"I might go to some events"

First of all toxjq, tell us what you have been doing since you have retired from gaming.

Johan 'toxjq' Quick: Well, first of all I wouldn't say that I have retired from gaming in that sense but I haven't been playing much since the last Quake 4 event i32. I did compete in ESWC Athens last year with a few weeks of preparing in Quake 3, but I really wasn't expecting a high placement in that tournament since I wasn't prepared enough but of course I tried to make the best of it at that point.

You've mentioned the ESWC Masters in Athens. That's almost one year ago now. Did anything change since then in your life? Especially gaming wise?

toxjq: No, I haven't been playing almost any Quake at all after ESWC Athens. I kind of picked up a new hobby last year with horserace betting. My father asked if I was interested in picking that up and we started to play together. And I would never have thought but it's become a really big hobby these days so I have been putting a lot of time into that and try to learn more about it. But it takes a long time and it's a big time investment before you just know the basics.

Haha, are you winning more money now than you did with Quake 4?

toxjq: Hehe, no I haven't done that yet at least but this year has been more of a learning year and you can bet on so many different kinds of races. But this far we usually play twice a week or so but put the time into the bigger races – that's every Saturday. And that's seven races and the goal is to have the winner in all of the seven races. But it's really hard to hit all seven right unless it's only the rank 1-2-3 that is winning in the races and if that happens you won't get any payoff anyway so it's not worth doing that in the long run – then you will end up losing more money than you bet for.

So the hard thing is to find the higher ranked horses that can win at least two of the races but put up to a more reasonable level. But there is 30 million combinations in total so you have something to study. (laughs) But you increase your chances a lot when you bet for a higher amount each time but so far I would say we are sticking with low stakes before we know what we are doing.

In the end of 2008 you appeared in the lineup of team Sweden for the Q3 TDM Nationscup but you haven't played a single match. Was it even planned that you play one of those games?

toxjq: I think I was playing one game but I don't remember who we met that time. I was asked if I could play with team Sweden but since I wasn't playing Quake 3 active I told them that I probably could help them out if they didn't have enough players now and then but I made clear from the beginning that I wasn't interested in playing all the games in the tournament.

Alright. We've spoken enough about the past. Let's go on to the present. I heard you've been playing Quake Live the last days. How does it feel?

toxjq: Yes, that's correct. I did install it again about three to four weeks ago. The reason was I was playing some 3v3 together with gopher and phantom in Warcraft 3 and just liked that so we said that maybe we should try to play some 3v3 in Quake Live instead. So we did install it and started to play some 3v3 but we realised pretty soon that it was impossible to do so since the commando/lockteam doesn't work so people were joining while we were playing all the time. So at last we gave up and agreed that it's still just a beta even if the game has been out for two years soon. And the last two weeks I have been playing some 1v1 instead just because I felt like it and I wanted to see if there was any difference since last year and I also wanted to check out the new maps.

So how does the game feel? Do you like the new time limit in the duel mode?

toxjq: It feels pretty much as Quake 3 did while playing just Baseq3 without OSP or CPMA. I'm not sure about the time limit but it seems like it doesn't make a big difference since usually Quake 3 1v1 is played a bit slower so the outcome will usually be the same with ten or fifteen minutes it's just five minutes of delay from when the game ends. You will have the time to make a comeback still with ten minutes gametype.

What kind of changes should id Software do to make the game better in your oppinion?

toxjq: I think it depends on what the goal with the game is: To make a popular game just in general or to try to make the first real progaming fps game. But I think all the Quake games have good potential bases.

But if i could just make one difference in the game as it's now - and that's based on if I were to compete in this game on a high level - I would like to decrease the hitboxes a lot but if that was done I think more of the normal players – who just play and enjoy playing the game without going to tournament or playing on a higher competitive level – would disagree with me and would think the game wouldn't be as fun since it would decrease the aim a lot.

I don't think it's the weapon balance that should be mixed or remade because the weapons have always been pretty equal depending on how well you are using it in Quake 3 and Quake 4. But still people need to understand that there will always be someone who has an amazing aim with a certain weapon. (smiles)

You were talking about the potential of the Quake games. Does that include Quake 4 as well, which was terrible in the beginning?

toxjq: Yeah absolutely, but I meant more like all the different kinds of weapons have almost always been the same and it seems like these kinds of weapons are pretty optimally balanced for a fps game. Quake 4 wasn't perfect either but I think most people who didn't start playing Quake 4 after Quake 3 didn't like the lock of 60 fps. I don't have anything against Quake 3 but I can't see any reason why it should be a sliding movement in Quake Live as well because it just makes the game run more smoothly and you don't have to accept that you have too high speed on the map so you have to just crash into a wall because you can't control your movements while having a high level of speed. But all the weapons and everything else in Quake 3 is pretty much optimal I would say but it would be perfect in my opinion in a competitive mode if there were smaller hit boxes – that makes it more made for high level players and a sliding movement as well. Probably, it would be better to have a mode that is used at pro events, and then you could have a mode that is a bit more simple for the average guy who just wants to shoot and enjoy a game.

So something like the current "pro" and "noob" TDM server?

toxjq: Yes, something like that, but more seriously used. But it might be too early to start thinking of that since first it would just be good if they could keep one game longer than one to two years. But I'm sure in the future when progaming will indeed be real progaming there has to be a big difference between these two parts as it is in other sports – if you like to call gaming a sport of course. (laughs)

With Quake Live growing and leagues like the ESL supporting it with lots of money and tournaments - is there a chance to see you back in action?

toxjq: I don't know if I will continue to compete on a higher level but I think I might go to some events if I feel that the time is right and if I have the right motivation to try to learn a new game and everything that comes with it. But I guess I base that opinion on that I don't really believe that there will be tournaments on LAN with a regularity. You lose the interest and the motivation to play active if it "might" be one or maybe if you are lucky two tournaments each year and you cannot be sure if there will be five new maps in the pool with two days notice. (smiles) But if something would make a fast turn and we would see tournaments with regularity I think a lot of the players would get the interest back again and we would be up and running for about one or two years more until we make another change and start all over. (laughs)

The ESL recently announced the fifth Major Series featuring a 4on4 TDM tournament. Was it the right decision by the ESL?

toxjq: I personally prefer TDM over CTF but as I always use to say I would like to see big tournaments with 2v2 instead of 4v4. I don't think there are enough teams that could be playing active and actually go to LAN tournaments. It would be easier with 2v2 because there would be a lot of great teams and it is just more interesting than 4v4 - as I see it. Maybe it's easier to get a public to watch a game if there is 2v2 instead of 1v1 because there will automatically be more of a nation versus nation competition and that's what people want to see and cheer for their home country as it's pretty easy to see while spectating via GTV or streams or whatever. (smiles)

Do you think this tournament will bring back some old faces?

toxjq: It seems like some of the old faces - at least in 1v1 - have been started to play some again but I doubt that we will see the old TDM teams remake and make a comeback with smaller prizes like that. Not that I think it's a bad idea but yeah, it's not enough to attract people to start playing again. But it's great that they are trying anyway and it's better to have these smaller tournaments than not to have any tournament at all.

With you, gopher and fox three of the old iCE-cLIMBERS are playing Quake Live. Have you spoken with them about a comeback?

toxjq: gopher just played some random 3v3s with me and phantom with a 28" TFT without his normal mouse and keyboard so it was just to play a fun game that day. He hasn't started playing Quake Live seriously. And I don't think we would see a comeback with iCE-cLIMBERS ever again - at least not the real one - as in my opinion it would only be the real one if gopher was playing. And as he said many times he would like to play TDM again if there were serious events but then again we all know while talking about it that that time is not coming back. (smiles)

Why is a 1.000 Euro prize money TDM tournament not serious enough? Is it all about LAN finals?

toxjq: Yeah, it's pretty much all about LAN, that's at least why I started to play Quake. It's the competition that's fun. But since no one of the older players is playing really active, as we all used to do while we were in the rising of our career, we have all these off-seasons – and I guess people don't feel that it's not worth putting the time into it to share a prize of 1.000 Euro but that it is based on the fact that we don't play on an active base.

But it's different with the younger generation that is playing active and still really enjoys to just play for fun and really burn for the game and everything else. For these guys these kinds of tournaments are great. But the reason is usually that in all kinds of interviews people really want the old players to come back to compete again and it just won't happen if there won't be a different kind of approach in the making of events concerning prizes.

Do you still hate playing versus fox?

toxjq: I have been playing fox very often in tournaments but somehow we always get on the same side of the bracket. I think me and fox have been in the same group stage at ESWC twice and in many other tournaments we had to play each other to knock each other out in a semifinal. But playing in a final against fox I don't have any problem with but I guess we don't like to have to put each other in the lowerbracket. Because in the end of the day we both have the goal to face each other in the grand final, I guess. (laughs)

Well, thank you for your time. You got the last words.

toxjq: I feel like I said what I have to say for this time but thank you as well and good night.