The format of these posts is simple: let’s discuss a specific game or series!
Let’s discuss the DOOM series. What is your favorite entry? Are there any moments or mechanics that stand out to you? What aspects of the games do you like most? What are areas that could be improved or don’t work for you? Feel free to share any thoughts that come up, or react to other peoples comments. Let’s get the conversation going!
If you have any recommendations for games or series for the next post(s), please feel free to DM me or add it in a comment here (no guarantees of course).
Outlier in that my favorite was doom 1. Probably its second episode was my favorite, but they’re all good.
The graphics at the time were amazing. The skyboxes for some reason really made an impression on me. There’s like green mountains in the background of episode 1 I think. As a kid I used to think about exploring them.
The first time I beat the third episode without cheats, I finished off the spider mastermind with exactly 1% health left. Memorable as shit. (I think the game might do the thing where the last few percents of health count more, so it feels exciting when you just barely hang on. If so, it worked.)
I remember thinking my older cousin was so cool because he could clear all the levels without cheats.
Playing it now with mouse look and wasd it’s a much easier game, but back then as a child with keyboard only it was daunting.
Doom2’s level design had more confusing and frustrating parts for me. Also I didn’t get a copy of it until several years later, so it didn’t have the full magic of youth.
Doom 3 I don’t remember very well. I liked it but it didn’t have staying power.
I didn’t finish the new dooms. They’re fine but I never really clicked with them.
It’s one of the most important game franchises of all time and I’m really glad that I experienced the original when it was new (well, I was a bit late to it, but time moved slower then), and at a time when it had a formative effect on my life.
I was playing Doom 1/2 when I was 10-12 years old, at friends houses who had the right computer OS+specs to run it. I wouldn’t say it was solely responsible for setting me on the path towards other adjacent media like horror movies, metal/punk music, etc but it was definitely an important stepping stone along the way.
That said, I didn’t spend too much time with it compared to other games. I was never very good at it, preferring instead to watch my friends play since they’d had more practice time. Over time we gravitated towards newer games, and my time with Doom was over for a while. (I was disappointed by Doom 3’s gameplay, possibly exacerbated once again by my computer being underpowered for the technical requirements to enjoy it)
Fast forward to 2020 and we’re all in pandemic lockdown. So I fired up my ps4 and went looking for some “comfort games” to play - old stuff that I knew I’d enjoy and wouldn’t break the bank. Sure enough, I found a cheap Doom bundle: Doom 1, 2, 2016, and Eternal. We’re back, baby!
I ended up beating the original gen and their available Unity port WADs (e.g. BTSX) on Ultra Violence, beat 2016 and Eternal on Nightmare (no ultra nightmare for me, though I did put in some honest attempts). And Ultra Violence for the Eternal DLCs also. I still will pop on Eternal for some casual slaughter - I really love the dynamic combat.
Along the way I got interested in some Doomtubers as well- Zero Master to see, well, the master; but most importantly Decino who I still am playing catch-up with trying to get through all his content. My wife sees me watching his vids sometimes and “can’t believe you’re still watching Doom”.
The original DOOM game was the first game I played with a friend where our PCs were connected together. It was a riot, especially when wearing headphones and hearing growls from behind you. I know modern tech has improved exponentially and graphics are unbelievable. But at the end of the day, it’s the experience that counts. And experiencing a multiplayer game for the first time like that, hasn’t been beaten yet, for me.
Same here. My folks caved and bought a second phone line for computing, however it didn’t help. My friend & I would use the first phone line for voice communication :)
The phone pressed to my ear with my shoulder, yelling to my buddy while fighting off cacademons, such good times.
I enjoy the flow of the new Doom Eternal, once you get the hang of it you can keep an infinite supply of health and ammo that only runs out when everything’s dead - and you end up taking on much more than you thought possible.
However the jaw-dropping, frightening game that Doom was in 1993 will never be recaptured. Yes, scary games existed. Yes, 3D FPS existed. But nothing came close to Doom, it was a graphical marvel. I’d show it to friends, grandparents, anyone who’d look and they’d all either be amazed or reach for the bible. Their idea of video games was mario, Doom broke brains.
Doom 2 is what I played most. At the time, playing over a local BBS with my 28k modem (the fastest available!), I could see that network play was the future of gaming.
Doom 3 is my favorite one to play when there’s combat and its had some tweaks to the gunplay (like fixing the god-awful shotgun spread to be more normal, greatly reducing ammo amounts, and increasing armor effectiveness,) but if i want a really fun experience, I tend to do Doom 2, or Plutonia. The newer doom games don’t have enough mobs spawning in, and a lot of the levels just feel like combat arenas, (less so in Eternal) instead of places to explore. I think a lot of people overlook the exploration of the og doom games and 3. I liked how demons could roam the halls in Doom 1 and 2, and it really made the levels feel a bit more sandboxy imo. Not to say Doom 2016 and Doom Eternal are bad games, certainly not! It’s just a lot easier for me to sit down and play a few levels of doom 1 or 2 for 30 minutes or an hour, instead of getting invested in complex, more intense gameplay.
Doom 1 and 2 typically relieve stress, though can be challenging, while in doom 2016 and eternal, i feel overwhelmed sometimes and kinda have a bad time cuz I need to focus too much, constantly switching weapons and whatnot. Sometimes i just wanna mow down a horde of zombiemen and imps with a chaingun or ssg.
I loved Doom. But I remember playing Heretic a whole lot more. And even so, my favorite game on the engine is Strife.
I kinda want more shooters like Doom or rather the Build engine era games. But Doom’s design is still very much at the heart of those, they just have the nifty interactive things in the world like pool tables and toilets and such. I don’t like the linearity of most SP shooters these days. I want to be dropped into a labyrinth and have to fight my way out. I want to actually need a map because I got lost.
I love Doom but it’s better with the Brutal Doom mod. I won’t play more recent, gory, and visually realistic shooters, but BD is so cartoonish and over the top and pixelated, I love it. I wish I had the patience for longer games, but with old-school FPSs, I can play a few maps and be happy and do something else.
He knows that the mega-corporations are evil and that the world’s future is hopeless. He knows he isn’t going to save anyone.
But he keeps killing the demons, because it’s simply the right thing to do. It’s who he is. Why did he get sent to Mars in the first place? Because he spoke up about the injustices he witnessed in the Marines. And as every Marine knows, that’s the worst possible thing you could do for your career trajectory.
But doomguy doesn’t care. Because doomguy doesn’t believe in other Marines, in corporate bigwigs and other cultists, in the scientists naively working towards enslaving the galaxy, or in ignorami such as you or I. Doomguy has been liberated from the chains of hope.
Now he lives a simple path, following his own dharma: Doomguy sees fucked up shit, and he fucks it up.
A true role model for those seeking reason in a life bereft of hope. Doomguy teaches us how to find meaning in the process, rather than the outcome.
Flowers can grow even in the most barren desert, and a Zen master can arise among even the most despondent. The demons cannot bear one with such control over the elements of their own faith and despair. And so, generation after generation, they taught their spawn to fear the coming of doomguy: The one who would overcome the trappings of hope and ego to selflessly deliver justice against his masters.
Only one who would sacrifice it all could destroy it all - to pursue ruin as progress - and only one who truly spites the mortal coil can offer such a sacrifice. Doomguy is the best of us.
I think my favorite aspect(s) about DOOM is that all of the games are good, they are all worth playing, and they are all representative of the peak of 3D technology from their respective release eras.
Aside from that, every DOOM short of DOOM 3 satisfies my primal need to violently, quickly, adeptly slaughter demons (which has needed far more satisfaction in recent years for some odd reason). I recently finished a nightmare DOOM 2016 playthrough and loved every minute beginning to end, yet again. I’m now in the depths of a nightmare DOOM Eternal playthrough and I can’t get over how addicting the game is. You CANNOT beat the game without engaging with every single one of the combat mechanics, but it’s up to you, your skills, and your digital (read: finger) dexterity to determine when and how you do that. It’s nothing but flawless game design, gorgeous visuals, technical mastery, and some of the best instrumental heavy metal there is.
The original DOOM is very special to me as it helped me get out of a very dark time. I went to therapy and got a lot of support on various fronts, but still needed something to take my mind of the pain. Something about the pure and basic gameplay just clicked: the only thing I had to do was run and shoot. The maps were complex enough to keep my mind busy and I still remember it very fondly and am grateful to this day.
Also loved DOOM 2, quite liked 3, and am currently adoring 2016.
Doom 1 is the one that will always hold a place in my heart. The family PC back then only ran at 25MHz and Doom required 33 so my Dad would bring his work laptop home for me to play on. No headphones but it didn’t matter, it was such an impactful experience for me as a kid and I’ll always remember it fondly.
I got to meet Jon Romero a few years back too - they say you shouldn’t meet your heroes but he is definitely an exception. Super nice dude and he blocked out a full hour on his calendar to just chat with me.
I have a huge collection of Doom games and merch - I’m a big id fan and bigger Romero fan.
First thing people should do with an interest of the series is get a copy of Masters of Doom by David Kushner, absolutely brilliant read.
Next, subscribe to some awesome Doomtubers like Zero Master, Civvie11, decino, and Coincident. Zero Master’s stuff is generally commentary free but absolutely unbelievable, CV11’s stuff is hilarious, decino explains the mechanics very well, and Coincident puts it all together in one facerocketing package.
My only real claim to fame was writing the first FAQ for a Doom expansion, but it’s nice to have contributed back to the community.
I bought an Xbox 360 when I found out Doom was being re-released for it - I was already thinking about it when Alan Wake came out, but took a day off work and hooned Doom when it came out on the then-XBLA. I never really bothered with the Xbox One or Series S in the house either… until the Unity port came out. It’s a system seller for me.
It’s the game I’d take on a desert island with me - partly because the feel of the game is just perfect to me, but you’d never get bored with the endless WADS for them - particularly when you use limit-removing ports.
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Outlier in that my favorite was doom 1. Probably its second episode was my favorite, but they’re all good.
The graphics at the time were amazing. The skyboxes for some reason really made an impression on me. There’s like green mountains in the background of episode 1 I think. As a kid I used to think about exploring them.
The first time I beat the third episode without cheats, I finished off the spider mastermind with exactly 1% health left. Memorable as shit. (I think the game might do the thing where the last few percents of health count more, so it feels exciting when you just barely hang on. If so, it worked.)
I remember thinking my older cousin was so cool because he could clear all the levels without cheats.
Playing it now with mouse look and wasd it’s a much easier game, but back then as a child with keyboard only it was daunting.
Doom2’s level design had more confusing and frustrating parts for me. Also I didn’t get a copy of it until several years later, so it didn’t have the full magic of youth.
Doom 3 I don’t remember very well. I liked it but it didn’t have staying power.
I didn’t finish the new dooms. They’re fine but I never really clicked with them.
The skybox in E1 is from China FYI! E2 is from Zion National park. So if you really want to, you can explore them :)
A thread on DW with sources.
It’s one of the most important game franchises of all time and I’m really glad that I experienced the original when it was new (well, I was a bit late to it, but time moved slower then), and at a time when it had a formative effect on my life.
I was playing Doom 1/2 when I was 10-12 years old, at friends houses who had the right computer OS+specs to run it. I wouldn’t say it was solely responsible for setting me on the path towards other adjacent media like horror movies, metal/punk music, etc but it was definitely an important stepping stone along the way.
That said, I didn’t spend too much time with it compared to other games. I was never very good at it, preferring instead to watch my friends play since they’d had more practice time. Over time we gravitated towards newer games, and my time with Doom was over for a while. (I was disappointed by Doom 3’s gameplay, possibly exacerbated once again by my computer being underpowered for the technical requirements to enjoy it)
Fast forward to 2020 and we’re all in pandemic lockdown. So I fired up my ps4 and went looking for some “comfort games” to play - old stuff that I knew I’d enjoy and wouldn’t break the bank. Sure enough, I found a cheap Doom bundle: Doom 1, 2, 2016, and Eternal. We’re back, baby!
I ended up beating the original gen and their available Unity port WADs (e.g. BTSX) on Ultra Violence, beat 2016 and Eternal on Nightmare (no ultra nightmare for me, though I did put in some honest attempts). And Ultra Violence for the Eternal DLCs also. I still will pop on Eternal for some casual slaughter - I really love the dynamic combat.
Along the way I got interested in some Doomtubers as well- Zero Master to see, well, the master; but most importantly Decino who I still am playing catch-up with trying to get through all his content. My wife sees me watching his vids sometimes and “can’t believe you’re still watching Doom”.
So yea I’m a fan.
im going to say you are about 44.
is it ok to discuss other games in relation. doom, doom2, and xwing/tiefighter are at a special place for me.
Of course it is, everything related is fine ;).
The original DOOM game was the first game I played with a friend where our PCs were connected together. It was a riot, especially when wearing headphones and hearing growls from behind you. I know modern tech has improved exponentially and graphics are unbelievable. But at the end of the day, it’s the experience that counts. And experiencing a multiplayer game for the first time like that, hasn’t been beaten yet, for me.
Same here. My folks caved and bought a second phone line for computing, however it didn’t help. My friend & I would use the first phone line for voice communication :)
The phone pressed to my ear with my shoulder, yelling to my buddy while fighting off cacademons, such good times.
I enjoy the flow of the new Doom Eternal, once you get the hang of it you can keep an infinite supply of health and ammo that only runs out when everything’s dead - and you end up taking on much more than you thought possible.
However the jaw-dropping, frightening game that Doom was in 1993 will never be recaptured. Yes, scary games existed. Yes, 3D FPS existed. But nothing came close to Doom, it was a graphical marvel. I’d show it to friends, grandparents, anyone who’d look and they’d all either be amazed or reach for the bible. Their idea of video games was mario, Doom broke brains.
Doom 2 is what I played most. At the time, playing over a local BBS with my 28k modem (the fastest available!), I could see that network play was the future of gaming.
Doom 3 is my favorite one to play when there’s combat and its had some tweaks to the gunplay (like fixing the god-awful shotgun spread to be more normal, greatly reducing ammo amounts, and increasing armor effectiveness,) but if i want a really fun experience, I tend to do Doom 2, or Plutonia. The newer doom games don’t have enough mobs spawning in, and a lot of the levels just feel like combat arenas, (less so in Eternal) instead of places to explore. I think a lot of people overlook the exploration of the og doom games and 3. I liked how demons could roam the halls in Doom 1 and 2, and it really made the levels feel a bit more sandboxy imo. Not to say Doom 2016 and Doom Eternal are bad games, certainly not! It’s just a lot easier for me to sit down and play a few levels of doom 1 or 2 for 30 minutes or an hour, instead of getting invested in complex, more intense gameplay.
Doom 1 and 2 typically relieve stress, though can be challenging, while in doom 2016 and eternal, i feel overwhelmed sometimes and kinda have a bad time cuz I need to focus too much, constantly switching weapons and whatnot. Sometimes i just wanna mow down a horde of zombiemen and imps with a chaingun or ssg.
I loved Doom. But I remember playing Heretic a whole lot more. And even so, my favorite game on the engine is Strife.
I kinda want more shooters like Doom or rather the Build engine era games. But Doom’s design is still very much at the heart of those, they just have the nifty interactive things in the world like pool tables and toilets and such. I don’t like the linearity of most SP shooters these days. I want to be dropped into a labyrinth and have to fight my way out. I want to actually need a map because I got lost.
I love Doom but it’s better with the Brutal Doom mod. I won’t play more recent, gory, and visually realistic shooters, but BD is so cartoonish and over the top and pixelated, I love it. I wish I had the patience for longer games, but with old-school FPSs, I can play a few maps and be happy and do something else.
Doomguy is actually a post-doomer:
He knows that the mega-corporations are evil and that the world’s future is hopeless. He knows he isn’t going to save anyone.
But he keeps killing the demons, because it’s simply the right thing to do. It’s who he is. Why did he get sent to Mars in the first place? Because he spoke up about the injustices he witnessed in the Marines. And as every Marine knows, that’s the worst possible thing you could do for your career trajectory.
But doomguy doesn’t care. Because doomguy doesn’t believe in other Marines, in corporate bigwigs and other cultists, in the scientists naively working towards enslaving the galaxy, or in ignorami such as you or I. Doomguy has been liberated from the chains of hope.
Now he lives a simple path, following his own dharma: Doomguy sees fucked up shit, and he fucks it up.
A true role model for those seeking reason in a life bereft of hope. Doomguy teaches us how to find meaning in the process, rather than the outcome.
Flowers can grow even in the most barren desert, and a Zen master can arise among even the most despondent. The demons cannot bear one with such control over the elements of their own faith and despair. And so, generation after generation, they taught their spawn to fear the coming of doomguy: The one who would overcome the trappings of hope and ego to selflessly deliver justice against his masters.
Only one who would sacrifice it all could destroy it all - to pursue ruin as progress - and only one who truly spites the mortal coil can offer such a sacrifice. Doomguy is the best of us.
Wow yo have quite a poetic bone in your body! <3
Doom 1 was my first real PC game and will always be special, as will Doom 2.
I adore zdoom and the modding community.
Doom 2016 is hands down my favorite after multiple playthroughs. It just feels incredibly satisfying to play.
Never finished Doom Eternal. The changes to combat are too frustrating to me.
I think my favorite aspect(s) about DOOM is that all of the games are good, they are all worth playing, and they are all representative of the peak of 3D technology from their respective release eras.
Aside from that, every DOOM short of DOOM 3 satisfies my primal need to violently, quickly, adeptly slaughter demons (which has needed far more satisfaction in recent years for some odd reason). I recently finished a nightmare DOOM 2016 playthrough and loved every minute beginning to end, yet again. I’m now in the depths of a nightmare DOOM Eternal playthrough and I can’t get over how addicting the game is. You CANNOT beat the game without engaging with every single one of the combat mechanics, but it’s up to you, your skills, and your digital (read: finger) dexterity to determine when and how you do that. It’s nothing but flawless game design, gorgeous visuals, technical mastery, and some of the best instrumental heavy metal there is.
DOOM Eternal on Nightmare is so much fun. I filled all three saveslots with runs of it. And then the DLC came out, kicking it up another notch!
The original DOOM is very special to me as it helped me get out of a very dark time. I went to therapy and got a lot of support on various fronts, but still needed something to take my mind of the pain. Something about the pure and basic gameplay just clicked: the only thing I had to do was run and shoot. The maps were complex enough to keep my mind busy and I still remember it very fondly and am grateful to this day.
Also loved DOOM 2, quite liked 3, and am currently adoring 2016.
Doom 1 is the one that will always hold a place in my heart. The family PC back then only ran at 25MHz and Doom required 33 so my Dad would bring his work laptop home for me to play on. No headphones but it didn’t matter, it was such an impactful experience for me as a kid and I’ll always remember it fondly.
I got to meet Jon Romero a few years back too - they say you shouldn’t meet your heroes but he is definitely an exception. Super nice dude and he blocked out a full hour on his calendar to just chat with me.
deleted by creator
That’s where I met him ;)
Sorry for my super late reply to the thread…
I have a huge collection of Doom games and merch - I’m a big id fan and bigger Romero fan.
First thing people should do with an interest of the series is get a copy of Masters of Doom by David Kushner, absolutely brilliant read.
Next, subscribe to some awesome Doomtubers like Zero Master, Civvie11, decino, and Coincident. Zero Master’s stuff is generally commentary free but absolutely unbelievable, CV11’s stuff is hilarious, decino explains the mechanics very well, and Coincident puts it all together in one facerocketing package.
My only real claim to fame was writing the first FAQ for a Doom expansion, but it’s nice to have contributed back to the community.
I bought an Xbox 360 when I found out Doom was being re-released for it - I was already thinking about it when Alan Wake came out, but took a day off work and hooned Doom when it came out on the then-XBLA. I never really bothered with the Xbox One or Series S in the house either… until the Unity port came out. It’s a system seller for me.
It’s the game I’d take on a desert island with me - partly because the feel of the game is just perfect to me, but you’d never get bored with the endless WADS for them - particularly when you use limit-removing ports.
Outstanding game. 11/10 A+++++ would play again
Username checks out!