Doom (2016 video game)

Doom
Developer(s) id Software[lower-alpha 1]
Publisher(s) Bethesda Softworks[1]
Director(s) Hugo Martin
Marty Stratton[2]
Artist(s) Hugo Martin[3]
Composer(s) Mick Gordon[4]
Series Doom
Engine id Tech 6[5]
Platform(s) Microsoft Windows
PlayStation 4
Xbox One
Release date(s)
  • WW May 13, 2016[6]
Genre(s) First-person shooter
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer

Doom (stylized as DOOM and originally known as Doom 4) is an upcoming first-person shooter video game developed by id Software and published by Bethesda Softworks. The game will be a reboot of the Doom series and is the first major installment in the series since the release of Doom 3 in 2004. Doom is set to be released on Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on May 13, 2016.

Gameplay

Single-player

Doom's single player was described as having "badass demons, big effing guns, and moving really fast" as key principles, according to id Software executive producer Marty Stratton.[7] The game will feature a large arsenal of weapons, which can be collected and freely switched by players throughout the game. Weapons such as the super shotgun and BFG 9000 will return. Additionally, melee weapons such as the chainsaw, which can cut enemies in half, are also featured. Many enemies from the original games like the Revenant, Mancubus, and Cyberdemon return as well, some redesigned.[8] As the combat system of the game puts emphasis on momentum and speed, the game allows players to perform movements like sprinting and double-jumping. A combat system known as "push forward combat" is featured, which discourages players from taking cover behind obstacles or resting to regain health. Players instead collect health and armour pick-ups scattered throughout levels, or kill enemies to regain health. A new mechanic introduced in Doom is the melee execution system, similar to that of the popular PWAD Brutal Doom. When enough damage has been dealt to an enemy, the game will highlight it,[9] and allow the player to perform a melee takedown. id Software states that Doom's campaign will be more than 13 hours long and the "Ultra-Nightmare" difficulty level will have permadeath.[10][11]

Multiplayer

The game's multiplayer is being developed in conjunction with Certain Affinity.[12] Several multiplayer modes, such as traditional four-player deathmatch, Domination, Warpath, Freeze Tag, and Clan Arena are included in the game.[13] Players can also use power-ups and teleporters in a multiplayer match. Players can pick-up a pentagram, one of the powerups featured, to transform into and fight as one of the demons featured in the game. The game will also include a built-in tool titled "Doom SnapMap" which allows players to construct custom maps, create new game modes and share them with the online community.[14] At launch, the game features 9 maps.[15]

Development

As Doom 4

The game was announced as in production on May 7, 2008,[16] after John Carmack, then lead developer at id Software, hinted it at QuakeCon on August 3, 2007.[17] The CEO of id Software, Todd Hollenshead, suggested that, like Doom II: Hell on Earth, it will take place on Earth,[18] and will feature gameplay more akin to the original Doom games rather than the horror styled gameplay of Doom 3.[19]

On August 1, 2008, John Carmack claimed that Doom 4 will look three times better than Rage does, intended to run at 30 frames per second; on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3; rather than 60 that Rage targets.[20] In its Windows version, Doom 4 was intended to run at 60 frames per second with state-of-the-art hardware.[21] In 2009, he revealed that the multiplayer component is being developed separately and will run at 60 frames per second.[22] Carmack stated in 2011 that "you can't have 30 guys crawling all over you at 60 frames per second at this graphics technology level because it's painful. -- So, [in single-player] we can have 30 demons crawling all over you on there."[23]

In April 2009, Hollenshead said Doom 4 was "deep in development". When asked if Doom 4 would be "a sequel? A reboot? A prequel?", his response was: "It's not a sequel to Doom 3, but it's not a reboot either. Doom 3 was sort of a reboot. It's a little bit different than those."[24]

On June 23, 2009, ZeniMax Media, best known for Bethesda Softworks, acquired id Software and announced that all future id games will be published by Bethesda Softworks, including Doom 4 in addition to Rage and future Quake titles.[1] Carmack said at Quakecon 2011 that once Rage shipped its development team would move to Doom 4 to speed up on that project. Doom 4 might also feature dedicated servers unlike Rage.[25]

At the 2011 QuakeCon, Carmack mentioned that new Doom will be using a new scripting language that is based on C++, and called it "super-script". This so-called "super-script" is a subset of C++; with features like scheduling and type safety.[25] In February 2012, some alleged screenshots were released on Official Xbox Magazine UK's website,[26] but the images were discredited by id Software's creative director Matthew Hooper.[27] In November 2013, Carmack left id Software to commit to his work at Oculus VR.[28]

In April 2013, Kotaku published an exposé describing Doom 4 as trapped in "development hell". Citing connections to id, the article claims that Doom 4 has suffered under mismanagement, and that development was completely restarted in 2011. Inside sources described the pre-2011 version, which was to portray the uprising of hell on Earth, as heavily scripted and cinematic, comparing it to the Call of Duty franchise. The pre-2011 version was criticized as mediocre, but the sources also described the new version as "lame" and a "mess".[29] Id's Tim Willits said during Quakecon 2013: "Every game has a soul. Every game has a spirit. When you played Rage, you got the spirit. And [Doom 4] did not have the spirit, it did not have the soul, it didn't have a personality."[30]

As Doom

After the game was sent back to the drawing board, Willits revealed in August 2013 that the next game in the Doom franchise was still the team's focus although he did not make it clear if the game was still meant to be titled Doom 4.[31] On February 19, 2014, Bethesda revealed that access to a beta version of Doom 4, renamed Doom, will be available for those who pre-ordered Wolfenstein: The New Order on any of the platforms.[32] Those players were also eligible for selection to participate in the game's multiplayer-only limited alpha, which ran between December 3 and 6, 2015.[33] The beta began on March 31, 2016 and ended on April 3, 2016.[34] It was followed by an open beta, which started on April 15, 2016, and ended on April 17, 2016.[35]

On June 10, 2014, a teaser trailer of Doom[36] was presented at Electronic Entertainment Expo 2014 as well as at QuakeCon's website and at a new official Doom website. A more expansive trailer was unveiled at QuakeCon 2014 on July 17, 2014, where a closed presentation was made mainly to silence ongoing rumors of the project being in jeopardy.[37] From what was seen in the QuakeCon presentation, the new Doom is to feature mechanics such as melee combat, finishing moves, and the ability to rip someone's arm off and use it to open a biometric security door.[37] Also said to be featured in the game are double jumping and freedom of movement such as vaulting and manteling.[38] On July 19, 2014, in light of Crytek's financial difficulties, it was announced that Tiago Sousa, head R&D graphics engineer at Crytek, was leaving to join the Doom and id Tech 6 engine team.[39] On May 18, 2015, a brief teaser trailer was released to promote gameplay being shown at E3 2015 on June 14, 2015; the trailer depicted the double-barreled shotgun, and the Revenant, a monster returning to the game.[40] On June 14, 2015, around 15 minutes of gameplay footage were shown at E3.[41] Initial reception of the trailer was positive, despite receiving criticisms by some critics who considered the game to be "too violent".[42] Pete Hines from Bethesda Softworks responded by saying that the game is designed to allow players to apply violence on demons instead of humans. Hines added that "If you're not into violent, bloody games... Doom's probably not a game for you."[43]

The biggest challenge id Software experienced while developing the game was to create a game that can compete with other popular shooters like Call of Duty and Battlefield, as they considered that the popularity of the Doom series among younger audiences is relatively low when compared to the aforementioned franchises, since the last installment in the series was released back in 2004. Another challenge they encounter is to build a game that is unique enough to establish its own identity, while "being faithful" to other games in the series. According to Stratton, in order to solve these challenges, the team consulted the game directors at Bethesda Game Studios, who he considered "[had gone] through the same thing when they were working on Fallout 3."[44] At QuakeCon 2015, it was announced that the game will run 1080p & 60fps on console, as they considered it "the most necessary graphical goal", and that it can effectively improve gameplay fluidity.[45]

According to Hugo Martin, the game's creative director, the game was inspired by rock and roll. The team intended to create a personality for the game by adding lots of over-the-top skulls. The team did not put lots of emphasis on the game's story, as they believed that it is not an important feature of the franchise.[46]

Notes

  1. ↑ Multiplayer developed in conjunction with Certain Affinity.

References

  1. 1 2 Magrino, Tom (December 15, 2009). "Bethesda publishing Rage". GameSpot. Archived from the original on December 18, 2009. Retrieved March 1, 2014.
  2. ↑ Bertz, Matt (January 19, 2016). "Submit Your Questions For Our Doom Podcast With Game Director Marty Stratton". Game Informer.
  3. ↑ Makuch, Eddie (June 16, 2015). "New Doom for Xbox One/PS4/PC Won't Be Easy, Bethesda Says at E3 2015". GameSpot.
  4. ↑ "Mick Gordon". Twitter.
  5. ↑ "Why id Software is calling it "Doom" and not "Doom 4"".
  6. ↑ Morrison, Angus (February 4, 2016). "DOOM's day: Doom releasing in May". PC Gamer. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
  7. ↑ "First Doom gameplay footage is super gory fun". Metro. June 15, 2015. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
  8. ↑ Houghton, David (July 3, 2015). "Doom is fast, thrilling, authentic, and deeply, hilariously gory". GamesRadar. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
  9. ↑ Birnbaum, Ian (July 18, 2014). "Doom revealed at QuakeCon 2014, and here's what we saw". PC Gamer. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
  10. ↑ Makuch, Eddie (February 16, 2016). "Doom's Campaign Is About 13 Hours, Dev Says". GameSpot. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
  11. ↑ Petty, Jared (April 28, 2016). "Nobody Has Beaten Doom's Hardest Difficulty Level". IGN. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  12. ↑ Acevedo, Paul (Jul 26, 2015). "Bloody good DOOM multiplayer impressions from QuakeCon 2015". Windows Central. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
  13. ↑ "Doom unveiled, coming spring 2016". Gematsu. June 14, 2015.
  14. ↑ Sarker, Samit (June 14, 2015). "Doom SnapMap lets users create and share their own gameplay modes". Polygon. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
  15. ↑ Chalk, Andy (March 17, 2016). "New Doom teaser showcases nine multiplayer maps". PC Gamer. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
  16. ↑ Ocampo, Jason (May 7, 2008). "Doom 4 Announced". IGN. Retrieved May 7, 2008.
  17. ↑ Berghammer, Billy (August 3, 2007). "QuakeCon 2007: John Carmack Talks Rage, Id Tech 5 And More". Game Informer. Archived from the original on October 29, 2007. Retrieved August 24, 2007.
  18. ↑ DOOM 4 Now in Development, Takes Place on Earth
  19. ↑ "John Carmack Sheds Some Light On Doom 4". The Escapist. August 6, 2008. Retrieved July 1, 2010.
  20. ↑ "Doom 4 "three times" Rage visual quality". Eurogamer. August 1, 2008. Retrieved August 2, 2010.
  21. ↑ "QuakeCon 08: Quake Live Will Have No Mod Support; Doom 4 to Run at 60Hz on PC, Locked at 30Hz for Consoles". Maximum PC. July 31, 2008. Retrieved November 30, 2010.
  22. ↑ "John Carmack on Rage". CD-Action. July 2009. Retrieved October 30, 2010.
  23. ↑ "E3 2011: John Carmack talks Wii U, PlayStation Vita, and next-gen Rage". GameSpot. June 9, 2011. Retrieved June 9, 2011.
  24. ↑ Thorsen, Tor (April 10, 2009). "Hollenshead Rages about PC gaming, E3 surprises
    Q&A: id's CEO discusses his studio's new multiplatform strategy, aversion to Wii development, Quake Live, Doom 4, and unannounced projects."    . GameSpot. Retrieved April 10, 2009.
  25. 1 2 "Carmack's Keynote at QuakeCon 2011". Mattc0m. August 5, 2011. Retrieved August 12, 2011.
  26. ↑ "Rumour: Doom 4 cancelled, first screenshots leak - Xbox 360 - The Official Magazine". February 29, 2012. Retrieved February 29, 2012.
  27. ↑ "Matt Hooper's Twitter page". March 3, 2012. Retrieved March 3, 2012.
  28. ↑ "John Carmack leaves id Software to focus on Oculus VR". Engadget. November 22, 2013.
  29. ↑ Schreier, Jason (May 3, 2013). "Five Years And Nothing To Show: How Doom 4 Got Off Track". Kotaku. Retrieved August 17, 2013.
  30. ↑ "id Software 'Pushing Boundaries,' Focusing Only on Doom 4". IGN. Retrieved August 17, 2013.
  31. ↑ Gaston, Martin (February 19, 2014). "Doom 4 still exists: Bethesda unveils Doom beta". GameSpot. Retrieved July 24, 2015.
  32. ↑ "Get Psyched: Wolfenstein release date; First details on Doom beta". Bethblog.com. February 19, 2014. Retrieved March 1, 2014.
  33. ↑ Biazzo, Jordan (July 23, 2015). "Bethesda to host limited DOOM multiplayer alpha 'in the coming months'". Gamereactor. Retrieved July 23, 2015.
  34. ↑ Frank, Allegra (March 9, 2016). "Doom's multiplayer beta starts March 31". Polygon. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
  35. ↑ Fingas, Jon (April 6, 2016). "'Doom' open beta kicks off April 15th". Engadget. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
  36. ↑ "DOOM Teaser". YouTube. June 10, 2014. Retrieved June 12, 2014.
  37. 1 2 "New Doom Game Is Finally Shown Off At QuakeCon 2014".
  38. ↑ "Doom Reboot Unlikely to Be Seen Again This Year".
  39. ↑ "Signs Of The Times – Crytek's Lead R&D Graphics Engineer Moves To id Software, Will Work On New Doom". DSOGaming. July 19, 2014.
  40. ↑ "A (very) brief look at the new Doom". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. May 18, 2015. Retrieved May 18, 2015.
  41. ↑ Pitcher, Jenna (June 14, 2015). "E3 2015: DOOM Release Date Announced". IGN. Retrieved June 14, 2015.
  42. ↑ Griffin, Andrew (June 15, 2015). "Doom launched by Bethesda at E3 2015, swiftly criticised for being too violent". The Independent. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
  43. ↑ Kuchera, Ben (June 23, 2015). "Bethesda had the perfect answer for people bothered by Doom's violence: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯". Polygon. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
  44. ↑ Newhouse, Alex (July 24, 2015). "Doom Devs Talk Challenges of Rebooting the Series". GameSpot. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
  45. ↑ Newhouse, Alex (July 25, 2015). "Doom Dev: "We Want to Be the Best-Looking Game Out There at 60 FPS and 1080p"". GameSpot. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
  46. ↑ Makuch, Eddie (January 6, 2016). "Doom Is Totally Rock 'N Roll, Dev Says". GameSpot. Retrieved January 7, 2016.

External links

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