Id Software has officially unveiled its newest game franchise, called “Rage.” Rage is planned for a simultaneous release on Mac OS X, Windows and game consoles. The unveiling took place at id’s annual QuakeCon event in Dallas, Texas.
Rage is built on a new game engine called id Tech5, and the company has reportedly been at work on the title for the past year and a half. The world got its first look at id Tech5 in June when id Software’s co-founder and chief technologist, John Carmack, introduced it to attendees of the keynote address for Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) in June.
Rage combines elements of first-person shooters and driving — set in a post-apocalyptic, Road Warrior-type environment that takes place in the southwestern United States.
Carmack told the assembled throng at QuakeCon that id wanted to do something different from past games like Doom 3 and Quake IV, which emphasize cramped hallways and dimly lit environments.
“We’ve got lots of bright sunny outdoors,” he said.
Carmack calls Rage a bleeding edge project, and expects that with its complex geometry and textures, it will span either two DVD-ROM discs, or, in the case of the PlayStation 3 console, a Blu-ray Disc. He added that the company is investing tens of millions of dollars in the project, and that they’re taking some risk, moving away from id’s proven “run and gun” formula.