News Pages
One of the greatest sources of information, especially current information on first-person shooters, is the plethora of gaming news pages scattered across the internet. Gaming news pages generally provide several services to their readers: a source of up-to-the-second news; a large collection of programs located on site; and frequent commentary on events within the community. Keep in mind, however, that news pages are typically not written with the new player in mind. This means that stories that are updates on what is considered common knowledge will not contain much detail. But, unlike print media, it is easy for the reader to follow the hyperlink in the story and read more about programs and individuals. If a subject is unfamiliar, follow up and learn about it.
Spotlight
Blue's News, called the "definitive Quake site" by Slipgate Central, is one of the most successful sites on the internet. Blue's News began as a small section of Doom site. It quickly grew from that into the most popular site for news related to id Software's Quake. It wasn't long until Blue's became the source for news related to virtually every popular first-person shooter. As of this writing, the site is closing in on 10,000,000 visitors, and the the number of visitors is growing at an exponential rate. The amazing success of Blue's can be traced back to its creator, Steven "Blue" Heaslip. Heaslip has proven himself to be a true journalist; providing timely news in an accurate and unbiased manner.
Given the vast size of the gaming community and the speed at which news occurs, it is impossible for a single site to completely cover all gaming-related news. Blue may provide frequent updates and may have an army of people looking for news for him, but he cannot do it all. Truth be told, most people would not have the time to read all of the new information that becomes available everyday. Therefore, Blue's, like most other news site, is a collection of selected news stories chosen by one individual.
It is always a good idea to check several news pages on a daily basis. If you have a particular area of interest, then you should try to find several sites that cover that area and visit them frequently.
Other great news sites include:
Redwood's 3D News is one of the oldest Quake news pages in existence. Age is naturally relevant, but a site that is over a year old is quite old in the world of Quake. This news page, which has now expanded to cover the entire range of gaming news, is now part of Stomped.com. This arraignment has given Redwood some assistance with the news. Updates from other members of Stomped are typically identified by name. One of Redwood's greatest advantages is Sean "Redwood" Martin's relationship with the gaming community in the Dallas area. Martin was a beta tested for both and Quake 2, and was thus able to provide a great deal of information on these games. Redwood's covers gaming news but also addresses internet related new, such as the release of new browser and information about new gaming hardware. It is also the home of the WinQuake FAQ and an impressive collection of Quake files.
sCary's Sugar Shack is another veteran in the gaming news business. sCary's original news site, the Quakehole, was shut down after he accepted a job with Ritual Entertainment. The Quakehole has been reborn into the Shuga Shack. Now, sCary has moved the shack to the Virtual Reality Games Network. sCary presents the news with his own, unique brand of humor. In addition to the all of the features expected from a news site, the Shuga Shack also houses a large collection of Quake and Quake 2 demos.
Even more news pages:
There are also many other great news sites, almost to many to list. Fans of Quake should check out: The Daily Planet; Telefragged; Frag.Com; North American War Council; and Time2Quake. There are also specialty Quake news pages, like Frontline News, part of the Xenocide Flag Academy, which provides daily information on Capture the Flag news, and The Quake C Archives has a great news page that covers the world of Quake C mods and conversions. News From the Front covers the UK Quaking scene like no other news page.
Almost every first-person shooter has several excellent news site supporting its development. More information on sites covering the news for other games can be found on that game's section within The Guide.
Last update: January 20, 1998
This page is maintained by Darren L. Tabor,
aka DaKoTa
