* Id: IdSoftware * Revision: 1 * State: submitted * * Log: * Revision 1 1999/07/22 Jon Canady * Initial submitted version. * * Checked-out 1999/07/30 Roel van der Meulen Return-path: Received: from pop.argonet.co.uk [194.131.104.13] by argbg34.argonet.co.uk with pop3 (ANTmail1.29b) id po01c0238; Thu, 29 Jul 99 16:11 +0100 Envelope-to: mseaborn@argonet.co.uk Delivery-date: Thu, 22 Jul 1999 07:44:49 +0100 Received: from (silk.spiders.net) [206.24.0.7] by golden.argonet.co.uk with smtp (Exim 1.82 #3) id 117Cb2-0007Oe-00; Thu, 22 Jul 1999 07:44:48 +0100 Received: (qmail 16245 invoked by uid 2590); 22 Jul 1999 06:44:45 -0000 Delivered-To: cleggp-megadodo-mark@megadodo.com Received: (qmail 16242 invoked by uid 2590); 22 Jul 1999 06:44:45 -0000 Delivered-To: cleggp-megadodo-submit@megadodo.com Received: (qmail 16239 invoked from network); 22 Jul 1999 06:44:44 -0000 Received: from mail3.lax.netzero.net (209.0.233.38) by silk.spiders.net with SMTP; 22 Jul 1999 06:44:44 -0000 Received: (qmail 14204 invoked by uid 0); 22 Jul 1999 06:44:41 -0000 Received: from pppa61-columbusb2-1r5007.saturn.bbn.com (HELO p4058) (4.10.218.83) by mail3.lax.netzero.net with SMTP; 22 Jul 1999 06:44:41 -0000 Message-ID: <000001bed414$83802380$ccabfea9@infinet.com> From: "Jon Canady" To: Subject: Article Submission: Id Software MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.00.2314.1300 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.00.2314.1300 Date: Thu, 22 Jul 1999 07:44:48 +0100 Status: X-IS-UID: 933265370 1234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456 %t Id Software * Formatted by WinPGG v1.5 (1999/07/22) %n R %s A History Of The Company That Created The First Person Shooter Genre %a Jon Canady (NerferX@netzero.net) %d 19990721 %e Somwhere along the advent of 1991-92, I don't remember correctly, a texas based company called Id Software[1], created a controversial game called Wolfenstein 3D[3]. This game wasn't _bad_, but, some people thought the idea of going through a 3-dimensional[4] world as a WWII hero, slaying Nazis, wasn't the idea of a good game. Most though it was. It was the first of its kind, a kind of game where you went through complex levels, grabbing bigger and bigger guns, and meeting people that had bigger and bigger guns. Full of blood, gore, guns, and graphics that were cutting edge. And semi-3D. Meaning you could move around in the levels in the first person, and turn left and right, but, you couldnt look up or down, and the game maps were all on one level. Doom was the next game Id cranked out.[6] This storyline was pretty good for it's time, although, it wasn't the biggest part. Apparently, humans had already colonized Mars' two moons, Phobos and Demios. We were just experimenting with teleporting matter over large, interplanetary distances, when, something screwed up. People went into the portals, and never came out. Well, some came out, but they were either horribly disfigured or dead. Your Space Marine regiment was sent in to kick whatever was in there in the arse. Unfortunatley, all your buddies got mauled, and your alone. In, as you figure out, the depths of Hell. With only a small pistol. The game was revolutionary, as it was more 3D than wolfenstein was. You still couldn't look up or down, but the maps were on more than one level. Making for staircases, elevators, monsters on ledges, and all that good stuff. But if you couldn't look up or down, how could you shoot a monster above you? Id solved this one with their usual ingenious. If you were aiming below a monster on a ledge, or at least close to it, whatever you fired would go up there, as if you had pointed your gun at it. And the weapons, they had to be some of the best weapons ever devised! Plasma shooting guns, shotguns, chainsaws, chainguns, a rocket launcher, and the BFG9000[7]. It fired a huge green ball of energy at things, and usually killed most anything with one hit. But, you didn't have to hit the monster dead on. As long as the monster could see either the ball or you, it would take damage. Again, the genious of Id. Then came Doom II. Same storyline, but added a Double Barreled shotgun, some new monsters, and totally new levels. It was a standalone product. Then Ultimate Doom, which was an addon for regular Doom. It added a slew of new levels. Then there came final Doom. Some new monsters, no new weapons, a whole buttload of new levels to play on! Id software hit another goldmine with it's next title, Quake. Quake had a single player storyline, but, noone could actually figure out the complete story. All you knew was that you were in some kind of alien dimension, fighting an unknown force. And, of course, something to do with teleportation, again. But this one was big. This one was true 3D. You could look up, down, to your sides, everywhere. And a slew of new, odd, weapons. An axe, shotguns, nailguns, rocket and grenade launchers, and, the Lightning Gun, which wasn't a BFG, but was still pretty good if you knew how to use it. It was pretty revolutionary too. This one had good[8] multiplayer. Someone could start a Quake server, and people could connect to it for a game of Deathmatch, which was just you, and anyone else that felt like it, running around levels, and trying to kill each other the most times with the Quake weapons. Fun! Then there was WinQuake, which ran under Windows, and GLQuake, which made use of a hardware grahpics accelerator, to offer some pretty cool effects, like clear water you could see through, and colored lighting. After Quake, Id had another good title ready to go. But, for their new title, they couldn't think of a good enough title! So they went with what they called it during development: Quake II. While it had nothing at all to do with Quake, it was still recieved very well. It had GL support out of the box, so no downloading a seperate version. The multiplayer was more stable, but some say slower. Id finally released a patch that gave the game Deathmatch levels, levels that were intended for Deathmatch. (It didn't have them to begin with.) The weapons were generally good, except the melee[9] weapon, which there was none. Id brought back the BFG, this time, the BFG10k, 10k meaning 10,000, for those that don't know. It was just the same as Doom's, but, if the green ball you shot saw anyone, it would shoot a laser beam at them, and it hurt. Alot. With Id constantly working on it's latest releae, Quake III Arena, one of the first Multiplayer Only games. It's sole purpose is to be played over the internet with others, and the only single-player option is a deathmatch agains Bots. Bots being computer controlled multiplayer opponents. In essence, computer AI that simulates human behavior. I look forward to it. [10] [1] - That's pronounced Eye-Dee. Like when the cop asked you for your ID when you were pulled over yesterday?[2] [2] - Don't try to deny it. [3] - If you're actually old enough to remember when they first started hyping or selling that game, then you truly are a Sad Geezer. Or at the very most Old School. [4] - Actually, Two-Demensional world. Id just faked the 3Dness[5] of it [5] - I'm the author. I do so have the power to make new words! [6] - I don't remember if the Commander Keen series was made before or after Doom, or Wolfenstein for that mater. But it wasn't a Shooter. It was still fun, though. [7] - BFG stands for Big Fu**ing Gun. And how! [8] - Quake's multiplayer, I hear, was not exactly the best to begin with. It was unstable, at best. But Id apparently fixed that. [9] - A melee is a term used to describe hand to hand combat. No melee weapon, meant there was no hand weapon, like an axe or a chainsaw. [10] - Don't you just hate footnotes? [11] [11] - The End! [12] [12] - Finally. . %e *EOA* ________________________________________________________ NetZero - We believe in a FREE Internet. Shouldn't you? Get your FREE Internet Access and Email at http://www.netzero.net/download/index.html