Doom Knight

Lore & Background

The game's plot centers around teleportation experiments called slipgates, which lead to an invasion of Earth by a hostile force codenamed Quake. The player takes the role of a soldier (later dubbed Ranger) who must travel through slipgates to find and destroy the source of the invasion. The game is split between futuristic military bases and medieval, gothic environments, featuring both science fiction and fantasy weaponry and enemies. Quake heavily takes inspiration from gothic fiction and the works of H. P. Lovecraft. The game's development was originally inspired by a Dungeons & Dragons campaign held among id Software staff.

Reader's Guide

In single-player mode, players explore levels, facing monsters and finding secret areas before reaching an exit. The campaign is organized into four episodes with seven to eight levels each (including one secret level per episode). The player can save at any time in PC versions and between levels in console versions. Each episode starts the player from scratch. The ultimate objective is to recover four magic runes, after which the hub floor opens to reveal an entrance to the final level. In multiplayer, players can play co-op or deathmatch modes. Bunnyhopping, strafe-jumping, and rocket jumping allow faster movement or access to otherwise-inaccessible areas.

Did You Know?

• Quake was the successor to id Software's Doom series and built upon its technology and gameplay.
• The Quake engine offered full real-time 3D rendering and early support for 3D acceleration through OpenGL.
• Quake featured music composed by Trent Reznor and his band Nine Inch Nails.
• The fourth skill level, 'Nightmare', was described in the manual as 'so bad that the entry is hidden, so people won't wander in by accident'.
• Multiplayer Quake was one of the first games singled out as a form of electronic sport; notable participant Dennis Fong won John Carmack's Ferrari 328 at the 1997 Red Annihilation tournament.