Quake

Quake is a first-person shooter developed by id Software and published by GT Interactive. Released for MS-DOS on June 22, 1996, it followed Doom and pushed the genre into true real-time 3D, rendering levels and enemies as full polygonal models rather than the sprite-based, pseudo-3D approach of its predecessors. Designed by a team that included John Carmack, John Romero, American McGee, Sandy Petersen, and Tim Willits, the game paired a dark, gothic, Lovecraftian aesthetic with an ambient soundtrack by Trent Reznor's Nine Inch Nails. Quake's technical ambition came at a famously grueling development cost, with members of the team reflecting years later that the project nearly broke them. Beyond single-player, Quake proved hugely influential for its multiplayer: deathmatch play, and the later QuakeWorld update, helped establish online competitive gaming and a lasting community culture. Its open approach to modification spawned a vast scene of user-made levels, mods, and total conversions, and the demand for smooth 3D performance helped make dedicated graphics accelerators essential PC hardware. The game was later ported to platforms including the Nintendo 64 and Sega Saturn. Quake is regarded as one of the most important and influential games ever made, a foundational title for the modern shooter, online play, the modding scene, and the rise of 3D acceleration.