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Monday 11 February, 2008
Summary: Make your way through monster-infested military bases in order to try and stop the invasion of hell and to make it home to earth.
Gameplay: Doom's gameplay is the first-person reincarnation of a twitch-based 2d fighter. Just like in a 2d fighter, the gameplay is fast, reactionary, and explosive. The player's fast movement speed, combined with the abundance of monsters in a level (especially on the higher dificulties) causes the player to always be moving in a fast, frenetic pace.
The object of doom is very simple: get to the end of the level and kill monsters in the process. If you do some research on the history of the creation of Doom, Tom Hall, the lead designer at id Software at the time, wanted to have a complex storyline, multiple player-characters, etc. John Carmack, the lead programmer, made the call to simplify the gameplay and make it more streamlined. I think the right decision was made.
Because Doom has relatively simple gameplay, it actually can become a game of emergence, at times. Although it is primarily a game of progression, (make it to the end of the level, find switch) monster fights always unfold differently each time. The simplicity of the combat system means that it is easy for the player to adapt to. What then changes is the way that a player might confront any given battle.
Even for a 1993 sprite based shooter, Doom has a pretty amazing atmosphere. The sector-based lighting allows for some truly scary areas. The player might be lulled into a dark room towards a key, only to trigger a monster teleportation. That constant "on-edge" feeling is something that is present throughout the game that really adds to the experience.
Visually, Doom is an interesting game. There is plenty of controversial satanic imagery present. Although it is there only for atmospheric reasons, it is easy to see how it has caused lots of controversy over the years. To the casual observer, there is little that is emphasized in this game more than killing, and to come across the disturbing images in this game would likely lead to a knee-jerk reaction by anyone who has not taken the time to understand the purpose of the gameplay.
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