Whenever i think of the “keyword” behind retro FPS and what made them good, i feel like some people associate them with “speed”, but i think another keyword in general is “variety”.

On one hand, it applies to the components that make the game (Weapons, enemies, items, mechanics, level features etc) but on another it could also be varying situations and how they use these components (Moments of exploration, platforming, movement, maybe a bit of cover etc).

“Variety” and “speed” can still coexist and offer amazing results, while another benefit of speed is to push how advanced or impressive a game’s engine can be.

“Variety” also explains how level design can make scenarios feel different despite using the same “content”, hence why some of these classics still have mods and maps being made, as a testament of their versatility.

Because of this, i feel like modern FPS in that dark era didn’t just suck because they felt slow: Even if you try to make a milsim corridor FPS seem “fast”, you’d still be strict to barely any resource management, extremely linear levels and a non-existent enemy variety (Almost like a combination of every decision possible to put the least amount of effort into designing a video game).

Because most Doom games have their own varied elements and use of them. Not only that, most Doom games have their own differences and not every Doom game follows a certain system or formula.

2016 and Eternal seem to focus on more speed, while classic Doom in comparison can be slower because it may prioritize the exploration and how the levels "control" the pace.

In a way, that explains some differences from the originals like how armor works or some enemy changes, but id still puts effort into new ideas and spicing things up.

Eternal seems like the kind of game people go “it’s almost perfect except for this” and honestly, it seems Eternal’s flaws can be natural to the game like its best parts because of the formula it establishes.

While Classic Doom can be “fixed/modernized” without losing too many essential or technical parts, if some source ports, fan patches and mods are anything to go by (As in, not referring to Brutal Doom or heavy change mods here),

In fact, i feel like some ideas that people think are “too gimmicky” or “ruin the pace” are a result of the “Doom dance” formula, as if the platforming (Which i think it’s fun) had to coexist with the combat arenas or else the alternative would be basic corridors (Since Eternal is more experimental than 2016).

(The "self aware videogamey" style of pick ups was even made for the sake of feedback during combat, even if a giant glowing helmet made of neon lights with "1 up" text above can still be weird, even by Doom standards).

Even how TAG1/2 forced the player to use specific weapon mods may be a result of how the enemy variety would have to grow in the same games where the “Zombiemen” are no longer hitscan and a Pain Elemental’s Lost Souls aren’t simply spread around.

You could even argue that dashing exists as a mechanic, as a modern equivalent to pressing SHIFT but done differently.

But then you have the Master Levels, in which most of them work because of how the roster of enemies are structured, as if some could still fit other areas of a map (While in classic Doom, even if its enemies have a less deeper system, they're still different enough that you can't just edit a Doom 2 map where you replace Imps and zombies with Revenants and Arch-viles, unless you're making a Plutonia map 32 style of map remix).

So if a Doom 6 can’t be “above Eternal”, it could still be its own thing with cool new ideas because sometimes, you don’t have to always go “more good, less bad”, when each game will always have its own ups and downs, sometimes benefitting discussion.

I feel like there’s still a lot that can be done with the Slayer “Doom Dance” style of games, but i also feel like there’s some limitations which is probably why some people are open to spin-offs where you play as different characters or outright different game formulas under the Doom name.

And looking at Doom 3’s flaws, people will point at how slow it is when a bigger issue was how repetitive some encounters felt and just most enemies lacking more unique roles (Or maybe this part alone is more to do with documentation/analysis).

Either way, i feel like simply seeing new ideas and executions/versions of those in Doom can always be refreshing and i personally feel a bit welcoming to new stuff being added to Doom as a series (Ironically despite talking about how huge Doom modding, because i guess an official Doom game has the advantage of simply being official or “canon” as opposed to a fan made mod with some cool features).

I do think some people forget that classic Doom technically had a “slow default movement” speed, whereas “running” was attached to pressing SHIFT and before source ports had the “ALWAYS RUN” command/option, MS DOS Doom had the Config File in which an exploit is how you can set the running speed as default movement.

(And stuff like outrunning your own rockets is a result of the wallrun bug, something that some ports fixed).

With Quake, you have the “Doom is for SP, Quake is for MP” mindset/phrase but it’s ironic that most traditional arena multiplayer and Quake 3 aren’t as popular, while most content Quake gets nowadays is singleplayer maps/mods, so that statement (Doom is SP, Quake is MP) feels more like a phrase some guy said and was carried like it was a traditional opinion or something.

Even then, it’s still impressive to see how a game test’s someone’s speed.

A good thing about making Doom faster is that Doomguy’s arsenal was mostly simple and then the new Doom games add weapon mods and such; This is why i think Heretic receiving a “Doom Eternal treatment” can be difficult because Corvus always had a greater/more diverse arsenal, with items that may not fit a faster style of game, though an Hexen project where the Fighter/Baratus becomes this fast brawler/punchy guy would be fun.

But going back to “ALWAYS RUN”, i always wonder if Doomguy simply having a wide arsenal of guns isn’t more significant to him than his movement speed (In which people tried to analyze as a way to determinate his canon power level, which kinda felt like adding deeper context to where the original devs never thought of none).

It makes me think of how the Marauder (And eventually, the Dark Lord) are structured: They mainly mirror the player’s speed but not the deep arsenal: Because a character with a diverse arsenal would be a good way to make Doomguy fight someone at his level but i can also see it take much more work.

Like a lot of my other points, all of this revolves around Doom being about experimentation and seeing new stuff in Doom, even if for the sake of crossovers.

It also reminds me of what i said about the Arch-vile’s main brilliance not being just the challenge but mainly the uniqueness, which is why i compare him to Heretic’s Iron Lich, Duke Nukem’s 3D's Protector Drone and Quake SoA’s Gremlin.

To me, increasing Doomguy’s power level includes giving him weapons and abilities with different functions and stuff, not really some deep lore about his canon power level: Probably why i wish the Crucible had more going on for a “melee moveset” but at least the Sentinel Hammer had a more interesting role in comparison (This sort of thinking even applies with crossovers, even if giving the Crucible a bunch of different moves and combos would still not lead to Doomguy being playable in Smash but either way).

I guess that also applies with Hell’s demons and their abilities and roles too.

This also comes down to how Doom is technically a sequel to Wolfenstein 3D, in a way that it had to build up its formula from Wolf 3D's limitations, from the level architecture to the weaponry and enemy roster.

Because Doom in a way was complex enough to push the genre, this is probably why Quake is seen as "Doom in 3D" despite having its differences from classic Doom.

Anyway, already made this wall of text too long but at least there's some "food for thought" or something.

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Pub: 15 Oct 2022 20:54 UTC
Views: 74