Story telling elements Doom can excel at in the next game.

[ChickenOrBeef]

AussieVikingOfAsgard said:

Or at the very least use the environment to tell a story. like in the original doom when we first fought a cyber demon and before we fought it we just saw dead hell knights every were.

Bingo. That's always the best approach for something that's supposed to be fast-paced, fluid, and unhindered like DOOM.

And to DOOM's credit, they used the environment quite a bit. The AI holograms around the UAC facilities were a good, simple example of using the environment for storytelling. Plus there's just the aftermath of various events sprinkled throughout the levels. The build up to the Cyberdemon was pretty genius in that regard, as you saw the results of the Cyberdemon breaking out of his facility via claw marks on the walls, dead bodies, etc.

If DOOM II is going to amp up the story, I hope most of it just exists in the environment like that.

[ATP2555]

AussieVikingOfAsgard said:

Or at the very least use the environment to tell a story.

Like in the original Unreal(which has been forgotten by Epic in favor of the Tournament games), where there were translator messages.

[Sokoro]

Excel at? Maybe they should stop retconing the story after almost every new game.
That is not what good storyteller does, that is what companies who give a crap about story do.

[Voros]

"Story in a game is like story in a porn movie. You know it's there, it's just not that important."
- John Carmack, '90s

But that's an old saying. The new one:

"Take the idea that you're here to kill demons, and that's the story."
- Marty Stratton, 2016

[Jaxxoon R]

They only retconned any actual story like, once so far with the creation of 3, and that was bordered on either side by nearly a decade of no new releases, other than mobile rpgs with their own continuity or that weird gaiden game railshooter that was part of Doom 3's continuity anyways. The chronology in 4 is vaguely wrapped up in dimensional faff that leaves it ambiguous whether or not this takes place after 64 and/or parallel to and/or after 3/1/2/spaghetti edition.

The complaint that they should stop retconning is a weird one to make in a discussion centered on what the sequel could do with its storytelling presentation. Not to mention it's kind of moot as there's a ton of foreshadowing that makes it pretty clear id has plans to continue this story in the very next game, if the blatant cliffhanger ending wasn't enough. It's especially odd that your wording seems directed at nowhere in particular, and doesn't have all that much to do with what the op or anyone else said beyond the thread title.

[Gez]

If you don't reboot the Doom story, the setting just becomes dumb IMO.

TIMELINE OF THE NON-REBOOTED DOOM STORY:

2x45: the UAC creates teleporters, demons invade and slaughter everyone, a lone marine single-handedly pushes them back.
2x46: the UAC tries to debug their teleporters, demons invade and slaughter everyone, a lone marine single-handedly pushes them back.
2x47: the UAC decides to destroy their teleporters, but this destabilizes the gateways so demons invade and slaughter everyone, a lone marine single-handedly pushes them back.
2x48: the UAC organizes a fishing trip to foster team spirit in management, as the tackle box is opened demons invade and slaughter everyone, a lone marine single-handedly pushes them back.
2x49: the UAC files for bankruptcy, when their case file is opened demons invade and slaughter everyone, a lone marine single-handedly pushes them back.
2x50: former UAC engineers create a time machine to try to prevent the events of the last few years, demons invade and slaughter everyone, a lone marine single-handedly pushes them back.


Also they didn't retcon anything. Retconning would be pretending this is a sequel to previous titles; but instead Doom 3 and Doom '16 are stand-alone.

[jazzmaster9]

Sokoro said:

Excel at? Maybe they should stop retconing the story after almost every new game.
That is not what good storyteller does, that is what companies who give a crap about story do.

Uhh you obviously don't know what a REBOOT is don't you?
People will find every reason to complain.

[Nathan92]

Considering DOOM 2016 is basically a reboot of the first game, and kind of pokes fun at how minimalistic its story is in a playful and non-condescending kind of way (which it should be, given Doom's focus on killing demons and fuck all else), I wouldn't even mind if the sequel is something as goofy as the Doomguy searching for Daisy for all I care.

Doom ain't Marathon after all. It's not that complex, nor does it need to elaborate on the Doomguy's propensity for rage and unhindered violence. He's a characteristic "non-character", a vessel for the player, rather than someone with a face or one in need of much of a backstory. Reminds me a bit of Samus in a way; once her childhood and backstory were elaborated on in Zero Mission, she lost some of her mystique, her guise as this monolithic hero. Keep Doomguy anonymous.

I think DOOM 2016 did a good job on adding some lore and exposition to the mythos, but that's just icing on the cake really. Fun elements that add to the game's feel and also cater to old-school fans of not only Doom, but of item/info collection and all that. Without those things, it's not like it'd cease to be a Doom game. Keep it simple.

[dsm]

Voros said:

"Story in a game is like story in a porn movie. You know it's there, it's just not that important."
- John Carmack, '90s

But that's an old saying. The new one:

"Take the idea that you're here to kill demons, and that's the story."
- Marty Stratton, 2016

Plus the reboot has lore, lots and lots of lore that fleshes out stuff just enough to make the universe interesting.
They barely bothered with that in the 90s, so clearly, the storytelling has evolved and I like it >:D

[Tetzlaff]

I like the Doom 2016 lore, but I think the way the story was communicated in-game was generally realised better in Doom 3. I miss reading messages on PDAs and figuring out what is going on by collecting bits of information like this. There are the codex infos you can pick up through PDAs in Doom 2016, but they all give you info on a meta-level. Doesn't feel like it's really part of the world and it's all written in that tongue-in-cheek way how the UAC is a batshit crazy corporate cult.