Life After Doom

An anonymous reader writes "What's next for the maker of Doom, Quake and Wolfenstein? Chris Morris of CNN Money talks to id's CEO, who tells us the next id game won't be anything like the others. Rather than a re-hash of its sci-fi or WWII themes, CEO Todd Hollenshead says, 'I'd like to try something new.' [Hollenshead also notes that an as yet unidentified developer with 'a name that people recognize' has licensed the Doom 3 engine.]"

HL2 / DukeNukem4ever!

[theGreater]

NOW we'll FINALLY get to see these fine pieces of cinematic gore released. Phew!

-theGreater Obvious Comment.

Re:HL2 / DukeNukem4ever!

[Anonymous Coward]

How about finally giving us Commander Keen: The Universe Is Toast? We've only been waiting, what, thirteen years?

Zork

[Roadkills-R-Us]

My spies swear it's zork. The text has never been so tricky to read (mauve-black on taupe-black), making this one vicious game.

Un-named eh?

[Anonymous Coward]

That wouldn't be Duke Nukem?

Re:Un-named eh?

[0racle]

Square-Enix. I bet we'll see a Final Fantasy Action horror game in the next year.

Re:Un-named eh?

[Loadmaster]

I wouldn't be suprised if it was. And after they get the Doom 3 engine they'll switch to the HL2 engine when it's released. Of course, they'll spend a few months of development time discussing whether they should wait for the next Unreal engine. Then bam! In 2040, after Epic goes under and id is bought out by ValuSoft, the world is blessed with Duke Nukem Forever (as a hidden game on a Midway Classics compilation disk for the Phantom 12.4.34.

Uh-oh...

[Anonymous Coward]

[Hollenshead also notes that an as yet unidentified developer with 'a name that people recognize' has licensed the Doom 3 engine.]

Microsoft?

Re:Uh-oh...

[Loadmaster]

Why is this a troll? I could see MS licensing the Doom 3 engine. We really haven't seen any progress on Perfect Dark Zero. The Doom 3 engine is the best you'll get on the Xbox; why not use it for PDZ?

An id game I'd like to see

[rd_syringe]

Id should start concentrating on the gameplay as their new breakthrough elements, rather than YANE (Yet Another New Engine).

Personally, I think it would be cool to play as a cop. Actually answering patrol calls and doing shit, following some major plot that unravels through the game. I don't know. I guess it's just that all the cop games out there typically involve you being framed or renegade or something. It would be neat to have a game that actually rewarded playing on the legal side for a change.

Re:Uh-oh...

[gyrojoe]

Indeed, they are using it for Longhorn.
System requirements are about the same

Re:Uh-oh...

[Anonymous Coward]

Easter egg in the next version of Excel?

Whats next for the maker of Doom, Quake and Wolfe?

[GillBates0]

Women. Hopefully.

Re:Whats next for the maker of Doom, Quake and Wol

[Dr Caleb]

Daikatana II

Re:Whats next for the maker of Doom, Quake and Wol

[bwalling]

Already talking about what is next? Heck, I was hoping for a Doom 3 demo.

Re:Whats next for the maker of Doom, Quake and Wol

[pHatidic]

Women. Hopefully.

Shit, you mean I'm going to need another 55 dollars?

Re:Whats next for the maker of Doom, Quake and Wol

[Fo0eY]

having a garage full of italian sports cars can get even the geekiest among us laid

The next Big thing

[Ikn]

Can't remember where exactly I RTFA, but I heard that the next big project will be an entirely new title. They've seemed to master and own the FPS show, perhaps they'll step foot into a new genre, a la' Blizzard and Warcraft 3?

Re:The next Big thing

[shadowmatter]

I'm hoping something like the Sims, combined with the BFG.

Having your Sim settle a dispute with his/her ex has never been so exciting.

- sm

Re:The next Big thing

[bigjocker]

You know when you're a geek when the prospect of blowing a girlfriend up to pices to settle a dispute sounds more exciting than anything else. Wink, wink.

Re:The next Big thing

[M.C. Hampster]

You know when you're a geek when the prospect of blowing a girlfriend up to pices to settle a dispute sounds more exciting than anything else. Wink, wink.

Funny, I thought the word was "homicidal maniac".

Re:The next Big thing

[88NoSoup4U88]

From the same 'i can't rememeber where i read it' archive you are using, i seem to remember that their next project still will be an FPS (or at least a game using the mechanics of such a game) ;

I don't think they could totally step away from what made , and still makes, them big ; and there is still enough exploring to do in future games.
[offnote] i wish they had done more so with Doom 3 though ; gameplaywise [/offnote]

Something new, Something Borrowed, Something Blue

[Anonymous Coward]

They could always try adding a plot.

A color other than Brown might be nice as well.

Re:Something new, Something Borrowed, Something Bl

[Fo0eY]

I do believe they invented glorious new shades of black for use in doom3

I really dont think they used any brown this time around, in fact I think I'd remember something that bright standing out.

Re:Something new, Something Borrowed, Something Bl

[geekd]

Hollenshead: "'Doom 3' is a game that on the PC is very finely tuned. There was a lot of play balancing. The stuff that was supposed to be tense resulted in a lot of tension for players. The stuff that was supposed to be scary makes people crap their pants."

There's your brown.

Ooooh. Black.

[That's Unpossible!]

It's like space widout da stahs, idnit?

Re:Something new, Something Borrowed, Something Bl

[hunterx11]

"Story in a game is like a story in a porn movie. It's expected to be there, but it's not that important."

But please don't bereave me, observe this website [wikipedia.org].

3D Realms?

[NotAnotherReboot]

Who wants to bet that it is 3D Realms [3drealms.com] that is the unnamed licencesee? DNF has been in development for so long that I'm sure the engine has been scrapped multiple times. The Doom 3 engine should provide plenty of headroom, and I'm assuming that all of their content has been being made at high resolution anyways.

Makse sense to me...

Re:3D Realms?

[Shadow Wrought]

I would assume that since doing something along those lines would actually lead to the completion of DNF, that it will not happen;-)

My guess is Blazemonger!

Re:3D Realms?

[Epistax]

Woah woah, back up! Are you implying the existence of money?

Re:3D Realms?

[88NoSoup4U88]

Currently it was being done for the , i think, Unreal Tourney engine ; Making a switch to the Doom 3 engine will lose alot of functionality of those allready made assets... Then again, 3D Reals seems to be quite good in shifting engines :D

Re:3D Realms?

[Meostro]

In non-technical circles (races), DNF stands for "did not finish"... is that some subtle hint from 3D Realms, the longest-running April Fools joke ever?

Re:3D Realms?

[svallarian]

I bet it's derek smart!!!!

Battlecruiser 4000 baby!

Steven V.

Re:3D Realms?

[CAIMLAS]

I don't see it happening this late into the development process, personally. If indeed they're still working on it. The UT2k and various subsequent engine versions are quite capable engines. Were they not using the UT line of engine? Given the nature of Duke3d's gameplay, the graphic engine was not such a substantial stake in the quality of the game.

I mean, shit. BUILD sucked. What made Duke3d rock was the combination of weapons, attitude, and humor. And the hookers. They don't need Doom 3's engine for tha

The really scary part of Doom 3

[DeathPenguin]

"I have never been more confident that there will be a Doom movie in the next 18 months," he said.

When has a movie based on a video game lived up to the game itself? Perhaps Tomb Raider? I'm really drawing a blank here.

Re:The really scary part of Doom 3

[Shadow Wrought]

Resident Evil? I can't say that I have much experience with the game, but I enjoyed the movie.

Re:The really scary part of Doom 3

[Lisandro]

Someone keep Uwe Boll away from this one. Thank you very much.

Re:The really scary part of Doom 3

[jcenters]

The Mortal Kombat movie was pretty good.

Then suddenly, it became fashionable to bash Mortal Kombat.

Then they made a sequel to the movie, which is such a despicably awful b-movie that every copy of it (Film reels, divx files, DVDs, VHS, Laser Discs, etc) should be shoved up the director's ass, never to see the light of day again.

But I digress...

Tomb Raider?

[SoTuA]

Was the game THAT BAD? Because the movie is so bad that not even Angelina Jolie's tits can save it.

Re:The really scary part of Doom 3

[Jugalator]

If it's done, wouldn't surprise me if it would become a very average zombie flick, like... mmm, Resident Evil?

A plot summary for that movie snagged from IMDb:

"In an isolated town named Raccoon City, the largest corporate supplier of healthcare, medical supplies, and defense technology has a secret research facility located half a mile underground called The Hive. Five hours ago the "T Virus" was "accidentally" released. Now the Umbrella Corporation has sent in a special team to contain the situation and re-take the facility. This becomes somewhat of a problem when all of the dead scientists come back to life in search of a snack."

Yeah, sounds about right.

Let's see the Doom 3 adaption:

"In an isolated research facility at Mars located half a mile underground, an experiment goes awry with extradimensional demons being released. Now the UAC has sent in a special team to contain the situation and re-take the facility. This becomes somewhat of a problem when all of the dead scientists come back to life in search of a snack."

Linus

[chinton]

[Hollenshead also notes that an as yet unidentified developer with 'a name that people recognize' has licensed the Doom 3 engine.]"

Linus is incorporating cool stuff into the next kernel.

My bet

[MAXOMENOS]

I'm thinking it'll be LucasArts, which liscenced the Return to Wolfenstein engine for one of their Star Wars games.

Life After Doom?

[scifience]

To be completely correct, there would be no "life after doom."

doom n.
1. Inevitable destruction or ruin.
2. Fate, especially a tragic or ruinous one.
3. A decision or judgment, especially an official condemnation to a severe penalty.
4. Judgment Day.
5. A statute or ordinance, especially one in force in Anglo-Saxon England.

maybe it's EA

[Fo0eY]

Any chance that EA is finally making that "The Sims: Burn in Hell" I know we've all been waiting for?

Re:maybe it's EA

[writermike]

No no no no. They're reviving the Carmen Sandiego series!

Where in The Fuck is Carmen San Diego -- Search for Carmen through the world's most nortorious brothels and bordellos for the slut of sleuth.

Where in The Hell is Carmen San Diego -- Search through Hell's levels for Carmen. Special Guest Star Pope Nicholas III. Comes with a copy of Dante's Inferno to help guide you.

Life after Doom?

[spellraiser]

Is there really such a thing?

I thought it was just a myth ...

No one I know personally has had much of a life since the release of Doom III. :-/

Maybe "Quest"?

[th1ckasabr1ck]

I know id had begun working on a medieval style game called Quest when Carmack decided he wanted to do DOOM3 and they switched gears.

Maybe they'll give that another shot.

Re:Maybe "Quest"?

[88NoSoup4U88]

IIRC, the original Quake was meant to be a mix between RPG and FPS, but stuck with the FPS-only in the end ;

Btw, where did you hear about this 'Quest' : I haven't heard of it before.

Re:Maybe "Quest"?

[th1ckasabr1ck]

It was in Masters of Doom [amazon.com].

Re:Maybe "Quest"?

[gphinch]

I think he may be too late on this one, as a far superior Quest [homestarrunner.com] has already been released.

Mystery solved?

[GreenCrackBaby]

Did the article get updated, or am I missing something:

Hollenshead also notes that an as yet unidentified developer with 'a name that people recognize' has licensed the Doom 3 engine.

From the article:

Raven Software has licensed the engine for the still-under-wraps "Quake 4".

Re:Mystery solved?

[th1ckasabr1ck]

That wasn't the mystery. It has been known that Raven is doing Quake 4 for some time now.

Re:Mystery solved?

[BlueCup]

I think those are two seperate statements... like Raven Software has licensed the software and an as yet unidentified developer.

rtfa (was: Re:Mystery solved?)

[htmlboy]

Did the article get updated, or am I missing something:

i'd say you're missing something. read it again and note the conjunction.

Raven Software has licensed the engine for the still-under-wraps "Quake 4". And an as-yet unidentified developer will use it for a forthcoming game.

Re:Mystery solved?

[Jeff DeMaagd]

Doesn't Raven already have an established relationship with id?

Trinity?

[mfh]

JC hinted that this was the case in one of his recent comments on /. [slashdot.org] and I think that we may see the Trinity game they were looking at doing after Quake 2. That would totally rock!

Re:Trinity?

[88NoSoup4U88]

Wasn't Trinity done by another studio (which the name eludes me for now : Been a busy day ;) ).

I haven't heard something of that Trinity game (last seen footage of it in the q3 engine) for a year or so : What happened with it ?

Off topic ; How's the D3 Blooper Mod coming along ?

Trinity was binned by activision a while ago...

[bani]

...it was being written by grey matter when activision cancelled it.

from what I (and others) had seen of Trinity, it was just another fps, nothing particularly new or groundbreaking. it was being built on the RTCW engine, btw.

i don't see anything in the cnn interview or in his /. comment that even remotely hinted they were resurrecting the dead Trinity project.

and if they are indeed moving to a completely new franchise, that would appear to rule out Trinity entirely.

i expect they may do something along

Re:Trinity?

[LowellPorter]

Trinity is/was the code name for the Quake 3 graphics engine and not a different game.

The recognized developer is...

[ZipR]

Epic Megagames.
You heard it here first.
Uhh, I mean, you read it here first.


I'm totally making this up, like usual.

Re:The recognized developer is...

[The-Bus]

Maybe ZZT 2005?

Can't wait!

My life after Doom 3...

[Bull999999]

I constantly look around my office to see what objects will make a good weapon incase the portal to hell opens up at my work.

Re:My life after Doom 3...

[Soul-Burn666]

But more importantly, make sure you have duct tape, something they don't seem to have around the year 2145.

Re:My life after Doom 3...

[Anonymous Coward]

I constantly look around my office to see what objects will make a good weapon incase the portal to hell opens up at my work.

If you have any good ideas, I sure could use them right about now.

Re:My life after Doom 3...

[Bull999999]

I have a Sendmail book that you can use to bore the demons to death.

Re:My life after Doom 3...

[chill]

I have a Sendmail book that you can use to bore the demons to death.

aka The Codex of Obfuscation? Combine that with a DVD copy of "Glitter" or "Gigli" and William Shatner's Greatest Hits and you have the perfect tools to convince the demons that this is ALREADY Hell, and they can just go home.

Re:My life after Doom 3...

[Dr Caleb]

If you have any good ideas, I sure could use them right about now.

Find Alyson Hannigan and Sara Michelle-Geller . . . Fast!

Re:My life after Doom 3...

[phraktyl]

If you have Alyson Hannigan and Sara Michelle-Geller hanging around your office, I'd like to submit a resume...

Re:My life after Doom 3...

[multimed]

Consider yourself lucky. Apparently we have an "open door" policy around here that seems to only apply to the portals to hell.

Re:My life after Doom 3...

[beta21]

Just don't use my red swingline stapler

Life Imitates Art...

[th1ckasabr1ck]

In DOOM3 you find a PDA with an e-mail from a little boy to his uncle talking about how great his new birthday present, "Quake 43" is.

I guess id wants to generate some new IP so that life does not imitate art.

Movies based on video games

[quarmar]

"When has a movie based on a video game lived up to the game itself?"

Pokemon: The Movie

Re:Movies based on video games

[Blakey Rat]

Funny... but also kind of true.

A name I'd recognize, huh?

[sTalking_Goat]

Head Games [ign.com] is a developer name I'd recognize.

Doesn't mean I'd want to buy games from them.

American McGee

[oZZoZZ]

I remember a few years back, American McGee was invited to check out the new Doom 3 engine, and he had great things to say about the lighting. (this was only a few months after Quake 3 shipped). It wouldn't surprise me if he's the licencee, in fact, since he worked at id, and used q3a engine for Alice, it would surprise me if he WASN'T the licencee.

Re:American McGee

[ziggy_zero]

Makes sense. I can easily imagine some dark fairytale-based game with the Doom 3 engine. I enjoyed Alice.

Re:American McGee

[linzeal]

Well check out his upcoming title Oz [google.com].

Re:American McGee

[Anonymous Coward]

I can easily imagine some dark fairytale-based game with the Doom 3 engine.

I hope it involves starwberry shortcake...

of course there is always life after doom

[Savatte]

You respawn.

Re:of course there is always life after doom

[jals]

Ah, a Buddhist I see. ;)

MMORPG: Slashdot

[macklin01]

You compete with thousands of other "nerds", who compete to have the "first post". Other, highly valued nerds, called "moderators", skew the viewing of these saids "posts" with "mod points".

And now for something completely different...

[Mateito]

The next id game won't be anything like the others

Um. They've done "blowing the living shit out of Nazis" and "Blowing the living shit out of hell demons" as well as "blowing the living shit out of each other".

So, how to make that completely different? Blowing the shit out of Cheerleaders in a slumber party? Are ID going to recreate that old Sega game?

You frag Petunia's Pom Poms with a rocket.

Re:And now for something completely different...

[Dan667]

I think you got the cheerleaders comment backwards

Re:And now for something completely different...

[Mateito]

Actually, now that I think about the AI in Doom III, maybe a "Cheerleader" Mod isn't too bad an idea.

All we'd need are skins, and a "Soriety Dorm" map.

And a chainsaw.

Re:And now for something completely different...

[drinkypoo]

Soriety? Is that some sort of mix between sobriety and sorority? Allow me to assure you, such a thing does not exist.

Please please please

[JediDan]

As long as it's not Valve, we're ok!

"And in other news, id Software - the makers of the popular Doom3 title - announced today that rival software house Valve Studios has decided to delay their release of the much anticipated title "Half-Life 2" due to compromised code last year. With the new partnership the release of Half-Life 2 an unexpectedly new entry into a market that's as cold as the new liquid cooled Nvidia GeForce 256000 cards. The confirmed release date: 2243"

That would be about year 3005

[Eudial]

It has taken my machine 2 weeks to render approximately 4.3 frames of Doom 3. According to my calculations i will be done playing Doom 3 in june 3005.

Is that right

[OmegaBlac]

"Chris Morris of CNN Money talks to id's CEO, who tells us the next id game won't be anything like the others."

So the next game will have an actually storyline?

Life after Doom....been there

[jusdisgi]

But, we already know what life is like after DOOM...there's a nice fuzzy bunny and a pretty green field. Just don't pan the camera ;-P

Doom movie excitement

[limabone]

I wonder if theater owners are prepared for the hardware upgrades required to show the movie!

"Doom" movie

[CAIMLAS]

Anyone think it's interesting that, after the vision, feel, and environment for the Doom universe is fully established with the release of Doom 3, that Universal Pictures finally decides to make a film out of it?

I can imagine this scenario... two or three film execs are in a room talking it up, maybe with a gaming PC on a desk, with one of the execs playing it on easy and getting his ass kicked. They start talking, and say,

exe1: hey, this is really scary.
exe2: yeah. I've not seen a horror film this terrif

History of Doom/Quake

[Thaelon]

Doom
Doom II
Quake = Brown doom
Quake II = Green doom
Quake III = Shiny doom
Doom 3 = ??? (nobody knows, we can't see anything)

Next project

[ZorbaTHut]

"Our roots are in the horror/action genre," he said over lunch at QuakeCon, the ongoing annual fan event for fans of id's games. "That suits our tastes and talents. We're thinking about something up that alley. ... [That said], we're keeping the idea vault open. 'Quake' and 'Doom' were both basically a sci-fi game. 'Wolfenstein' was a World War II game. I'd like to try something new."

. . . So, let's see. They've done sci-fi, with demons, in the dark. And they've done roughly present-day, with demons, in the dark.

My theory:

Fantasy!

With demons.

In the dark.

Re:Next project

[ymgve]

Fantasy based on id engines? I thought Raven already had that market pretty covered..

How about a nice game of...

[Dave21212]

How about a nice game of...

Virtual Game Software Company ! They could take their vast experience of massive efforts to produce games, codify the processes and results (which I expect that *already* do), then create a game out of it. Players compete to hire and train the best developers, generate new 3D engines, market and devliver products. After all, everyone seems so interested in the minutia of the business as it is (seriously).

For that matter, why not a more generic Virtual CEO, where you try to mask loses from Wall Street, lobby Congress to pass favorable laws, get the best outsourcing deals... (OK, not as much fun done that way, way *too* real;)

Man, I should (virtually) patent that idea !

Un-named Licensee = StrongBad!

[da3dAlus]

Look for Trogdor the Burninator IN 3D this fall!

You guys are all way off, its DDR

[Jah-Wren Ryel]

It's obvious that Id is going to do some sort of benami. I think we can expect Id to do their own version of DDR - Doom Doom Revolution. Instead of blowing the shit out of mutants and demons, you'll have to dance yourself to Hell and back.

Re:Ultima X

[Nasarius]

Sadly, Ultima X is dead [eagames.com].

Re:Ultima X

[Anonymous Coward]

As a joke, I once (while playing Ultima 9) thought about registering the domain "UltimaTen.com" (case change for emphasis) and start working on a fake game called "Ultimate N".

Re:It's the one sport EA doesn't do yet

[Kentamanos]

Ever seen the "cheese rolling" advertisement for the movie "Spinal Tap"? It's on the "collector's edition" DVD. Good stuff.

Re:Space fighter?

[DaHat]

Space combat game with realistic physics?

See Independence War and Independence War 2