Every truly worthwhile competitive online game spends a good amount of time in the spotlight. This period of time can last for years, drawing players from all over the world, and giving some exceptionally talented players the opportunity to earn both fortune and glory through tournament events like the ASUS Spring Cup. This is a law of precedence in competitive games, and since the very first competitive online game, DOOM, these things have all held true. DOOM was the game that really brought serious public attention to intense first person shooter games, and is where many gamers, including myself, really became fascinated with how fun playing in a virtual world could be. With this heightened popularity of the game, competitive circles began to form around the world. People got a look at what really good players could be like in-game, and this was the predecessor to the fame that the modern players have achieved. DMCon1, one of the first professionally organized DOOM II tournaments, brought to international fame players like Galiu and Sslasher. Because of their demos posted online, the standard for competitive online game skill increased, and continued to increase until Quake I was released, and most of the DOOM online community switched to it. There were two key features involved in game design that made DOOM so respected among the first competitive online circles. The weapon balance would remain unmatched for years to come (and some would argue that it's still the best weapon balance). The other thing was movement physics. Moving in DOOM simply felt good. The solid, yet slick feel of the game is still very fun to play with, even today. In fact, there is still a healthy online community of DOOM players today on the internet that use a client-server program, ZDaemon, to play. What has kept this game alive and well for over a decade?

It is with the release of Quake that we saw the birth of the modern cyberathlete. Professional tournaments with serious prize money, such as QuakeCon, were formed, and once again, the stars of the international competitive scene were revealed - players like Thresh (a convert from the DOOM II online scene), Death, Lakerman, and others, were first acknowledged during the Quake days. Quake's time as a seriously popular game lasted even somewhat past the release of Quake II, but it has finally been laid to rest for the most part. Honestly, I would rate DOOM's online community to be in much better health than Quake's, even though the competitive online community exploded with Quake like it never had with DOOM.

Quake was an online phenomenon. Taking its cues from DOOM, it is the game that "officially" launched the current era of competitive online play. One significant contribution that Quake I made to the online community was the birth of true teams. Quake's code supported up to sixteen players at once, and hence, team deathmatch gained popularity. The online scene was expanded even more with Quake II. More and more players, and more tournaments, came into being through Quake and Quake II's popularity. But we all know that while Quake II helped evolve the online gaming community, it had perhaps the worst design of the id Software games, and definitely the shortest-lived time in the competitive spotlight. Who still plays Quake II? When compared to id's other games - an extremely small number of players.

Then - arguably the best designed online competitive game ever - Quake III Arena, took the world by storm. Come critics disliked the game because it didn't have five thousand game modes and "entertaining" weapons like a goo gun or a rocket launcher that could shoot three rockets at once. But serious players found in Quake III a weapon balance and fun physics that simply weren't matched in any other game. Hardcore players saw past the fact that Quake III didn't have twenty weapons and saw the great balance of the weapons that it did come with. The movement physics in Quake III felt so solid and fast, and speed tricks were quickly exploited, adding more fun and speed to the game. And why shouldn't it be well-designed? Serious gamers like Thresh playtested the game, and their opinions of the game design significantly affected id Software's decisions for what the shipped copy of the game would play like.

Quake III is still around today. Why is this? Most other online competitive games die off in their first couple of years after being released, but Quake III has lasted almost five, so far, and remains to be incredibly fun to spectate and unmatched as far as competitive design goes. Why?

The design is just that good. Much like an automobile, the better that it is built, the longer it will last. Some games are built purely for entertainment purposes. They put weapons like a silly gun that shoots green goo out of it
that is very powerful and very fast, virtually tossing out the window any thought to weapon balance. Some games have boring movement physics - and I'm not talking about the intense tactical shooters like Counter-Strike. I mean full out competitive deathmatch games. It's simply no fun to move around in some of these games. Quake III really got it right, with that time-tested approach of making your character well weighty, but not sluggish. It's just a good, solid feel. And for this, the game is more comfortable to play, and hence, more immersive. Hey, this sounds a lot like DOOM, doesn't it?

The point is, there are a lot of different ways to make a good game. In the world of online competitive games, I prefer a good balance between weapon damage, weapon firing speed, character movement speed, as well as the "feel" of your character's movement. The physics. These things can honestly make or break a game, and that's what makes Quake III great, as far as game design goes.

Good games last a long time. Take notice of this and enjoy the games. They were made for you to enjoy.

CLOSING COMMENTS - One last time - must change my in-game nick. I have a hard time finding nicks that are rarely in-use (as most people have this problem) but from here on - I will be called AC!D. Yes, that's right, it won't be spelled correctly unless you hold shift and press 1 in place of the "i."

By the way, I have to encourage you to check out ZDaemon - the server browser for DOOM and DOOM II. You can find a game anywhere in the world at any time of day. It's a really handy tool to help you enjoy one of those games with truly great game design.

That's all for now.

AC!D.