Incredible visuals, visceral gunplay, long installations – all things one might associate with id Software’s RAGE. Not often associated with RAGE are apologies and regret, but that’s exactly what id co-founder John Carmack brought to the stage for today’s QuakeCon 2012 keynote address.
Speaking to the gathered crowd of journalists and industry enthusiasts, Carmack immediately came forth with criticism and genuine reflection about the game. He first expressed his disappointment with the ending, before going on to state that the PC version in particular was very poorly handled in terms of driver support. Furthermore, he acknowledged that the world of RAGE was essentially a shell with little in terms of the interaction many players were expecting.
Player expectations were also something Carmack feels could have been handled better. Speaking about id’s silence on DOOM 4 details, he referenced consumer confusion during RAGE’s development and poor marketing as the source of lessons learned. "The messaging on RAGE probably wasn’t all it should have been," said Carmack, who believes pre-release comparisons made with Borderlands were unwarranted but perhaps the fault of id Software, who fell short of distinguishing the two.
Thankfully, Carmack’s keynote wasn’t all so disheartening. He also talked at length about id Software’s decision to cease all iOS development and the fact that id Tech 4 is now a viable engine for PlayStation Vita. Futhermore, the majority of staff are in full production on DOOM 4, while others polish the forthcoming DOOM 3 BFG Edition.
Let us know what you think of Carmack’s apologies in the comments below, and stay tuned to PSU.com for more on all things id Software, including DOOM 4.