A trip to id software(s).... (August 2017)

[Buckshot]

Whew. What an adventure.

As I was volunteer staff at Quakecon 2017 back in August, I wanted to visit some of the past and present id software offices to pay homage to my most beloved gaming studio of all time. Even stopped by the old Softdisk and Lakehouse locations in Shreveport (I was on my way to Houston prior to Dallas for Quakecon, my wife wanted to go to Galveston [which I watched a eclipse on the gulf shore then had to quickly evacuate due to Hurricane Harvey]).  Regretfully, the only office I missed out on (I ran out of time) seeing was the Plano office, where Quake 2/3/Doom 3 were developed. Oh, I guess I missed the apartments they used for a very brief period in Wisconsin (which I think anyone would skip because, well... it's Wisconsin :P).

id's principal level designer, Jason Oconnell, the man behind DOOM 2016's hell themed levels (on that note, he mentioned DOOM 64 served as the biggest inspiration for those levels, doing side-by-side screen comparisons, but that's a story for another time), invited me out to their current studio in Richardson, TX. He's a great guy, one hell (pun pun) of a level designer and a awesome friend. Additionally, he also shares a remarkable obsession with the movie CONGO that only a few us here, mainly myself, would understand.  Immediately upon entrance, I met Donna Jackson who was every bit the "id mom" you'd expect her to be... She was an absolute blast to talk to! So much history and great stories over the years she had to share, just as friendly and high spirited as you'd imagine. Even gave me a hug on my way out! I got to check out the different floors of the offices, saw quite a few things but had to sign a NDA with the guard (obviously) that I wouldn't record/discuss anything past the main lobby. That was probably for good reason: there's some REALLY cool stuff super secret stuff going on in there... none of which I saw, mind you. :P

At Quakecon, I bumped into quite a few of the id staff, first being Tim Willits (he was literally running around the place at 100fps, no joke, dude is like super busy flying back and forth between places). He had time for a fist bump, but I didn't want to hold him up to long. Also ran into Marty Stratton in the café area of the Gaylord Texan resort. He wishes the fans well and appreciates all the support, and promises great things in the road ahead. And Hugo Martin... who actually called me out to say how much he appreciates the communities of groups/sites support and everything that we do for DOOM. He was just overwhelmingly humbled and how much impact DOOM and it's fans have made throughout the years and getting to be a part of it's legacy and future himself. Every bit the stand up guy we've seen on interviews and videos out there, very enthusiastic and dedicated. Also, wanted to thank Pat Duffy for helping me out last year with some signatures from the entire team. He transferred from id software to Bethesda studios a few weeks before Quakecon, but hope to someday to thank him in person for that one. He went above and beyond for that request.

Also got to talk to the team behind the upcoming "DUSK" game from New Blood Interactive, and game composer Andrew Hulshult, who has done some incredibly badass soundtracks for various titles, and the IDKFA tribute DOOM album. They had a booth at QC and were showing off the multiplay component of DUSK... it was 'fekkin intense and that booth was full non-stop with folks rushing to try it out.

It was one hell of a trip and I'm eternally grateful for the opportunity, it's been a quest I've wanted to complete for a very (very) long time. 

Here's some shots of their most recent studio... again, I was only allowed to take photos/recordings of the immediate lobby area. Anything past that was a big no-no as far as photos went. Videos and additional photos are posted in comments below to segment it out a bit:

 
 

Edited October 6, 2019 by fraggle : Fix images

[Buckshot]

Here are some shots of the Shreveport Lakehouse and surrounding area... which has been remodeled a bit over the years:









 

 

Edited October 6, 2019 by fraggle : Fix images

[Buckshot]

Pics of the downtown Shreveport Softdisk office... it's changed considerably over the years:

 

Edited October 8, 2017 by Buckshot

[Buckshot]

The infamous suite 666. The Mesquite black cube.

Even the sky was straight out of DOOM.

 

[Linguica]

 

Funny that you take a picture of these, since just a month or two ago I found a guy on eBay auctioning what he claimed were the "original Doom master disks" and the labels weren't even remotely similar:

 

[Buckshot]

3 minutes ago, Linguica said:

 

Funny that you take a picture of these, since just a month or two ago I found a guy on eBay auctioning what he claimed were the "original Doom master disks" and the labels weren't even remotely similar:

 

Yup. Lol. I was saying the exact same thing while I was standing there. 

Turns the guy selling them a couple months back had masters of Strategy Guide Authoring copies. Romero cleaned up all the confusion for the guy (he was owner of MajorGeeks website). I messaged the guy from ebay and told him I had doubts they were the original masters, and had him reach out to to get that clarification :)

 

[Jaxxoon R]

Little guy looks like he needs a friend.

[wheresthebeef]

Donna Jackson putting in work still

 

Great visit, always like seeing the original models and shotgun of Doom 

[Doomkid]

Thanks so much for sharing this all with us Buckshot! Awesome stuff!!

[fraggle]

This is really cool. Thanks for sharing!

[Buckshot]

Random Quakecon 2017 pics (prior, during, and after)

 

Edited October 9, 2017 by Buckshot

[Reisal]

Hey Buckshot, consider putting the images in chunks under spoiler tags?

[Buckshot]

1 minute ago, Glaice said:

Hey Buckshot, consider putting the images in chunks under spoiler tags?

Yup, I'll go back and edit each one here in a bit to do that.

I'm also working on some of the videos of the id sites, quakecon, etc. When I post those in a bit, I'll try to cleanup the images the best I can.

[Ed]

Cool! Thanks for sharing this.  Didn't realize the Mastermind model was quite that large.

[Buckshot]

8 minutes ago, Ed said:

Cool! Thanks for sharing this.  Didn't realize the Mastermind model was quite that large.

That was honestly a shocker to me, too.

 

Always pictured it considerably smaller. Even the archvile and mancubus were huge.

 

Also, the glass display case extends to the floor below. There was considerable amount more relics and collectibles down below (the cafeteria was directly below us on the next floor down). Not sure why I wasn't allowed to photograph it below, but it was cool nevertheless.

 

Also, under the stairwell was the famous old full-sized archvile cardboard cutout stand that the original id team posed with. It was missing a finger, lol.

Edited October 9, 2017 by Buckshot

[Endless]

This is quite nice to see, I have never been to any kind of convention, in my country there is almost never. I've always wanted to go to one, they look so great and epic, especially I would like to go to a massive LAN party, I do not know, everything looks perfect and simple.

[Voros]

Kinda disappointed that there doesn't seem to be anything Doom 64 related, even though there's Heretic and Hexen in there.

 

Kinda got a boner after seeing that Quake Champions door. Wonder what's going on back there :D

[Albertoni]

12 minutes ago, Voros said:

Kinda disappointed that there doesn't seem to be anything Doom 64 related, even though there's Heretic and Hexen in there.

Same about Strife. Guess it's because they weren't published by id.

[Edward850]

24 minutes ago, Voros said:

Kinda disappointed that there doesn't seem to be anything Doom 64 related, even though there's Heretic and Hexen in there.

???

Quote

 

[Voros]

Nvm. Must've overlooked it :P

 

There should be something Strife related though :P

[Buckshot]

39 minutes ago, Voros said:

Kinda disappointed that there doesn't seem to be anything Doom 64 related, even though there's Heretic and Hexen in there.

 

Kinda got a boner after seeing that Quake Champions door. Wonder what's going on back there :D

They did have that DOOM 64 copy pictured above.

Also, DOOM 2016 level design was heavily inspired by DOOM 64. This was confirmed by Jason Oconnell, who stated they literally had a N64 at their desk, reviewing areas, borrowing elements and style. So it played a big role in the latest edition of DOOM.

Also, you'd have been quite disappointed what was behind that close Quake Champions stage hall/door, lol. Just a empty exhibit hall/warehouse where all the competition/staff/equipment was being stored :P

[Deleted_Account]

This is way too cool! Thanks for sharing kind sir.

[Buckshot]

3 minutes ago, Piper Maru said:

This is way too cool! Thanks for sharing kind sir.

Most welcome, Everybody! Wanted to document some of these areas of id's past and present in their current state.

The most heartbreaking part of the trip was seeing places like the lakehouse, the Softdisk office, the black cube... seems they should be historical sites to preserve gaming history. I know that's probably asking a lot, but still... everything we know and love about the classic id titles all started right there in those buildings. Maybe I'll start a gofundme or kickstarter for their preservation :P

[Kaido]

cool

[Buckshot]

And for the videos, here ya go:

current id software studios. lobby tour - Richardson, TX

The original Shreveport Lakehouse id headquarters and downtown Shreveport Softdisk offices. I had doubt that the house was the lakehouse at first, but it was later confirmed and found the exact address, which matched this residence. It also matches the pictures posted by Romero some years back, albeit the front porch have been remodeled.

 

Live overview, history and broadcast for the DOOM group I admin on facebook for the id software black cube/suite 666. Excuse the lower res vid, as it was live fb streaming quality. - Mesquite, TX

 

The Black Cube, Suite 666 id software office. Officially "Town East Tower". Higher quality. All angles. - Mesquite, TX 

 

A FB group streaming of Quakecon 2017. I cought Tim Willits at a standstill just long enough for a fist bump during the last couple minutes of this video.

I'll post more high quality walkthroughs and tours of the Quakecon 2017 floor, BYOC and champion events here shortly, but it'll take a while to upload.

[Revenant100]

Was the Revenant model (the Doom 2 one, of course) somewhere that couldn't be filmed?

[Buckshot]

1 hour ago, Revenant100 said:

Was the Revenant model (the Doom 2 one, of course) somewhere that couldn't be filmed?

I believe so, yes. Think it was in one of the offices if I'm not mistaken. 

 

At one point, it was in the case right next to the Tootsie toy shotgun from this image I found posted elsewhere. Can see it from waist down.

Edited October 9, 2017 by Buckshot

[wheresthebeef]

The Black Cube is the one featured in the visit to id software during Doom 1 development that Romero shared a couple years ago, yeah?

 

I really like the simple design of the building and the layout of the offices themselves.

[Quasar]

Strife was neither developed nor published by id so it'd make no sense for them to feature it in their display case. Heretic and Hexen on the other hand were both produced and published by id, while Raven did the development. So those at least are relevant.

[EmotionalFelineinaMadstate]

Looking through these images was epic.