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[Borys]

Everybody was waiting for this interview and here it is:

http://pc.ign.com/articles/804/804112p1.html

IGN: So what's going on with id right now?

Tim Willits: We have a lot of stuff going on right now. You're here to see Quake Wars [check out that preview here] so I won't go into that right now. We're working with Raven on Wolfenstein right now and we'll have a little more to talk about with that at QuakeCon. We're here talking to potential licensees about id Tech 5, which is the structure of our new title being developed internally.

One of the cool things about Tech 5 is that it's cross-platform supporting PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Mac and PC and it all uses the same content, you know, it's the same code base. That's actually something very new that you don't really get with other technologies in the code base.

...

IGN: How is Wolfenstein coming along?

Tim Willits: Kevin Cloud could probably answer this a tiny bit better but as you know Raven are a AAA company. We've tried to do things in the game that is different from Return to Castle Wolfenstein, that expands the Wolfenstein universe and adds some play variety. Gamers nowadays want more, they want broader, they want wider choices and we're really trying to, without saying too much, make the game different and make something that people haven't played before on id technology.

...

IGN: It certainly seems that while you're undoubtedly a strong tech company, with Unreal tech being so pervasive in the industry now, you've got to bully your way in.

Tim Willits: Yeah well if you look historically at the id technology games, the games that were made with Quake 3 have generated revenue over a billion dollars, which is a huge, huge number.

...

IGN: When you're building a new game like your new IP do you build it as a demo for your new technology or does the game come first?

Tim Willits: That's a pretty good question because historically having John Carmack around we're very technology focused but because we want the game to be on PC, PS3, and 360 we end up really needing to focus on the design elements of that because it's not being written only for the PC. Technology is still really important and John and the guys are spending a lot of time getting the multicores to work which is very tricky given that there's different rendering paths on the different systems. The fact that 360 has two cores and PS3 has what, six? So historically we pushed the PC video card technology to the limit but because we're not doing that it's really more gameplay focused and the technology is about getting it to work on all of them.

Borys: Not pushing the PC hardware anymore? Well thanks. How does it feel to lose the GFX king crown to Crytek id?

...

IGN: Is there any platform that you guys prefer to design for at this point?

Tim Willits: We're so PC centric that it's actually been a little bit of a struggle wrapping our minds around a 360 to the point where I installed 360 controllers on everyone's PC. If I see them testing the new game with a keyboard and mouse I have to smack them on the back of the head. But now we work so much with the controller that when I go back to the keyboard and mouse I forget which buttons do what. But we do have those 360 controllers hooked to every machine and the platform is really nice to work on because Microsoft writes good software and great development systems. But yeah, for us it's been a bit of a struggle to think about being a console developer because we've been PC focused for so long.

Borys: How much money did MS paid you? This is like a slap in the face for PC gamers.

 

[EverSoTrendy]

It's like a never ending thing you with and MS. FFS.

 

[syllogism]

The fact that 360 has two cores and PS3 has what, six?

This man knows what he is talking about

 

[MightyHedgehog]

Are you serious, Borys? Dude, id will deliver on the PC. You PC-only guys are just a tad too paranoid.

 

[Uncle]

Borys: How much money did MS paid you? This is like a slap in the face for PC gamers.

How did I cried bitter tears?

 

[MickeyKnox]

**** that noise.

 

[Kabouter]

Who cares?
It's ID. Them doing something more gameplay focused makes me say "It's about goddamn time"

 

[dk_]

Yeah PC gaming is dying....

 

[Maximilian E.]

 

[Tailzo]

Well, for most genres I like playing on consoles a lot better than on PC. Except for games like civilization. So this isn't bad news for me atleast.

 

[MickeyKnox]

Yeah PC gaming is dying....

PC gaming has been "dying" since consoles went 3d... what like 10 years ago?

 

[Tim the Wiz]

I'd agree, but yeah, it's only id Software.

 

[thetrin]

Is anyone else insanely bored of Borys` pro-PC-anti-console threads? Oh boo hoo, we get to play the same games as you! OH NOES

Get over it, dude.

 

[EverSoTrendy]

He's not so anti-console when it comes to Sony. Like I said, it's always beef with MS.

 

[JoJo13]

Borys: How much money did MS paid you? This is like a slap in the face for PC gamers.

WTF? :lol

 

[argon]

Since its related to id Software and not really worthy of its own topic, I thought I'd share this bit of info I found... apparently a sequel to Doom RPG is heading to mobile phones, DS, and ..Wii? :lol

http://www.reuters.com/article/reutersEdge/idUSN1131742020070712

His "Doom"-themed role-playing game ended up selling more than a million copies, and led him to follow that up with "Orcs & Elves", a title with a similar playing style but based in a fantasy world.

Now Carmack is readying a sequel to launch on mobile phones and Nintendo Co. Ltd.'s (7974.OS: Quote, Profile, Research) DS handheld near the end of the year. The game is being published by Electronic Arts Inc. (ERTS.O: Quote, Profile, Research), the world's largest games publisher.

"If this works well there may be the possibility of stepping up a notch to one of the consoles, like the Wii," Carmack told Reuters, referring to Nintendo's home gaming machine.

If so, that would upset the standard industry model in which games are developed first for consoles -- sometimes at a cost of tens of millions of dollars -- and then reworked, or ported, to other, less-powerful gaming devices.

"You almost never get the opportunity to up-port a game. It's almost always going down. By the time you get down to mobile phones, the game is usually down to a name that bears no relation to the game it's actually based on," Carmack said.

"If we're successful in this upward migration, we'll transform mobile from a ghetto to a hotbed of innovation."

Hopefully he's thinking about the WiiWare channel and not a full retail release, unless they really put some effort into it. But judging by PSP to Wii "up-ports", I'm not too enthused.

 

[dk_]

PC gaming has been "dying" since consoles went 3d... what like 10 years ago?

But lately the trend shows that the speed of shifting to consoles has increased. I was a PC gamer myself and had several other consoles. The ratio for me was 2:1 in favor of consoles. Now the PC as a gaming platform has completely vanished.

 

[Phife Dawg]

Who cares, as long as they don't dumb down their pc games for the console ports?

 

[Wiktor]

Who cares, as long as they don't dumb down their pc games for the console ports?

I don't think there is anything to dumb down from when it comes to ID games' gameplay
THe only thing they can dumb down is graphics. It does look like console tech is holding them back. the movie of new Carmack engine was nice, but it wasn't jaw dropping like first showings of Doom, Quake1, Quake3 or Doom3 were

 

[MickeyKnox]

But lately the trend shows that the speed of shifting to consoles has increased. I was a PC gamer myself and had several other consoles. The ratio for me was 2:1 in favor of consoles. Now the PC as a gaming platform has completely vanished.

PC gaming has been, and will be around longer than console gaming.

 

[wormstrangler]

I noticed you bolded the cores bit.

The average new PC (yes, even office PCs) has a dual core CPU. In a year, 4 cores will be the average for the 'gamer'. In 2 years, Octo-core or more.

Using the power of the cores over the GPU is a fine approach.

 

[bigmit3737]

Who cares?
It's ID.

Quake 4? Doom 3? Didn't really care for them.

Their new IP looks like Quake...
I don't really care, since I don't care for their games anymore.

As long I get Diablo 3 for the PC.

 

[ZombieSupaStar]

needs more romero

 

[Wiktor]

needs more romero

Yeah..as much as Daikatana sucked ID did seem to lost their "spark" when Romero and Hall left

 

[Fragamemnon]

id is increasingly irrelevant as time progresses. Their engines really power only one or two games per year nowadays. What they are doing with multiplatform development is logical if they want to be able to sell their engine to other people.

 

[Phife Dawg]

I don't think there is anything to dumb down from when it comes to ID games' gameplay
THe only thing they can dumb down is graphics. It does look like console tech is holding them back. the movie of new Carmack engine was nice, but it wasn't jaw dropping like first showings of Doom, Quake1, Quake3 or Doom3 were

Just one example: Movement physics in the Quake series have always been way above anything else offered in that regard. You can't emulate strafe jumping, circle jumping, slide crouching etc. on a dual analogue set-up. As long as they leave things like that intact for the pc versions I couldn't care less about where they port their games.

 

[spoon!]

Just one example: Movement physics in the Quake series have always been way above anything else offered in that regard. You can't emulate strafe jumping, circle jumping, slide crouching etc. on a dual analogue set-up. As long as they leave things like that intact for the pc versions I couldn't care less about where they port their games.

This man, he knows what he is talking about.

 

[dovella]

pc game born now

 

[Nerevar]

I don't think there is anything to dumb down from when it comes to ID games' gameplay
THe only thing they can dumb down is graphics. It does look like console tech is holding them back. the movie of new Carmack engine was nice, but it wasn't jaw dropping like first showings of Doom, Quake1, Quake3 or Doom3 were

huh? For years the Quake series was the de facto standard for pro gaming competitions. Almost all the conventions of multiplayer deathmatch arose from Quake. Insult their (nonexistent) single-player gameplay all you want, but competitive multiplayer PC gaming is pretty much grounded in Id games.

 

[Fragamemnon]

huh? For years the Quake series was the de facto standard for pro gaming competitions. Almost all the conventions of multiplayer deathmatch arose from Quake. Insult their (nonexistent) single-player gameplay all you want, but competitive multiplayer PC gaming is pretty much grounded in Id games.

For pro competitive deathmatch, Q3/Q4 still can't be beat.

 

[1-D_FTW]

Weights Borys' reaction with the really awesome tech video that ID recently released. Don't see the fuss Borys. Actions are more important than words and that video was sweet enough for me.

 

[Beer Monkey]

It's awesome to force testers to use dual-analog pads if kb/m testing is given equal priority. Each version of the game should be properly optimized for the correct control (this does not have to shaft PC gamers). Hopefully Valve is doing the same.

 

[FrankT]

How is Wolfenstein coming along?

I need some real details already, soon.

The fact that 360 has two cores and PS3 has what, six?

:lol

 

[Borys]

Weights Borys' reaction with the really awesome tech video that ID recently released. Don't see the fuss Borys. Actions are more important than words and that video was sweet enough for me.

The video wasn't really all that. It didn't impress me as much as Doom 3 did back in the day.

I had the "been there, done that" feeling while I watched it. Like I was seeing some 3DMark + Prey marriage.

 

[Wiktor]

huh? For years the Quake series was the de facto standard for pro gaming competitions. Almost all the conventions of multiplayer deathmatch arose from Quake. Insult their (nonexistent) single-player gameplay all you want, but competitive multiplayer PC gaming is pretty much grounded in Id games.

you're living in the past By Quake3 they showed they can't compete in SP, with D3 they showed they don't even bother trying with MP

 

[spoon!]

you're living in the past By Quake3 they showed they can't compete in SP, with D3 they showed they don't even bother trying with MP

can't compete? they didn't even TRY to make a SP game

 

[Freeza Under The Shower]

One of the cool things about Tech 5 is that it's cross-platform supporting PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Mac and PC and it all uses the same content, you know, it's the same code base. That's actually something very new that you don't really get with other technologies in the code base.

Move over, UE3?

 

[shuri]

Is anyone else insanely bored of Borys` pro-PC-anti-console threads? Oh boo hoo, we get to play the same games as you! OH NOES

Get over it, dude.

Real talk. I'm starting to think that he's a joke character

 

[Fragamemnon]

can't compete? they didn't even TRY to make a SP game

Neither did UT99, which came out like a week before it. Both games (Q3A and UT99) are PC classics, IMO.

 

[VictimOfGrief]

< --------------- Forever dumb?

 

[Fragamemnon]

Real talk. I'm starting to think that he's a joke character

Maybe he's just a snob? I know I am and usually treat the GAF console plebs with a similar sort of derision.

I'm not a joke character either, just a arrogant and conceited elitist snob.

 

[spoon!]

Neither did UT99, which came out like a week before it. Both games (Q3A and UT99) are PC classics, IMO.

Indeed. I'm STILL playing q3a duels, albeit vq3 cpma servers. When Q3a and UT'99 came out MP fps was booming big time. Back then it was q3a vs ut'99 vs counterstrike. SP wasn't even really a factor.

 

[ShOcKwAvE]

PC gaming has been, and will be around longer than console gaming.

Actually, this is not true. I believe that in the future, PC's and consoles will merge. This is evident by efforts on the PC side to simplify user interface, and efforts on the console side to do things that PCs do (music, movies, etc.) As they merge over time, however, the gaming aspect will turn more towards the console area.

 

[Kabouter]

But lately the trend shows that the speed of shifting to consoles has increased. I was a PC gamer myself and had several other consoles. The ratio for me was 2:1 in favor of consoles. Now the PC as a gaming platform has completely vanished.

Except there is no such trend. PC gaming is still growing . Especially if you factor in online revenues. And should you think there are no games, read this: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=167154

Neither did UT99, which came out like a week before it. Both games (Q3A and UT99) are PC classics, IMO.

Bah Q3 sucks, UT99 forever. [/fanboy wars of '99]

 

[mckmas8808]

PC gaming has been, and will be around longer than console gaming.

Yeah okay.

 

[AstroLad]

Just give me some RTSes and FPSes and in their proper "evolved" form--on consoles. No reason to stay stuck in the Stone Age just to appeal to the "hardcore" who will follow you to the ends of the Earth anyway. In another context, Nintendo proved this is a very smart approach from a business perspective. The advantage here for everyone is that it's also the right move from the gamer perspective. 360 just makes sense--look at Halo 1-3, C&C, etc.--it's the proper setting for the next evolution of these stagnant genres.

 

[Segata Sanshiro]

Didn't Chris Michael get punched in the nuts for using that giant roll-eyes smiley?

 

[Fragamemnon]

Actually, this is not true. I believe that in the future, PC's and consoles will merge.

I can't ever imagine playing hardcore wargames (think hexes and tons of soulless icons), serious simulations, or even grand strategy games in a console like environment.

I think that the operating environments on the PC will get friendlier over time and pick up some of the better features of the console gaming experience that lend themselves well to gaming on the platform. Consoles will continue to add in PC style features that fit that environment as well.

Any sort of grand unification is hogwash though. It comes down to the open platform/closed platform environment model that truly differentiate the two gaming platforms, and the kind of games and the way in which they are played that will keep any unified manner of play from ever happnening.

 

[sk3tch]

id is increasingly irrelevant as time progresses. Their engines really power only one or two games per year nowadays. What they are doing with multiplatform development is logical if they want to be able to sell their engine to other people.

This man speaks great truth. Everything else in this thread is blah blah blah PC sucks blah blah blah consoles suck.

As time passes I think it will end up being quite a homogeneous market. The only variances will be location of the device you play on (set-top box connected to your TV or a box connected to your monitor or TV) and graphics (due to the ability to custom build your PC you can always get better performance than a updated-once-every-4-years-console).

 

[sk3tch]

Any sort of grand unification is hogwash though. It comes down to the open platform/closed platform environment model that truly differentiate the two gaming platforms, and the kind of games and the way in which they are played that will keep any unified manner of play from ever happnening.

There won't be an "official" unification...ever. But, I think that due to the cost of developing engines, more and more devs are going to farm out pieces of games to off-the-shelf for sale engines, etc. This will only lend to easier porting between PC and consoles. Which equals more money.