Wednesday night id Software's mad scientist (aka founder and technical director) John Carmack updated his Twitter page, revealing that he'll be showing "something neat and unannounced" at QuakeCon later today. Naturally he didn't reveal the actual project, nor did he provide even a pixel of a visual hint, leaving fans guessing.
"Deciding if I should leave it be or sneak a little more code in," he added in his tweet.
So what's the "unannounced" project? We are already aware of Doom 4, but perhaps it's something related to the upcoming game that hasn't previously been revealed. id Software head honcho Todd Hollenshead admitted last year that more would be revealed about Doom 4 during this year's QuakeCon. "When we show it to you you're gonna love it," he said.
There's also speculation that Carmack may reveal a new game. While it's possible, a new IP is certainly not in the picture, as id Software is focused on getting Rage and Doom 4 developed and out the door. Thursday Carmack even told the Official PlayStation Magazine that the studio won't start work on another new franchise--aka Intellectual Property (IP)--for another ten years.
"We do already have more IPs than we can exploit," he told OPM. "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."
If id Software is announcing a new title, it's likely in the Quake (crossing fingers) or Wolfenstein franchise. Rage 2 isn't even a possibility until the development house determines if the first game is a hit when it lands on store shelves in 2011.
In the meantime, some of us are eager to see what Doom 4 will bring to the franchise. What we know is that the game will be locked at 30fps to incorporate a higher visual quality--three times that of Rage. It will also supposedly leverage some of the Quake Live infrastructure for its multiplayer component. Carmack also reassured fans that Doom 4 shouldn't take as long to ship as Rage.
"It's already in the pipeline and we feel good about it," he said.
