Rage iPhone game shown at QuakeCon
Carmack demos mobile tech, but warns no new IP "in the next decade"
id Software technical director John Carmack has unveiled an impressive 60 frames per second demo of Rage on iPhone, as part of his keynote speech at the QuakeCon 2010 event.
Although many fans anticipated a reveal of Doom 4 the iPhone demonstration proved to be the "something neat and unannounced" which was previously promised for the keynote.
With the whole speech televised on website Quake Live TV, Carmack introduced the footage as something intended to make people go "Oh my god, look at this".
As a result two versions of Rage on iPhone will be released, the first due to be released this year and meant to be a "show-off" title for the technology. A second, more fully-featured, game will be released in 2011 to coincide with Rage's release on consoles and PC.
Carmack claimed to have created the demonstration "very recently" and within just two weeks. The footage was running at a full 60 frames per second and according to Carmack was able to "kill anything done on the Xbox or PlayStation 2".
The iPhone game uses id Software's proprietary megatexure technology, but Carmack indicated that the frame rate in the final game would be lower and more similar to Doom Classic - but better than Doom Resurrection.
Elsewhere at QuakeCon 2010 id's Todd Hollenshead confirmed that the id Tech 5 software would not be licensed as middleware to other companies. Although he did indicate that it may be used by other developers owned by parent company ZeniMax Media, such as Fallout 3 makers Bethesda Softworks.
This may also now include developer Arkane Studios, makers of Arx Fatalis, who ZeniMax Media announced yesterday they would be acquiring.
Prior to QuakeCon, in an interview with Official PlayStation Magazine, Carmack admitted that id Software was unlikely to create any new intellectual properties within the next decade.
"We do already have more IPs than we can exploit," he said. "I doubt we're going to do another IP. It's scary to say it, but maybe not in the next decade even, because we want to support Wolfenstein, Doom and Quake - and hopefully we can add Rage onto that - and I don't want five teams here. Three is scary enough."