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Interviews: John Carmack interview
Posted by Konk
from the yes-the-john-carmack-of-doom-fame-john-carmack dept.
Today is a great day! We have an interview with John Carmack, lead programmer of id Software which was anonymously submitted to us. It covers the upcoming expansion pack Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil. Without further ado...
INTERVIEWER: So John, after the successful release of Doom 3, I guess you decided to create an expansion pack. 
JOHN: That's exactly right. With so many people enjoying Doom 3, we thought "Heck! Why not make another?" After all, we've been getting along fine doing only sequels, since Quake. 
INTERVIEWER: A lot of people were surprised when Trent Reznor quit the Doom 3 team, and many were fairly upset. In regard for music and sounds in ROE, what do you think you will have in store for us? 
JOHN: Well, what many people don't know is that the whole Trent Reznor bit didn't work out because he didn't have what we wanted. We were looking for something more smooth, and groovy. You know, classic rock, and maybe a little disco. Unfortuantly, our early ideas of using some Jackson 5 music for the particularly scary parts (such as the Cyberdemon), were struck down after realizing we couldn't get the rights. Also, we were going to make you, the marine, an avid David Bowie fan. In addition to video files and and email, your PDA would also contain every Bowie song in existence thanks to a built-in MP3 player. We were especially keen on Bowie's song, "Space Oddity," which we considered to fit the whole "stranded spaceman" theme very well. In fact, we originally had that play nonstop automatically if you didn't see any other creature for 15 minutes. You know, a kind of easter egg. Unfortuantly, we weren't able to receive permission for that either. In regard to ROE, I think we may try some experimental stuff. Think babies shrieking meets feedback. 
INTERVIEWER: Highly experimental indeed (laughs). So in ROE, you will have powers from Hell such as "Hell Time" which is a lot like "Bullet Time," right? 
JOHN: Yes, there will be three powers you will receive throughout the game. One will be Hell Time, but many people seem to be misinformed. It is not meant to be like Bullet Time. In fact, if anything, it is best compared to Barney's Playtime. The demons will start singing songs and dancing, and you will join in. We think it will be a hit among the younger population. I'll also note at this time that all the blood and gore has been removed from the game. 
INTERVIEWER: So I hear you're adding a double-barrelled shotgun, because some fans were disappointed that this hit Doom 2 weapon was lacking from Doom 3. What is the new one going to be like? 
JOHN: Well, when we were designing it, we were thinking mostly of Legos. The colors, sharp edges, and fact it could be taken apart brick by brick were really inspiring to us. But in the end, we decided to just do a standard black metal, double-barrelled, shotgun. 
INTERVIEWER: Will people still be disappointed with switching between guns and flashlights? 
JOHN: Actually, we hope to have fixed that problem. You're an engineer in this one, but it doesn't mean you don't enjoy some fun. For most of the game you'll be dressed up in a kinky, black-leather, gimp suit, with a flashlight taped to your face. 
INTERVIEWER: Heh I guess players should be weary of freelooking straight down (laughs). 
JOHN: Absolutly right (not laughing). 
INTERVIEWER: So what about the "Gravity Grabber?" Is this just a rip-off of Half-Life 2's "Gravity Gun?" 
JOHN: Actually, we tried to make it very different from Half-Life 2's to avoid dispute. For most of the game, the grabber will being broken, and it's main use will be as a last resort melee weapon. Once it finally does get fixed, it will only work in specified areas and on specified objects, and the actual "grabbing" part will be done via scripting, and not the physics engine. We hope it will be nothing like HL2's. 
INTERVIEWER: Okay, thanks for doing this interview, but that's all the time we have. 
JOHN: My pleasure.
What a great interview :)
► itsatrap, doom3 (tagging beta)
(1)
:FP!!!1 (Score:5, Informative)
:by Anonymous Coward
:I GOT TEH FISRT POST YES!!!!
:Reply
:I for one.. (Score:5, Funny)
:by LOLLERSK8
:I for one welcome our new Doom 3 overlords!
:Reply
::Re: I for one.. (Score:0)
::by Anonymous Coward
::ROFL HAHAHAHAHA I LOVE THAT JOKE
::Reply
:Linux (Score:5, Insightful)
:by penguins-r-us
:will it run on linux is the real question carmack. will it? WILL IT? HUH?
:Reply
Wind0ze bl0ze.
Category:Do not categorize