Quakeweek
May 5, 1997


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id Responds to Call for Volunteerism in Education

Sujoy Roy Appointed as Prime Minister

Quake Recalled

Children's Television Workshop Sues id Software

id to License Prey Engine for Next-Generation Game

Quake Linked to Violent Behavior

Quake For Convicts

QPsychic Released

Transparent Water Spawns New Debate

id Software Hires Tom Zito
3D Realms Licenses Plot Engine From id


DALLAS, TX - Only days after signing an agreement to license id Software's Quake 2 engine for their upcoming Duke Nukem Forever game, 3D Realms has announced that it will also be licensing id's long-cherished Plot engine for DNF's storyline.

3D Realms Logo"This situation is very similar to the last one," says George Broussard, president of 3D Realms. "We could spend time developing an intricate story for our next Duke Nukem game, but that could literally take forever, no pun intended. We realized that in order to meet the 1998 deadline, we'd need a story that was already well-tested. So we licensed id's Plot engine as well."

id LogoOriginally created during the development of DOOM, the Plot engine is a revolutionary technology that id uses in its games in order to build a consistent theme without having to waste time writing a story. "We first started on Quake without implementing the Plot engine, just to see if we could do without it," says John Carmack, lead programmer for id. "After months of fumbling around with Aztec and medieval designs, we were forced to incorporate the Plot engine into what we've already accomplished, since creating medieval weapons and other elements would have made us miss our deadlines."

"We don't want to make the same mistake with Duke," adds Broussard. "Prey is eating up most of our time, so we have even less manpower to dedicate to the Duke project. However, with both the Quake 2 and Plot engines at our disposal, all we have to do is throw in pipebombs, ExplodingToplessGoGoDancersTM, etc. etc. and boom! Instant winner!"

Though still very early in development, 3D Realms has already created an alpha build of the DFN storyline. Currently, Duke Nukem plays a grunt for an as-yet unnamed corporation that has been covertly experimenting with teleporation technology. Hellish-looking monsters come through the portal one day and overrun the testing site. Duke is sent in as part of a rescue team, and manages to become the only surviving member in a matter of seconds. "Armed with only a pistol," Duke single-handedly saves the universe (and its beautiful women) from the forces of Satan Himself.

"We would never have done something like that," says Carmack, "but there's plently of room in the market for both our products."