It's hard not to get excited about Quake Live, especially when you're currently at QuakeCon 2008 and the game's concept is being explained to you by id software executive producer Marty Stratton.

　　Announced last year at QuakeCon 2007 by John Carmack, Quake Live is, on the surface, a free, web browser based update of Quake III Arena. But it's also a lot more. First, it's free. Woot! Second, it's browser based, so you never have to download game updates or patches -- you can also sneak in a few games at school or work when no one's looking. Finally, it's a radical departure from anything id software has done before.

　　Id is the originator of the FPS as we know it, and the Wolfenstein, Doom, and Quake franchises represented major advances in gaming technology during each of their respective releases. Quake Live goes in a different direction, but is nonetheless ambitious. Most gamers will immediately cringe when they hear the game is supported by advertising. We've had enough Axe Body Spray billboards in our full retail games as it is. But here's how it fits Quake Live, says Stratton. Think of Quake Live as a sport. Heck, the battles are already fought in arenas, and don't many professional stadiums feature ads on their walls? So as you're fragging, you'll run into some billboards that take the place of blank walls from Quake III Arena. No big deal. At least the ads, says Stratton, are geared toward the Quake player, much like Google ads are based on your own internet searches (by the way, my Tara Patrick searches are for research purposes only).

　　Sponsors will also host contests and special events that will translate into real-world prizes for Quake Live players. We already see plenty of sponsored contests on Xbox Live, and they are only going to increase. And if you love prizes and competition, that's a good thing. Finally, sponsors may decide to offer free skins of their products for you to use to customize your avatar. Who knows where that could lead… Quake Live teams with sponsored colors, just like we see in professional soccer and stock car racing? Just maybe.

　　Id could have rested on its laurels and splashed a few ads on the Quake III maps, but instead it's working tirelessly to update the visuals and textures for every map. There are more than 30, but they first appeared nine years ago. You can see for yourself in the image the improvement.

　　Finally, the last major focus of Quake Live is making it accessible. When the site is launched, all you have to do is head over to Quakelive.com and log in. If you want to participate in marathon sessions and jump on top of the leaderboards (as do many of the fans here at QuakeCon), you can do that. If you want to chat with a buddy and set up a quick team deathmatch before heading to work, you can do that to. A matchmaking system will ensure new players are matched with players of similar skill, so they don't go running for the hills when pro players blow them to hell and back with rocket launchers.

　　We don't have much information on mod tools, but Stratton says community is what will drive Quake Live, so we look forward to some mod options in the future. We'll let you know after QuakeCon wraps up and we take a much-needed shower.