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The word “groundbreaking” is thrown around a lot in video game journalism, but when describing Doom – id Software’s 1993 first-person shooter – “groundbreaking” may actually an understatement. Doom is the game that essentially defined and put the FPS genre on the map with its twitchy gameplay and unprecedented graphical immersion. Gaming was never the same.
High off the success of Wolfenstein 3D – the FPS title that paved the way for Doom – id Software began work on a hellish sci-fi shooter that takes heavy inspiration from the Alien films. Having further refined their skills at creating impressive games optimized to run on home computers, the notion that fast paced video games can only be played on consoles was about to be flipped on its head. Not only fast as hell, Doom incorporated angled walls and varying heights that allowed for stairs, etc. – neither of which was not possible with Wolfenstein 3D. With fewer technical limitations in the way, the team was able to employ some incredibly creative design techniques.
You play as a nameless space marine (unofficially dubbed “Doom Guy”) banished to a station on Mars, one that has been performing some rather strange experiments. And of course, things start to go wrong. The result is a massive demon invasion that must be dealt with through brutal force. While it’s a little light on the storytelling side, it’s heavy on gameplay! Before 3D environments were possible to render in real time, the engine built for Doom (which was licensed for on several other games) rendered environments using 2D maps shown from a 3D perspective. It’s too much to explain in this piece, but it’s been described as a 2.5 game, though even that description can be misleading.
When all’s said and done, id Software did an amazing job at creating faux 3D environments filled with plenty of scary demons to plow through. A few of the weapons include a standard pistol, shotgun, chainsaw, and rocket launcher, but one of the more memorable items is the BFG (Big, Uh, Freakin’ Gun). This gun will obliterate nearly any enemy immediately you point at, possibly along with others on screen. And as if the game wasn’t innovative enough, the company’s decision to release the source code spawned a massive an ongoing modding community, which actually helped launch the careers of several game developers.
Doom officially released in December of 1993 using the shareware model, in which the first few levels (or episodes) were available for free. If the user wished to continue, they were required to purchase the remainder of the game. Its impact on the game industry was immediate and lasting. FPS games – now one of the most popular game genres – were for a short time referred to as “Doom clones”. It received a sequel the following year using the same engine, then a third game in 2004 utilizing a true 3D engine. The in 2016, audiences received a highly acclaimed reboot of Doom followed by Doom Eternal.
