From speedrunning to interesting mods to porting the games in unusual ways, Doom persists because it transcends the pixelated world built by its original developers. Now that The Dark Ages has been announced, id So?ftware's iconic series is once again in the public eye.

Although, it never really stopped being part of the wider gaming conversation. As a series, Doom has not only survived against an ever-changing industry, but has stayed relevant and continues to be successful. Sure, there was a period where it felt like it may not ever make a glorious comeback, but it's stuck around because somebody needs to keep the? demons of hell at bay.

With the new game on the horizon, I thought it was time to remind ourselves just where it all began. This brief history of Doom aims to reflect on the early days and how it's man??aged to remain impactful after three decades. And for once, I will make sure I don't talk about how old all this makes me feel (this sentence notwithstanding, of course).

The beginning of an era

Let me say this first to just get it out the way: the original Doom was not the first ever FPS to be developed and released. That title doesn't even go to Wolfenstein 3D, which came out the year before and was also created by id Software. You need to go way further back than the 90s. According to Guinness World Records, the first ever first-person shooter was Maze War, which came out in 1973. Much of what came during this period has largely been pushed to the wayside thanks to time, but it's a fascinating read if you're e?ver in the? mood for a gaming history lesson.

The genre has only been growing ever since those heady days, but it was the original Doom (and, to some extent, Wolfenstein) that popularized 3D gaming, especially in the guise of a newfangled thing called an "FPS". IGN referred to the 1993 release as the "father" of the modern shooter, noting its fast-paced action and mindless violence, which would eventually catch the attention of fans and the media (see also: Mortal Kombat).

A sequel �Doom 2: Hell on Earth �was released in 1994, which kept much of its predecessor's aesthetics and mechanics, but added in new monsters and weapons, including the now-legendary Super Shotgun. An expansion called Master Levels was released in 1995, as was an updated version of the first game called Ultimate Doom.

While the two main entries alone solidified their place in PC gaming history, it was arguably the 1993 OG that had the most impact. Since then, these classics have been ported across many platforms over multiple generations, which also includes some pretty gnarly ports of the original Doom. As such, getting hold of a copy of the old Doom games is not exactly hard. Accessibility is probably one of the reasons we're still talk?ing about these retro titles to this day.

That wobbly bit in the middle

Had Doom stopped in the mid-1990s, with two critically acclaimed releases under its belt, it would still have left its mark on the industry, given how influential it's been. It led to the evolution of the first-person shooter, which seemed to tie in nicely with advances in gaming technology. Without it, we probably wouldn't have Quake (another banger from id Software), which implemented full 3D models, Half-Life, which changed the way FPS narratives were told, or Unreal, which brought about visuals that we??re seen as unprecedented at the ?time.

But Doom carried on. In 1997, a Nintendo 64 game was released. Because it was locked to a single console, it didn't have as wide an impact as its predecessors at the time. It has, however, gone down as something of a cult hit. It also wasn't developed by id �instead being helmed by Midway, which was also responsible for bringing Quake to the N64 �but it wasn't a po??rt, either. Instead, it was its own standalone release with? a new story that aimed to carry the baton for the original entries.

Then things went quiet for a few years, until Doom 3 launched in 2004. Now, technically Final Doom (released in 1996) was the third main installment, but you can class that as part of the first era of the series. I do, at least. Also, it was developed by the now-defunct T?eamTNT. So for argument's sake, we'll say the third game was the early 2000s one.

Things had moved on in the FPS genre at this point. Half-Life 2 was yet to come out, but Halo had been kicking about the place for a few years and was something of a game-changer. As such, Doom 3 had to be pretty special to stand out. And stand out it did, but maybe not to everyone's tastes, for it swapped out the high-octane action for something more horror-based (though it still had action). Maybe not everyone liked this direction the series had gone in (personally, I did), but it kept the Doom name in the limelight. At least for a little while. It also made use of the then-new id Tech 4 engine, so it had some pretty advanced visuals?? for the time.

The great comeback

Look, for the sake of brevity, I'm skipping a few details here. In the interim before the big reboot, we got Doom Resurrection �which was an attempt to turn the franchise into a survival horror �as well as a couple of Doom RPGs (yes, seriously). But outside these, there wasn't a lot going on until Doom 2016 made an appearance.

Many of you are probably aware of this already, but for those who aren't, we very nearly got a Call of Duty-style Doom game at one point. During the development of a fourth installment in the mid-2000s, parent company Zenimax pulled the plug and instead asked the studio to do a reboot of the series. And that w??as what we got in the end. You can see ea??rly footage from the cancelled project below.

Doom 2016 was such a success because it was a return to those glory days of the 90s when it was all about the insane action, the brutal violence, and the sheer chaotic spectacle of it all. Sure, it was visually on par with the modern era, but it retained a lot of that fast-paced shooting that many of us grew up with thanks to the classics. It was also nice to play something where you felt like the most dangerous one among a horde of blo??odthirsty monsters. Power fantasies, man.

Doom Eternal came in 2020, right before much of the world went into lockdown I hasten to add, and was as well-received as the previous game. Having recently replayed it myself, I think Eternal is great but has a number of flaws that stop it from being on the same pedestal as the 2016 reboot (first-person platforming, anyone?). Whatever your thoughts, Doom was truly back, and we now know it's not going a??way any time so??on.

And here we are

I'll admit, I don't quite know how to feel about The Dark Ages. On the one hand, it's a?? new entry in the continued success of one of gaming's most influential series. On the other, a third installment can be tricky to pull off, retaini??ng what made the previous entries special while keeping things fresh. Generally, I like to think I'm keen to try it out when it releases next year.

But it represents one more chapter in the Doom saga, a timeline that stretches back to the mid-1990s, when fresh-faced developers like John Carmack and John Romero were cutting their teeth in a relatively new industry. Not many o?ther franchises can say they can comfortably keep the lights on for a solid 30+ years. Of course, i??d Software is not the studio it was back in the day, with people departing and new teams forming, but it counts itself as one of the big developers.

But the fact is, the story of Doom is one that will live on for a very long time. Who knows for how long, really? But there's a reason why the name crops up in lists of the most influential or most impactful FPS games of all t??ime. That goes for both the classics and the modern reboot. Both old and new are typically amongst some of the best in the business, and that's not an easy feat.

Many of us grew up playing the earlier games, so to see Doom still kicking it decades later is like a parent watching with pride as their child makes it in the big, wide world. When some young programmers and designers from Louisiana got together t?o start making games, there's no way any of them could possibly have visualized just how far that ambition would take them.

I don't want to get too sentimental or hero worship-y about all this, because it is just a game, after all. Had Doom never come to fruition, would another name have emerged and we'd be talking about that instead? We'll never know, but this is the timeline we're living in and id Software is a studio that will forever be associated with thrusting the first-person shooter into the mainstream. Here's hoping The Dark Ages can continue the legacy.

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So this is why it's taken so long

Ahead of its full reveal next month, Bethesda let out a couple seconds of footage for the new Doom. It looks cool to the extent that a snippet like this can look cool. Also, crucially, the footage is evocative of the series. That wasn't the case for the game prior to id Software starting over and trying again.

More images from the old, dead version of Doom 4 surfaced today on Doomworld and they look straight out of Call of Duty, or Rage, or anything but Doom, basically. Totally generic.

Those quotes about how past versions of the game lacked a soul were dead on, it turns out. Here's hoping all the warm, fuzzy, super-positive tweets out of QuakeCon are just as accurate.

We gotta figure out what those Russians are doing [Doomworld]

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A very quick tease

Next month on June 14 (hey it's like less than a month away) Bethesda will reveal Doom 4. They've said so, it's?? totally happening guys. Until then you can get a sneak peek at what??'s to come, including a 10-second teaser that contains roughly 1.5 seconds of actual gameplay footage.

I really hope Doom 4 is good.

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All of id is focused on the project now

Coming into this year's QuakeCon, I didn't expect to hear much of anything about Doom 4. Like a child who doesn't get that one specific toy for Christmas year after year, I can only have my heart broken so many times. It's cool. IGN was able to get some informative quotes out of id and Bethesda on the long-in-developme??nt project, which has undergone a reboot.

"Every game has a soul," explained studio director Tim Willits. "Every game has a spirit. When you played Rage, you got the spirit. And [Doom] did not have the spirit, it did not have the soul, it didn’t have a personality. It had a bit of schizophrenia, a little bit of an identity crisis. It didn’t have the passion and soul of what an id game is. Everyone knows the feeling of Doom, but it’s very hard to articulate."

"You can make a game and say, ‘that’s not a bad game, but it’s not as good as an Elder Scrolls game should be,’ and there’s a difference...it’s not great," said Bethesda VP of markerting Pe??te Hines. "It’s not amazing. It’s not what people have waited all this time for. It needs to be like ‘this was totally worth the wait.’ And I think what the guys at id are working on is...they’re pushing the boundaries and challenging themselves. I don’t want anybody to look at id’s next project and have this reaction that it’s still stuck in the 90s."

Which kind of worries me a bit, but I suppose we have Doom and Doom II already -- a modern take on the series won't erase those games from our minds. id and Bethesda clearly want to get this right and aren't afraid to take their time in achieving that goal. Best of l??uck to them.

id Software 'Pushing Boundaries,' F??ocusing Only on Doom 4 [IGN]

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RAGE 2 canceled, if you care

Bethesda has announced that work on the perpetually developed Doom 4 has begun anew, with aims to now launch the shooter on next generation consoles. The news follows reports from Kotaku that the game's development was "not going ??well."

Speaking with Kotaku, Bethesda confirmed Doom 4 "did not exhibit the quality and excitement that id and Bethesda intend to deliver and that&n?bsp;Doom fans worldwide expect.

"As a result, id refocused its efforts on a new version of Doom 4 that promises to meet the very high expectations everyone has for this game and this franchise. When we're ready to talk about the Doom 4 id is making, we will let folks know."

In less compelling news, Rage 2 has been canceled and the original game's DLC plans?? were "downsized" following underwhelming sales.?? Okay then.

Bethesda confirms w??ork on a "new version" of Doom 4 [Eurogamer]

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First the good news: Doom 4 isn't canceled. Rumors were circulating this past week because someone decided to believe something someone on a message board said was true, but Bethesda has stated otherwise. Yay!

Here's some more good news: A ton of Doom 4 images were accidentally released. These images of Doom 4 came from the portfolio of senior environmental artist, Thao Le. The images were taken dow??n but not before the Internets could get their hands on them.

All Games Beta got their hands on even more supposed Doom 4 images, 170 more to be exact. These new images depict mostly character models and env??ir?onmental renders. How exciting! 

Are These Doom 4 Screenshots? [Kotaku]
Bethesda: 'DOOM 4 isn't cancelled' [Joystiq]
Doom 4 More Leaked Images [AllGamesBeta]

The post Here are a buttload ??of supposed leaked Doom 4 images appeared first on Destructoid.

[Update: Bethesda's Pete Hines has denied the rumor, stating that no title has been postponed?, "indefinitely or otherwise."]

According to "anonymous sources" speaking to Kotaku, id Software's next project has been put on indefinite hiatus following a disappointing launch for RAGE and a newfound lack ??of faith in the former king of first-person shooters. 

With RAGE's mixed reviews and notorious quality issues at launch, Bethesda allegedly posses?ses "a serious lack of confidence in the project management at id."

RAGE had a lot of marketing buzz behind it, but launching the same month as Batman: Arkham City and Battlefield 3 has surely done it no favors, especially with such conflicting?? reviews ranging fr?om 100% on Metacritic right down to 33%. While, admittedly, reception has been mostly positive, the overbearing negative criticisms echoed throughout the feedback are lethal during such a busy release period. 

As far as DOOM 4 goes, any hint of a potential delay saddens me, as I had been really looking forward to seeing mo?re of the game. Hopefully this rumor doesn't mean it stays down ??for long.

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