Comments on: EDITORIAL: DOOM 4, Does Anyone Really Care?

By: DOOM IV Won’t Be Called DOOM IV | Game Stooge

DOOM IV Won’t Be Called DOOM IV | Game Stooge — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 03:57:44 +0000

[...] next DOOM as long as I don’t have to deal with that damn flashlight, though Derrick is unsure if anyone will care at [...]

By: Derrick Schommer

Derrick Schommer — Mon, 12 May 2008 22:22:48 +0000

And, as a result, I have little to no interest in Carmacks games anymore.

I’m not that kid anymore, I’ve grown and learned to explore new possibilities, techniques and ideas.

I think it’s time for him to do the same! But alas, instead I’ll just pass on DOOM IV. As I played two hours of DOOM III before I grew bored to tears.

Two hours is about the time I get over the honeymoon period of “ooh, nice graphics” and expect more.

By: jbonner71

jbonner71 — Mon, 12 May 2008 19:31:58 +0000

I love monster closets…almost as much as I love invisible walls!

By: Jonah Falcon

Jonah Falcon — Mon, 12 May 2008 18:31:34 +0000

Personally, I was bored to tears of DOOM III (and I played the PC version.) After other games with actual - you know - AI, plot and dialogue, DOOM III was just a lot of monster closets - and if I wanted that, Aliens vs. Predator 2 is much scarier.

By: jbonner71

jbonner71 — Mon, 12 May 2008 17:59:04 +0000

I agree, Derrick, that would be awesome…BUT Carmack has little to no interest in story and narrative design, therefore id, as a whole, has little interest in those facets of game development.

Why do you think that the first thing that Romero did when he was forced out of id was to come up with the “Design Is Law” mantra for Ion Storm? That was basically a big middle finger in Carmack’s face, a complete reverse of what was that “law” at id, technology.

By: Derrick Schommer

Derrick Schommer — Mon, 12 May 2008 17:25:06 +0000

From a technology standpoint, I totally understand ID’s concepts and designs. Hell, I bet they make a crap ton more money on licensing then anything. Which, to me, makes DOOM 3 a “tech demo” for other developers to build from when they work on their own games with ID’s engines.

However, lately, it seems companies like Valve and Epic have been able to make kick ass engines AND work other avenues of the designs to make them epic (no pun intended).

With the genious at ID I think it would be wonderful if they put a few investments into people to write stories for them. It can’t hurt them that’s for sure.

Imagine the power of a DOOM engine with the writing of a Salvatore, Tom Clancy, Raymond Feist or other great writer. I’ve seen other companies do this in parallel with development.

By: Jonathon Howard

Jonathon Howard — Mon, 12 May 2008 17:23:10 +0000

Doom 3 was an enjoybale game though one made using, just as you point out, all the tricks of a game made in the 1993. I somewhat question id’s dedication to the engine as I don’t see how important the engine is at this point… I can’t think of any games that were made using the Doom3 engine, and if there were, it wasn’t advertised by the game makers… If the engine is the important thing why are they just making the engine and then handing it off to storytellers who can deliver a great experience with a great environment…

By: jbonner71

jbonner71 — Mon, 12 May 2008 16:32:24 +0000

Thanks, I’ve been a bit busy with other stuff…and lying low somewhat. :^)

By: Jonah Falcon

Jonah Falcon — Mon, 12 May 2008 16:27:36 +0000

Hello, Mr. Bonner. Haven’t seen hide nor hair of you on the site for a while.

By: jbonner71

jbonner71 — Mon, 12 May 2008 16:25:03 +0000

If you haven’t already, Derrick, you should read “Masters of Doom” by David Kushner. This explains id’s (and by extension John Carmack’s)game design philosophy very well. Story is secondary, even tertiary, to engine/graphic technology (id Tech) and level design.

Unfortunately, I doubt this this will change anytime soon as Carmack seems to be a very single minded person. Just ask John Romero or Tom Hall or American McGee or Adrian Carmack or… well, you get my drift.

By: Jonah Falcon

Jonah Falcon — Mon, 12 May 2008 15:59:49 +0000

All I got from this is that you loved Thundercats when growing up, Derrick.