Doom 4, or simply Doom as its title shows, was announced this year at Quakecon. While the general public isn’t privy to any substantial information about the new Doom game, many attendees of Quakecon were given a sneak-peak at the upcoming title by id software. Filming was prohibited, and no screen-shots or game-play trailers have been released save one teaser trailer.
The wait between Doom II: Hell on Earth and Doom 3 was ten years, and so again is the wait between Doom 3 and Doom 4. The gaming industry in relation to technology and game-play innovation has demonstrated an unbelievable acceleration in design and development. It only took two years to make the leap from Doom and Doom II’s 2.5D graphics engine to Quakes full-blown realtime 3D engine. Now we are on the dawn of the idTECH 6 engine. To look back twenty years and see how quickly the gaming technology has evolved is stunning to say the least.
What I find fascinating is what game design mentality has held onto over the last twenty years.
Enter Doom, or Doom I, or as it is now known; Ultimate Doom, and enter System Shock. The year is 1993. Two studios are hard at work creating two of the most important games ever designed. id Software working on their follow-up to Wolfenstein 3D and Looking Glass Studios working on their follow-up to Ultima Underworld. Both companies looked at their previous bodies of work and looked forward to see what flawed their gems. John Carmack of id software felt it was the look and pace of Wolfenstein 3D that needed to be evolved. Doug Church at Looking Glass felt that Ultima Underworld’s conversation broke immersion with the “Simulation” and needed remedy.
The solution in the latter’s case was to remove conversation altogether, and tell a story through audio-logs you found throughout Citadel Station. Offering the player the chance to simply absorb the tone, narrative, and environment around them without being prompted every few seconds to make an almost completely cosmetic choice in relation to the overall experience. This practice would prove so effective that it has now become a staple feature in most contemporary games. Bioshock immediately spring to mind of most readers, and this is of no coincidence as Bioshock and Bioshock: Infinite were designed by Ken Levine who designed System Shocks Sequel System Shock 2
Meanwhile at id Software, Carmack worked away at improving his 3D engine, whilst John Romero designed maps, and Adrian Carmack designed the now instantly recognizable hell-spawn of Doom. The game was described by id as “The best game ever made” whilst people drooled in wait on the then very simple Internet.
Doom and System Shock were released in 1993 and 1994 respectively. But in the commercial field, Doom overshadowed System Shock dramatically, it also harmed System Shocks sales when a floppy disk version was released before the superior CD/ROM version which had voice acting. Although the reviews of System Shock were very praise worthy, it only recouped enough to keep Looking Glass afloat, but would ultimately result in a financial loss for the company. Doom went on to sell fabulously. id Software created their own market model; an episode of the game was released as shareware, whilst the following episodes would need to be purchased. It’s rumored that in the mid-ninety’s there were more copies of Doom installed on PCs than Microsoft Windows.
Doom would get a sequel in 1994, Doom II: Hell on Earth was more of the same with minor improvements. However Doom II: Hell on Earth wouldn’t be remembered for innovation, unlike System Shock. Most people got to experience System Shock after the Doom craze ended and the Origin mega-pack arrived on store shelves. People got to experience the terror of SHODAN’s actions on Citadel Station. Players would go through the game collecting audio-logs to learn what happened to the crew, find out security codes, and get vital clues required to solve the game. People got to experience the story in a new original way and with that; the industry took notice. Games like Martian Gothic, Thief II: The metal age, and of-course System Shock 2 used the same technique. Developers had now found a way to tell a story in their games with talented voice actors, without the difficult and expensive task of lip-syncing and trying to create realistic humans for the player to interact with. It eliminated the conversation problem that Doug Church felt hindered Ultima Underworld and its immersion.
In 2004 Doom 3 was released. Many long time fans of the franchise were rather surprised to find that the quick pace and action of the previous installments was gone. The biggest surprise for most players was the Doom 3 had something that its predecessors didn’t: A story.
id Software crafted a world that wasn’t level based like the originals, but a more fluid transition around the UAC complex like System Shock. The game was filled with audio-logs that contained clues, codes, and drama. It seems that on a fundamental design level, Doom 3 did everything that System Shock did instead of Doom back in 1994. Yet Doom 3 was a commercial success, but many long time fans objected to the changes made to the ‘formula’ of their beloved games.
The good news for fans of Doom is that the upcoming release promises to be more in trend with the original two games, and the good news for the fans of System Shock is that the game has a portable release, the sequel is back on sale DRM free, and it’s gameplay design mentality is still prominent today with Bioshock, Dead Space, and to a certain extent the Bethesda library of games.
