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Feature: 'Doom' changed PC games forever
(IDG) -- There's so much to say about Doom, that it's difficult to know where to start. Wrapped in controversy, the bloody battles of a nameless space marine against an invading alien horde were chronicled in what can be considered one of the greatest, if not the greatest PC action game ever. To put it simply, Doom changed the way computer games are played and designed. The premise is simple: Shoot everything that moves. As a space marine stranded alone, it's up to you to wade through the freshly killed corpses of invading aliens as you mow down even more horrid and evil creatures to save mankind. Along the way, you have to dodge hot lava, search for hidden key cards, flip countless switches - and, above all, stay alive. Looking back now, it's almost laughable to think that you couldn't even jump, per se, in Doom. Still, Doom's gameplay has spawned many derivative games (mostly poor imitations) and a host of sequels, as well as provided the basis for modern classics like Unreal Tournament. In addition, the variety of weapons - from the lowly pistol to the rocket launcher - are all established as standards in first-person shooters these days. And don't forget the chainsaw! Adding a chainsaw to your arsenal of weapons was simply a stroke of tongue-in-cheek genius. While Doom wasn't the first game to feature a chainsaw (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre for the Atari 2600 had you slice and dice with a gas-guzzling saw), there hasn't been a game since to feature one. Too bad, because wielding a chainsaw in Doom was almost too fun to be legal. Monster tracks
Aside from what were then cutting-edge graphics and frenetic gameplay, Doom featured an incredible MIDI soundtrack that was perfectly matched to the pace of the game. The eerie and haunting music alternated with a driving panicked beat, melding into an unforgettable audio experience. The Doom soundtrack was a milestone and composer Robert Prince's magnum opus. Of course, a game that featured so much blood inevitably drew controversy. Not that a game that ran at 640x480 could be considered "realistic violence" really. Blocky red pixels of blood and green goo are hardly worth getting excited over. But still, the lumps of guts left over after each kill were particularly gruesome, even by today's standards. And who could forget the bunny head on a stake at the end of the game? Doom also started the multiplayer online craze and is almost single-handedly responsible for coining the term "deathmatch." Playing a multiplayer game of Doom with your buddies or even anonymous folks from all over the country was relatively simple. Now multiplayer is a standard feature. But Doom's multiplayer games showed some technical prowess, too: Even on a 14.4 modem, Doom was fast and nimble, and there was hardly anything as bad as the slowdown encountered in today's online multiplayer games. Doom-heads working in companies the world over loved to gather together for a quick lunch break game, and, because Doom polled every computer on the network almost constantly to see if it was running Doom, one game could bring a corporate network to its knees. Doom became the scourge of IT Directors, and many banned it completely. In any case, Doom continued to survive and even flourish, spawning even better deathmatch play in Doom II and the 3D sequel, Quake. Edit this!Doom was popular for a lot of reasons aside from the multiplayer games; one being that the level design was pure genius. Using an engine that wasn't really 3D, the designers created a world that was convincingly real and complex. Some of the rooms in Doom were so stunning that they were fun just to gawk at. Yet even though they had created an amazing game, the good folks at id Software had also unleashed a firestorm, enabling gamers to create their own levels and add-ons as long as they didn't charge money for them. Imps that wear bikinis? Cacodemons as penguins? How about putting Barney, the lovable purple dinosaur, into Doom? Yup, these (and countless others) were all Doom mods. These spin-offs and new level designs kept the Doom community alive and thriving beyond the hotly contested deathmatches taking place all over the world. The people at id had literally created a hobby out of a game. Indeed, Doom created a worldwide community of gamers that provided the jumping point to where games are today. The thirst to prove that you're the best hasn't abated, it has only gotten stronger - and getting bragging rights over all comers is a huge pull. Today, a multiplayer option in PC games - especially first person-shooters - is a standard feature, and Doom led the way with a simple, insanely fun online experience. The futureDoom gave way to Doom II and then to Quake, which was followed by Quake II and the pure deathmatch game, Quake III. While some of id's games have been more successful than others, the lineage of these titles speaks volumes about just how important the original Doom was. And now, while the Quake III phenomenon is still in overdrive, John Carmack, the co-founder of id with John Romero, and his team are reportedly busy at work on a true sequel to Doom. What they have in store for gamers is anyone's guess at this early stage, but you can bet it will have a lot of firepower. RELATED STORIES: First look: Final Fantasy X RELATED IDG.net STORIES: NCAA March Madness 2001 RELATED SITES: id Software, Inc. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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