STACK September 2016 Issue 143

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heralded the 21st QuakeCon – held in Dallas,
Texas – and with its coming of age came a
plethora of news and announcements. The
highly-anticipated Prey reboot is definitely
something we’re looking forward to, and one
the devs stated it is not an open world, but an
“open space station” of a title, where every
attempt was made to “say ‘yes’ to the player”
when it came to choice.
VP of PR and marketing Pete Hines also
promised that we aren’t likely to see any sort
of television or film adaptations of Bethesda
properties, as they just “distract” from the
games, adding “we
focus on making
games. We know
An expo predominantly ‘for the fans’,
QuakeCon is Zenimax Media’s annual
convention. What began as a celebration
of id Software’s Quake has extended to
everything Zenimax’s studios create, from
DOOM to the Elder Scrolls and everything in
between.
The epicentre of QuakeCon every year is its
Bring Your Own Computer hall. Considered by
many to be the “largest LAN in North America”,
punters from all over the country come from
near and far to set up their (in some cases
extravagant) rigs and simply game for 72 hours.
Quite honestly, it’s some of the most beautiful
chaos we’ve ever seen.
This year, of course, was no different. 2016
who we are.”
And for Dishonored 2, co-creative director at
Arkane Studios. Harvey Smith, noted that they
paid “a heap of attention” to feedback – from
women in particular – following the original,
to ensure they could make the best sequel
possible.
The entire time you’re at QuakeCon, you
never forget it's an event for the fans. There's
developers and studio luminaries traipsing
around the halls scoffing slices of pizza bigger
than their heads, prizes, giveaways, exclusive
loot you can find only at the show, and footage
dropped in the expo hall exclusive to
attendees. The atmosphere inside is one
of the friendliest and welcoming you can
imagine. After all, everyone is there for
the same reason: peace, love and rockets.
During our time in Texas, we had the
privilege of catching up with Bethesda
and id Software royalty. Pete Hines,
Harvey Smith, Prey creative director Raf
Colantonio, Arkane Studios lead designer
Ricardo Bare, DOOM executive producer
Marty Stratton, and the prolific studio
director at id Software, TimWillits, were
all more than happy to sit down and have
a chat about their respective projects
and the behemoth that QuakeCon has
become. More from them as their
respective games hit shelves at JB.
Having experienced the convention
and everything it had to offer, from the
blood drive to the eSports challenges to
the merch to the cosplayers, it’s difficult
to accurately describe the essence of
QuakeCon. It’s about family, it’s about
togetherness, it’s about a fondness for
absurdity and a respect for classic video
games. TimWillits said it himself: “If I
could describe QuakeCon in one word?
Love.”
A cacophony of energy drink cans being opened in chorus fills the expo hall.
“BAWLS” is being yelled so loud you can hear it back home. Journos are
panicking about awfulWi-Fi and running to interviews they’re late for. PJs are
more common than business attire.Welcome to QuakeCon 2016. Words: Alesha Kolbe
A bunch of people
outside in PJs and
onesies chasing
Tauros.
A shrine dedicated to
Harambe, with a
bunch of bananas
(and a heap of other
stuff).
Tim Willits chowing
down on a piece of
pizza bigger than his
head.
Fifty Shades of Grey.
(and we hopefully
never will again).
Things
we saw at
quakecon
that you would
never see
anywhere else:
visit
64 SEPTEMBER 2016
GAMES
FEATURE
PEACE, LOVE
ROCKETSAND