John Carmack Reveals Info on Next-Gen Project

Delivering his keynote address at the annual QuakeCon event held late last week in Dallas, Texas, Fountainhead Entertainment and id Software co-owner and technical director John Carmack addressed several topics, including his current, highly secretive project for next-generation platforms, as well as his appreciation for mobile game development. Concerning the project, which is an as yet unannounced title currently in development for the PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, Carmack noted that he is hoping that the game will be shipped simultaneously for both console platforms when it is ready, though from his statements and candor it seems as if this could be a considerable ways off. “Certainly by next QuakeCon we'll be able to talk about [the upcoming game],” he said. He did concede that the development team has spent much of its efforts thus far working on gameplay and AI, while not as much emphasis has been placed on the game's presentation. However, Carmack then noted that he is “plenty confident” that the game will be “stunning” visually, but that as of right now this is not the development team's singular focus. Carmack also commented during his speech how much he enjoyed working on the mobile stage, specifically on the first-person, turn-based fantasy RPG titled Orcs & Elves, which was published by Electronic Arts. The game continues John Carmack's cellphone game interest, piqued by his work on the previously released Doom RPG. The esteemed developer even mentioned more than a passing interest in bringing these titles to the Nintendo DS platform as well, though no formal announcement was made in this regard. [Our thanks to PlanetQuake4.net for making available a recording of the keynote address.]