Publishers Chase Quake MMO, Offers Rejected by id

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During an interview with Shacknews, id Software president John Carmack revealed that the company has previously turned down publisher proposals to develop a massive multiplayer version of its shooter series Quake.

Saying that id had passed on several offers of "good money" to develop a Quake MMO, Carmack added that the company would not be attempting a similar project anytime soon.

"id has no interest in MMO development," said Carmack, who added that while he is familiar with the technology, he is also "fully cognizant" of the challenges and risks of creating a game in the genre.

id Software is currently dabbling in web-based online gaming with its upcoming Quake III Arena port Quake Live. In an interview with Shacknews last month, Carmack said development of the game required a "significant effort" for id due to the company's relative inexperience with internet databases.

"We did not have the experience in website development, database management, and all of that web world type stuff," said Carmack on developing Quake Live. "And honestly, we underestimated the challenge involved in that."

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From The Chatty
  • reply
    August 4, 2008 11:32 AM

    Why the hell would anyone want a Quake MMO? Seriously?

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      August 4, 2008 11:41 AM

      I must collect all the colored armor and railguns!

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      August 4, 2008 11:55 AM

      Planetside, while extremely flawed and lacking in lasting appeal, was entertaining for a few months. This could be similar, in both problems and design!

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        August 4, 2008 9:47 PM

        I tried PS out again recently, and it was fun for about two hours. The vehicle battles are still pretty decent, but the indoor base fights are just grinds. Infantry combat really pales in comparison to 32 player games, which isn't their fault entirely; it's a technology limitation. There is some fun to be had in organized sqauds, but even that gets old.

        I'll probably try Huxley, but honestly my hopes aren't too high.

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        August 5, 2008 6:06 AM

        Planetside was awesome, its only downfall was the fact each base wasn't unique.. making it very boring by repeatedly taking the same base no matter where in the world you were.

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      August 4, 2008 12:29 PM

      Basic Marketing: Successful IP + MMO = Big Bucks. Except that it's not so simple. (Matrix, Myst, The Sims... etc)

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        August 4, 2008 12:34 PM

        ^ This sums up what I was thinking exactly.

        It boggles my mind how Sims Online flopped so hard, I remember reading about it and thinking how much of a goldmine it'd be. Also, how is LOTRO doing? Never played it but doesn't sound like it's doing nearly as well as it should given the weight the name carries.

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      August 4, 2008 2:45 PM

      I want it!

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      August 4, 2008 6:05 PM

      You're spot on.

      Unless they made an MMO game that was entirely unlike the Battlefield series. Ongoing development of new gametypes with new, focused instances for a variety of said gametypes and with an eye for a type of persistence that may not affect the game in a dramatic way.

      I think there could be a successful MMO FPS.

      I think there could be a TF3 that could accomplish this, but I haven't seen any new Valve tech coming out that could handle it.

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        August 4, 2008 6:07 PM

        Also, you'd have to have a shitload of content cranked out by the only small companies that ever understood how to build these shooters.

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      August 4, 2008 8:54 PM

      [deleted]

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