Some random, crazy facts you may or may not know about Quake I, II and III. The iconic video games series not only sold millions of copies and influenced an entire generation, but they also redefined what video games were actually capable of being.
- Quake was preceded by Qtest1, a tech demo which was released in February 1996. It consisted of three småll, monster-free levels which illustrated the game’s engine. Of particular note was Test3, which became the basis for the second level of Quake’s first episode (of the other levels, Test2 seemed to be a very, very early incarnation of ‘Ziggurat Vertigo’, the infamous low-gravity secret level). The engine was almost fully complete, although wall-mounted torches were still sprite-based.
- Bizarre product tie-ins: for the release of the movie “Anaconda” Sony pictures released through their website an add-on level for Quake titled “Temple of the Mist” were you made your way trough an ancient temple searching for the altar that holds the key to escape. Obviously, before escaping you have to go mano a mano with the Anaconda itself…weird uh?
- In an interview on Gamasutra, designer Tim Willits called Quake III his biggest failure: “The game offered perfect multiplayer for hardcore players. In fact, they’re still playing it. But the more casual gamers, and other people who actually have money, found playing next to impossible.” This hints at a commercial motivation, and not the quality of the game itself.