After taking over as Chairman of the UE Engine Technical Committee, Carmack had fully entrusted the final touches of Quake to Romero, immersing himself completely in the architectural design of the general-purpose engine.
Romero stood up, grabbed a can of cola, and walked over to Carmack's desk.
"Take a look at this," Romero said, pointing to his own computer screen. "In less than a week, the player community has already produced over fifty high-quality multiplayer maps. One team is even trying to rewrite the logic for a Capture the Flag mode using our scripting language."
Carmack tore his gaze away from the code and glanced at Romero.
"The decision to open the tools was the right one," Carmack replied, his tone steady. "It proves that as long as the right interfaces are provided, the community's creativity is immense."
Romero took a sip of his cola, pulled over a nearby chair, and sat down.
"I have to admit," Romero said, looking at Carmack with candidness, "a few months ago, I thought the two of us would tear the company apart over this engine. You were always chasing faster rendering speeds, and every time you tweaked the underlying pipeline, I had to redo the lighting and textures for my levels. Back then, I really felt like we couldn't work together anymore."
Carmack didn't deny it.
During the mid-development of Quake, the conflict between them over technical iteration and content stability had indeed reached its peak. Carmack couldn't stand Romero's laxness with coding standards, while Romero was exhausted by Carmack's endless technical overhauls.
"But things are much better now," Romero continued. "The general-purpose engine framework Takuya Nakayama proposed really solved the problem between us. You extracted the underlying structure and turned it into an independent, stable system. Now, I just need to use those tools and scripts to build the world on top of that system. We no longer have to complain to each other over a change in a lighting parameter."
Carmack crossed his hands on the desk.
"Technology and content should have been decoupled from the start," Carmack explained, laying out his logic. "My job is to ensure the engine's efficiency reaches the hardware's limits, providing the most fundamental physics and rendering support. Your job is to use those foundations to create engaging gameplay experiences. Forcing these two parts together only drags each other down."
Romero nodded, fully agreeing with the new development model.
"I'll keep overseeing the Quake community management," Romero said, standing up to return to his desk. "I'll compile a list of common issues players encounter when using the editor and feed them back to the development team for further tool optimization. As for the UE Engine, do you need any help from me?"
"Not for now," Carmack replied, turning back to his screen. "The low-level API interfaces are still being sorted out. Once the framework is stable, I'll need your input from a level designer's perspective on the categorization logic for the Asset Store."
"Will do," Romero said, heading back to his workstation.
The office returned to the familiar sound of clicking keyboards.
The two geniuses, once at each other's throats, had finally found a point of balance under a new development framework and business model after a period of friction and opposition.
Carmack immersed himself in the low-level code and hardware limits he loved, striving to build a general-purpose engine that would change the industry. Meanwhile, Romero unleashed his talent for game design within the vast world and active player community of Quake.
The release of Quake not only brought a monumental title to the PC gaming market but also provided a stable solution to the internal personnel crisis at id Software.
Tokyo, Ōta Ward, Sega Headquarters Building.
In the Executive Managing Director's Office, the air conditioner maintained the temperature at a comfortable level.
Oguchi Hisao sat in the guest chair across from the desk, holding a freshly prepared market data briefing.
"Managing Director, the first-week global sales figures for the Nintendo 64 are in. Combined totals for Japan and the North American market have surpassed 1.03 million units." Oguchi Hisao's voice was steady, devoid of much emotion.
Takuya Nakayama sat behind the large desk, twirling a fountain pen in his hand.
Hearing this number, he raised an eyebrow without comment. "One million units. President Yamauchi's pricing strategy this time was very successful. Mario's appeal remains the top-tier force in the console market."
Sega was closely monitoring the N64's launch, but this attention was highly rational.
After the console wars of the past few years, Sega had now established an invincible position in the market. The installed base of the Jupiter console and its third-party software lineup were both in leading positions.
Faced with Nintendo's next-gen counterattack, Sega's entire workforce showed no panic.
"The N64's initial momentum is indeed strong, but our Marketing Department has analyzed that the high cost and capacity limitations of the cartridge medium will hold back their future third-party software lineup." Oguchi Hisao turned to the next page of the briefing and continued his report. "In contrast, our projects are progressing very smoothly. The development of the main games for the year-end commercial war are all within expectations. The final voice acting and debugging for Sakura Wars are nearing completion, and the PR Department has already started placing full-page ads in major gaming magazines. Over in the Arcade Department, the distribution of Virtua Fighter 3 is still on the rise, and the production capacity of the Model 3 boards can currently meet order demands."
Takuya Nakayama looked at his capable subordinate with satisfaction.
Oguchi Hisao had demonstrated exceptional talent and execution in managing game project development and promotional schedules. He could not only coordinate resources across various development teams but also precisely control the timing of market promotions.
Takuya felt completely at ease leaving the daily management of the Game Division in his hands.
"You've done an excellent job, Mr. Koguchi." Takuya set down his fountain pen and leaned forward slightly. "With you handling the game software side of things, I can free up my time to focus on other matters."
Oguchi Hisao closed his folder and listened intently. He knew that whenever the Managing Director wore that expression, it meant he was again conceptualizing some forward-thinking and ambitious plan.
Takuya pressed the intercom on his desk and asked his assistant to invite Hideki Sato, the head of the Hardware Development Department, into his office.
A few minutes later, Hideki Sato knocked and entered. He wore a slightly oversized short-sleeved shirt, his hair a bit messy—the typical look of a technical expert.
"Managing Director, you wanted to see me?" Hideki Sato sat down in the chair next to Oguchi Hisao.
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