Doom was released in 1993 and is considered one of the most significant and influential video games in the history of the industry. L...
Doom was released in 1993 and is considered one of the most significant and influential video games in the history of the industry. Later, Doom naturally expanded to a landmark franchise, which means that a lot of amazing facts have accumulated over a long history. With the upcoming release of the next game in the series, let's take a look at a few interesting Doom-related moments that you may not have known about.
NAME OF THE GAME
The name "DOOM" comes from a replica of Tom Cruise in the movie "Color of Money" in 1986. The action in the film takes place in the billiard room. A regular client of the audience approaches the hero and wonders what kind of case he is holding. Cruz opens the case with a billiard cue and answers with the coveted word “DOOM!” ("Your Rock!"). After this phrase, he grins maliciously and beats the opponent under the net.
In 1999, one of the founders of the id Software developer John Carmack said in an interview: “That's how I imagined us when we introduced the game to the rest of the gaming industry.” And what happened next is history.
Other names were also discussed before the final release of the game. For example, the game might be called “Attack of the Attackers”, but id Software decided that the name “sounds too stupid.”
DUNGEONS, DEMONS, AND THE EVIL DEAD
What inspired the developers of the original game? The creation of Doom was the idea of John Carmack, and id Software was founded in 1992, at the same time the engine for the future game was developed. But the story of the creation of the Doom itself began with one fantasy board, in which the founders liked to play at that time - Dungeons & Dragons. In the fantasy lore of this tabletop role, the forces of hell participated, which invaded the material world, which became the main idea in Doom.
In an interview with TheGuardian, John Romero, one of the Doom designers, shared his memories of the game sessions at Dungeons & Dragons and how he “became greedy, trying to get his magic sword, which caused demons to flood the whole world.” The design of the monsters in the game is also partially inspired by the cult board game.
In the same interview, John Carmack said that the game’s producers saw in Doom a hybrid of James Cameron's science fiction “Aliens” and Sam Raimi’s cult horror film “The Evil Dead”, in which the characters accidentally summon and then brutally battle terrible undead. The development team even included in the game chainsaws and shotguns, the favorite weapon of the protagonist of the film.
Shot from the movie "The Evil Dead". Photo: afisha.ruWINDOOM 95
In 1995, after the release of Doom, the game worked on more computers than Windows 95, which was released this year, Microsoft’s latest operating system at that time.
According to the assessment of former Microsoft producers to a certain point, DOOM has been installed on more PCs than Windows. This producer, by the way, is called Gabe Newell - the one who founded Valve, the Steam game store, and much more. The system was not particularly popular among game developers, and Newell really wanted to fix it by releasing Doom for Windows 95. So the DOOM95 port appeared. After this, games for Windows began to be developed more actively, the OS itself became popular around the world.
Photo: youtube.comTHE ORIGINAL DOOM CAN BE CONSIDERED AN INDIE GAME
At the time of release, Doom was a technically challenging game. Detailed levels, shooting mechanics and a variety of demonic opponents were created by a team of 15 people. In the early years of the gaming industry, a team of this size was not unusual, but that meant that each member had a lot more work. About multimillion-dollar budgets were out of the question. Almost every game of that time can be compared with what is now called indie games and Doom is no exception.
It is noteworthy that the team then had a small office near the dentist's office. The constant buzz of the drill was so loud that the developers had to turn on the music to the full to drown out the noise. Perhaps this somehow influenced the team and the game itself, especially the image of cacodemons with their creepy teeth.
Photo: gamingrebellion.comSOUNDS FROM THE GAME WENT TO VARIOUS MEDIA
In addition to screen screams in Friends, The Simpsons, Stargate SG-1, and Doctor Who, Doom tracks were discovered in a large number of television shows and films thanks to the popular sound effects gallery, from which developers took sounds for their game.
Sound Ideas is a Canadian company that has put together a huge library of sound effects over the years. They are used in films, on television, and in video games. That is why you can hear familiar sounds from Doom in other projects.
For example, the sound made by doors in Doom can often be heard in films. And the howl of dying imps, often compared to the sounds of sick camels, can even be seen in the 1962 film Lawrence of Arabia.
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TOY WEAPON
Perhaps even more surprising is the fact that much of the iconic weapon in the game was based on toys. For the gun and shotgun, id Software found toy counterparts. The developers simply removed the orange protective cap from the end of the barrel and digitized them for use in the game.
As for other weapons that you will not meet in real life, the team modified the designs from other toy pistols and even showed a creative approach several times - for example, the BFG model was made using a photograph of a part of the toy gun and processed using a mirror copy method.
Photo: youtube.comDOOM STRENGTHENS THE FIRST-PERSON SHOOTER GENRE
Many people think that Doom is the first real first-person shooter (FPS). After its release, similar games (many of which copy various Doom elements) were simply called “Doom clones” until projects like Half-Life, Duke Nukem 3D and others appeared that expanded the genre with new elements in the late 90s.
Despite the fact that the genre has existed since 1973, Doom is considered the most important FPS ever created. His popularity was the reason that he influenced not only the shooters but also the entire gaming industry. Thanks to Doom, many other companies have begun developing first-person shooters using its engine.
Photo: twitter.com
Also, id Software in 1993 distinguished itself in the way the game was distributed. The first set of levels was available for free download, but the rest of the game was already worth the money. Players sent funds to id Software to get the rest of the files. Today, this is called the episodic release structure of the game.
