| Doom | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Created by | |
| Original work | Doom (1993) |
| Owner | id Software |
| Years | 1993–present |
| Print publications | |
| Novel(s) | Novel series |
| Comics | Doom (1996) |
| Films and television | |
| Film(s) | Doom (2005) |
| Direct-to-video | Doom: Annihilation (2019) |
| Games | |
| Traditional | Doom: The Boardgame (2004) |
| Video game(s) | List of video games |
Doom (stylized asDOOM) is an Americanmedia franchise created byJohn Carmack,John Romero,Adrian Carmack,Kevin Cloud, andTom Hall.[1] The series usually focuses on the exploits ofan unnamed space marine (often referred to as Doomguy or Doom Slayer) operating under the auspices of the Union Aerospace Corporation (UAC), who fights hordes of demons and the undead to save Earth from an apocalyptic invasion.
The originalDoom is considered one of the first pioneeringfirst-person shooter games, introducing toIBM-compatible computers features such as3D graphics, third-dimension spatiality, networkedmultiplayer gameplay, and support for player-created modifications with theDoom WAD format. Over ten million copies of games in theDoom series have been sold; the series has spawned numerous sequels, novels, comic books, board games, and film adaptations.
TheDoom video games consist of first-person shooters in which the player controls an unnamed space marine commonly referred to asDoomguy; in the 2016 series, the protagonist is called the "Doom Slayer" or just "Slayer" in later entries. The player battles the forces ofHell, consisting ofdemons and theundead. The games are usually set within sprawling bases on Mars or its moons, while some parts occur in Hell. The classic series had only a minimal focus on the narrative, much of which was in the manuals rather than the games.[2] More recent titles, notably the 2016 series, would feature a heavier focus on narrative.[3]
The original game featured eight weapons, designed so that no weapon became obsolete after the acquisition of another. With the player carrying all these weapons at once, the strategy of "gun juggling"—rapidly switching between the weapons depending on circumstance—can be employed.[4] Outside of combat mechanics,Doom levels often feature mazes, colored key cards and hidden areas.[5][6] As the genre was in its infancy in the early 1990s, the player could not jump or look up and down in the classic series due to technical limitations. Some limited platforming was however present, as players could sprint at gaps and let their momentum carry them to a destination.[7] These features were added in newer titles,[8] with the 2016 series in particular featuring a strong focus on platforming.[9]
| 1993 | Doom |
|---|---|
| 1994 | Doom II: Hell on Earth |
| 1995 | Master Levels for Doom II |
| The Ultimate Doom | |
| 1996 | Final Doom |
| 1997 | Doom 64 |
| 1998 | |
| 1999 | |
| 2000 | |
| 2001 | |
| 2002 | |
| 2003 | |
| 2004 | Doom 3 |
| 2005 | Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil |
| Doom RPG | |
| 2006 | |
| 2007 | |
| 2008 | |
| 2009 | Doom Resurrection |
| Doom II RPG | |
| 2010 | Doom II: No Rest for the Living |
| 2011 | |
| 2012 | Doom 3: BFG Edition |
| 2013 | |
| 2014 | |
| 2015 | |
| 2016 | Doom |
| 2017 | Doom VFR |
| 2018 | |
| 2019 | Sigil |
| 2020 | Doom Eternal |
| Doom 64: The Lost Levels | |
| The Ancient Gods, Part One | |
| 2021 | The Ancient Gods, Part Two |
| Doom 3: VR Edition | |
| 2022 | |
| 2023 | Mighty Doom |
| Sigil 2 | |
| 2024 | Doom + Doom II |
| Doom II: Legacy of Rust | |
| 2025 | Doom: The Dark Ages |
The development of the originalDoom started in 1992, whenJohn Carmack developed a new game engine, theDoom engine, while the rest of the id Software team finished theWolfenstein 3D prequel,Spear of Destiny. The game launched in an episodic format in 1993, with the first episode available asshareware and two more episodes available by mail order. The first episode was largely designed byJohn Romero.[10] The title proved extremely popular, with the full version of the game selling one million copies. The term "Doom clone" became the name for the new genre now known asfirst-person shooters for several years.[11]
Doom II: Hell on Earth was released in 1994 in a commercial format. Only minor changes were made at a technical level; the game featured new enemies, a new "Super Shotgun" weapon, and more complex levels.[12] The game was followed by an expansion in 1995, titledMaster Levels for Doom II, which added 20 additional levels. A fourth episode was added to the original game by the 1995 re-release.[13]
From 1995 id Software were focused on the development of the newQuake series, which would be developed by the company throughout the late 1990s.[14] Two additional games would be released over the following years, largely created by third-party developers under id's supervision. The first of these wasFinal Doom, which featured 64 levels based on theDoom II engine, organised into two episodes.TNT: Evilution was developed by the modding groupTeamTNT and completed in November 1995, while the second episodeThe Plutonia Experiment was developed by TNT's Dario and Milo Casali and completed in January 1996.[citation needed]
Midway Games developedDoom 64 under id supervision for release in 1997. The title featured a new engine, with larger sprites and higher quality textures. The technical changes allowed for greater flexibility with the level design, such as the ability to adjust the geometry of the map during play. The classic metal soundtrack was replaced for a more ambient and eerie soundtrack, creating a unique atmosphere that would inspire future entries. Id did not allow the title to be calledDoom 3, as the name was being reserved for a potential return to the franchise after the development ofQuake.[15][16]
The troubled development ofQuake had resulted in major staffing changes at id by 2000, with a number of key figures from the development ofDoom having departed. This included the original designer John Romero, who was fired in 1996.[10] In the interim, the company had hired formerDoom modderTim Willits.[14] By 2000 a new non-Doom game was being designed, but id staff had a "lack of enthusiasm" for the project, and strongly desired to remake the originalDoom instead. John Carmack, among others, announced internally that they were working on aDoom game- and would continue to do so unless the company fired them. While Paul Steed was indeed fired, work on the game did continue.[17]
The title was unveiled later that year asDoom 3. The design of the title would be led by Willits.[18] Using the newid Tech 4 engine, numerous technical improvements were made over the classic series, allowing greater realism and interactivity. The game used voice acting and featured a greater focus on narrative than earlier titles. A demo of the game was shown at E3 2002 and was subsequently leaked online, well ahead of the 2004 release date. At the time, it was the firstDoom title in seven years, and helped renew interest in the franchise.[19] An expansion,Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil was released in 2005. Unlike the base game, the expansion was developed byNerve Software. A 2012BFG Edition featured both previous releases along with a new expansion entitledThe Lost Mission. A version ofDoom 3: BFG Edition calledDoom 3: VR Edition was released on March 29, 2021 for thePlayStation 4 VR andPlayStation 5 via backwards compatibility. It includes all of the content fromDoom 3: BFG Edition (the main campaign, Resurrection of Evil and The Lost Mission), except for multiplayer.
Doom 4 entered development in the mid 2000s alongsideRage, with the newDoom title initially planned as a rework ofDoom II. Hints were present in 2007 atQuakeCon, and the game was formally announced in 2008. Response to preview material was negative, with fans nicknaming the project "Call of Doom", after a perceived similarity to theCall of Duty franchise.Bethesda marketing vice president Pete Hines stated in retrospect that "it wasn'tDoom enough". AfterRage was not as successful as hoped, publisher ZeniMax requested a reboot ofDoom 4 and moved theRage staff over to the new project. This version was built usingRage's code base and suffered from disputes among staff, particularly among managers of the two projects.[20] The game was cancelled in 2013.John Carmack, one of the few remaining veterans from the development of the classic series still present at id, left the studio that November.[21]
The period saw the release of several spinoffs for mobile platforms. These includedDoom RPG (2005),Doom II RPG (2009), andDoom Resurrection (2009). Additionally, the 2010Xbox Live Arcade re-release ofDoom II featured a new expansion entitledNo Rest for the Living, which was developed by Nerve Software. This was structured in a similar manner to classicDoom chapters, with eight primary levels and one secret level. This release was packaged with theBFG Edition ofDoom 3 in 2012.[22][23]
After the 2013 scrapping of theDoom 4 project, Willits stated that the next game in theDoom series was still the team's focus.[24] Hugo Martin was hired as creative director that year and would go on to be a key figure in the revived franchise.[25] The game was announced simply asDoom in 2014. It was released to generally positive reception in 2016, with a glory kill mechanic and additional platforming manoeuvres among the main gameplay additions.[26] The game's multiplayer mode received three small downloadable content releases over the course of the first year, and all three were then released for free with the 6.66 update on July 19, 2017.[27]
The 2016 series was not originally described as a continuation or origin story of earlier games, however plot details in the sequelDoom Eternal and commentary from Martin would later describe it as a continuation of the classic series.[28][29] The 2020 re-release ofDoom 64 included an expansion entitledThe Lost Levels, intended "to connect 'old' Doom to 'new' Doom".[30]
A VR spinoff entitledDoom VFR was released in 2017 to generally positive reception, with reviewers discussing the movement controls in particular- which were well made albeit hidden behind menus.[clarification needed] The game features a single-player campaign, and reused enemies and other assets from the 2016 game.[31] The game would be the lastDoom title under Willits' leadership, ahead of his departure in 2019.[32] 2018 marked the 25th anniversary of the franchise, and saw the Doom Slayer included as a playable character in id Software'sQuake Champions. That year, John Romero announcedSigil, an unofficial "fifth episode" of the original 1993 game. The episode was released for free via Romero's website in 2019, with a paid version available that included a soundtrack by guitaristBuckethead.[33] WhileSigil was developed independently, Bethesda added the episode to the console ports ofDoom as a free patch in October, alongside the two chapters ofFinal Doom.[34][35]
The next main entry in the franchise,Doom Eternal, was directed by Hugo Martin and released in 2020.[36][37] The title sold very well, generating $450 million in revenue over the first year; double the launch revenue of the previous title. Some commentators cited the timing of the release, which coincided with awave of interest in gaming worldwide amid restrictions on social gathering during theCOVID-19 pandemic.[38][39] The game was made inid Tech 7, which afforded numerous technical improvements over theid Tech 6 engine used by its predecessor.[40] An expansion of the game,The Ancient Gods, was released in two parts, one in October 2020 and the other in March 2021.
Romero confirmed in August 2021 that a secondSigil expansion using theDoom II engine was in development.[41] In March 2022, he released a newDoom II level entitledOne Humanity. The proceeds from the level were donated ashumanitarian aid for Ukraine amid theRussian invasion.[42] The level was the first forDoom II designed by Romero since 1994, and raised 25,000 euros by March 7.[43] Romero releasedSigil II in 2023 and was critically acclaimed.[44] Like its predecessor, Id Software made the chapter freely available through the add-ons menu of the console ports ofDoom andDoom II.[45] A spin-off for mobile platforms Android and iOS,Mighty Doom, was developed byAlpha Dog Games and released in March 2023.[46] Microsoft announced that it was shutting down Alpha Dog in May 2024; this resulted in the discontinuation ofMighty Doom in August.[47]
In August 2024, id Software in collaboration withNightdive Studios andMachineGames releasedDoom + Doom II, a "definitive rerelease" of all the pre-Doom 64 games alongsideSigil and a new 2 episode expansion pack calledLegacy of Rust. The release features new enemies and weapons.[48]
In March 2021, Hugo Martin discussed some directions futureDoom titles could take, discussing time travel or a game set in the time span betweenDoom 64 andDoom (2016), when the Doom Slayer "first came to that place with the Sentinels, almost like a more medieval setting".[49][29] An internal ZeniMax presentation, dated to 2020 and released as part of theFTC v. Microsoft case in 2023, indicated that a game entitledDoom: Year Zero was in development at that time, with a projected release in FY2023.DLC for the title was also marked for 2023 and 2024. The document was produced prior toMicrosoft's acquisition of ZeniMax in 2021, but the game remained in production and was revealed at the2024 Xbox Games Showcase asDoom: The Dark Ages. The game is set to launch on May 15, 2025.[50][51]
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A set of four novels based onDoom were written byDafydd ab Hugh andBrad Linaweaver, and were published between June 1995 and January 1996 byPocket Books. The books, listed in order, are titledKnee Deep in the Dead,Hell on Earth,Infernal Sky andEndgame. The unnamed Marine is called "Flynn Taggart" or "Fly" in the novels. The first two books feature recognizable locations and situations from the first two games. Afilm novelization was released byPocket Star Books in 2005. It was adapted byJohn Shirley.
In 2008, a new series ofDoom novels byMatthew J. Costello, an author who had worked on the story and scripts forDoom 3 andResurrection of Evil, were published. The series of books aim tonovelize the story ofDoom 3, with the first installment,Doom 3: Worlds on Fire, published on February 26, 2008.[58] The second book in the series,Doom 3: Maelstrom, was released in March 2009.[59]
Richart Cobbett ofPC Gamer called the first installment of theDoom novels "the only one genuinely worth bothering with for the laughs", describing the other novels as largely unrelated sci-fi stories.[60]
A one-shot comic book written by Steve Behling and Michael Stewart with art byTom Grindberg was released in May 1996 byMarvel Comics as a giveaway for a video game convention[citation needed] and has gained acult following for its over-the-top dialogue. Phrases such as "rip and tear" and "huge guts" have since been referenced by laterDoom titles.
In 2004, a board game designed byKevin Wilson and published byFantasy Flight Games titledDoom: The Boardgame was released.[61]
In 2020,Critical Role published a fifth editionDungeons & Dragons module entitledDoom Eternal: Assault on Amaros Station. The game was written by Christopher Lockey andMatthew Mercer, and received a digital release via the Critical Role store on December 16, 2020.[62][63][64]
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In 2005,Universal Pictures released the first live-action film adaptation, titledDoom, which starredKarl Urban andDwayne Johnson.
In 2019, Universal released a second live-action film adaptationdirect-to-video, titledDoom: Annihilation starringAmy Manson.
| Game | GameRankings | Metacritic |
|---|---|---|
| Doom (1993) | (PC) 86.67%[65] (PS1) 84.00%[66] (iOS) 82.86%[67] (X360) 80.16%[68] (32X) 80.00%[69] (GBA) 79.87%[70] (JAG) 78.75%[71] (SNES) 54.05%[72] (SAT) 47.00%[73] | (iOS) 84[74] (X360) 82[75] (GBA) 81[76] |
| Doom II: Hell on Earth | (PC) 95.00%[77] (X360) 77.36%[78] (GBA) 76.64%[79] | (PC) 83[80] (X360) 77[81] (GBA) 77[82] |
| Final Doom | (PS1) 80.71%[83] (MAC) 60.00%[84] (PC) 56.00%[85] | |
| Doom 64 | (N64) 73.47%[86] | (XONE) 77[87] (PS4) 75[88] (Switch) 77[89] |
| Doom 3 | (Xbox) 87.63%[90] (PC) 86.63%[91] | (Xbox) 88[92] (PC) 87[93] |
| Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil | (PC) 79.52%[94] (Xbox) 78.02%[95] | (PC) 78[96] (Xbox) 77[97] |
| Doom RPG | (MOBI) 87.45%[98] | — |
| Doom Resurrection | (iOS) 86.43%[99] | (iOS) 79[100] |
| Doom II RPG | (MOBI) 80.00%[101] (iOS) 79.00%[102] | (iOS) 80[103] |
| Doom 3: BFG Edition | (PS3) 68.00%[104] (X360) 66.63%[105] (PC) 51.67%[106] | (PS3) 67[107] (X360) 67[108] (PC) 59[109] |
| Doom (2016) | (XONE) 89.04%[110] (PS4) 85.82%[111] (PC) 85.38%[112] | (XONE) 87[113] (PS4) 85[114] (PC) 85[115] (Switch) 79[116] |
| Doom Eternal | (XONE) 88[117] (PS4) 87[118] (PC) 88[119] (Switch) 81[120] | |
| Doom 3: BFG Edition | (PS4) 67[121] |
In 1996,Next Generation ranked the series as the 19th top game of all time, for how "despite the hundreds of copycat titles, no one has ever been able to equal id's original, pulsing classic."[122] In 1999,Next Generation listed theDoom series as number 25 on their "Top 50 Games of All Time," commenting that, "despite the graphic advances sinceDoom was released, the pixilated Barons of Hell and Cyber Demons still rank as some of the scariest things that can grace your screen."[123]
The series' unnamed protagonist, a marine, has had a mostly positive reception. In 2009,GameDaily included "the Marine" on its list of "ten game heroes who fail at the simple stuff" for his inability to look up and down in the original series.[124]UGO Networks ranked him fourth on its 2012 list of bestsilent protagonists in video games, noting his courage to continue in silence even when he faces Hell's army.[125] In 2013,Complex ranked Doomguy at number 16 on its list of the greatest soldiers in video games for being "the original video game space marine" and "one of the classic silent protagonists."[126] BothCraveOnline and VGRC ranked him the fifth most "badass" male character in the video game's history.[127][128]
The originalDoom sold 3.5 million physical copies[129] and 1.15 million shareware copies[130] from its 1993 release up through 1999.Doom II sold 1.55 million copies of all types in the United States during the same period,[130] with about a quarter of that number also sold in Europe,[131] a total of some 5-6 million sales for the original duology.Doom 3 sold 3.5 million copies along with many copies of the expansion packResurrection of Evil from its 2004 release up through 2007, making it the most successful game in the series at that point.[132] The sales ofDoom 64 were not disclosed.
The 2016 reboot sold over 2 million copies on the PC alone from its May 2016 release up to July 2017.[133]
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