Quakecon attendees received a big surprise during famed developer John Carmack’s keynote address. The next game from id Software will be called “Rage.” “Rage” will be the first game from id to use the new “Tech 5 engine” which Carmack previewed during the Mac WWDC in June.

“Rage” will be somewhat of a departure for id Software. The game will be a different from the typical FPS style games that id has become known for over the years; while it will feature some FPS elements it will also feature a focus on driving and racing, new elements for id.

The game is being described as an “adventure in a post-apocalyptic world” that was inspired by the classic action movie, “The Road Warrior,” starring Mel Gibson. Creative Director Tim Willits says this game will feature about 60% FPS and 40% combat with adventure elements in a massive world. Carmack indicated that currently the uncompressed data for the game is over 80GB and he went on to estimate that the two largest levels in the game will fill 10,000 monitors. These worlds are possible thanks to Carmack’s innovative megatexturing technology, a glimpse of which will first be unveiled in the upcoming “Enemy Territory Quake Wars.”

Multiplayer is an area in which id has excelled and “Rage” will feature an interesting take on multiplayer - it will feature some co-op gameplay that will allow a player to run missions with another player. Due to the enormous size of the game, however, it is unlikely that a player will be able to play all of the single player missions in co-op mode. Instead, the co-op mode will be focused on special co-op missions.

The game also signals another change for id Software, as the game is being targeted at a teen and above audience, which means that they intend to tone down both the violence and graphic nature of the combat in order to receive a “T” (Teen) rating.

“Rage” is being developed for the PC, Mac, Xbox 360, and PS3. Another highlight of the Quakecon presentation was that Carmack showed the Tech 5 engine running on all four platforms simultaneously with no noticeable difference among them. Carmack said that while he would like to develop the game for the Nintendo Wii platform, the Tech 5 engine would not be able to run on that platform. This is a radical departure from past id Software titles that were exclusive to the PC platform and later ported to console systems. The focus on console systems is part of an id Software strategy to be platform agnostic and deliver content on a variety of platforms.

As for a possible release date, Carmack gave his usual typical answer, “when it’s done.” At least for right now letting the fans know about the new game and technology is enough. “Rage” presents many new challenges for id and it will be worth watching to see if they are able to develop a more mainstream title that is a departure from what they have been best known for. The Tech 5 technology does look impressive and the concept of “Rage” sounds good, but until the game is in some sort of playable form it will be hard to tell if id can deliver all of its lofty goals for this title.