creator repeatedly turned down MMO opportunities
Filed under: Interviews, MMO industry, News items, MMOFPS
John Carmack, co-founder of id Software and lead programmer of the historic first-person-shooter games Doom and Quake, told Shacknews that id has been approached by multiple publishers interested in releasing an MMO version of Quake. Each time, the company turned them down.It was implied that id has not pursued (and will not pursue) the idea because of the etreme challenges of developing a triple-A MMO.
There's a good point here. It's not as if Carmack and friends were throwing a money printer in the trash compactor by passing on the opportunity. The concern seems valid: MMOs are expensive, risky endeavors. Even with a team of experienced developers and a well-known intellectual property, there's always a risk that id could get in over its head.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-06-2008 @ 11:24AM
JP said...
Thank god! It's not like the idea of a Quake MMO isn't interesting, but it doens't mean it'll be succesful. I'm glad someone in the gaming industry isn't trying to turn everything into an MMO.
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8-06-2008 @ 11:35AM
Arkanaloth said...
honestly I think it was a smart move on their part... there has yet to be a quake game with any depth beyond the level of a saucer... There's just not enough in the Quake franchise to build an MMO out of it... in short the people pitching the idea are seeing "Quake is big.. it needs to be an MMO" and not seeing *what* Quake has to offer in terms of depth and purpose, two things MMO's sorely need to have a chance.
I've played my fair share of quake.. and enjoyed them all, but let's face facts it is, and will always be, little more than an FPS frag fest with at best a lackluster nod to a rice-paper thin story told through an intro cinematic which is quickly forgotten amid a flurry of rocket-jumps.
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8-06-2008 @ 3:10PM
Pingmeister said...
I'd actually be intrigued by a Quake/Doom-esque MMO. If I knew they were giving it their best (and not just licensing it to some crapware house) I'd give it a shot.
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8-07-2008 @ 3:58AM
Iconic said...
I honestly don't know why any one would want to play a Quake MMO.
I'd pay John Carmack a ton of money to design/code the 3d engine for an MMO, but as far as a world in which to set an MMO? He's have to pay ME to use the shallow Quake universe.
Sometimes the smartest thing you do is the thing you don't do.
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