Featured Article Summary #71

Doom is a first-person shooter game released in 1993 by id Software. The player takes on the role of a space marine fighting against undead humans and invading demons. The game starts on the moons of Mars and ends in hell, with each level requiring the player to find an exit or defeat a final boss. Doom was a huge success, selling millions of copies and being played by millions of people. It is considered one of the most influential games of all time, sparking the rise of online games and communities. It has also been followed by several sequels and adaptations in other media. In Doom, players control a space marine through military bases and hell, fighting enemies such as demons and undead humans. Players must manage supplies and find weapons throughout the levels, while also encountering obstacles like toxic waste and locked doors. The game also features multiplayer modes for cooperative play and deathmatch. Doom has three episodes, each with nine levels. The plot involves a marine who is sent to Mars where teleportation experiments go wrong. He fights demons and possessed humans to secure Phobos and Deimos. The marine then battles through Hell and discovers Earth has been invaded. After the success of Wolfenstein 3D, John Carmack began working on a new game with a new engine. The team considered creating another Commander Keen game but decided to take a darker and more technological approach inspired by Dungeons & Dragons campaigns and movies like Evil Dead II and Aliens. They named the game Doom and decided to self-publish it, leaving their previous publisher Apogee Software. The original design for Doom included a detailed story and level progression, but John Carmack and the rest of the team decided to focus on technological innovation and create a fast, continuous world instead. The team rejected the Doom Bible and made significant changes to the gameplay, removing elements like lives, inventory, and a complex user interface. Sandy Petersen replaced Tom Hall as the lead designer after Hall was fired, and Petersen, along with Romero, designed the rest of the levels. The team also added a third programmer, Dave Taylor, and eventually added multiplayer gameplay inspired by fighting games.