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Interview with Paul Jaquays by Dr.Gibbs December 8, 2000
I recently had the privilege of interviewing Paul Jaquays, id Software's map designer, about some issues in the community and, of course, the upcoming Team Arena. The entire interview is featured below. Enjoy!
The Deathmatch Zone: I'm sure this is a touchy issue with everyone at id... but being a level designer, how do you feel about the Dreamcast maps being illegally released to the public?
Paul Jaquays: I'm not sure being a level designer has anything to do with it, but we've gotten used to the idea that there are jerks who imagine that commercial content should be put out free on the net, whether it's music or game levels or art, or whatever. If the creator wants his or her content on the net, he/she/it should be the one to make decisions about how/when/if it gets put there.
DZ: How do you feel about PC users being allowed to play on servers with Dreamcast players?
Jaquays: I look forward to seeing it happen.
DZ: Let's shift gears to something I'm sure everyone wants to hear about... the upcoming Team Arena. How much work are you doing on the Team Arena maps compared to the other mappers at id? Is it basically the same as it was during the Quake 3 days, or has some of the influence shifted?
Jaquays: I've got fewer maps in Q3:TA than the other guys, but by sheer size, I think I've got them beat.
DZ: Are there any specific techniques you are using on the Team Arena maps that differ from your original Quake 3 level designs? Are you considering the new weapons and items when you design the Team Arena maps?
Jaquays: I used a lot of vertex lighting only textures in several of my maps to reduce the memory impact of larger maps. I was careful to use them in areas where precise lighting or shadow casting wouldn't be an issue... mostly in caves or underwater areas. The use of outdoor terrain in several maps is a marked departure from the Q3A maps. To be honest, most of our maps were nearly finalized before we finalized our new weapons. I added or removed weapons to accommodate the special needs of the maps. In one case, I removed the prox launcher because it could add significantly to the memory burden in that map AND the size of the map made it a less effective tool.
DZ: How much influence has the Quake 3 community had on you personally in the last year? Are you changing some of your styles to fit the demands of gamers?
Jaquays: The community keeps me up answering questions on line. My styles? Not really, if anything I'm trying to force the community to follow my styles.
DZ: Have any teamplay mods such as Quake 3 Fortress or Weapons Factory Arena had any influence over Team Arena? How about other games, such as Unreal Tournament?
Jaquays: With the mods you mention, not really. By the time that most of those mods were being released, the core development and most all the maps were already completed. It would be hard to argue that Unreal Tournament wasn't on our minds when we worked on Q3:TA, but other than focusing more on team style play, we weren't particularly inspired by it.
DZ: Do you like the level designs in Elite Force; the new Star Trek game based on Quake 3's engine? What would you change about them?
Jaquays: Other than a quick demo at E3, I haven't really seen them yet.
DZ: And, finally... how much have you been playing Quake 3 online in the last year?
Jaquays: I got on line and played occasionally right up until the release of v1.25. But since my test system has been using later versions of the game code, I haven't done anywhere near as much.
Editor's Note: Paul Jaquays no longer works for id Software, as he retired from the id team on March 8, 2002. He had been working for id since March of 1997 and was a key player in the production of Quake 2, Quake 3, and Quake 3: Team Arena.
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