The game of Quake changes drastically with the type of controller used - the majority of Quake players (and DOOM players before them) started their careers on the keyboard or joystick, a fine way to learn the basics and become more familiar with the feel of the game. However, the inherent limitations of these controllers can become quite apparent after a certain degree of experience is established - looking up and down is cumbersome and time-consuming, turning is either too slow or too fast, and so forth. At this point, the viability of other options may become more acceptable.

This section is an introduction to the more common forms of moving and fighting in the world of Quake. While a large part of control setup is purely personal preference, there are some control elements which are considered gospel to Quake (and most any first person 3D action game as well). They'll be discussed in detail later, but if there's one thing I'd wager, it's that the best players you'll encounter will be using a keyboard/mouse combination.

Don't you wish you were on the other side of this exchange?

Next: Controlling with the Keyboard