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Baker

What keeps you coming back to Doom?

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A tiny bit of background of myself. I first played Doom on the Super Nintendo, at the age of 3. It was absolutely terrifying to play, so I never really got into it. Then, around 2000, my family got their first computer, and I constantly fiddled around on it. Aside from messing with DOSbox I enjoyed playing a variety of video games. While at a local Goodwill, I found a copy of Doom for the pc, and immediately brought it home. After the first week of nightmares, I became a battle-hardened space marine who wouldn't even flinch at the sight of a pinky demon coming around the corner.

I'm 18 now, and even though years and game systems have passed, I still play Doom to this day. Sometimes I neglect my brand new, fancy-graphic games, because I still enjoy running through those same techbase hallways of Knee-Deep in the Dead, even though I know about every single secret area, and that there's a shotgun guy behind that door. What I'd like to ask, is what keeps you coming back to Doom? For me it's the nostalgic atmosphere, solid gameplay, kickass soundtrack, and of course, the LAN deathmatches with friends.

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Well, obviously. I enjoy the game very much too, but Doom is the only game that I've been playing since I first started gaming. I was wondering if it was like that for anyone else.

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I really really love the graphics and the engine (no room over room or slopes). Also the insane speed of Doomguy, the weapons and the fact that you can cram several thousands of monsters into humongous monstrous epic levels.

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Nowadays I play on either Zandronum or GZDoom, but vanilla Doom still reigns supreme in my heart.

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The game is simple, but full of possibilities, even with just the vanilla engine.

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Essentially everyone else has said, and also that there's no bullshit 5 hour loading times for each level.

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Doom is simply an awesome game that I'd still play even if there were no source ports to make it function or look better. The latest graphics and sound do not trump brilliant gameplay which is why I still play games as far back as the '80s arcade machines, the Commodore 64 and NES.

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I've never not had it on my home PC or laptop, so it's always there if I want it. Throw in the seemingly limitless number of levels online, easy-to-run ports (with lots of new features, in some cases) and it's a game for life. The fact that it's easy to make custom content for is also a giant help in keeping it fresh and interesting.

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Doom does everything right. The lighting cool, the angled walls and unrealistic environments are cool, the endless volumes of levels to explore are cool, there are easy monsters, deadly monsters, and fucking big monsters, there are tiny weapons, fun weapons, and fucking brutal weapons. There's easy skill levels, and nigh-impossible skill levels. The player character is obtuse enough to confide in yourself with, but at the same time demonstrates the personality of a cold blooded killer. You can work together with your friends as a team, or sit around and kill each other (or both!) It's such a simple game, but still allows the user to complicate things to their taste and share it with other users. It captures pretty much all I could ask for in a first person shooter. It's offensive to me that the fabulous and boundless level of fun in Doom aren't "video game law" in shooters these days.

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Blood and gore, ego-crushing encounters, melodrama - and that's just the forums. The game's even better.

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schmerr said:

It's easy to pick up and play. You got five minutes, you got enough time.


This definitely. "Can I play something quick? Portal 2? No. Counterstrike? No. Doom? Hells yes!"

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hex11 said:

The game is simple, but full of possibilities, even with just the vanilla engine.

Sums up my view.

Though honestly, I never played it very much until I got into the mapping scene. It's enhanced my appreciation of this beautiful game tenfold.

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Krispy said:

This definitely. "Can I play something quick? Portal 2? No. Counterstrike? No. Doom? Hells yes!"

Definitely. Sometimes I'll want to play an Xbox 360 game when I get home from work. Always make sure to turn it on before I start changing my clothes. It still won't be ready when I am.

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"Doom" has probably the most dedicated modding community out there, that's my main reason, since I rarely play the original maps anymore. Also, compared to its competition from the time (and even now), "Doom"'s balance of atmosphere, level design, engine capabilities, art style and audio design is tough to beat.

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I never left, either.

Started in 1995 on the Mac. Then I added a PC to play Quake, but of course, I played Doom as well. Then I added an Amiga, and when the Doom source was released, Amiga versions appeared within days. Thus, I've played Doom on all three of my computer platforms. The only other game I've played on those three platforms is Quake.

I almost never play the original levels, except for Knee Deep -- the ultimate classic -- which I play a few times a year. But I love playing pwads and I love creating levels in Doombuilder.

Funny thing, in all these years, I've never played deathmatch or co-op, and doubt I ever will. The basic game is all I need. I love the lighting, the textures, the atmosphere, the monsters, and most of all, the smooth controls. So damn slick and simple. I'm not immune to modern games with better graphics, but none of them, to me, is quite the blast that Doom is.

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Guest

Doom is like chess. There are simple rules regarding the 'moves' governing each enemy 'piece' (monsters) and your own pieces (weapons and movement abilities.) Very simple to learn, but like chess, this simplicity quickly blows out into a near infinite number of possible situations and scenarios. Add to this the fact that the 'board' itself (the levels) is not static, but is able to contribute to the flow of the game in a major way.

In short, this game is easy to learn, but hard to master.

And unlike other games, you don't have to relearn the rules whenever you load up a new game. Take Crysis3 or Far Cry 3. When I eventually play those, I will have to learn an entirely new skillset. I have to learn how the weapons handle, how the character moves, how the enemies react, how effective cover is, etc. I have to learn how far grenades can be thrown. Everything is done from first principles. But with Doom all these mechanics are utterly familiar. It is a powerful combination when you can play something you are really familiar with and yet still have so many new and unknown levels to apply that familiarity to.

And that is just the game itself. Throw in a community of like minded people, and the fact that you can design your own levels within the parameters provided by the game itself, and you have something totally unique among all games.

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