Tech Column: Rage a new kind of apocalypse

Mesquite-based id Software, the legendary game developers responsible for the Wolfenstein, Doom and Quake franchises, is hard at work on its latest project, Rage. Unlike its previous efforts, which have traditionally been straightforward run-and-gun affairs, Rage is proving to be wonderfully diverse, immersing players into a unique, non-linear world.

Set in a post-apocalyptic world ravaged by an asteroid impact, the wasteland that comprises Rage's world serves as both an excuse to blast enemies with various weapons, as well as take part in a dune buggy racing element that brings to mind Twisted Metal or the Mad Max movies. Players will encounter various clans throughout the game, each of which has a particular set of abilities and weapons.

A recent interview with id's creative director, Tim Willits, revealed a number of amusing innovations: a bolt-firing crossbow capable of electrocuting enemies standing in water; a remote controlled car loaded with C4 and a camera; weapons that make use of multiple ammo types; enemies that seem to understand how to navigate through their environment; the ability to construct and use deadly turrets; and even a personal defibrillator that keeps the player from dying.

This rather ambitious title uses id Software's new id Tech 5 engine, which will likely be one of the more impressive game engines of the next few years. Gone are the days of repeating textures and similar-looking environments; rather, everything in Rage is meticulously crafted, and graphics nerds can expect a plethora of modern features—bloom, motion blur, soft shadows, depth of field, cloth simulation, pixel shader effects and more, all running on DirectX 9.

Additionally, id Tech 5's Virtual Texturing technique will allow for Rage to have the same level of quality on the PC, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 platforms. Typically, when a game is developed for multiple platforms, it will perform noticeably weaker on one versus the other, while Rage will perform identically on all three. John Carmack, id Software's lead programmer, has even expressed interest in coding Rage for the iPad and iPhone. The icing on the cake is the announcement that the advanced editor used to create Rage will actually ship with the game, encouraging the mod community to construct its own worlds. Rage is expected to be released sometime in 2011 and will likely be rated "T-for-Teen."