Quake: “Better put it aside. It’s nothing for your kids!”

Happy 15th birthday to:

Better put it aside. It’s nothing for your kids!

That’s what the guy told my best friends father that day as he brought him Quake. You maybe know how that is as a kid, when things get declared as forbidden to you. They draw your attention even more!

But that guy also got a present for us kids. The very less forbidden Warcraft II. Eeks! He played a little bit and explained how that game works before he allowed us to play it ourselves. It was too boring and we quit playing it very soon, staring at the CD case in the shelf with the rusty Quake sign on it. I should later realize how amazing Warcraft II will be to me.

But for now, there only was this game for adults we couldn’t play. But we got an idea later this evening! We waited for his father and mom to sleep and sneaked out! Down the stairs, silent and taking care not to make any noise. As we reached the computer room, the treasure should be ours for the next 3 hours!

Installing. Playing. OH MY GOSH, it’s brutal! Monsters exploded into bits. Blood everywhere. Body parts squirting in our direction. Hauling hounds! Morbid music. Eerie rusty and industrial looking corridors. But the most interesting thing: Unlimited heights! Honestly, I played Eye of the Beholder already. But this Quake was something different, something more real to me than that. To turn around and to look in any possible direction was great. It felt like being there in this dirty, horrifying complex ourselves.

Only we, the gun and the monsters! Time to kill as brutal as possible. We were just kids, not older than 14, I guess. It’s just obvious that we loved the gory part of Quake the most. Especially this Grenade Launcher, which we called the “Ausrächer” (german for pesticide-sprayer) became our favorite weapon. Monsters down a hole, lets fire some bouncing grenades to get rid of them like bugs hiding behind a hollow wall! Splendid!

Okay, there is a little lie in my description. We couldn’t hear any music or sound, since we’re played it secretly. Without my best friends father knowing it. But we enjoyed every minute. Every most brutal carved up enemy we saw. The freedom to walk around without much boundaries! As I was a bit older, I should experience the famous multiplayer part of Quake and become a very active QuakeLive player through Quake 3 Arena.

Yep, Quake played a big part in my young gaming life! Before you feel offended or something, let me tell you that I would never consider to allow my kids to play such a game. But beware, todays youth is smart enough to get what they want. Especially if you’re careless. Happy Birthday Quake!