I can be dramatic with nostalgia as much as I want but it wouldn't change the fact that one instantly knows what DOOM is and has always been. It's apparent as soon as the game starts. Moving forward and back, left to right, bobbing and weaving through demonic fire balls and bullet shells. Doom guy doesn't feel like a person running in 3d space. You feel like some UFO fighter jet constantly, thrusting and lurching in and out. Its fast. Real fast. But that doesn't matter. As long as you can see the enemy and fire your going to land a shot. It's all about being in the right spot at the right time.
It still holds up. Once I got past the timid introductory levels of DOOM II; I was treated to some thrill ride levels that excited me just as much as any shooter I've played from the current generation of video games. DOOM's mechanics like any good game play on some very basic and natural dopamine receptors. It is frantic as things move in some sense of organized chaos while a very brutal and grimy visual feedback loop keeps you stimulated. The ascetic has some retro charm in 2019 but in 1994 with the unknown future of technology its easy to see why DOOM disturbed many. Nothing was on this level. No matter how you felt about violence in games the jaw dropping reaction was the same.
DOOM is very much a testament to how game design and rendering technology exist in symbiosis. It required hardware and software processing capabilities just not possible on the then mainstream home console market. The first person , 3d shooting mechanic required by it and Wolfenstien simply couldn't have been done with less. Sidescrolling platformers on Nintendo's family friendly ecosystem was the main stage of video games. SNES and its competitors offered some incredible takes on the genre's invented during the previous arcade area but what DOOM offered was something incredibly different and dark. Its fun and violent in a way video games had rarely dared to be. Its important when playing to remember just what a gem and product of its era. DOOM had to exist for games. It was always that much needed new catalyst to what would be come a completely new genre of games and gaming possibilities. Wolfenstien and brought it to reality but DOOM made it feel right. 3D gaming was here to stay and the possibilities where endless.
DOOM II really drove home shooting for first person shooting. Each gun is legit a blast to use and I often find myself trying to apply them strategically based on ammo, available enemy type, and position. In a day and age where games give us a couple weapons at most it can take a bit to get used to having a good old classic arsenal available for your badass. It's something I dearly love about games from this era. Unlike Call of Duty or some games where different guns fit a general broad outline and vary to only a preferential degree, DOOM II's guns all work dramatically different. Your welcome to use them however you like and it creates from some interesting encounters and thinking on your feet. There's a level of thought that goes into the weapon choice and how it ties into the fast movement system. All these years later its still a blast. \
It really is one of those shooters I recommend everyone play at some point.I still have plenty more to talk about. DOOM II really inspires me on why I wanted to do this project. Playing this game and seeing it through a lens of history has been real rewarding and simplistically fun. It reminds me even as games get complex and deep to cherish that simple joy of interactive entertainment. Rip and Tear.
No comments:
Post a Comment