Like its predecessor Doom the Quake rewrote the rules of the FPS genre with excellent graphics, surprising physics, and highly addictive multiplayer modes. From a certain point of view, it became an example to follow and has served as inspiration for all sorts of projects. One of the most surprising is Q1K3 developed by Dominic Szablewski as part of the js13k competition. In essence, what Dominic did was create a Quake clone in just 13 kilobytes, with three different weapons, quite cunning enemies, and dynamic lighting.
The original Quake stunned the industry, proving the power of 3D graphics and the new technologies available in 1996 (the 486s had become dinosaurs, and we had to move to Pentium no matter what), but it also marked the end of the “classic era” for id Software, and many of its creators left the company after its development. The Quake effect gave rise to sequels, mods, amazing games (Half-Life was based on a modification of its engine), tournaments, and even an official convention that bears its name.
Today we have a more vibrant community than ever, a remastered version compatible with multiple modern systems, and of course, tributes. One of the most interesting appeared in the 2021 edition of the js13k competition, in which participants must create games with a limit of 13 kilobytes. This Quake clone is known as Q1K3, its creator is Dominic Szablewski, and you can play it directly in your browser, without downloading anything.
Q1K3, a fabulous Quake clone in 13 kilobytes
Three weapons inspired by the classic Quake, five enemy types, thirty different textures, collision detection, functional doors, dynamic lighting, and spatial audio define the two levels available in Q1K3. As if that weren't enough, the enemies have certain artificial intelligence that allows them to avoid some direct shots. The developer notes that there is no pathfinding, but they can follow the player reasonably.
Additionally, you need to coordinate good use of weapons: The shotgun has infinite ammo but you'll need to get close to the enemy to be more effective. The Nailgun works in the opposite way and helps you cover entire sections with nails while keeping your distance. Finally, the grenade launcher is essential for taking down the strongest enemies and blowing everything to pieces.
In practice, I imagine you'll manage to finish Q1K3 in a few minutes, but that doesn't make it a bad experience, quite the contrary. For some strange reason, the game ended up in 15th place in js13k 2021, but it still received a "Super Special" recognition. After all, it's not so easy to create a Quake clone in just 13 kilobytes…
Official site, download and code: Click here
