Chapter 16 Chapter 15 from Doom

As a player, RebDoomer is nothing special, he loves POV shooters, especially Doom and Quake, he spends all night doing deathmatches with other players on the Internet, he also makes some very amateurish 'modes': hockey-like The battle map of the venue and the fighting arena that simulates a boxing match, he also put them online to share with other players. "How are you doing?" he tapped, "I'm REB, and I've brought you another awesome mission package, and it took a long time to finish this time, so give me some applause, guys !" And in reality, RebDoomer feels no camaraderie.He bumped into walls everywhere in school, those cold eyes and rejections, those bullying and intimidation made him feel that he was the most despicable person.He began to vent his anger in the diary, and he wanted revenge.Finally one day, he set up a video camera in the basement, and then sat on a recliner with a half bottle of whiskey in his hand and a short-barreled shotgun on his lap. He described his plan to the camera: bloodbath on the campus. "Like fucking Doom," he said. "Bang, bang, bang, ha! This shotgun is from Doom!"

At noon on April 20, 1999, Eric "RebDoomer" Harris and his best friend Dylan "Vodka" Klebold were armed with ammunition, Stormed Columbina Middle School in Littleton, Colorado, killing fifteen people, including themselves, in a school shooting.This tragedy, which was broadcast live on TV, shocked the entire United States. The panicked parents, teachers, politicians, and students couldn't figure out why two insignificant middle school students were cold-blooded killers?They need a plausible explanation, and for that they want something to blame. At 4:13 pm on April 21, 1999, Blues News editor Steve Heaslip (Steve Heaslip) posted a message: "According to several netizens, they saw the plastic bag containing the suspect's belongings on the TV. Saw the Doom markers... So far, no one has connected these items to the case." But as the killer's Doom games, Doom books, and Doom videos are discovered one by one, the connection is quickly established.

In the following week, Doom became a typical example of "media violence can lead to real violence".The Simon Wiesenthal Center released a report in which it was suggested that Eric had created a Doom mission kit to rehearse the massacre.Also, without actual evidence, it was reported that Eric had made a Doom mode set at Columbine High School. The Washington Post described the world of gamers who love Doom deathmatch as a "dark, dangerous place." Newsday told readers that playing Doom can "make a child's mind unsound."A former Army Ranger named David Grossman became a media darling because, in his view, the game was "a training program for murder," even President Clinton quoted echoed his words, adding: "Doom ... the obsession of those two little kids in Littleton has made our next generation more and more actively engaged in virtual violence."

Violent games, along with other cultures - black dress, heavy metal, gory movies - are once again under attack.The mayor of Denver asked the organizers to cancel the Marilyn Manson concert for simple reasons: it was said to be Eric and Dylan's favorite band; students were banned from wearing short coats to school; Disneyland Take down the arcade machines for violent games; but the real mover is still the senator who first sounded the clarion call to violent games six years ago: Joseph Lieberman. In a statement issued on April 28, MP Lieberman called for another investigation into violent gaming. "I hope," he said, "that there will be a push from the top to get the big publishers to cool down on virtual violence, to stop publishing violent games, movies, music, culture that glorifies and glorifies extreme violence, that tells kids It's a cool medium for killing people—especially some of them...like Doom, which the school shooters modeled on in their weapon selection and attire."

Amid the one-sided voices, the media and politicians - most of whom have never played the game - drew their own conclusions without hesitation.Nationally renowned columnist Ellen Goodman asks: "How many of us already think of video games as 'normal' kid stuff? For virtual resistance training in the military." She didn't seem to know, and didn't care, that the military used video games to train teamwork, not psychological resistance. "Good Morning America" ​​puts a friend of Eric and Dylan at the mercy of a friend, leading viewers into the world of Doom. "There's so much more to discover from the games Eric Harris played," the host lamented. "Look carefully, and we're about to enter a room he built." Images of dead bodies hang from the ceiling , he hinted, was Eric's creation, when in fact it was Doom's own, and that's been common in horror movies from years ago. "It's like stepping into someone's nightmare," the host continued, "Have you ever... been upset about these things? I mean, hey, it's not right, those two guys really like everything The gore, the shooting, and the violence." Eric's friend replied, "Never." They were just players.

Of course, they're just players, and the game is fiction, which is obvious to someone who's actually played Doom and Quake, but other people don't always seem to get it.In the game, no one is actually hit by a bullet.But when it comes to violence, people have long liked to connect fantasy and reality, as Gerard Jones (Gerard Jones) in his book Bloody Monsters: Why Kids Need Fantasy, Heroes, and Virtual Violence ( As revealed in Killing Monsters: Why Children Need Fantansy, Super Heros, and Make-Believe Violence). Jones said in the book that a 1963 influence study found that children who had watched beating inflatable dolls on TV were more aggressive than children who had not seen them. lead to real violence.Of course, in reality, kids are just beating up blow-up clown dolls, they're not going to the circus and beating up real clowns.Instead of blaming violent media, Jones argues that adults need to understand the important role that virtual violence plays in personality development: "It's impossible and dangerous to forbid people from taking risks in a safe and controlled environment. Yes... because it is of great help to our understanding and acceptance of the limitations of reality. Venting anger in games is a desirable means. In order to be a civilized modern person, we sacrifice the original wildness, in the virtual environment Playing the villainous role, or wreaking havoc, is the compensation for that sacrifice, which is critical."

Researchers from the 1980s to the present have also discovered several positive effects of video games. An article in the "Journal of American Academic Child Psychiatry" (Journal of American Academic Child Psychiatry) pointed out that games not only do not stimulate children's aggression, but games actually eliminate aggression.A British research project found that gamers "seem to focus more on the task at hand than normal people, and they have better coordination. Overall, this is very similar to top athletes. The skills they learn on the computer can be reflected in reality.” In Finland, researchers used computer games to assist in the treatment of children with reading comprehension difficulties.

Although many studies have tried to link violent media and acts of violence, the conclusions are still questionable.Stuart Fischoff, founder of the Media Psychology Laboratory at California State University in Los Angeles, said at a 1999 meeting of the American Psychological Association: "Film , video games, and violence in lyrics unsettle everyone, but if both phenomena are unsettling, and the time interval is not far apart, it does not mean that they are necessarily related... I dare say that there is no research result It is possible, even roughly, to give an early warning of tragedies like the Colombina massacre."

After all, it turns out that murderers can get their inspiration from anything—the Beatles' White Album, (Taxi Driver), (Catcher in the Rye), and so on. How much violence is depicted in the Bible?But after the Colombina incident, almost no one had the courage and confidence to defend the game, while the media, as usual, blamed the players for their faults.Jon Katz, a contributor to Rolling Stone magazine and tech community site Slashdot, responded to the media with several short pieces. “It’s all so absurd, so hysterical,” he told the San Francisco Chronicle: “The problem is where the teens got the machine guns and the bombs, not where they went on a certain website or played a certain game. Games.” Some voices also explained from other angles, “Violence has always been a big problem in the United States,” “Time” wrote: “Game companies are just making games that sell well. The Constitution gives them this right. We It’s impossible to take violent games out of entertainment consumption. As long as we’re happy to buy gore — for ourselves or for our kids, then game companies will give us gore.”

Politicians, however, do not wait for the people to decide their own affairs.Sam Brownback, Republican of Kansas, said at a Senate meeting: "The video game Quake was made by ... id Software, the same company that made Doom. In Quake, the lone gunman confronts For all kinds of monsters, players will be rewarded with points for each kill. As the game progresses, weapons become more powerful and bloody. Players drop shotguns, pick up machine guns, and later, are A chainsaw. The more proficient the player, the bloodier his weapon—and the blood spilled is the player's reward." In June 1999, the most prestigious people also joined the wave of crusade against violent games.At a news conference in the Rose Garden of the White House, a sullen President Clinton held a game magazine with the slogan: "It's more fun than killing the neighbor's cat." The president said: "Comrades, we will Think twice, look at these so-called 'first-person shooter games' ads, I saw a game a few days ago encouraging players to - I read the original text - 'return to your bloodthirsty nature'."

As a result, the President has launched a federal investigation into whether gaming or other entertainment companies are legally liable for marketing violent products to children.Industry insiders claimed that the games were made by and for adults, but this was not convincing. President Clinton added: "Who can say without a doubt that violent games are intended for adults?" Three days later, the column Congressman Boman and John McCain enacted the solution: the Twenty-first Century Media Responsibility Act, which is powerful in that it seeks to establish a , music, and games, if it passes, retailers who sell violent games to minors face fines of up to $10,000.The game industry has always been in favor of a grading system. They have established their own ESRB, but the government's intervention and the establishment of so-called standards make them unacceptable.But Washington's intention is very strong: You should reflect on it carefully. ﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡ At 1:34 a.m. a few days after the Colombina incident, Carmack sat at his desk in Suite 666, trying to figure out what to say, with dark windows and dark night around him, a cursor blinking on a monitor, waiting for him. enter.Updating the planning documents was something Carmack was increasingly thinking about, because, he knew, almost everyone was counting on reading between the lines of his words. "Some of you," he finally began typing on the keyboard, "can't wait to freak out about this." Carmack was talking about a beta version of Quake 3, which will be released first for the Macintosh and then for Windows.This caused a thousand waves in the game world. Players could not understand his decision. Therefore, Carmack had to explain this further in the planning document, listing the advantages and disadvantages of each system, but Carmack knew that he could not understand it. To silence another wave of real-life noise.After updating the file, he got up and went to the hall to get Coke and snacks. When he passed by the guard, he asked, "Hey, do you want some too?" The guards in the lobby are the most notable changes to id brought about by the events of Colombina.With so many denunciation calls and threatening emails, they had to hire guards to guard the office.At first, Donna, the receptionist and id's mom, started getting angry calls from protesters: "For God's sake, what is your company doing?!" A few words came out of the youth's lips, but they found nothing until a manic protester appeared downstairs and yelled at them.Several new employees had never seen this kind of battle. They asked the company to increase security when working overtime at night. Carmack and other bosses felt that there was no need to panic, but they agreed. "Oh," they comforted new employees: "This is too common in id." In fact, this only happened on April 12, 1999, eight days before the Colombina incident. The parents of three students killed in the 1997 school shooting in Padaka, Kentucky filed a lawsuit against game companies, including id, seeking $130 million in damages because they believed that Michael Carneal (Michael Carneal) A fourteen-year-old gunslinger—a Doom and Quake fan—was inspired by violent games.Whoa, of course, let's not forget about the Wolfenstein 3D debate in 1992, the Mortal Kombat hearings in 1993, the ban on Doom, not to mention Death Drive and Eighties in the 1970s Dungeons and Dragons games of the decade. As long as the people involved in the incident have played the game, there will inevitably be all kinds of slander, lawsuits, and hype about the game, and the recent Padaka and Colombina incidents only brought the whole drama to a climax. id's lawyer warned the employees: Disaster comes from the mouth, hold back what you have to say.They did, but Carmack was depressed because he couldn't tell the outside world what he was thinking.As a result, the media made waves even more vigorously, while the people who actually made these games were forced to silence.In any case, Carmack's inner voice was crystal clear. "Two shootings in a row does not mean that the world has changed dramatically or that some kind of trend has started to rise. It is just a coincidence, like everything else in life, which can be explained by mathematical probability. If an event itself It might happen, and then, at a certain time, it will happen twice in a row.” Carmack was not at all worried that something would suddenly be discovered that could prove the potential connection between games and murder, and a mentally disturbed person is a mentally disturbed person, simple clear. Carmack knew that id's games weren't really about 'killing' someone, they were just remakes of his childhood shootout games. "'Deathmatch' is just a term," he said. "Doom is just a Cowboy-Indian game with all kinds of special effects. We make games that we think are fun. All the games that we like, whether it's Defender or Machina Robotron, it's all about running back and forth on the screen and firing around. The bloody graphic effect just makes the process more exciting, it can make the player tense, palms sweat, and yelling. If a game just makes You sit down and you say, 'Well, it's fun,' and then it's just a good game, not our idea of ​​a great game, which is more engaging and exciting." Are these violent games aimed at minors? "Of course minors will enjoy these games," Carmack said, unapologetically. "It would be ridiculous to say that our games are only for eighteen and over." But Carmack knew that what people didn't understand was that , id never make games for anyone.Back in Floppy, they were making games just for themselves, games they wanted to play but no one else was making, and over time they discovered that there were thousands of people who liked those games as well.Carmack returned to his desk to continue working on id's next game, id's happiest shooter yet: Quake III Arena.But, in the shadow of Colombina, do people still want his or Romero's game?Does the market still allow it? ﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡ John Scudeman tightened his bowling grip when the conversation turned to Doom.He's in his sixtieth year, and since retiring, he's been bowling two innings every morning. Usually, he can have a good time, but not today.The people next to him, like people of all ethnic groups in the country, were talking about the shocking Colombina incident: "Children today are corrupted by violent games." Scudeman could feel his heart beating. Speeding up, he bristled. "We can go outside and settle this, anytime." With that, he slammed the ball into the lane—he didn't want to hear any more jabbering about his little Johnny game. And his little Johnny, Romero himself, couldn't believe that people were slandering Doom again - the game from six years ago.This can only show that the politicians on the stage are hopelessly stupid. They are still the same people, and they are still the same clichés. Romero's ears are almost callused.Something went wrong with those kids, he thought, don't use my game as a scapegoat, don't come and scold the game, scold those damn parents, they got promoted!Divorce of divorce! From his own experience, Romero undoubtedly knows how bad parents can destroy a child's life.Now, at thirty-one and with three children of his own, he's more aware of where the violence in his games comes from and how much it affects them.He was a helpless kid, playing some useless games, all just to escape the helpless psychological and physical trauma he experienced as a child.He likes the violence in the game, just like he likes the violence in the comic book "Melvin". These violent arts have no influence on him: he likes to yell, hammer the table, smash the keyboard, but he never puts the virtual confused with reality.In real life, he doesn't even know how to shoot a gun. Knowing that violence in games can have a certain impact, Romero believes that parents should take more responsibility.Thus, like other colleagues, he has always supported the classification system. After all, game makers and politicians cannot educate and raise children for anyone.Parents should know how old their kids are before they can play a game like Doom.Romero has always dreamed of sitting with his two sons and playing in the world he created.By the time they turn eight, which Romero had planned, they'll be able to enter the world of Doom. But after the Colombina affair, Romero didn't confide those thoughts to anyone.Although he didn't go to court like id did, why bother?No matter what you say to the reporter, they will insert your words into the appropriate place in the entire report if they want, and then you expect to be criticized.Romero doesn't want to make a fuss now, and he's had enough of the press even before the Colombina incident. In November 1998, the moment the group that would become the Ion Eight left en masse, all bubbles in Ion Storm burst.Within a few days, Romero learned that the new company of the eight people, Third Law (Third Law), planned to develop a shooting game with the rock band KISS as the main character. They also cooperated with the Developer Alliance (GoD: Gathering of Developers, a publisher founded by ex-Ion Storm marketing kid Mike Wilson.It was a double whammy for Romero: Mike was trying to trip him in the dark, but it was his trusted men who made Mike get his way.This is like the incident in "Software" many years ago, except that the bare commander who was thrown away was Al, and this time it was Romero himself. But Romero has never been a person who can't stand setbacks, not to mention that this time he has a confidant in need: Stevie Case.In the short but troubled journey of the ion storm, she was like a firefly in his darkness.She and his past are very similar, and after being dislocated with the real world, they both found a home in the fantasy world of the game.And, like Romero, Stevie has reinvented herself as if reborn.Inspired by the company's innovative atmosphere, she decided to change her school girl-next-door image. She quit meat and played sports. She eventually lost fifty pounds. Piling up cleavage and swapping baggy jeans for leggings to accentuate her curves, she used the money she earned from gaming to get herself breast implants.In a year, she went from being a tomboy to a model for Playboy — the magazine that, after hearing her story, paid a lot of money to get her into a studio.After the departure of the Ion Eight, she became Romero's chief designer. She also became Romero's girlfriend.Just when Romero was overwhelmed by company affairs, Beth, who had just given birth to a daughter, broke up with him.Once again, Romero is frustrated with his marriage, as the god of games and the breadwinner of his family is already overwhelmed.He's been telling the people in his life: He can do it.In front of players and friends, his games cannot disappoint them. In front of his family, he is a good husband and father.Now, he's finally realizing that he can't juggle his career and his family at the same time.The most obvious example is that his ex-wife Kelly moved back to California with their children, leaving Romero at a loss, but he can only face reality: He, Romero, married the game as a life partner.Only Stevie, the first woman he met in his life who is also passionate about games, can make the three live in harmony. After a while, Romero put his energy into work. He wanted to rebuild a team. To this end, he recruited some old friends and transferred some people from Tom's project.Although the current "Big Sword" is devastated, it is gradually taking shape after all, and its final completion is just around the corner. In January 1999, they announced the end of the engine replacement, and a manager hired by Romero to coordinate the project proudly told the media: "No matter what happens, we will definitely come out with "Big Sword" on February 15, 1999. .” Accidents will happen.Just days later, the media delivered their deadliest stab.The local free weekly Dallas Observer ran a cover article titled "Stormy Weather," a 7,000-word article that relentlessly exposed why "so-called" design decisions Everything's company is actually a place full of personality cults and mobs." What's even more shocking is that the material for this report is based on Ion Storm's internal emails, which are now exposed to the world through the Internet and newspapers. before. This is like a catastrophe for Ion Storm. It is different from previous catastrophes. This time it is not just an internal dispute of the company. This time, all their scandals have been exposed to the world, including how Mike bought the BMW, and how Luo How Melo was in a hurry to get rid of Eidos.The story spreads ten, ten, and hundreds of times on the Internet, and the speed is no less than that of the demo version of Doom back then. Players are rushing to tell each other: the death race surgeon who wants to turn them into bitches has finally had his retribution.Romero tried to find the source of the leak, he blocked some game sites in the company, he even tried to dig up the leaker by suing the Observer, but all in vain, Romero finally found only, Partner Todd had accidentally posted an e-mail on the company's intranet, making it possible for anyone in the company to get a copy. A few months later, the tragedy at Colombina occurred.Romero has fallen to the bottom, his company has become the laughing stock of others, his game has been postponed again, February 15th is impossible, when will it be completed?Everyone has no idea. id is about to launch Quake3, and the Quake2 engine used in "Big Sword" will soon become a thing of the past. After its multiplayer demo version was released in March, players generally think it is too outdated. Now it seems that Romero's so-called "big company" dreams have gone too far. They are too indulgent, too impetuous, and too arrogant, which Carmack once denounced. ——Half-heartedness, blind self-confidence, crowd tactics—finally made him face the cruel reality, but it was too late to say anything now. The Eidos saw this too, and after spending $30 million, they gave Romero an ultimatum: You have to change your attitude immediately.In the words of Eidos president Rob Dyer: "Shut up and finish the game." ﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡ In May 1999, the annual E3 exhibition was held in Los Angeles as scheduled, and id once again became the center of attention, but this time for different reasons.Less than a month has passed since the Colombina incident and the Padaka lawsuit, and the reports on violent games are cumbersome. E3 has naturally become an occasion for the press and the game industry to come into contact.And no matter how many companies the reporters listed in their interview plans, the creators of Doom and Quake were undoubtedly the fattest prey in their eyes. It was a difficult time, and no one wanted to talk about the tragedy.Doug Lowenstein, the president of the Interactive Digital Software Association (IDSA), tried to set the tone in his opening address to the conference—his association was prodded by Congressman Lieberman's hearing in 1993. established industry organizations.He pointed out that only 7% of the 5,000 released games contain violent content that would make them rated as adult. Moreover, the game consumer base is indeed maturing. According to IDSA data, 54% of gamers 18 years old, 25% of them are 36 years old, and the age distribution of computer game players is even older: 70% are 18 years old, and 40% of them are 36 years old.They spend $7 billion a year on game software, a figure that exceeds the box office receipts of the movie industry. "I want to remind journalists who are here because of violence," he said: "You're missing a better story. Interactive entertainment is becoming the fastest-growing segment of the entire entertainment industry." Journalists responded with action, flocking to id's booth hoping to get some material on the Colombina affair, but of course, no one commented on it.When they pester id's players, the PR consultant will immediately interrupt their questions and tell them to go to the publisher to ask about it, and id's publisher, Activision, will just say: no comment. id isn't the only company that's been low-key. Their longtime Wisconsin friend, Raven, is about to release a shooter called Soldier of Fortune, and at E3, they're only showing off The same is true for Kingpin, another highly anticipated shooter.And for id, the violence argument wasn't the point at all: Quake 3, the game they brought to E3 to show off, had already given them a headache. The troubles started a year ago when Carmack announced that Quake 3 would be multiplayer only. "Half-Life", a shooter game that sells storylines as its selling point, is in full swing, and Carmack's plan can be called deviant, if not whimsical.Players also complained about the machine configuration required for what is said to be id's most gorgeous game-it can only run on machines with 3D graphics accelerator cards. Players are always dissatisfied, but the problem is that id also complains internally, and the disputes in the production stage of Quake2 have caused the morale of the company to plummet.Carmack was no longer just dealing with Romero; now, he was dealing with the entire company. The success of "Half-Life" inspired everyone, and everyone wanted to make a magnificent game, but no matter what plan they came up with, Carmack would kill it all.Adrian was used to it: id, which had started at the Shreveport lakeside cottage, was Carmack's one-man company, but it was becoming more and more obvious.He was so disappointed that he wanted to make something, whatever it was, as long as it wasn't something that didn't work.There are even voices criticizing id in the player community: never considering the design of the story and gameplay, and doing the same theme over and over again.But Adrian can only accept the reality, otherwise what can he do?Fire John Carmack, he asked himself? As the work continues to advance, the company becomes more and more like a mess.Carmack chose the multiplayer route so that employees could do things without getting in each other's way, but in reality, they fell apart completely.When Carmack finished the early version of the Quake3 engine, the level designers and artists felt that they had no direction to follow. They didn't know what to do, so they created small worlds on their own. There can be no connection between them, they are all self-contained. Carmack himself was also disappointed.Now he has created the most powerful engine in history, but no one seems to see this as an opportunity, no one to promote technology, no one to promote design, no one to promote him.Although Carmack never publicly expressed his nostalgia for the id of the past, Romero's dazzling conception and design, but Carmack is well aware that the id is no longer that id, and there is no more id now. Spontaneous drive. In February 1999, the staff had had enough, Carmack was clearly not interested in the day-to-day affairs of the company, and they needed a project manager, or rather, a supervisor.So Carmack called Graeme Devine.Gramer is also a big name in the game world. He was expelled from school in England at the age of sixteen because he was busy writing games for Atari consoles all day. He later moved to the United States and co-founded Trilobyte, and in the early 1990s released The Seventh Visitor, a disc game that was a technological leap forward at the time, and it was certainly one of the best-selling games.Gramer and Carmack established a friendship as programmers, and most of the exchanges between them were on the latest technical topics. Now that Gramer's company is no longer brilliant, Carmack feels that he was invited to help make Quake3 good time.Gramer agreed with great ambition, but the current situation of id surprised him. Grammer asked the employees one by one: What do you think the direction of this project is?He heard fourteen different answers from fourteen people.After id's first day on the job, three employees invited him to a Starbucks in Mesquite for a chat, and they told Grammer that you had a sea of ​​knives and fire in front of you, "and they're going to tell you you have power." ’” explained one of them, “but you didn’t, and they might say it’s a good thing to do, but they end up overriding your decision.” Employees reminded Grammer that there are some people you can’t trust and beware of in id Watch out for intrigue and beware of open and hidden arrows.Grammer smiled: "The situation will definitely get better," he said, patting his chest, "Don't worry, there will be a new situation." Nothing new, business as usual.Although he was mentally prepared before coming here, Grammer finally learned what "id's conceit" is this time: everyone feels that work has no direction, and everyone is unwilling to listen to others' orders.To make matters worse, everyone has forgotten one of the most basic components of the game-the robot (bot), which is a deathmatch opponent controlled by a computer program, should be able to integrate into the game and interact with the player, so that the scene More colorful.For Quake3, which is a deathmatch-only game, bots are essential. Of course, this is not an easy thing to do, because they have to behave like human players. 平生第一次，卡马克决定把这部分代码交给公司其他程序员来做，但他还是犯了个错误，他再次认为公司其他人都有他的技术，并像他一样积极主动。格雷默走马上任后就开始查看起项目的各个细节，这时他们才发现游戏里的机器人完全不合要求，它们的举止不像是人类玩家，而像是——机器。所有人都坐不住了，日历翻到1999年3月，他们也应该坐不住了。 在圣何塞市举办的年度游戏开发者大会上，id的人们看到了《虚幻竞技场》（Unreal Tournament），它的制作者就是在1998年出品了《虚幻》的Epic公司，这家公司已成为了id最强有力的竞争对手，其主程序员提姆·斯威尼也赢得了广泛尊敬，他们甚至还雇到了两位前id职员来做市场商务：杰伊·威尔伯和马克·瑞恩——《德军总部3D》时的“试用经理”。Epic的《虚幻》，和Valve的《半条命》类似，给主视角射击流派带来了更多的内涵，此外，它的图像引擎是自行开发的，这已经颇让id为之侧目，而他们这次的《虚幻竞技场》则更让id惊诧莫名——它是个只支持多人对战的游戏，和Quake3一样。 在id的一些人看来，Epic显然是偷取了id的点子，为此，他们对卡马克总是在计划文件里透露公司的开发方向而表示出不满。但Epic否认了外界的怀疑，他们声称，早在卡马克发布这消息之前，他们就已经开始考虑《虚幻竞技场》。敌意和竞争不会因此而消散，再加上Quake3项目开发的紊乱，以及科隆比纳事件的发生，紧张压抑的气氛没有得到丝毫缓解。 E3之后，尽管媒体和玩家们给予了Quake3不少正面评价，但id内部却又出现了问题：两名年轻能干的员工在失望中离开了，他们是关卡设计师布兰登·詹姆斯（Brandon James）和程序员布赖恩·霍克（Brian Hook）。艾德里安也和妻子分手了，他们是在Doom最辉煌时走到一起的。最能协调关系的凯文觉得不能再这样下去，于是他请卡马克从自己的办公室里搬出来，到他和艾德里安的房间里一起工作，以增进沟通，而此举却使其他员工们心里七上八下——老板们都呆在门后面谈什么呢？其实他们什么都没谈，他们一言不发地坐在各自机器前干活，惟一的响动就是艾德里安和凯文放他们喜欢的音乐，当然，是在卡马克离开后。 项目临近结束，格雷默已不是监制，他重操键盘写起了程序。机器人部分的代码也转包给了一名荷兰学生：曾为Quake和Quake2开发过机器人的Mr.Elusive，他奇迹般地赋予了Quake3机器人以生命。风格迥异的关卡在经过若干顺序调整后，已多少有了点连贯的感觉。1999年11月，就快要熬出头了，为了营造声势，几个员工参加了一场巴士巡回展，但最后草草了事，因为他们发现，老冤家Epic再次走到了id前面：十二月初，比Quake3早一个星期，《虚幻》上市。 前方依然疑云密布：玩家们会追随卡马克和Epic那毫无情节的网络对战世界，还是会选择罗梅洛，这个要用情节丰富的《大刀》来实现他所有梦想的设计师？在《福布斯》关于Quake3的一篇前瞻报道里，罗梅洛表达了他的观点：“在线游戏在整个市场里的份额依然很少，因特网上的玩家恰恰就是最善于在网上找到免费游戏下载的玩家。”两位约翰究竟谁能胜出？编辑有他自己的论断：“很有可能，id那偏向务实的作风会略胜一筹。” ﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡ “啊嗷——！”这是离子风暴办公室，窗外是无边无际的夜，屋内是一个个阴暗的洞穴，肖恩·格林身着黑色T恤坐在里面。就像（2001: A Space Odyssey）片首的那个猿人一样，罗梅洛的这位老友在狂怒中把键盘朝地面砸去。一个消瘦的程序员从另一个洞口探头瞟了瞟，然后漠不关心地继续工作。肖恩捋捋头发，把碎裂的键盘扔到一旁，无奈地笑道：“事情还是照样要做。” 包括肖恩在内的整个《大刀》项目组已经连轴转了好些天。罗梅洛早年曾向卡马克描绘过“不再有死亡进度”的日子，但他似乎已忘了这事，他现在要手下们周末也加班。越来越多的员工不回家睡觉，他们如同沙丁鱼般排在休息室，一些人直接蜷缩在黑色毡布围绕的小格间里，比萨盒就是枕头。一个叫布赖恩·艾瑟罗（Brian "Squirrel" Eiserloh）的家伙在最近九十天里有八十五天呆在公司。斯狄薇得了肾炎才回家卧床休息，罗梅洛甚至在公司里最受欢迎的街机上贴起警示：“《大刀》发布前谁也不许碰《铁拳3》（Tekken 3）！” 已经几个星期没喘口气的肖恩准备出去疯一下。他要到一家废弃的医院里去舒展神经，没错，他还是死亡金属乐队“终章”（Last Chapter）的一员，那是他们排练加狂欢的地方，他不能再每天喝下半箱威士忌而只坐在显示器前看代码，他要释放能量。他还跟罗梅洛开玩笑说去弄个真人大小的瓷偶来放到大厅里，并给它戴上棒球手套，言下之意是：你的性命就握在你自己手上。 1999年的离子风暴也一样。罗梅洛的这艘战舰不只是再三偏离了航线，它还一度搁浅在狂风巨浪中，只看到人们争相逃命——或是推别人下水。粗算起来就有离子八人组的出走、《达拉斯观察报》的风波、科隆比纳事件，而今年的E3大展再次使他们陷入麻烦。他们这回宣布的游戏发布日期是十二月，也就是说，如果他们还有机会扳回局面的话，那就是这次大展。压力空前，托德找到罗梅洛：“Eidos非常非常关注我们这次的表现，我们一定不能出差错，我要确保所有的事情都被安排妥当，万无一失。”他会把演示版准备好，然后发到E3会场。 罗梅洛和斯狄薇再次以明星形象出现在五月的展会现场，他身着黑丝衬衫和黑色皮裤，脖上系着长长的银链，她同样穿着黑色长裤，一席金发披散在蓝色紧身衫后。尽管有过无数负面报道，但他们还是被正值青春期的男性玩家们和索要签名的Doom迷包围了起来。《大刀》的演示盘送达后，让人尴尬的一幕出现了，程序里的纰漏使得屏幕上的游戏奇慢无比。罗梅洛立刻飞回达拉斯，他直接冲进约翰·卡瓦纳夫（John Kavanaugh）的办公室，这人是Eidos派驻离子风暴监督视察工作的。 “我他妈的干不下去了，”罗梅洛告诉卡瓦纳夫：“如果托德继续留在离子风暴，我就立马走人，我没法跟这个家伙共事，他尽添乱。” 卡瓦纳夫随即安排了一次会议，Eidos的老板查尔斯·科恩沃（Charles Cornwall）也会参加，“你所要做的，”他告诉罗梅洛：“就是点头。” 六月，离子风暴的四位合伙人一起飞到洛杉矶，表面上，他们是来和Eidos洽谈收购事宜——公司已经欠了Eidos三千万美元。但托德和杰尔很快就知道了此行的真正目的。“我他妈的受够了！”罗梅洛直奔主题：“要么托德滚蛋，要么我就走！” 卡瓦纳夫装出难以置信的样子：“别扯了，约翰，你就是离子风暴，在这个问题上没什么好讨论的。” 杰尔知道这一切都是为了什么——控制。罗梅洛想要《大刀》完全在他掌控之下。杰尔不报希望地提出个方案：“如果你只是不愿意托德插手你的项目，那么我们能不能给托德另外找点事做？大家觉得怎么样？” “听好，”罗梅洛说：“在这家公司做事已经让我感觉不到任何乐趣，我想我们四个人最好能两两组合，从此井水不犯河水。” 就在杰尔要拿出下一个方案时，托德平静地开口了：“对，约翰，你是对的，我也感觉不到乐趣了，杰尔想必也一样。”杰尔惊讶于托德的妥协，但他没吭声，算是同意托德的说法，他俩就要离开离子风暴了。四个曾经的合伙人走出大楼，忽然迎面一阵闪光灯——好熟悉的感觉，但这次，娱记们是在拍站在门口的影星希瑟·格雷厄姆（Heather Graham）和罗伯·洛（Rob Lowe）。 最终，托德和杰尔很高兴看到步入末路的离子风暴被正常收购。罗梅洛和汤姆也松了一口气，这毕竟又是个新的开始，也许，接下来的游戏还可以拯救公司，不管怎样，他们最初的信念没有丝毫动摇：设计决定一切。问题的所在，罗梅洛说，只是做设计时没有把技术因素考虑进去，再加上设计师可能并不善于项目管理。 十月，在前后投入四千四百八十万美元后，Eidos宣布获得离子风暴51%的股份。罗梅洛整个秋天都投身到《大刀》的工作中，媒体访谈全部推掉，《铁拳3》再没插上电源。尽管怪物、关卡、音效和美工都基本就绪，但还有一项艰巨的工作：在承诺过的12月17日前排除程序中所有遗留问题——总共五百个。但Eidos不知哪来的信心，他们甚至不顾罗梅洛的反对，提前安排好了庆祝派对。 派对是如期举办了，但却没有游戏在那天发布。直到2000年4月21日，罗梅洛才觉得万事俱备。第二天，他坐到计算机前向因特网上的读者们发布了如下信息：“上帝啊，它终于完成了，我还曾经认为在一个游戏上花一年半的时间就叫漫长……哇噢。我希望大家都能冷静客观地看待它，不要把你的看法建立在以前各种报道之上，而是去审视它的可玩性，也就是我们制作过程中的目标：一次乐趣盎然的单人游戏体验。”罗梅洛知道，媒体和玩家们势必拿《大刀》和他前任公司的作品进行比较，他试图去平息这无谓之争：“我们没想过用《大刀》去对抗Quake3。”但那已是他所不能掌控的事。