Game Development Giant

In fact, in the history that Jester was originally familiar with.

Fatty G, who once worked at Microsoft, is a die-hard fan of FPS games, and he has his own unique understanding of this type of game.

Of course, like this type of players of that era, it is impossible for him not to become a fan of id Software or John Carmack. However, G Fat’s choice is not to join such a company. Die-hard fans like them would only dream of it. Game company to join.

It's not that he doesn't have such ability. For a senior programmer at Microsoft, technology has never been a problem. Moreover, he has close friends who work in id software and hold important positions, such as John Carmack. The relationship was very good, but Fatty G made up his mind. After leaving Microsoft, he founded Valve Company. At that time, his idea was to develop a game like "Quake".

But at that time, "Quake 2" had just been developed and was being exhibited at e3.

G Fat observed this game with the mood of a pilgrim. His original intention was to see what progress id had made in this type of game. After all, they are the founders and leaders of this type of game. sheep.

However, it backfired.

It's not that id didn't do well in "Quake 2", which disappointed G Fat and didn't learn anything.

But Carmack and id, what they did on "Quake 2" is really too good, so good that even G Fat, a person who has always been conceited, has lost his heart to compete, because "Quake 2" The engine is so powerful that Fatty G doesn't even dare to try it.

At that time, G even had the idea of ​​giving up his FPS game, turning off the valve, and then finding a new job, but soon, he warned himself that he still had a chance.

Because it's simple. Carmack has never concealed one thing, that is, he himself may be the least copyright-conscious top programmer among all programmers. He believes that things developed by a programmer should not be hidden and pointed at himself. To use it, the technology should be expanded, so as to promote technological exchanges.

That said, Carmack doesn't object to others using his engine to develop games.

But after all, the engine of Quake 2 was developed by id at a great cost, and it is not something that anyone can use if they want to. After all, as one of the most powerful 3D engines in the world at the time, how many people were eager to use such an engine to develop a game.

With such an engine.

Even some third-rate game producers, using a third-rate project, can make a game that is interesting to today's players.

Therefore, not everyone is qualified to obtain the license for the "Quake 2" engine, of course, according to Carmack's character. As long as you can get authorization, there is no need to spend money.

At this time, the role of G Fat’s friend in ID Software is crucial.

His friend convinced John Carmack. Then John Carmack met with G Fat. After hearing G Fat’s game development plan, he introduced his latest developed engine without saying a word. It is also the engine used in "Quake 2" and is licensed to G Fat.

The FPS game that G Fat later developed using this engine was called "Half-Life".

One of his player-made mods may be more famous to many players. Later, the creator of this mod also became a regular employee of Valve, and this mod was the "Counter-Strike" that once changed the entire FPS game landscape.

It can be said that as the two most important games in the FPS world, "Quake" and "Half-Life" are closely related to John Carmack.

It can even be said bluntly that without Carmack, there would not have been these two games in history, and the game type of FPS game may not appear in front of ordinary people until ten years later.

But then again, maybe no one would have thought that, including G Fat himself, a small figure who was planning the development of "Half-Life" at the time, would become comparable to a figure like John Carmack many years later. , and even, in terms of reputation, the existence that is still vaguely superior can only be said to be the fate of people.

Jester actually asked someone to search for G Fat at Microsoft.

But it may be that his butterfly wings affected the course of history. At least among the well-known engineers at Microsoft, the person he was looking for was not found.

This also made Jester a little regretful.

Although, even if he knew about Fatty G's existence, he might not be able to trick him into his company.

I just don’t know if “Half-Life”, which has had a profound impact on FPS games in history, will appear.

"Quake 4" stole the show at this year's E3 exhibition. Coupled with the hot sales of the just-released "Invincible Heroes", half a million copies were sold in one month. Although I am not sure that this game will definitely be able to It has sold millions, but as a PC game and a brand new type of game, such sales are already amazing.

The producer of this game, Rob Pardo, is even more famous.

Although he had already become famous once when "Diablo" became a big success, the main design work of that game was still done by Jester, and after all, the success of a game also involves luck.

The great success of the two games at that time cannot be explained by luck. This means that since the popularity of "Invincible Heroes", Rob Pardo has grown into a designer who is independent enough. The important thing is that the game "Invincible Heroes", although the game style at the beginning was completely different from Sid Meier's "Civilization" series and the real-time strategy pioneered by Jester himself, it attracted Rob Pablo. The key to all of Erdo's attention.

However, Jester's contribution to this game is just such a gameplay method.

The other parts of this game were all thought out step by step by Rob Pardo himself, starting from scratch over two years.

That's why his development speed was so fast. It didn't take him a year, but just ten months, to develop this game and then successfully sell it. Moreover, the sales were pretty good. It is said that he also I heard a saying that my game is very hopeful to be nominated as the best new game of the year in GDC's annual selection.

This made him extremely excited.

GDC's annual award is the Oscar of the current gaming industry. Rob Pardo doesn't expect that, but it would be nice to win a new work of the year. (To be continued...)