How have your opinion & feelings changed about Doom?

[Katamori]

Playing Doom back in the days: old, weak computers, everything was so pixelish and new, you looked for secrets all the time, you'd never know, when did you find all of them, LAN-parties, you may even get Doom through dozens of Floppy disks (idunno, I'm too young), you thought that a game can't be ever better or nicer, you scared at every corner, etc.

Playing Doom nowadays: DosBox to Windows 7, GZDoom, PrBoom+, thousands of new levels, IWAD levels are not obstacles for you anymore, you are able to download pwads when you just want, 3 complete engines to support multiplayer gaming, special effects, Doom is today a classic and retro and things like that, you don't scare anymore, etc.


Can you feel the same nowadays while playing Doom that you felt first time/second time/at the first 3857860150 times?

Honestly, I can't. I know "too much" about Doom. But I still love playing it of course.

[scifista42]

I remember playing Doom 2 in coop with my father via a serial cable when I was really young. For some reason saves didn't work, and we never played more than an hour at one go, so we rarely got further than to MAP06. We also had a prearranged strategy who and when will get which weapon, kill which monster etc., I hope you understand.

We were playing this way since my very first memories, and that's why I feel I've always known the first six levels perfectly (I haven't :/ ). However, there were still areas I never visited, mostly in MAP05 and MAP06, I either was afraid to go there or couldn't deal with what was lurking there. With rather slow framerate, I had problems with killing revenants, although I knew how to run and straferun.

In singleplayer, I also rarely got further than to MAP09.

What I want to say by this all is that I liked the game, and liked even replaying the same levels again and again, while keeping being afraid to explore new locations without my father. And also, I always have had SHOCKS from enemies behind a corner, especially pinkies, even the poor pinkies! These shocks influenced me so much that up to now, I cannot stand ZDoom stealth monsters and preferably disable them while playing wads.

I came back to playing Doom much later again. Nowadays I'm just an averagely skilled (I mean, no "pro-doomer") player who downloads and plays dozens of mods, who beaten IWADS with ease and cannot understand how unskilled player he used to be, who creates his own maps, who sometimes play internet multiplayer (but not very often recently) and so on, what belongs to this present-day community.

If my feelings have changed? Yes. A lot, as you can think out from my rather chaotic article. But, like Katamori, I still enjoy the game.

Well... That's about it.

[scalliano]

During Doom's prime I was a console player, as PC's were just too damn expensive back in the day. I first had the 32x version, which did the job, but my passion for the game didn't kick in until I got my hands on the PSX version, whereby it became my go-to game when I couldn't think of anything else to stick on.

TBH I play more Doom nowadays than I did back then, thanks to the near-infinite possibilities of levels, gameplay tweaks and full-on TC's. I'd say it has improved over time, as has my ability to play it. I nearly died of fright the first time I encountered the Cyberdemon, but now it's a case of "c'mere I want ye >:D" followed by my promptly running rings around the poor sod. I'm no master player, either.

[Phml]

I like Doom better now than I did then. I used to have severe myopia and a general inability to distinguish fine details, so the original resolution was simply unplayable; I didn't truly get into the game before Doom95, and everything still seemed blurry.

I played on ITYTD most of the time, and with IDDQD and IDKFA more often than not. I just ran Doom E1 over and over, and rarely ventured in the other episodes or Doom 2 levels. At the time, much of the appeal was atmosphere, and while E1 always felt cohesive and complete, the other episodes and D2 seemed like a collection of random levels to me.

Can't say I miss that time. I had fun, but I'm enjoying the game even more now. In an odd twist, if it weren't for source ports and mods I would have never learned to appreciate the original Doom design.

[BaronOfStuff]

It's a strange one for me, because I was addicted from the start (Shareware '93), and have only recently looked back on how my habits changed.

Obviously, it was PC antics all the way until the release of PSX Doom in 1995 (although I got it a bit later), in which case I always toddled off to my PlayStation for my daily fix of blasting Hellspawn into mush and paste. Despite being spoiled by LAN parties in my early years, there was something about PSX Doom's co-op that really appealed to me; not least, the sensible change that removed weapons intended for DM from Co-op games -- now we REALLY had to co-operate, compared to the PC version and it's "lol get DM gun an kil shit wiv us" feeling.

Obviously, the PSX co-op option became less feasible over time and I eventually got back into multiplayer PC Doom -- although I never really stopped playing in SP, the source release resulted in a new breath of life into my MP antics; LAN parties continued with ease thanks to ZDoom and Legacy, and eventually I managed to stumble across ST -- I have never really looked back since.

Now of course I'll never be able to relive my early experiences -- 486DX2 66MHz with no soundcard -- but Doom (for me) has evolved so far beyond that to the point which in all honesty, I really don't care. Blasphemous as it may seem, I welcome these new features for the engine: in particular the bugfixes. I don't use jump/crouch/freelook in Ye Olde Classic mapsets (unless playing ST, in which case fuck it), but I can say without a doubt that over the years, Doom has become more fun for me.

Spare time? Doom.
A lot of free time? Doom.
Bored? Doom.

It's a perfect space-filler, along with C&C/RA. I'll never feel the same tension or dread as I did in E1M4 as a young kid, but I'll always have that urge to press on and murder the demonic hordes for interrupting my fucking microwave dinner.

[40oz]

I think we've all gone through (or are still going through) phases where we try to relive "the good old days" in our Doom experiences. We do this by playing Chocolate Doom or Doom95. We turn off mouse looking and revert to our original keyboard controls. We play Doom in 320x200 resolution and use OPL emulation instead of Microsoft GS Wavetable midis. Some people have gone as far as installing Windows 95 or using a 486 to play Doom.

In my experience, making maps for DTWiD really helped me see through the eyes of player who is experiencing Doom for the first time. It also helps to encourage people who have never played Doom to try it, so you can observe the things that excite them, like finding their first secret, or killing their first cacodemon. But it's still inevitable that once you know to much about the game, it's hard to get excited about the standard gameplay of it. Still yet the "Things about Doom you just found out" thread is growing, with very few posts of stuff I already knew. I tend to not frequent that thread in hopes that I will find those things out on my own.

[Kontra Kommando]

My first time playing doom I feel could not be recaptured today. It was actually the first FPS I've ever played/knew about. At the time, I was mostly taken back by the first-person perspective, until that point, I only knew games from a side-scroller or aerial view. It was also the only game I knew at the time to have satanic imagery.

I remember debating with my uncle that Mortal Kombat (1992) was the most extreme game around, then he showed me Doom.

[Suitepee]

I can't really remember my first time playing Doom to be honest on Doom95. I probably enjoyed the heck out of it though!

All I know is that I never get tired of playing Doom when I get stuck in due to the sheer amount of wads and gameplay directions that the engine can seemingly take. I've always been impressed with the diversity and interesting level creations that the Doom community seems to produce.

The thing is....admittingly I've never really played all that many Doom wads, except for those I used to play on ZDaemon in years past. Hence I'm beginning to actually seriously start playing some of the great Doom wads that the community has produced, and see for myself what interesting single-player directions that Doom can be taken in.

My feelings have never really changed about Doom as time goes on.
I still consider it to be the best game ever made, largely in part due to the thriving community that has kept it alive even after all these years. And also because of the fast-paced action and simple gameplay.

And heck, Doom even caters for my love of horror games!

[Snakes]

My opinions and feelings about Doom have changed very little since I first joined the community and started creating WADs. The only way it's changed is that it doesn't quite excite me the way it used to. Being incredibly raw, one experiences a lot of revelations in the first months of creating and playing new maps in terms of just how deep this game is capable of being. This doesn't happen to me very often anymore. It's been a long time since a wad has floored me or evoked some sort of emotional response... That was probably back in 2010.

That being, I did manage to duplicate my feeling of playing the game for this first time last year. I stumbled across my original copy Doom II while clearing out some storage space. When I came across the silver bars in Map02, I got inexplicably excited. This is probably because it was the first time I'd played the same IWAD that I played all those years ago.

Every so often, there'll come a wad that blows my mind, but I've yet to find one that has the same sort of... I don't know, artistic impact as something like Void or Grove did. The only way my viewpoint has changed, really, is that I can acknowledge that Doom is capable of being more than just an incredibly fun game. It's helped me grasp the concept of video games as art as opposed to being fun ways to kill a couple of hours.

So I guess I just think it's even better now than used to.

[Antroid]

Funny thing is, I never really played too much Doom. I played some pwads, sure, and of course I completed Doom and Doom 2 a couple times... But I still don't remember many levels that well, or, in case of Doom 2, once the city episode rolls in, I just outright don't remember most maps very well at all. Even the order of them.

When I was a kid, for the longest time I only had the SNES Doom, and to be completely honest, if I play that on an emulator, the memories are strong enough that I experience a bit of the old tension and fear. Maybe not really, but I remember those emotions really well and subconsciously pretend that I'm still feeling them or something like that. Dunno.

As far as playing pwads and such, it depends. I can't really immerse myself easily in a pwad because often they're just random generic maps for the sake of maps with no backstory or anything. Honestly, gameplay alone doesn't do much for me, even though I still kinda suck at doom so it's usually not a cakewalk at all. But when there's a bit of backstory, and the levels are not designed in this really generic abstract-in-a-bad-way overdetailed style (also referred to as Unreal Tournament style by me) that plagues map design across many games, and the atmosphere is preserved, shit can get pretty intense. However I'm not sure I can immerse myself quite as well in pwads as I still miraculously can in brand new games, maybe because of a lot of familiarity and predictable elements that most doom wads inherently share.

[Memfis]

Snakes said:

The only way it's changed is that it doesn't quite excite me the way it used to. Being incredibly raw, one experiences a lot of revelations in the first months of creating and playing new maps in terms of just how deep this game is capable of being. This doesn't happen to me very often anymore.

Same here, I've just played too many wads, especially in the last two years. I've seen so many different visual and gameplay themes that it's hard to find something fresh and truly exciting. Another problem is that my skill has increased significantly as a result of recording ~400 speed demos and ~2500 FDAs. Just completing a random wad without saves doesn't feel that rewarding anymore, I need a decent challenge. Your WIP megawad actually looks promising in this regard, so yeah... if you need a skilled tester... I'm here. :)

[bimlanders]

Doom was the reason I started buying PC Gaming magazines, and following the industry, looking for new great games, and, ultimately, wondering which would be the game to unseat Doom from its throne, both in terms of graphics and gameplay. Sure, Doom's incredible for the time graphics were a large part of the impact that the game would make. But any intelligent gamer understands that graphics are neutral until informed by gameplay. Great graphics with no gameplay are like guitar riffs without a song. Where is this meandering going, you may ask? Well, I don't believe that anyone has since made a more fun FPS game than Doom, so it doesn't matter at all how much "better" graphics look since.

So, yeah, Doom is still Doom for me, and still one of my most played games.

[Katamori]

scalliano said:

I nearly died of fright the first time I encountered the Cyberdemon, but now it's a case of "c'mere I want ye >:D" followed by my promptly running rings around the poor sod.

LOL totally the same here! This is why I asked this question.

[jasonrjohnston]

Playing Doom taught me a lot about atmosphere and why the "experience" of something is just as important as performance and structure. These are qualities that certainly presented when I began authoring my own maps, creating campaigns in StarCraft and WarCraft III, modding the Quake games and eventually becoming a professional photographer and, later, filmmaker. Now, when I play Doom, it's like an old friend who's aged quite nicely, can be dressed up with fancy new clothes every now and then and still can scare the crap out of you when you play it in a dark room all by yourself in the middle of the night. Sure, it's not as pretty as some of the other games, but this one's the one you'll always remember.

[_bruce_]

It's a passion that's getting stronger and about which I could write a whole book.

Words can't describe what an enigma Doom represented for me when I first saw it. The artwork, the engineering, the gameplay, the sound and the overall atmosphere. Before Doom computer games were gay and geeky... some were awesome but they still had lots of uncool features about them.

I've continued working on a new iteration of my port based on ChocolateDoom(ChocolorDoom) and it's a never ending adventure which should lead to a high quality colored blend of choco and psx doom.

Being in the advanced bracket of the Doom population I feel that I have to give something back to Doom and its followers, providing a micro piece to the ever assembling puzzle of Doom's cosmos.

I've yet to finish my megawad and first and foremost I'm a visual designer not too good of an analytical thinker but I keep coding near to enhance my vision's freedom and keep brain rust away.

The first time playing Doom via Serial cable was mind blowing... seeing the other player/s running around in the same universe was a paradigm shift in gaming experience. Only thing coming close was Quake LAN deathmatch which is another marvel in itself.


Overall my interest in Doom is a mix of design/art/MAME/tech/old id passions which has even outlived my love for Slayer.

[DoomUK]

Of course, the IWADs have lost some of their appeal over time. Even the greatest game(s) ever wrought loses it's charm and potency once you've played it dozens of times, and discovered every trick and secret. Familiarity breeds contempt, as they say.

That's not to say I can't still play Doom and enjoy myself - doing pistol starts, or simply approaching a situation using different tactics to what I've always used can make for an interesting session. And from time to time something magnificent emerges from the community, such as RTC-3057 or BtsX, breathing new life into it.

[Avoozl]

-fastmonsters certainly brings the fun and challenge back.

[Koko Ricky]

The otherworldly sense of wonder, fear and tension isn't what it used to be, although I still experience those things. That said, I'm more passionate about the games than ever, and find that I resonate with elements I didn't pick up on as a kid, like the quality of level designs, texture and lighting choices, the true complexity of the maps, monster/ammo placement, art direction, etc. Mapping for Doom has been overly cathartic. I have a map in the works with some 60 hours behind it if not more.

[The_MártonJános]

All the perspectives became brighter and wider since I've downloaded Doom Builder II and started to make my dream come true.

[Koko Ricky]

Same here. I'm hoping I won't spend forever perfecting the four maps I'm working on and eventually release them (and more).

[SandGator]

I never really made it out of the gate in terms of mapping, but I screwed around with it enough to deepen my appreciation of the work that goes into well-designed maps. It was definitely worth trying it a little, even though I'm much more interested in playing than mapping. Gave me a taste of the various challenges...lighting, visual coherence, combat balance, weapon/item placement, stuff you just never think about as deeply no matter how much you play.

And as a little kid I always played with god mode because Doom was too scary otherwise. So my respect for the atmosphere and really magnificently tuned gameplay mechanics have deepened greatly. Every once in a while I'll stop playing, maybe 6 months to a year, but it will always pull me back.

I don't remember how I stumbled upon Doomworld, but I'm definitely glad I did. I've had a great time over the past two years playing the maps made by this community. Some of you guys have spent more time making Doom maps than John Romero ever did, and it shows!

Whew, pardon me for waxing poetic here. Anyway, despite making the heretical switch to mouselook, I pretty much only play WADs that preserve the original mechanics and weapons. And I don't see myself stopping any time soon. So, basically, I like Doom more than ever, and love that there's a community so committed to teaching the old dog new tricks.

[Koko Ricky]

I'm making a map right now that has a city section. The other day I randomly loaded up Doom 2 and played Downtown for some inspiration. It had been years, literally, since I played that map, as I typically load user maps. I was almost shocked at its design. It was so compelling and quite a challenge because I pistol started it. It took me a minute to remember the puzzle, and I was impressed by the forward thinking of the layout.