/vr/ - Retro Games

Doom was 2.5D and used scaling sprites. Technologically it did nothing new.

Quake used 3D graphics rendered in-game combined with advanced lighting (for the time).
Seeing those fireballs rise and fall, and the shadows they cast... Quake brought a level on ambience that was unmatched in it's era.

Quake was the "killer app" that made 3D graphics cards a necessity for PC gamers. Quake launched the 3D card revolution for 3dfx, powerVR, and later Nvidia and ATI.

More significantly this was the start of the "quake engine" era of gaming. Rivals were forced to come up with the unreal engine to compete.

This changed the entire gaming industry. The quake engine and it's rival the unreal engine have changed how games are made (and not just PC games).