id Software purchased by ZeniMax Media

[Galaxieretter]

Miserable company. I have no sympathy at all. Fire the demolition beams!

They got bought out, not shut down. Besides, they weren't THAT bad. I mean they made some of my favorite games, Commander Keen included.

I admit their newer games are weird.

[Sslaxx]

I'm interested to see how the first Bethesda-published id titles will turn out...

[Deltamatic]

I was under the impression that this company owned both Bethesda and ID, so they would be equals rather than Matrioshka dolls.

[VikingBoyBilly]

I'm relieved that Bungie is no longer controlled by microsoft (that's like Sonic team making games for Nitnendo! ...... wait a minute...), but once again, it doesn't matter because it's the same case as ID software. The stuff they're making now is crap compared to what they were doing in the 90's.

Don't get me started on Raven's deplorable allegiance to activision

[Deltamatic]

I've got to wonder, though: why do us fans keep looking toward ID to swoop in and create a perfect TUIT? It's a rather unrealistic expectation, and they've they've made it clear in times past that they're not doing Keen any more.
Of course, there's the whole Tom Hall thing. To have him do an indie TUIT would be nice, but do we really need him? He doesn't have any more resources than we do, the way ID's been acting about his potential ownership of Keen. Or rather, the way ID's not been acting about his potential ownership of Keen at all.
Why are we clinging to the old company, the old guys, the old games [no offense, modders, what you do is great--but fan games really have more creative liberty], and not moving on and making our own Keen stuff? Why do we look to ID and Tom Hall as our dei ex machinae who'll give us TUIT? WHY CAN'T WE JUST MOVE ON, PEOPLE?

*pant, pant, pant*
Ahem.

[Lava89]

I see what you mean. And besides, even if someone did pick up the franchise again? They'd need a reboot so they could bring in new people. After all, companies aren't looking to be devoted to fan service, they have to make money.

Plus if Tom Hall made it, he would have a completely different style than when he made the first games, along with a new era and probably graphics. It's been 18 years, and I'm sure he's changed as a person. Look at Shigeru, he was the same guy as the creative influence on all of the main NES and SNES Mario games, but even with Mario 64 he changed the style and there was barely any gap between Mario 64 and Mario World 2.

But I'm totally open to new Keen stuff done by the fans, just long as people don't try to make TUIT specifically, simply because that particular game and storyline was Tom's idea and he has his own ideas of how it should be done. It would be like fans making Lord of the Rings 2 or Star Wars 7, 8 and 9. Whereas fan stories and expanded universe is just fine. Just long as fans don't tackle a project like TUIT-- NOT saying anyone would be ill-equipped (talent-wise) to do the job, it's just not their vision.

But, let's bring on the non-TUIT Keen fangames!

[IMA3HDDMNKY]

Gee, does it even matter anymore? The id we know now has almost nothing in common with the id we used to love. They're just another game company. I don't care who owns them or what they will do with id's franchises.

[Galaxieretter]

Gee, does it even matter anymore? The id we know now has almost nothing in common with the id we used to love.

That's not really *true* though. ID Software has always been pretty much the same thing. Allow me to explain:

Commander Keen 1-6. A series of side scrollers where you are a little boy who built a space ship, you run around in outer space, shoot aliens and save the earth from imminent danger.

Then:

Wolfenstein 3D. A first person shooter where you are an allies commando, you run around and kill zombies and Nazis.
Doom / Doom II. A first person shooter where you are a marine, you run around and you kill zombies and demons.
Quake. A first person shooter where you are an anti cultist, you run around and kill zombies and cultists.
Quake 2. A first person shooter where you are a marine, you run around and kill aliens called "The Strogg."
Quake 3. A first person shooter where you run around and kill players who are trying to kill you.
Return to Castle Wolfenstein. A first person shooter where you are, once again, an allies commando. You run around and kill zombies, Nazis AND cultists. (By the way, the ORIGINAL "Nazi Zombies.")
Doom 3. A first person shooter where you are a marine, you run around in dimly lit, blood splattered corridors and fight zombies and demons from hell.
Quake 4. A first person shooter where you are a marine, you run around and kill Strogg, get turned INTO a Strogg, then kill more Strogg.

How is that different than what they've been since Commander Keen?

I agree with Lava 89 though. I would rather not mod Commander Keen, but if I had a Commander Keen like engine...
That was modernized... I would probably make my own fangames for Commander Keen... you know what I mean? As in being able to MAKE your own enemies and actions without having to hex edit the executable, doing it half assed.

Besides... now that Zenimax owns the rights for a dead franchise, aka Commander Keen, (Which really isn't that dead.) they would probably be much more willing to part with it for say... a few hundred thousand? ID has no more say as to what happens to Commander Keen. Or maybe they do, I don't know the details of the contract.

Personally I can't wait to see what they do for Doom 4... Imagine ID's renderer, engine and art talent with Bethesda's open wandering around "RPG"ness design... how cool would THAT be? Instead of Oblivion gates you *ACTUALLY* GO TO HELL!

[Sslaxx]

Any id Tech isn't likely to show up until post-TES V, though. Regardless, their technology would be great to see in some of Bethesda's RPGs.

Though, I'm also of the mind that any creatives at id get transferred to other Zenimax divisions (and, conversely, all Zenimax's tech people get transferred to id). id Software would become the group's pure tech division. No more licensing engines - everything would be done in-house. It'd mean no duplication of resources.

[Lava89]

That's not really *true* though. ID Software has always been pretty much the same thing.

I do believe ID has changed since Keen. Yes, Keen shot enemies like all of the other games-- but the humor, story and light-hearted-ness disappeared with doom. And why would that disappear? Tom Hall. After all, why did he leave? He left because he wanted more of a story in doom and more characters. Once he left all of the games after that were pretty much "run and shoot lots of enemies in a dark setting". Once Tom Hall left, John Carmack just started making the games he always wanted to make. I'm sure to him, Keen was just a game to get started, it was simple enough to try their new engine. And I believe it's pretty obvious that Carmack was ready to ditch any light hearted and humorous games, such as Keen, as soon as he could.

I agree with Lava 89 though. I would rather not mod Commander Keen, but if I had a Commander Keen like engine...
That was modernized... I would probably make my own fangames for Commander Keen... you know what I mean? As in being able to MAKE your own enemies and actions without having to hex edit the executable, doing it half assed.

Ah, well I believe that was Deltamatic's idea to focus more on fan games. Thanks though

[Commander Spleen]

RPGised Doom? That would be horrible...

[VikingBoyBilly]

Could you imagine? Raising your offense stat somehow increases the damage done by your gunfire... just like all those other RPGs with characters that used guns as their weapon and they never ran out of ammo and it baffled me

Or is it something more like Hexen II where there's a half-arsed, unimportant level-up system and the main gameplay is FPS action?

PS: I'm sick of people saying Quake IV is an ID game when it's really Raven that developed it! You know who you are....

[Lava89]

I'm sick of people saying Quake IV is an ID game when it's really Raven that developed it! You know who you are....

Well I'm not sick of it. But yeah, I just think it's a misunderstanding. id also did not make Return to Castle Wolfenstein or Quake Wars. The last game they truly made (to my knowledge) was doom 3.

[Ceilick]

why do us fans keep looking toward ID to swoop in and create a perfect TUIT?

Personally, my TUIT hope has always been that ID would sell the rights to Tom Hall. I think the truth of the matter for me, though, is somewhere between what you and Lava are saying: I don't care who ends up making TUIT, as long as it maintains the humor, lightheartedness, etc that Lava mentioned.

The problem with fangames, I feel, is that none have been made that are better or even equal to the original Keen games. Some have gotten extremely close, in my opinion, Isis II and R.O.C.K., but still not as good or better. Modding has its obvious limitations but at least has the same quality of gameplay.

RPGised Doom? That would be horrible...

I imagine it would be something like Fallout 3. I haven't actually played fallout 3, but I watched someone play briefly and it looked kinda neat. I imagine the story would have to be reworked a bit though; Doom (at least Doom 3 anyway) has a very lonely, isolated atmosphere which doesn't seem like the best rpg material. Not to mention it would have to involve more tactics and less bullet hosing.

[Roobar]

"he problem with fangames, I feel, is that none have been made that are better or even equal to the original Keen games. "

Keen: Next was better in almost every way - gameplay, scrolling, graphics, level editor... It was the most promising fan project! And if something was missing, most probably it would have be implemented or added. When someone is doing something right you know it... Oh well... too bad we didn't hear anymore from the author . Thus, imko, this was the biggest loss.