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📅 2023-12-10
It is a big anniversary today for the original DOOM: first released on December 10, 1993 on MS-DOS.
To mark the special occasion, John Romero — one of the original creators of the game — has released a new nine-level episode. Alas, I haven't yet had the time to try this one out.
SIGIL II (CW: link goes to a store)
DOOM needs no introduction. It is a true pioneer of the first-person shooter genre and I'm sure that everyone who was gaming on their computer in the early 90s is familiar with it. Given the march of time, though, I'm increasingly wondering how well known it is to the younger folks. Nevertheless, the game still keeps popping up in various places, at least when people make it run on unexpected devices and in silly places like this:
Windows Task Manager Runs Doom (YouTube)
Modern 3D game technology has advanced far beyond these humble origins, so appreciation for old gems like DOOM may be an acquired taste. Still, I wholeheartedly recommend giving it a go in one of the modern source ports. The game has a rhythm and atmosphere that is hard to resist.
Personally, I have a deep connection with the game as it left a permanent impression on me as the first truly immersive 3D game that I experienced. Fascination with DOOM and other titles based on the same engine fueled me through 20 years of work on the Doomsday Engine project, from 1999 onward. It was only when my first child was born that I had to put Doomsday on hiatus for good as my free time/energy budget wouldn't allow focusing on such a complex and large project in any meaningful capacity (500K+ lines of code...).
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