In the beginning God created id Software, and id software created Doom. And it was good. And so it came to pass that from that day forth, First Person Shooter’s shall hence be played in immersive 3D graphics. And the gaming industry would never be the same again.
It’s difficult to overstate just how big of an impact id Software, with games such as the original Wolfenstein, Quake and Doom, had on the gaming industry and culture generally. According to Wikipedia “It is considered one of the most significant and influential titles in video game history, for having helped to pioneer the now-ubiquitous first-person shooter.” It not only redefined what was possible with the technology at the time, but it also spawned an entire sub-culture that lives on to this day. It completely challenged conventional stereotypes. It was now OK to be intelligent, it was cool to be a computer nerd, and those that created Doom, people like John Romero, John Carmack American Mcgee and Tom Hall held a mantle typically reserved for rockstars. And in fact, it wouldn’t be long before actual rockstar’s would become an established part of the id narrative with none other then Trent Reznor and Nine Inch Nails creating sounds and the OST for id’s follow up to Doom, “Quake” released in 1996. – The sound of Stroggs dying in-game, was in fact Trent Reznor screaming into a microphone.
Fast forward 22 years, and after several successive Doom iterations including a 2016 reboot of the franchise following a 2009 acquisition of id and it’s IP by ZeniMax Entertainment (Bethesda) id have managed to evolve as a studio, moving out of being an independent developer, and still managing to not only create a visually stunning and fun game to play people still want to play after all these years, but also managing retaining their irreverent, rock star identity that shines through their individual personalities as id developers, and of course their latest product itself which, was revealed to the sound of loud approving fans at QuakeCon last week.
Some of the staff have retired or moved on since 1993, new rock stars like Hugo Martin and Marty Stratton have stepped up to breathe new life into the franchise. One thing that definitely has not changed however is the games sense of identity. In an industry where AAA studios more often then not pander to the lowest common denominator to maximize profits by making their target audience as broad as physically possible, where anti-consumer practices such as micro transactions and “games as a service” has dominated headlines of late, “Doom Eternal” is a refreshing return to what first person shooter should be. It’s self aware, it makes no apologies, takes no prisoners, is blissfully irreverent in the face of politcal correctness and it knows exactly who it’s fans are. The graphics are amazing, the physics and gameplay are jaw dropping, but most importantly, after all this time Doom hasn’t sold out on it’s heritage, and that is perhaps it’s greatest selling point of all.
Credit: Bethesda Softworks -https://bethesda.net/en/dashboard, Noclip – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0fDG3byEcMtbOqPMymDNbw
