Shambler's Dimension

Lore & Background

The source describes the game's plot as centered around teleportation experiments called slipgates that result in an invasion of Earth by a hostile force codenamed Quake. The player takes the role of a soldier (later dubbed Ranger) who travels through slipgates to find and destroy the source of the invasion. The game is split between futuristic military bases and medieval, gothic environments, featuring both science fiction and fantasy weaponry and enemies. The game heavily takes inspiration from gothic fiction and the works of H. P. Lovecraft. The single-player campaign consists of 30 separate levels divided into four episodes, plus a hub level and a final boss level. Each episode represents individual dimensions that the player can access through the Slipgate or magical portals. The various realms consist of gothic, medieval, and lava-filled caves and dungeons with hellish and satanic imagery reminiscent of Doom. The game's setting is inspired by dark fantasy influences including H. P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos. Dimensional Shamblers appear as enemies, and the manual refers to "Spawn" enemies as "Formless Spawn of Tsathoggua." The boss of the first episode is named Chthon, the main villain is named Shub-Niggurath and is explicitly stated to be an Old One, and the four episodes all have Lovecraftian names. No dimension called "Shambler's Dimension" is mentioned.

In Their Own Story

The source does not describe any story events involving a dimension called Shambler's Dimension. The single-player campaign follows Ranger as he collects four magic runes from four dimensions of Quake, which are the key to stopping the enemy and ending the invasion of Earth. After passing through the Slipgate, Ranger advances from an overrun human military base before fighting into other dimensions. The ultimate objective at the end of each episode is to recover a magic rune. After all runes are collected, the floor of the hub level opens to reveal an entrance to the "END" level which contains a final puzzle.

Reader's Guide

The source describes Quake's single-player mode as follows: players explore levels, facing monsters and finding secret areas before reaching an exit. Switches or keys open doors, and reaching the exit takes the player to the next level. Before accessing an episode, there is a set of three pathways with easy, medium, and hard skill levels. The fourth skill level, "Nightmare," was described by the game manual to be "so bad that the entry is hidden, so people won't wander in by accident." Quake's single-player campaign is organized into four individual episodes with seven to eight levels in each (including one secret level per episode, one of which is a "low gravity" level). If the player's character dies, they must restart at the beginning of that level. The game may be saved at any time in the PC versions and between levels in the console versions. Upon completing an episode, the player is returned to the hub "START" level, where another episode can be chosen. Each episode starts the player from scratch, without any previously collected items. Episode one has the most traditional layout with a boss in the last level. The ultimate objective at the end of each episode is to recover a magic rune. After all of the runes are collected, the floor of the hub level opens up to reveal an entrance to the "END" level which contains a final puzzle.

Did You Know?

• The source states that Dimensional Shamblers appear as enemies in Quake, but no dimension named after them is mentioned.
• The main villain of Quake is named Shub-Niggurath and is explicitly stated to be an Old One in the source.
• The boss of the first episode is named Chthon, according to the source.
• The source notes that the four episodes all have Lovecraftian names.
• The game manual refers to 'Spawn' enemies as 'Formless Spawn of Tsathoggua,' per the source.