Quake Live, In-Game Ads, and Running id Software

TG: The beta for Quake Live has been going on for several months now, can you speak to its success and the feedback from participants?

TODD HOLLENSHEAD: I can't comment on the feedback because I haven't been following the forums, but I play in the beta to see how things are going . And I think the response generally is one of "Can I please be in the beta? Please, please please?" And if you trust the GameSpy numbers, Quake III is still the most popular deathmatch game of all of them. So we started with something that was beyond solid, at the top level of excellence even nine years after the release of the game. Quake III is to some extent an orphan. We haven't had an update since, I don't know, 2002. If someone went out and bought Quake III, it wouldn't work because you wouldn't have anyone to play with because everyone is running mods. And one thing we looked at and realized with a bit of sadness was this: ultimately, the community will become so fractured that it will lead to the demise of the game. But if you talk to the pro players - and maybe they're just telling me what I want to hear - they say that Quake III is still the perfect deathmatch game, if there even is such a thing. So with Quake Live, we wanted to take all the greatness of Quake III, preserve it, update it and integrate a lot of cool features like leaderboards and chat instead of having to go find them. You can find them, but it's kind of a beat down to do it.

TG: Does id have any major advertising partners for the in-game advertising?

TODD HOLLENSHEAD: We want to stay focused on the development aspect of the game, which is why we partnered with IGA to fulfill the ads. To some extent we have to work with them on that, but really we're leaving it up to them.

TG: Because it's a web-based game and updates are relatively easy to make, do you see id making any graphical updates or releasing a Quake Live 2.0?

TODD HOLLENSHEAD: I don't know if we'll focus on graphics. Quake Live for some is subtle, depending on how elite you are with respect to your graphics applications on whether you turn stuff down or turn stuff up. And a lot of the hardcore players turn the graphics stuff down. So basically every map that comes with Quake Live that derives from Quake III has gotten a face lift. Looking out to the first year post-release, we'll be less focused on graphical things and probably more focused on content and community aspects, like more maps, new game types, adding tournament applications or community functionality. We also want to help players do what they want to do, like setting up custom servers for various purposes. It's all contingent, to some extent, on how successful the game is. Implicit in your question is do we plan on reinvesting in Quake Live? If it's successful and we get the numbers we want, then we will have people working on Quake Live for the foreseeable future. If it's not successful, then we have to reevaluate the strategy.

TG: Id Software has five co-owners, yourself included. How does that group dynamic work?

TODD HOLLENSHEAD: The dynamic of the business is that all the big decisions that impact the company strategically are done on a group consensus basis. In almost every case I can think of, we end up reaching an agreement as opposed to having a vote where somebody wins and somebody loses. Normally everybody provides their input and collectively decide what is the best way to do things. At the same time, everyone has their area of responsibility. On the business side, negotiating contracts and things like that, I don't involve everybody on a day to day basis. Just like John [Carmack] doesn't send out a memo on what he's working on for programming, or Kevin [Cloud] with respect to what he's working on with the Doom project, or Tim [Willits] with what he's doing on Rage or Anna [Kang] with respect to what she's doing in the mobile business. It's not effective use of people's time to be worrying about people looking over their shoulder or for other people spending most of their time looking over someone else's shoulder.

TG: Most of you have been with the company for over a decade now, do you think that helps to keep you focused?

TODD HOLLENSHEAD: On a philosophical level, we all start from the same place. We've been at id for a long time and we have shared values and perspectives on what the company is about and what the proper business plan is. These things have changed over time to some extent, like going from one studio to a multi-studio approach. Those are big changes, but such changes were ones that we came to a consensus on strategically. For example, on our relationship with a publisher, it involves a lot of different things and relationships of different disciplines. If I'm really doing my job running the business, I can't be involved in the day to day aspect of what's going on with the production schedule of a title, there's just too much to do. And with respect to everything that's going on with John with the technology or Anna with the mobile division, there are things that come up in contracts where I'll go ask them about language or certain points. On the flip side, if something comes with a voice-over or motion-capture actor and they don't know how to answer a request, they come to me. We are all experts in our area, but there's frequent crossover. We don't fight turf wars.

TG: Are you working on anything outside of id?

TODD HOLLENSHEAD: I don't have any other business interests outside of id. My only passion outside of the company at the serious hobby level is bicycle racing. I've done 15 or 17 races this year, and ride about 7,500 a year.

TG: Is id going to sponsor a team?

TODD HOLLENSHEAD: I'm currently on a team that's sponsored by Richardson Bike Mart (in Texas). I'm talking to Kevin, Tim and John about getting a small id logo on the uniform.

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