Apple isn’t the only Mac-friendly hardware maker at this week’s QuakeCon 2001 conference and tournament in Mesquite, Texas. Graphics chipmaker Nvidia also has a major role at the event — in fact, they’re one of the convention’s sponsors.
Nvidia is using the event to show off its products in a display at its own booth. It’s featuring the GeForce3 and the GeForce2 Go, the company’s first mobile chip. Graphics hardware based on Nvidia’s technology is featured on all of the Macs in Apple’s area on the tournament floor, as well as AMD-based PCs that serve as the standard tournament machines.
This afternoon, Nvidia’s booth at QuakeCon will also be the scene of the Id Challenge. Six Id employees, including CEO Todd Hollenshead, are scheduled to take on all challengers in a teamplay game of Quake 3 Arena. In addition to sponsoring the main US$50,000 competition itself, Nvidia is also providing prizes for the QuakeCon Object Model Competition, which has been organized by Id map designer Paul Jaquay.
QuakeCon is more than just an event where games are played. Game developers attend the convention, also. Some work on mods — third party additions to Quake 3 Arena — while others are creating their own custom games using Id’s game engine technology. In addition to the sponsorship of the competition itself and various other events, Nvidia is also holding technical sessions to help those developers attending QuakeCon along with their projects, too.