Quake

I played the shareware version over and over again, longing for the day I could afford the real thing. One of my co-workers came to the rescue with an illegal copy. I was in heaven, until I had a really bad day, finding out that my computer was infected by a virus. I didn't have much experience in how to get rid of viruses at that time so I did what most people do = C:\format and cleaned the hard disk drive completely.

Only to find out that my illegal copy of Quake just didn't want to load anymore! I tried everything, but no such luck. God almighty, was I pissed!

A few days later I was walking around at a flea market, looking for things I might like to buy. Sure enough, there was plenty but what really drew my attention was a big box filled with computer related gadgets and stuff. I didn't know much but thought there might be some interesting things in the box, maybe even things I really could use.

The guy who was selling it, didn't want to let me go through the contents of the box. That made me somewhat suspicous but soon more people started gathering, showing interest in the box. I bought it for 200 SEK (about $25), knowing very well that the possibility of getting cheated was more than likely.

It contained a lot of thingamajigs, cables and cards of which I had no idea what they actually were used for. Having lifted out most of the stuff on my living-room floor I was in for a real surprise. The whole bottom of the box was filled with games!

Now, that sounds as if I had struck gold or something but most of the games were in really bad shape. But there, among chrushed diskettes and plastic rubbish... there it was... a brand new, LEGAL, copy of Quake. I just couldn't believe my luck! Furthermore, both Mission Packs too! I'll tell you more about them in a later post.


Now, about Quake...

This game was released in May 1996 by id software, the makers of Hexen and Doom. It was the first real 3D-game where everything actually was modelled in 3D. It is said that Quake single-handedly kicked off the 3D-card revolution.

Quake is a first-person-shooter, ie. you look through the eyes of the main character. You have a gun and that's it. The storyline isn't especially important since your goal is to kill as many foes as possible until you reach the final boss, in Quake's case the horrible deity Shub-Niggurath. Yes, the same being that was created by H.P. Lovecraft.

In Quake the storyline is that you're a marine, sent through a slipgate by the government. Your orders are simple: Kill the enemy known as Quake!


Quake is fun. By today's standards the graphics might not be regarded as top-of-the-line artwork but if you're playing Quake, you're not playing it because of the beautiful views. You're playing to get an adrenaline rush. That's exactly what you get.

You run through dark hallways, crammed with monsters that want nothing less than rip your head off. You jump, run, walk, sneak and swim your way to the grand finale. You search for ways to open locked doors or to get to secret places with more ammunition, health packs and heavier weaponry. Now, can you find a better way of spending an Saturday evening?

Years later I found ways of making my own maps, mainly with the help of QuARK (Quake Army Knife). I still enjoy making my own maps, occasionally, and Quake is still one of the games that gets to be played when I'm bored with everything else.