Doom (series)

Doom
The official logo of the franchise
Genres	First-person shooter
Developers	id Software
Publishers	GT Interactive Activision Bethesda Softworks
Creators	John Carmack Tom Hall
Platforms	MS-DOS Microsoft Windows Various consoles
First release	Doom 1993

Doom is a series of first-person shooter video games developed by id Software. The series focuses on the exploits of an unnamed space marine operating under the UAC (Union Aerospace Corp.), who fights hordes of undead and demons in order to survive. The series was widely considered as one of the pioneering first-person shooter series in the video game industry, introducing features such as 3D graphics, true third dimension spatiality, networked multiplayer gameplay, and support for player-created expansions with the Doom WAD format. Since Doom, which was released in 1993, the series has spawned four sequels, numerous expansions and a film.

Games

• Doom
• Doom II: Hell on Earth
• Final Doom
• Doom 64
• Doom 3
• Doom RPG
• Doom Resurrection
• Doom II RPG
• Doom 4

Other media

The cover of the comic

A panel from the comic

A set of four novels based on Doom were written with permission of id Software by Dafydd Ab Hugh and Brad Linaweaver. The books, listed in order, are titled Knee Deep in the Dead, Hell on Earth, Infernal Sky and Endgame. All were published between June 1995 and January 1996 by Pocket Books. Some in the Doom community started calling the unnamed marine in the games "Flynn Taggart", after the main character of the novels, at least for a time. The first two books featured recognizable locations and situations from the first two games.

Additionally, a comic book was issued in May 1996, produced by Tom Grindberg of Marvel Comics as a giveaway for a video game convention, and original art from that project was put up for auction on eBay in April 2004. It was criticized for ridiculous dialogue and a poor story, as well as erroneous representations of some weapons from the game. In September 2005, a member of the Doom community released an unofficial "dramatic rendition" of the lines from the comic, with music and sound effects, for comedic effect. Notable lines include "Now I'm radioactive! That can't be good!", "Sweet Christmas! Big-mouthed floating thingies! It's always something!", and (pictured below) the infamous "Rip and tear your guts! You are huge! That means you have huge guts!".

On January 31, 2005, a board game resembling the classic Space Hulk was released, entitled Doom: The Boardgame.^[1]

An eponymous film based loosely on Doom was released in 2005.

id Software CEO Todd Hollenshead has stated in an interview that another Doom movie, possibly based on Doom 4, might be made.^[2]

Strategy guides released in printed editions include:

• Robert Waring: Doom: Totally Unauthorized Tips & Secrets, Brady Publishing
• Jonathan Mao Mendoza: The Official Doom Survival Guide, ISBN 0-7821-1546-2
• Rick Barba: Doom Battlebook: Secrets of the Games series, Prima Publishing, ISBN 1-55958-651-6

In popular culture

The series has been parodied in The Simpsons: Virtual Springfield, which features a minigame in which Apu fights off squishee-throwing bullies in his shop with a broom, shotgun, and a weapon similar to the BFG, causing them to explode in a bloody mess, and Muppets Inside, which features a minigame in which the Swedish Chef takes on giant killer vegetables with various kitchenware. The Doomguy appears as a playable character in the PC release of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3. Doom is shown being played in the film Congo, episodes of Friends and ER, and a commercial for Mystery Science Theatre 3000. The game was also referenced in the film Wild Hogs.

The game is shown briefly during an episode of Family Guy, where Stewie Griffin drives his Big Wheel through various pop culture references, which includes going through the fifth level of Doom running over an Imp. An episode of The Simpsons, "Midnight Rx" shows a career consultant playing Doom at his desk.

The sound effects are heard in a number of songs. "Where Boys Fear to Tread" from the album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness by The Smashing Pumpkins features a rocket launcher to point to the relationship between Doom and The Smashing Pumpkins in the SPISPOPD joke. Rotten Sound's album Murderworks has a song called "Doom", in which one of the beginnings it is possible to hear some Doom sound effects, like monsters yelling and weapons firing. MF Doom, under alias Metal Fingers, sampled sound effects from Doom 64 gameplay on the song "Styrax Gum" off the album Special Herbs, Vol. 4. The song ends with the player's death. Wollt Ihr Das Bett In Flamen Sehen by Rammstein uses the player death sound from the original series several times.

Doom is often noted for its connection to satanic and unholy symbolism: the imagery, hard sound themes, and game plot. For example, when exiting the shareware version of the game, you will see a screen with more info about what is in the full registered version. Here's what a section of it says:

"... Sure, don't order DOOM. Sit back with your milk and cookies and let the universe go to Hell. Don't face the onslaught of demons and spectres that await you on The Shores of Hell. Avoid the terrifying confrontations with cacodemons and lost souls that infest Inferno. Or, act like a man! Slap a few shells into your shotgun and let's kick some demonic butt. Order the entire DOOM trilogy now! After all, you'll probably end up in Hell eventually. Shouldn't you know your way around before you make the extended visit? ..."

References

1. ^ "Doom". Fantasy Flight Games. Archived from the original on 2008-08-28. http://replay.waybackmachine.org/20080828122930/http://fantasyflightgames.com/va08.html. Retrieved 2011-04-03. 
2. ^ Crecente, Brian (2008-08-02). "id Would Like Another Doom Movie". Kotaku (Allure Media). http://www.kotaku.com.au/2008/08/id_would_like_another_doom_movie-2/. Retrieved 2011-04-03.