Anyone who owned a computer in 1993 knows the kind of impact Doom had. It took the world by storm and quickly became known for pioneering the first-person shooter genre, paving the way for the games we have today. Even when the franchise was dormant for over a decade, it came back in full force in 2016.
This series is now unstoppable! But how did it all start? Most of the time, the backstory is more interesting than the actual game, and Doom is arguably no exception. This a franchise 27 years in the making and these are behind-the-scenes facts that even fans might not know.
10 Doom Was Once The Most Installed Software
Believe it or not, it was highly theorized that Doom was the most installed piece of software in 1995, more so than Windows 95 itself. The game's rising popularity had Bill Gates contemplating buying id Software until they came to an agreement to port Doom to their system to promote it as a gaming platform.
This even led to Microsoft running promotions of the game featuring Bill Gates, shotgun in hand, roaming through the Mars Research Facility. Who says you can't beat large corporations?
9 Dedicated Sound Design
When designing the sound for the new generation of Doom, id Software knew they had to go to great lengths to perfectly simulate splitting an Imp's head open. For example, developer David Chartier revealed that the glory kill of a Mancubus was achieved by slathering a steak with honey, stuffing it into a vuvuzela, and blowing it into a vat of cold soup.
A lot of thought went into getting the right sound down for each part of the 2016 game. The armor pickup required a large metal impact sound and the sound for the forcefield required a simple synthetic hum.
8 The Game Started Out As An Aliens Adaptation
Doom began as an adaptation of James Cameron's Aliens. This went so far that the developers entered negotiations with 20th Century Fox for the license. However, this idea was soon abandoned because id Software felt that basing the game on another property would impeach on their creativity.
The idea of a more science fiction setting was inspired by Aliens but that's the only influence id Software took from Hollywood movies. The chainsaw and super shotgun were influence by Ash's iconic weapons in Evil Dead. And finally, the idea to have the player go up against demons came from a round of Dungeons & Dragons the developers played, where demons burst through a portal and ended the game.
7 The Original Idea For Doom Was Much More Complex
The story is never the priority in a Doom game, which started as one lone man's battle for survival against hordes of demons. However, the original idea of the first Doom was much more in-depth. Tom Hall presented his idea in the form of a booklet called "The Doom Bible."
The set-up would be about the same, with demons attacking a facility on an alien planet, but there was an idea to have five different playable characters, each with detailed backstories and unique abilities. John Carmack immediately shot this idea down stating that "story in a game is like a story in a porn movie. It's expected to be there, but it's not that important." A lot of people would disagree with that point.
6 Doom's New Tone Comes From Old Action Movies
Remember when Doom was considered a game-changer for the horror genre? So, what happened in between Doom 3 and Doom 2016? Well, it is hardly surprising that Doom 3 has not aged particularly well, as the base version was overly dark, slow, and the scares become predictable really quickly.
When it came time to revamp the series, there was a decision made to switch to tone from horror to action. The developers took inspiration from The Last Boy Scout for its self-aware humor. The game's opening sequence that emphasizes Doom Slayer's strength was inspired by the surgery scene in Robocop.
5 A Weird Tribute
It's probably no secret that there are a lot of references to popular rock bands in Doom games. In Doom II, a song called "Bye Bye American Pie" has a sample of "Them Bones" by Alice In Chains, while "Shawn's Got a Shotgun" has a drumbeat from "South of Heaven" by Slayer.
One of the stranger references happens in Doom II's 21st level, Nirvana. In this level, a super shotgun can be found in the first sector. This is possibly a reference to Nirvana lead singer Kurt Cobain's suicide by shooting himself with a shotgun the same year Doom II was released. It's unknown if this was coincidental or not; nevertheless, it is still weird.
4 The Doom Name Was Inspired By Tom Cruise
Sometimes inspiration can come from the most unlikely of places. Lead programmer Carmack revealed that he actually came up with the idea of Doom's title from the Tom Cruise movie The Color of Money. There was a scene when Cruise's character is showing off his new custom cue case and, when a man asks what he's got in there, he simply replies "Doom."
As a cocky underdog fighting against the odds to dominate the gaming scene, Carmack related quite a bit to this movie's plot.
3 Modeled After Toys?
The Doom Slayer's arsenal is the stuff of legend. They're cool, brutal, and just downright awesome. Well, would it be surprising to learn that the early weapon designs were inspired by children's toys?
As the team was running on a tight budget, they couldn't afford real guns to model their designs after, so they made a trip to Toys R Us to purchase nerf guns and other toys. Obviously, the guns were reskinned from their original bright and colorful appearances to match the game's more dark and grimy tone.
2 Payback & Revenge
Remember that Easter egg of John Romero's head on a pike behind the Icon of Sin in the last level of Doom II? Well, nobody actually told Romero that they were doing that. Apparently, Romero was a nightmare to work with at times and, as payback, his team secretly put this secret in. But it doesn't end there.
When Romero discovered the prank, he wanted to one-up them instead of erasing it. So, when players first enter the Icon of Sin's domain, they can hear a demonic voice seemingly talking nonsense. This was actually Romero himself stating, "To win the game, you must kill me, John Romero!" He was hoping this would go unnoticed until the game's release but the team discovered it the next day. Each gave the team such as laugh that they kept both jokes in the final project.
1 Doom 4?
While Doom 2016 was praised for bringing the franchise back to its classic roots, that wasn't always the case. The original idea, dubbed Doom 4, stuck close to what a lot of modern shooters were doing: Cover fire, reloading, and teaming up with other brawny soldiers in the fight.
However, when John Carmack left id Software in 2013, a large wrench was thrown into the plans. There were creative differences as Carmack wanted to put more work on the uncompleted VR systems but ZeniMax wouldn't allow this while he was under contract.
When his contract ended, Carmack opted to not renew and moved to the Oculus Rift; meanwhile, id Software completely revamped their team with new talent. This led to the developer moving away from what other shooters were doing and going back to made the franchise so popular.