With the New Doom: The Dark Ages Now Available, What Better Time to Look Back on Some Crazy Facts about the Legendary DOOM Franchise
On December 10, 1993, an iconic video game graced those who played from the comfort of their MS-DOS-powered computers. That transformative experience is known as DOOM.
The blood and guts-filled crusade of an unnamed marine against the demons of Hell across the moons of Mars and their infamous place of origin is the stuff of legend. DOOM’s Hall of Fame status in gaming critics’ and fans' eyes is solidified forever. The series continues to deliver brand new entries well into the current generation of gaming—it’s been cool to watch the steady evolution of a franchise built on the simple act of gunning, punching, and chainsawing hordes of demons. And while those gory actions play out, heavy metal tunes go off in the background and get one’s blood pumping while players deliver justice as a one-man army. And now with the release of Doom: The Dark Ages, players are once again stepping into the blood-stained boots of the DOOM Slayer in a medieval war against Hell.
Along with a new entry, allow me to take you on a fun history lesson through DOOM as a franchise. The 10 facts I’m about to hit you with may shock some and not come as much of a surprise for hardcore loyalists. Nevertheless, these lesser-known truths provide extra insight into some of DOOM’s inspirations, what led to the game’s name being finalized, and more.
The development masterminds behind DOOM (id Software) didn’t initially set out to create the original first-person shooter that granted them so much acclaim. After completing work on the game Spear of Destiny, development began on a project meant to be a licensed game based on 1986’s Aliens. Aliens was one of Id Software’s most treasured science-fiction action films at the time, so it made sense for them to make a game featuring the movie’s “United States Colonial Marine Corps” and dreaded “Xenomorphs.” Negotiations with the movie’s original IP holder (20th Century Fox) began at some point, but the plans to create an Aliens game were abandoned in favor of id Software's favoring more creative freedom for their magnum opus.
John Carmack, one of DOOM’s famed programmers, provided some backstory for the reasoning behind why the game was given its legendary name. During an interview with the site called Doomworld, Carmack noted that DOOM owes its name to a scene from the 1986 movie featuring Tom Cruise called The Color of Money. The scene in question shows Cruise unveiling his signature pool cue case in the middle of a pool hall. Carmack detailed the dialogue shared in that scene and how it inspired the game’s name: “What do you have in there?’ asks someone. ‘Doom,’ replied Cruise with a cocky grin. That, and the resulting carnage, was how I viewed us springing the game on the industry.”
Anyone who’s ever played DOOM knows just how effective the chainsaw and shotgun are when it comes time to rip and tear all manner of demons. The look of the chainsaw was based on scans taken from a real chainsaw called the McCulloch Eager Beaver, which just so happened to be borrowed from game designer Tom Hall’s girlfriend at the time. The classic 1987 comedy horror film Evil Dead 2's front-facing hero is Ash Williams (played by Bruce Campbell), who vanquishes paranormal threats with his famed shotgun known as “The Boomstick.” Ash also wields a chainsaw that gets attached to his stump arm after his right hand succumbs to the effects of a demon infection. Both of Ash’s demon-busting weapons became a part of Doom Guy’s arsenal—that cinematic influence is easy to spot now that you know where it came from.
The original lineup of weapons players wielded in the original DOOM includes a pistol, the aforementioned shotgun, a chaingun, a rocket launcher, a plasma rifle, and the famed “BFG9000.” The game’s development team didn’t have the necessary funds to purchase real guns that could be used as props for modeling their in-game weapons after. The next best (and most importantly, cheaper!) option that helped the team remedy that issue was a trip to Toys“R”Us, which resulted in them buying Nerf guns and other toy guns. Those guns were reskinned to make their darker appearance fall more in line with DOOM’s gritty and gruesome tone.
DOOM’s immense popularity was unavoidable during the early to mid-’90s. So much so that it inspired Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates to superimpose himself into the game in 1995. That mindbending employee presentation showcased Gates gunning down a few demons with his shotgun before walking into view to speak on the importance of PC gaming, Windows 95, and DirectX. During that presentation, Gates uttered a line that still rings true—”PC really is the entertainment platform for the future."
DOOM looks like the playable equivalent of ’80s metal albums—the striking artwork splattered all over the vinyl covers for groups such as Iron Maiden, Dio, and Ozzy Osbourne wouldn’t look out of place as explorable levels in any DOOM series installment. Let’s stay in the metal and rock music lane here for this next fact. Bobby Prince, the composer of the first two games in the series, took inspiration from musical genre giants such as Black Sabbath, Alice in Chains, Pantera, and several more notable bands. Just take a listen to the iconic DOOM song “At Doom’s Gate” and compare it to Metallica’s “No Remorse” to hear how similar both of them sound. Check out the video posted above to listen to some of the clear musical inspirations DOOM’s composer vibed with while he created the first two games’ headbanger-worthy soundtracks.
As I mentioned in this article’s intro, DOOM made its playable debut on December 10, 1993. What’s interesting about that date is what happened on the day before it. Since the ’70s, video games have been acknowledged by worried parents and concerned politicians for their violent content. Fast forward to December 9, 1993, which saw representatives of the combined United States Senate Committees on Governmental Affairs and the Judiciary hold congressional hearings. These meetings were held with spokespeople from major gaming publishers (Nintendo and Sega, for instance) to acknowledge violence in video games and the negative influence they may have on younger players. It’s crazy to see how those hearings transpired the day before one of the most violent video games ever made became available to the public. I’m sure the politicians and gaming reps that convened for congressional hearings on March 4, 1994, had a lot to say about DOOM’s abundant blood and gore.
There’s a wide variety of licensed board games based on some of the biggest video games. The ones you won’t be shocked to hear about include board games dedicated to Starcraft, World of Warcraft, and Sid Meier's Civilization, since their strategic gameplay mechanics easily transition to the rules of a board game experience. The ones that may come as a shock for some are the ones that adopt the IPs of Donkey Kong Country, Street Fighter II, and Bloodborne. DOOM has also been given the board game treatment (TWO board games, in fact!). Fantasy Flight Games, one of the largest board game developers in the US, is responsible for two editions of Doom: The Boardgame. The first is an adaptation of 2004’s DOOM 3, while the second is themed after the 2016 DOOM reboot.
DOOM was created by a talented team of designers, programmers, artists, and one composer. One of those creators is John Romero, an award-winning gaming industry designer, programmer, and director. Alongside his work on classic FPS titles such as Wolfenstein 3D, the first two DOOM games, Hexen, and Quake, Romero is also credited for coming up with the term “deathmatch” for competitive multiplayer matches. Imagine how surprised DOOM fans were when Romero randomly tweeted out a link on January 15, 2016, to a new level he created for the first game!
The badass defender of humanity, lovingly referred to as “Doomguy,” originally went unnamed by the id Software team. This makes sense since being fully immersed as the character from a first-person viewpoint is a fitting explanation for that decision. Before the Doomguy moniker was solidified, the brawny space marine was given a name during his starring role in four officially licensed DOOM novels written by Dafydd ab Hugh and Brad Linaweaver. What was that name, you ask? Flynn "Fly" Taggart! While id Software has never confirmed that that is his official name, fans quickly became attached to it when those novels were released. If you can get your hands on the books Knee-Deep in the Dead, Hell on Earth, Infernal Sky, and Endgame, check them out so you can read up on the musings of Taggart during his hellish journeys.
Stay tuned for our first impressions of Doom: The Dark Ages dropping next week!
