Though id Software may not have made Wolfenstein: The New Order — MachineGames made it, while id is working on Doom 4 — that doesn’t mean there isn’t any of id’s handiwork in there. Besides making the engine the game runs on, there’s a neat easter egg that brings back memories of Wolfenstein 3D, mainly because it is Wolfenstein 3D. You can play through a stage, similar to easter eggs in id’s Rage that teleported you into Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, and Quake. While I don’t think developers should make their games to cater exclusively to nostalgia, this is a nice way to remind fans of how far we’ve come. I always loved finding recreations of the first level of Castlevania in some of the latter-day Metroidvania games. Developers, consider doing this more in the future! Read more…
An era is over! John Carmack, one of the original founders of id Software, who was the lead programmer and helped create many iconic video games such as Doom, Wolfenstein, and Quake, has officially left that company. This is not particularly surprising, as in August he stepped down into a more distance supervisor role and join Oculus VR as their CTO. This was just the final step, as now he has changed his focus from games to hardware. It sounds like he finds the possibilities of the Oculus Rift very exciting (as do I) and wants to devote his full time to it. It’ll be interesting to see where id Software goes from here, as they haven’t really put out anything exciting in the past several years. Carmack will certainly find success wherever he goes, though! Read more…
John Carmack, co-creator of Doom, co-founder of Id Software, and programmer on many, many computer games is joining Oculus VR, the company making the Oculus Rift, a virtual reality headset for use with games. Carmack was the one who debuted the device at E3 2012, and now he is taking a full-time position at the company as Chief Technology Officer (CTO). However, the award-winning programmer isn’t really leaving Id, either. He’s still planning on working on games, and he’s also not abandoning his rocket company Armadillo Aerospace. Read more…
Bethesda has announced that Wolfenstein: The Last Order will be the next installment in the long-running series. It is being considered a reboot to the series, which I’d imagine would normally have them calling it simply Wolfenstein, but since that unsubtitled name was already used for a 2009 sequel, I guess they think that would be too confusing. There’s a new trailer too, and while it’s only prerendered concept stuff, it’s actually fairly cool. The whirring of machinery as the music amps up and then slips into a Jimi Hendrix song is really well done. But for now, it’s just a tease — maybe we’ll see more at E3 in a month. Read more…
Of all the PC games I played in the 90s, very few stand out in my mind as having revolutionized their genres, but Doom easily makes that list. I have fond memories of wading through level after level of demons and beasts with little more than an arsenal of guns, and strategically placed health packs. I still find myself playing the occasional first person shooter, but few games really capture the magic I experienced that first time, and thanks to the Doom 3 mod community, I finally have a chance to relive those fond memories. Read more…
