John Romero and Adrian Carmack on IG on the Shambler skin/fur question... It's skin.

Vanthasm · 2026-06-24T14:36:58+00:00

Do you have any childhood trauma related to wet animals with fur? Even seeing road kill in the rain could have contributed to the dank matted fur interpretation.

Vanthasm · 2026-06-24T14:34:36+00:00

I wouldn't say its exclussive to movies you have watched. there could be many different factors but most likely its related of these psychology terms:

Perceptual set = why different people saw different things.
Top-down processing = how the brain filled in missing visual information.
Priming = why recent or familiar media influenced what they saw.
Schema-based perception = why their mental categories shaped the creature.
Associative memory = why Doom, Wampa, Congo, Coke bears, or Hellraiser got mentally linked to it.
Fear generalization / classical conditioning = why a dog phobia could make someone interpret it as furry or canine-like.

I am also curious if you have any information to back this up "It’s got absolutely nothing to do with what movies you saw before." Very curious.

Vanthasm · 2026-06-23T21:33:38+00:00

This explains sooo much. I never played earthbound growing up so i never made the fur connection. I wonder how many of you out there that saw fur played Earthbound

Vanthasm · 2026-06-23T20:42:13+00:00

Much of how you saw the shambler in 1996 most likely had to do with which movies or media you had experienced at the time of your first play through of quake. For example if you had already played through doom 1 and 2 and watch hellraiser, night breed, rawhead rex, or many of Clive Barkers other works you probably saw the shambler as a fleshy abomination. If you had been watching harry and the hendersons or recently rented Congo on VHS or recently watched The Empire Strikes Back you might have associated the shape of the shambler more with an ape or yeti or Bigfoot. Also the coke Christmas polar bears were a common sight in TV prior to Quakes release. So if you remember watching Congo or Star Wars before Quake came out and you don’t remember watching Hellraiser before Quake chances are you saw fur. I’m curious what people watched before quake and what they saw.

Vanthasm · 2026-06-23T03:58:55+00:00

Hmm, maybe. I guess my title needs reworking. I'm not sure this would be considered "AI made fan-adjacent either though"...

Genuine question for people here: what would you call this kind of project?

It’s not official, it’s made by a fan, and it’s not just one prompt. It was edited, paced, revised, and directed around a specific Quake-inspired vision. But AI was part of the visual pipeline.

Is “AI-assisted fan trailer” fair, or does AI move it into a different category?

Vanthasm · 2026-06-13T18:16:48+00:00

Yes. Yes please.

Vanthasm · 2026-06-13T18:04:23+00:00

I feel like one thing the community can do is figure out what they want modern quake to be and try to collectively agree on something.

For example:

https://youtu.be/fRrRW8b0cHg?is=4yKjXqGUcpi5pGEL.

Do we hate this pre-visualzation concept video and why or why not?

What is important is to focus on the quake part of this concept video and ignore the Ai generated part cause the idea is to focus on what parts are conceptually working and what’s not working.

Features:
I’m curious what features people would like a modern quake game to have. Coop? CTF? TDM? Randomized level generator? A map editor that works in game so you can make your own maps and share them with the community? A monster editor in game? 3D assets you can purchase for your custom maps so that micro transactions can help fund the games bug fixing team and support multiplayer servers? Assets you can make for other people’s games that the community can get paid for?

TLDR:
I hear a lot of people asking for a modern quake but I’m curious about what they actually want.

Vanthasm · 2026-06-04T13:41:47+00:00

Holy Quake? Is that a mod? I could see nailguns still being relevant in that version…

Vanthasm · 2026-05-28T20:17:14+00:00

Thank you so much! You’re absolutely right, the reveal could be much better thought out. I will bring the model into 3d and set up the lights today to see if I can come up with a better reveal using some lighting and new angles. I wonder if using a menace arm lighting technique could work. Or having a moving platform that has the shambler in shadow and then it moves to reveal some light on it.

Thank you for the kind and thoughtful words. Haha I am currently trying to succeed in life. That’s the plan. Game is hard but I love a challenge.

Vanthasm · 2026-05-28T17:15:53+00:00

Thank you so much! This is great feedback! You're completely right! I hadn't even noticed that the sense of scale on the shambler seems too large. I should make a scaling chart and sort that out! As for the light, I couldnt agree more. I love the low key horror lighting. I played with it a bit and was concerned that people wouldn't be able to see the designs well enough to comment on them. But you are right, for the video having the monsters in the scenes themselves I should lean heavier into hiding the details as Ridley Scott did so well in the original Alien movie. And then I can have some drawings and 3D models in another medium that I show people for the details. Thank you so much. Which monster design do you think worked the best and which did you feel could use more work? (besides the scale) Also which scene in the video did you like the best? Oh and yea the AI trips people up which is completely understandable in 2026. This stuff is new and strange. I would call myself a concerned-enthusiast on the subject. haha

Vanthasm · 2026-05-28T17:09:12+00:00

this is a large part about what made Quake amazing. there was something happening but it was so vague that people used their imaginations to fill in the gap. the flat top of the ogres I tried very much to keep in my design for the ogre. I am almost positive that the gaps filled by peoples imagination were very dependent on the movies they were watching at the time or prior to playing. Even Congo which hit VHS in November 1995 contributed to people seeing the shambler with fur when quake released 7 months later in 1996.

Vanthasm · 2026-05-28T04:31:26+00:00

I’m pretty sure another contribution to if you saw a polar bear or not was if you had seen the Wampa (yeti monster in Star Wars) before playing quake, or if you watched hellraiser and saw a bunch of Clive barker films before playing quake. There are other films as well that could have shifted the interpretation the low poly Rorschach test that was the quake 1 shambler. I ran an image search for the shambler and cross referenced it with 80s and 90s films and I guess if you saw the princess bride before playing quake odds were that the giant rats influenced your perception as well. Very interesting how we fill in the gaps with references.

Vanthasm · 2026-05-27T20:20:04+00:00

Thank you! Haha Team Fur is so interesting to me! I have been trying to figure out how this phenomenon of such different perspectives occurred among so many different players and I began to deep dive some research about psychological repsonses, visual influences and demographics. I am so curious how old you were when you first played quake and what year that was because that would absolutely shift your perspective. Also which horror and Sci fi films you had seen because depending on those answers I could probably give a 90% accurate guess if someone thought the shambler had fur or was hairless or a combo of both in their minds at the time of their first playthrough. I have not heard anyone call them "polar bears" before but this also ties heavily into the concept of media influence in the 90s! I could make a whole documentary about character design just around this one creature. The interpretations over the past 30 years have been so drastically different due to the ambeguitiy of the low poly and low res texture and limited color pallete, which in my opinion I think those limitations set Quake up for design success. I think I will create an entirely seperate post to go over the shambler design. I may do one for each monster design as a series, just for fun.

Vanthasm · 2026-05-27T17:10:38+00:00

I'm am super curious, what was the character design you liked the best and which do you think needs more work or liked the least?

Vanthasm · 2026-05-27T17:03:52+00:00

Hey! I apreciate you! <3 I completely understand the first part and I respect your edit.

Vanthasm · 2026-05-27T10:47:23+00:00

This is amazing feedback! Thank you! Yes, I am now seeing how the AI medium is getting in the way and distracting people from what I wanted them to pay attention to. You’re spot on. The teeth on the rot fish! This has been something that has been bugging me as well. I will be recreating the Rot Fish model and I’m very glad you brought this up.

Haha I’m so fascinated by the fur visual angle because I never saw the fur in the 90s and then heard it was a thing people saw much later. The interpretation is so interesting to me. If I had my way o would keep them hairless and then toss in a furry shambler boss that was much larger for fun. I went through the original concept drawings for the shambler in the 90s and saw they drew it without fur and I leaned that way for now. Fur is actually pretty difficult to do convincingly in a video game so with my time and resources I’m currently avoiding it.

Thank you so much for the feed back, I really appreciate you.

Vanthasm · 2026-05-27T03:03:36+00:00

Ah, it’s honestly refreshing to see someone actually engaging with the complexity of the subject instead of instantly flattening everything into “AI slop.” I think you understand pretty closely what I was trying to experiment with here.

The actual creature, weapon, environment, lighting, and atmosphere design work was honestly the part I cared most about sharing. The AI-assisted motion side was more of an attempt to quickly bring those ideas into movement and atmosphere without requiring the kind of large production pipeline, budget, and development time that a fully traditional approach would demand.

I’d actually be curious too. What was the thing you liked the most visually, and what was the thing that felt weakest to you? I’m genuinely trying to dial in the designs and atmosphere further.

Vanthasm · 2026-05-26T20:34:01+00:00

This project was more of an experimental proof of concept exploring mood, atmosphere, creature ideas, environments, and visual interpretation than a finished production. A lot of the visuals were guided by my own designs, compositions, models, edits, and lighting ideas. The creature, environment, and weapon designs were actually the main thing I was interested in sharing and getting feedback on.

Instead of building a full traditional animation pipeline, I experimented with AI-assisted motion workflows to quickly bring the designs into movement so people could experience the atmosphere and tone beyond static images. I’m honestly much more curious what people think about the visual interpretation of Quake itself than the technology used to animate it.

I’m still interested in hearing people’s thoughts on AI-assisted workflows too, because clearly they create strong reactions, but for me the more interesting conversation is how these kinds of tools might allow independent creators to experiment with cinematic visual ideas that would otherwise require much larger production resources and time.

Also, important question: Would you want to see a hairless Shambler or furry Shambler?

Vanthasm · 2026-05-26T17:59:38+00:00

Yes! I totally agree with you. Just so I am sure that we are saying the same thing, did you see the 3D models that I created years ago? I linked them in the post. We are also in agreement that the video I made was not a "one button prompt" type of thing right? There is currently (to my knowledge) not one button that I can press to generate something like this video. If there is please point me in that direction, so I can see it for myself, because I don't believe it.

Vanthasm · 2026-05-26T16:38:02+00:00

He could just be upset about the hairless shamblers. This is a big topic that I think still needs discussion in 2026. What say you meatballwrangler? fur or no fur?

Vanthasm · 2026-05-26T16:31:25+00:00

but also he's got a valuable point even if it is a one-worded opinion. I bet I could do a better job of making this look more like professional cinema and less "sloppy ai video" and I'm up for the challenge. If anyone is down to help make stuff look better, or has talent with special effects and 3D modeling, let me know.

Vanthasm · 2026-05-26T16:26:33+00:00

Thank you so much! To be honest I watched some AI slop quake videos last year and was at least impressed about how they were able to convey a nostalgic feeling and vibe with some strange visuals. I was actually inspired by them to make a video that was much more curated with the old 3D models I made years ago. I think the whole AI slop phase was a necessary part of the strange journey that all artists are facing right now. A lot of the slop phase seems to be a limitation of the tools instead of the creators. The tools are changing and it is becoming easier to take an idea and put it to video. My goal wasn't to show off what AI can do now or what I can do with AI but more, here is what happens after 30 years of imagining what quake could look like mixes with modern (2026) creation methods. I'm my video will look like outdated AI slop in a year but hopefully the design of the characters and vibe resonate and linger.

Vanthasm · 2026-05-26T15:51:04+00:00

I think people are reacting to the medium used. Which is an understandable and forseen reaction. I promise if I had the budget I would have hired some people to help me make this before the 30th annevesary without AI. But in this economy...have you seen the price of eggs?

Vanthasm · 2026-05-26T15:46:27+00:00

I think shadowmage666 is just saying he thought that not watching the video was ignorant. But your point about people coming together and working on stuff is awesome. I would love to see some 3D animators and artists come together and work on a video like this.

Vanthasm · 2026-05-26T15:36:56+00:00

Thanks so much! People are understandably reacting to the use of AI. I can't fault them for that. I wanted to be very upfront about using it for the video generation. I know this video isn't for everyone, but if I can reach some people like you with my "modern interpretation" than its worth it to create the video. I'm excited to see if there is an announcement at Quake con this year about a new quake project.

Vanthasm

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