doom: what was the big deal?

Yeah, I understand that Doom has a significant spot in gaming history as it was the first fps to find a mainstream audience. But, I remember playing the game even back when it first came out and even then I found it simultaneously boring and frustrating. I really, really tried to like it but couldn't. In fact, I think Goldeneye was the first fps that I actually liked, as it was the first to involve more than just shoot stuff and find keys. Does anyone agree or am I alone on this?

Well I can see that my opinion was in the minority, which is why the game holds its place in history. But still, this wasn't the game that got me into shooters, even as much as I tried to like it.

Doom is the ideal prototype FPS, it's the only game of its time with 100% perfect collision detection and I've never found a single glitch in all these years (except a buggy elevator in Doom 2). Duke Nukem 3D is great but it's often frustrating to play, but Doom is just relaxing to play.

...and now you can play it hi-res with freeware apps like zdoom and doomsday engine.

Yeah, I understand that Doom has a significant spot in gaming history as it was the first fps to find a mainstream audience. But, I remember playing the game even back when it first came out and even then I found it simultaneously boring and frustrating. I really, really tried to like it but couldn't. In fact, I think Goldeneye was the first fps that I actually liked, as it was the first to involve more than just shoot stuff and find keys. Does anyone agree or am I alone on this?

UT_Wrestler

I had exactly the same thing. Doom made me dislike FPS and then golden eye came out and saved the day

Look up a great book called "Masters of Doom", about the early days of Cormack & Romero with the folks at iD Software. You owe EVERYTHING to John Carmack, sonny... know your history.

PS - I play "DOOM", "DOOM II", and "Wolfenstein 3D" every week to this day, and you haven't lived until you've gotten some friends together for a LAN party with the game. DeathMatch was INVENTED by those guys. Add to it all the fact that they made the game open-source and allowed you to make your own levels, etc. and you have the progenitor of everything Valve has done with "Half-Life" and "Counter-Strike", all of it... brought on by a couple of sharp kids from Texas.

Read the book, it doesn't take long and it's a great read, and then you'll understand why "DOOM" is not only fun to play but fundamentally important as a building point for today's industry. From the day they figured how to port Super Mario Brothers over to the PC (and Nintendo's resulting chagrin), Carmack and his people have been the biggest reason you have any sort of gaming on a PC, let-alone the effect that event had on all of the other consoles after the NES. 

DOOM is still one of my favorite FPS games, mainly because it's so atmospheric. I get really into it. The game engine is probably what keeps me playing. I don't know why but I love it so much, haha.

Yeah, i have to disagree with you. DOOM was amazing when it came out, it took everything Wolfenstein 3D did right and took it up several notches. Not to mention it was the Crysis of it's day in terms of visuals. In fact as far as my opinion goes the gameplay of DOOM 1 has held up better then a lot of shooters that have come out since.dark_orb

oh... parent groups HATED "DOOM"... worst thing for the kids since Ozzy... the daemons, pentagrams, the blood... Hellish imagery and explosive, bloody violence... people were falling all over themselves in protest. Great time in gaming history. Romero (who designed most of those early levels) is indeed a sadistic genius. Read the book, they talk about the early days of DeathMatch around the office and how Romero became the progenitor of gaming trash-talker filth with days-long marathons.

"DOOM" is and always will be my favorite game of all time. 

oh... parent groups HATED "DOOM"... worst thing for the kids since Ozzy... the daemons, pentagrams, the blood... Hellish imagery and explosive, bloody violence... people were falling all over themselves in protest. Great time in gaming history. Romero (who designed most of those early levels) is indeed a sadistic genius. Read the book, they talk about the early days of DeathMatch around the office and how Romero became the progenitor of gaming trash-talker filth with days-long marathons.

"DOOM" is and always will be my favorite game of all time.