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visit GAMES FEATURE
56 JUNE 2016
GAMES
DOOM PART 2
Developer: id Software YEAR: 1993
By John Roebuck
I n December, 1993, DOOM was
released for MS-DOS and Mac. In
a press release dated January 1,
1993, id Software had boasted that they
expected DOOM to be ‘the number one
cause of decreased productivity in
businesses around the world.’ To an
extent, their prediction came true. Intel,
Lotus Development and Carnagie Mellon
University are among a number of
organisations that were forced to develop
policies specifically disallowing the playing
of DOOM during work hours. One
Microsoft employee likened the culture of
DOOM at their office to a ‘religious
phenomenon’.
One exceptionally popular element
of DOOM was the ability for players
to create custom levels and otherwise
modify the game, in the fashion of
customWAD files (short for ‘Where’s
All the Data?’). Ostensibly, DOOM
engendered the very first widespread
mod-making community. The modding
provision initiated by the developer
irrevocably changed the video game
industry landscape. Imagine Skyrim
without a modding community.
A number of future professional game
designers of note started out creating
DOOM WADs as a hobby; among them
was TimWillits, who would eventually go
on to become the lead designer at id.
DOOM received universal praise upon
its release. It sold over one million copies
and, thanks to the decision of id to release
the first third of the game via shareware,
reached an estimated 20 million players.
That’s an impressive number even by
contemporary standards. USA Today called
it 'the most gripping computer game to
date.' Dragon magazine gave it five out of
five stars, noting the significant technical
improvements over Wolfenstein 3D. But
the accolades continued long after the
initial frenzy of admiration subsided, and it
still regularly appears on lists of top video
games of all time.
How do you measure a video game's
legacy? After all the sequels, comic books,
board games and films, perhaps the
most significant indication of the impact
of DOOM is its enduring appeal. People
still play DOOM today, all over the world.
And they play the games that DOOM
paved the way for, like Call of Duty, Team
Fortress, Counter Strike and Halo.
Characters from Seinfeld, Friends and
The Simpsons have paid homage to
DOOM. The Smashing Pumpkins have
used sounds from the game in their
music. In 2004, Retro Gamer commented
that ‘Only a handful of games can claim
that they’ve changed the gaming world,
and DOOM is perhaps the most qualified
of them all.'
the most significant
indication of the impact of
doomis its enduring appeal.