How you discovered the Doom series? / Your first time playing Doom?

[EndHack]

My earliest memory might have been, trying to find the exit on The Focus, using the noclip cheat code, my dad had shown me, and failing miserably. Or maybe it was me wondering why we only had doom 1 2 and 95 and none in between.

[Hellbent]

My first impressions of Doom was that it was way too dark and grungy and visually inferior to the bright, vibrant colors of Wolf3D. Once I sorted out Gamma correction, saw that former humans could fall down stairs, and wrapped my hands around the rocket launcher, I couldn't get enough!

Edited November 28, 2021 by Hellbent

[Captain Ventris]

I was five years old, and Mom brought home a box of Chex Cereal that came with a game inside! My brother and I were glued to the computer from that day forward. I still regularly replay Chex Quest 3 for the memories. I got into Doom itself only years later.

[Maximum Matt]

I also got into Doom from the SNES version when I was 12 or 13, rented that bad boy out so many times I should've just bought it - I can't remember if I beat it, I believe there was no save system and if you died you had to pistol-start the same level (is that right?? Does anyone remember?)

Then we got our first PC (1.19 GB of RAM!! "A gigabyte is waaay bigger than a megabyte!!") and we got Ultimate Doom from a friend (back when you could do that), and immediately appreciated the step-up in general quality (smoother, faster, textured floors and ceilings, monster infighting etc) and thinking that we had a rare "collector's edition" because of the forth episode (which, by the way, was the one that gave me the most nightmares, for obvious reasons).  I printed out a list of all the secret areas, and trying to 100% a level instead of simply surviving it made it feel like a different game (I was fascinated by the sequence of secrets in E1M3 in particular).  

And I got to mention what a massive step-up from Wolfenstein it felt, as well.  The lighting, the size and shapes of the levels and the colors - the cliché is everything going from black and white to color in that scene in The Wizard Of Oz.  The level of realism was mind-blowing 

[Nefelibeta]

I only started playing doom 2 or 3 years ago. I remember myself save-scumming after taking every fireball or rev missles, constantly getting lost, and getting scared the shit out by archies. Not long after I played TNT, not plutonia first, because someone told my that TNT is easier than plutonia(who said that!!?) and eventually ragequitted after hitting Map20 or Map21 because I really couldn't find the walls which were opened by fricking switches I pressed 5 mins ago. Then I got into plutonia after I finally figured out how to get prboom+ to work.

[SMG_Man]

My earliest memories of the game are playing Doom 2 and Quake 2 after going with my dad and brother to the playground. Tricks and Traps and Tenements stick out in particular, getting lost in those levels. Also constantly wondering what exactly could be in The Shores of Hell and Inferno, since we only had the shareware version of Doom 1.

 

The experience was very different from playing it nowadays for two major reasons (besides sourceport stuff) - 1. we always played using Keyboard only, no mouse, and 2. the music didn't play on our soundcard. It's an entirely different experience without bobby prince's tunes going in the background and all you hear are Imps and Demons lurking around.

[MegaZzZeux]

Circa 94/95ish. My brothers wanted to know if I wanted to help rent Doom on SNES, and all they really played were RPGs, and I assumed Doom was... so I threw a fit, took a nap, woke up to see my brother playing E1M1 in the zigzag room and my life was never the same since.

[rzh]

This is going to be a long post. When I was about 2-3 years old, I received a bunch of burned CD-ROMs with games on them (Eastern Europe and it's lax piracy laws + demand that exceeded supply + low incomes compared to high-priced imported luxury goods led to this phenomenon, I didn't even know you could buy games until I was about 7-8 years old). I remember some of them, but not all. I distinctly remember my favourites however: Heretic, Hexen and Descent (I also played Duke Nukem 3D and Virtua Cop at kindergarten but this story isn't about that).

 

Since I was just a child, I couldn't get to all of the keys, so my mom played them with me, I controlled shooting and items and she controlled movement or vice-versa.

Anyways, I finished the original Heretic (without the expansion), I messed up in Shadow Wood in Hexen (we only used one save slot, and after weeks of finishing the first hub as the Cleric - my favourite character - I accidentally saved over our slot while falling into the lava while trying to find the entrance to the Wastelands) and I don't remember much of Descent apart from the Drones and the first few levels.

 

I used to have custom names for some of the enemies as well, so Gargoyles were Imps, Golems were Mummies, Undead Warriors were Vikings, Disciples of D'Sparil were Warlocks and Iron Liches were Evil Skulls. I also remember believing that Sabreclaws were made of metal and I never understood why Liches didn't have a body. They also gave me nightmares (same with Hexen's Stalkers, while I never actually fought them, I always waited until the Cleric demo finished, which ended with him getting killed by Stalkers, before starting the game).

 

I do remember something that vaguely resembles Heretic's E5M5 but I'm not sure were that memory came from.

Anyways, years passed and I forgot the games, so when I was around 12 I suddenly remember them and started tracking them down. I found Heretic and Hexen instantly since I remembered their names, but I only stumbled across Descent when I was around 16-17.

So I found a package on The Pirate Bay of something called "GZDoom package (Doom + Heretic + Hexen + Strife)" or something along those lines, so I downloaded it.

 

I never heard of Doom or Strife and at the time I didn't quite understand why they were all bundled together or why they were all run through GZDoom. I remember that package also had a bunch of custom wads, but apart from Action Doom 2 (which I played and loved, even though it scared me sometimes - the Serial Killer path) and something called doom3.wad IIRC (which had a smiley face as a custom statusbar face) I honestly don't remember any others.

 

And yeah, that's when I discovered Doom, and ever since I always tried to keep it installed alongside Heretic and Hexen, when my computer broke I installed them on my dad's computer, then on the tablet that he gave me, and eventually I grew up and bought them all on Steam, and then on GOG.

[spd7693]

I first played Doom in 1998. It was TNT Evilution and it took such a while to figure out the weapons. The PC anyways came with the game already installed. 

[holaareola]

My earliest memory is playing it on my dad's computer, probably under 9 years old. I'd already become completely entranced with the first-person perspective after playing Wolfenstein 3D at my uncle's a while earlier, so Doom was utterly compelling. I remember finding the E1 sky so beautiful and mysterious and being amazed at how realistic everything looked. Seems strange now -- obviously there're lots of photograph-sourced images in Doom that are realistic in themselves, but as a whole it's such a punk mashup of styles and fidelities. I also remember really wanting to get out to that sky from the armour pillar.

 

Anyway, I was soon so hooked I'd sometimes stay awake in my bed, wait for everyone to go to sleep before stealing downstairs to the living room to play it. Once my dad had a sound card I remember quitting the large strobing section in E1M2 on one of those illicit doomings because it was too scary alone in the dark living room.

 

Sorry @Hellbent, hardly any-one else obeyed your OP rules either!

[gurtb8tin]

I'm pretty new to Doom (started playing early 2021) and I remember beating the first episode in Doom and it felt really great. When I once decided to give E2 a go, I blazed through the first three levels and then came Deimos Lab. That level is my favorite level in the Ultimate Doom. Mainly because it gives such an eerie and a creepy atmosphere you don't see everyday. The blue and red rooms are the landmarks that have stuck with my mind ever since I first played it. 

[UnclePhil]

When I was like 7 (circa 1993) my dad had some shareware packs that included the first episode of Doom. My mom forbade it to be played and my dad showed it to me anyway, I remember watching to halfway thru e1m3 and my mom came in the room, my dad failed to quit fast enough (hit Esc and used DownArrow to try to get down to Quit, definite noob move) and we got subjected to a hysterical mom chimp-freakout about WAAAH MY SON IS GROWING UP IN VIOLENCE

[Hellbent]

4 hours ago, holaareola said:

My earliest memory is playing it on my dad's computer, probably under 9 years old. I'd already become completely entranced with the first-person perspective after playing Wolfenstein 3D at my uncle's a while earlier, so Doom was utterly compelling. I remember finding the E1 sky so beautiful and mysterious and being amazed at how realistic everything looked. Seems strange now -- obviously there're lots of photograph-sourced images in Doom that are realistic in themselves, but as a whole it's such a punk mashup of styles and fidelities. I also remember really wanting to get out to that sky from the armour pillar.

 

Anyway, I was soon so hooked I'd sometimes stay awake in my bed, wait for everyone to go to sleep before stealing downstairs to the living room to play it. Once my dad had a sound card I remember quitting the large strobing section in E1M2 on one of those illicit doomings because it was too scary alone in the dark living room.

 

Sorry @Hellbent, hardly any-one else obeyed your OP rules either!

Hah, I didn't even notice. I was going to say, though: I spent a fair bit of time trying to jump out of the window of the e1m1 green armor room for the same reason, Ir really wanted to get closer to those mountains!

[pcorf]

Doom SNES

E3M1 Hell Keep

After struggling to fight of the Imps in the opening courtyard I was greeted by two smiling Cacodemons who destroyed me in a flash. And not to mention the Mouth for War remix.

[PlumFun]

Hiya!

 

Coming over to visit my girlfriend after work (I got off work at 12 midnight; so it was late). This was at her parents place (this was 1993). I walked in, walked down to where I heard her playing a video game on her/her brothers DX2/66 and slowly opened the door.

 

I remember seeing her shooting demons, and her looking all sexy (I mean, 19 year old, big breasted, pale skin, green eyed redhead wearing nothing but a thigh-length sleeping shirt...playing DOOM? C'mon....!). I thought "Ok, this chick's a keeper". I watched her play for a good half hour... I watched as she encountered the Spider Mastermind, killed it, then stepped into the portal. And "died", ending up in hell. ... ... "Cool!" both her and I agreed. She went to bed and I started my first game, E1M1.

 

(PS: Yes, I did keep her. We married in 2009 and only parted ways due to the technicality of the "...till death do us part" legalese in 2017. :( God I miss that woman! And yeah, it's all her fault I got into DOOM! :) Thanks Chiqueepoo! :) ).

 

^_^

 

Paul L. Ming

[RevenantFTS97]

I remember when I was little (5 or 6 years old) there were two CDs in my house: one orange and one green. Most likely these CDs contained the demo version of several games, and that is how I got introduced to classic FPS games such as: Heretic, Duke Nukem 3D and Descent. Don't have memories from DOOM or Wolfenstein 3D from those early days. However, in one picture from the family album someone's playing Wolfenstein 3D.

 

Later in 2010, while browsing through flash game sites, one of the suggestions was DOOM. The thumbnail caught my attention because you could tell the graphics had a different vibe than the average flash game. I clicked on it, and then... I had my first experience with DOOM and its iconic EPISODE 1 ;)

 

It is worth to mention, that the flash version of DOOM lacks music. Therefore, playing without music hits different. In addition since I was new to DOOM, hearing the monsters roars nearby it felt fairly intimidating

 

In 2011, I got both DOOM 1 and 2 and played them on ZDoom (had 0 knowledge about sourceports) and I had the pleasure to hear its music for the 1ST time! I used to enjoy a E1M2 song (The Imp's song) because its catchy Slap Bass ;)

[TheMightyWhoosh]

Doom Shareware in 1993/94. I remember being captivated by the Soulsphere in the window in E1M3 and felt on top of the world when I finally discovered how to collect it! 

[MemeMind]

Earliest moment with doom was watching a review of Doom 2016 because I was bored.

 

Lets just say if I had watched something else I wouldn't be here. 

[Ragu]

I remember reading the early previews in computer magazines, seeing the picture of the marines playing poker, and excitedly telling my dad how there would be bullet holes in walls! And spent bullets on the floor! Of course, that stuff didn't make it in and I couldn't help but be a little bit disappointed about that when it did finally come out.

[Hellbent]

6 hours ago, TheMightyWhoosh said:

Doom Shareware in 1993/94. I remember being captivated by the Soulsphere in the window in E1M3 and felt on top of the world when I finally discovered how to collect it! 

Yes!! There was something about that Soul Sphere taunting you that was so captivating. Was a long time before I figured it out, though (which made it all the more awesome when I got it).

 

@RaguThere were disagreements among the game's designers about the direction the game should go. What you describe would likely be Tom Hall's influence--but he lost out to the more abstract take on the game that the team leaders pushed for that we know today. Masters of Doom is an excellent book that details the fascinating story behind the making of Doom.

Edited November 29, 2021 by Hellbent : wording

[ZeroTheEro]

Back in 1995, my family got our first computer. Included were shareware discs, one had Doom on the cover, and the other is Rise of the Triad. (the discs were labeled Zodiac or something, it had a short video of asteroids banging into each other)

 

Our Pentium PC did come with a soundcard, but for some reason I never could configure the music and SFX to run right, so I was stuck hearing PC speaker noises to the point that I could remember the beeps and boops as the game runs the demos. I can even remember how the action goes, and because of that I could pinpoint the version on the disc as v1.666 these days. Playing the game back then as a kid scared me, I remember reaching the end of E1M3 on HMP and not proceeding any further.

[Okej5722]

Played the game via DOSBOX back in 2010. My life has never been the same since.

[SleepyVelvet]

'Sitting on dad's lap in the 90's when I was 4 yrs old, showed me how to boot up the IBM machine and launch Doom2.  'Taught me iddqd:  I would just vibe through the levels and do a whole playthrough every other day for a while.

I remember Suburbs as the spooky-scary map; Chasm as that cool map that I loved which everyone will totally like years from now.

 

There was also this shovelware disc called "Demon Gate", which i swear had this holy-grail of a "MyHouse" map on it, but I've never been able to find it since.

 

I could get into other memories but I'll go with this one cuz it's cute.

[Senor Cacodemon]

Hey you, yeah you. I came to ask you what is your earliest Doom Experience was. Is it on a good'ol dos computer in 93, Or maybe in this year here 2021. If you're wondering, I'm an ultimate zoomer so my earliest doom experience is actually playing doom 2016 near the end of 2020. Yeah yeah, a 12 year old zoomer plays doom but what can I say its a treasure trove of fun. Oh well I've been making this alot about me so now you can tell me how you first experienced doom. I can't wait to here your stories and stuff.

[SleepyVelvet]

47 minutes ago, NoisyVelvet said:

'Sitting on dad's lap in the 90's when I was 4 yrs old, showed me how to boot up the IBM machine and launch Doom2.  'Taught me iddqd:  I would just vibe through the levels and do a whole playthrough every other day for a while.

I remember Suburbs as the spooky-scary map; Chasm as that cool map that I loved which everyone will totally like years from now.

 

There was also this shovelware disc called "Demon Gate", which i swear had this holy-grail of a "MyHouse" map on it, but I've never been able to find it since.

 

I could get into other memories but I'll go with this one cuz it's cute.

crosspost from a similar thread.  Not sure if there's a big enough distinction between "early impressions of" and "first" doom experiences but here ya go.

[Ragu]

7 hours ago, Hellbent said:

Yes!! There was something about that Soul Sphere taunting you that was so captivating. Was a long time before I figured it out, though (which made it all the more awesome when I got it).

 

@RaguThere were disagreements among the game's designers about the direction the game should go. What you describe would likely be Tom Hall's influence--but he lost out to the more abstract take on the game that the team leaders pushed for that we know today. Masters of Doom is an excellent book that details the fascinating story behind the making of Doom.

 

Yeah, I know about Tom Hall and the Doom Bible and all that now. Obviously it didn't stop me from enjoying the game, though I do also remember when source ports starting coming around and Doom Legacy had bullet hole, blood, and scorchmark wall decals, I was like FINALLY. Now I'm back to playing on the software renderer in dsda-doom so I guess that stuff didn't wind up being all that important to me in the end?

 

I do enjoy a good GZDoom gore mod once in a while, though. As a treat.

[Rudolph]

Back when Doom 3 came out, I was quite insecure about myself and felt like downplaying its strengths and making fun of its commonly-criticized aspects. At the same time, I suddenly felt the urge to check out the original Doom and see how different it was from its (at the time) latest incarnation. For whatever reason, I did not think of getting the shareware and instead I went with the SNES port. I remember enjoying it and also weirdly making up some head canon as I was playing, i.e. you being the last survivor of some alien sickness that drove everyone else either mad or made them mutate; I think it was because of the way Doomguy's face looks like when he is injured and also because I was on E1M3 and "Dark Halls" was playing.

 

I do not remember getting to the end of SNES Doom nor when I actually purchased Doom on PC, however. Heck, I could not even tell you when I became a die-hard fan of Classic Doom. I do recall seeing the Final Doom box on a shelf at Staples. In hindsight, I wish I had purchased it or asked someone to purchase it for me...

[Soulless]

It was around 98 when I got Depths of Doom Trilogy. Still Windows 95, pentium II probably.

I miss that giant box, got lost through all these years, still have the cds and the manual though.

 

Spoiler

 

[BaileyTW]

My first experience with Doom was the SNES port of Doom in July of 2020. Was looking at snes games to emulate and when I saw there was a fucking SNES port I had to try it. Quickly beat it even on nightmare (which does not have respawning monsters) and soon after I acquired the wads for Doom and Doom 2. SNES doom is a funky port but i think it is good for what it is and for me SNES Doom's version of the midis are the original for me.

[SiMpLeToNiUm]

Being scared to death of PSX Doom once I discovered my "newfangled" PS2 had backwards compatibility with the PS1 disc we had lying around.