Quakecon 2012: Day 2 Coverage

Game demos, BYOC case mods, PCPer podcast, Day 2 conclusion

Game demos

Apogee Software and Interceptor Entertainment have brought back a shooter called Rise of the Triad that was originally released in 1995. It's an interesting title that uses fast shooting, bizarre weapons and lots of bloody action to keep gamers engaged. It was built using Unreal Engine 3 and has a 20 stage single-player campaign as well as a multiplayer mode. Apogee did not give an official release date, but Rise of the Triad is set to hit Steam late this year.

To reiterate what I said earlier in my coverage today, Smite was on hand and is a free-to-play online multiplayer that uses  mythical gods, join session-based arena combat, and custom powers and team tactics against other player-controlled gods and non-player controlled minions. This was only a beta version of Smite and no release date has been announced.

Bethesda Softworks and Arkane Studios allowed gamers to try out Dishonored, but only behind a huge wall that didn't allow for photography or video. This title is a steampunk style, first-person role-playing video game that can now be preordered on Steam. Gamers will also get Arkane Studio's Arx Fatalis for free when they preorder Dishonored. Doom 3 BFG Edition was also on display as Bethesda and id Software released a new trailer and some of Doom 3 BFG‘s new levels. There are eight new levels in all, and collectively they’re called “The Lost Mission”. This game features updated graphics and comes with the original Doom and Doom II games.

BYOC case mods

The BYOC was pretty bare this year in terms of custom PC mods, but three-time Quakecon case mod champion Derrick Jackson brought his "The Incredible Hulk" case mod that show bring him his fourth consecutive championship.

The only other custom PC case mod worth noting was this Fallout 3 terminal mod that uses Ubuntu and includes a fully functional hacking mini game. While I think "The Incredible Hulk" mod above will be the crowd favorite, I believe die-hard PC modders would give the nod to this custom creation instead. I guess we will find out during our hardware workshop today.

PC Perspective podcast

The staff at PC Perspective was able to fit in our weekly podcast to discuss the latest technology news and promote our hardware workshop. We also thanked all our sponsors for providing thousands of dollars in hardware and prizes that we have been giving away throughout the event. For those who care, we streamed the live podcast over a 4G LTE connection off Ryan's iPad and it actually worked pretty well.

During the podcast, we noticed a gamer from the BYOC taking a break from gaming to listen in on our podcast. After the show, we met up with him and rewarded his efforts with an AMD A8-3870K unlocked Llano 3GHz Socket FM1 quad-core desktop APU and a PC Perspective t-shirt.

Cosplay attendees

After going through all the hardware in the exhibit hall and checking out PC case mods in the BYOC, the PCPer staff meets with Quakecon attendees and those who like to cosplay during the event. Many people dress up as their favorite game or comic characters to show their support for their favorite titles. I didn't recognize the costumes above, but these ladies wore them proudly around the Hilton Anatole and BYOC. 

Conclusion

Our second day at Quakecon was extremely busy jumping between expert discussion panels in the main ballroom and other events in the BYOC and exhibit hall. This time last year, we were treated with previews of Skyrim and Rage and paying hommage to 20 years of gaming for id Software. However, this year has been more silent in the game development arena. Finding out more about Dishonored and Doom 3 BFG Edition was pretty awesome, but the overall news value and game announcements that typically align itself with Quakecon aren't here this time. We will continue to provide our readers coverage of our hardware workshop, case mod contest finals, and Quake Live finals from Quakecon tomorrow.