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doom-nerdo-666 · 1 year

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Horror does have a place in Doom

(Mainly felt like making this post after a video by thebeansprout13, even if this comes out later because it was in my drafts for a while)

This is a very talked about, overplayed topic on Doom and it tends to repeat, sometimes because certain opinions/observations are more popular than others.

I think horror is an element in Doom and there's a lot of ways to talk about this, both in favor and against or even somewhere in the middle.

The 90's games

We all know about Doom Bible's canned ideas of the characters and story but even then, Doom is clearly inspired by Aliens, Evil Dead, DnD and so on.

But maybe this mix of inspirations (And the weird presentation of the games) means there's different things to pick apart.

If Doom was a movie, it could have been a B-movie with a goofy, campy nature and still have some eerie atmosphere or gross practical effects.

At first we have:

Some dark, suspense based music tracks.

Darker areas meant to show off lightning and "slow" moments.

Probably the default movement speed and the history behind "ALWAYS_RUN".

Doomguy being hurt in the box art and ingame status bar.

The Arch-vile's intended design of an eerie HR Giger inspired alien.

Textures like the flesh walls with metal pipes, twisted faces and some hanged corpses people thought were based on a real pic of Mussolini (But it's actually GI Joe figures).

But then there's:

The fast gameplay and combat that can happen.

Cartoony designs and assets.

The metal music (And other tracks like those that sound kinda like jazz).

The campy writing style in the manuals and intermission screens.

The presentation of Daisy's death.

Some of Doomguy's faces.

The name "BFG" and how some assets were made like using toys to make the guns.

Maybe whenever a level was clearly gimmicky and "gamey" or experimental.

The ridiculously low-tech aesthetic with blue carpet floors and maybe how Phobos' sky doesn't look like Phobos.

So it seems Doom always had a mix of elements and that's why people even argue over this, though i also see benefits of Doom being a "blank canvas" when it comes to its staying power.

Doom 64 was the more horror focused classic game with its take on Hell and some demon designs (But still not showing Doomguy's bloodied mugshot or some assets of classic Hell).

Even its theme song was barely metal (And i think John Romero really liked the PS1 port).

And D64 is also seen as "the real Doom 3" though this is a bit of a topic i mentioned in a different post.

Doom 3

A "reboot" of the series and a new entry in a time after the series was dormant (And mostly carried by fan mods).

D3 pushes things to a specific direction that John Carmack thought it was natural.

Some fans think the same, others thing it's opposite to what they expect out of Doom, some even accept it as a new thing.

D3 is much more story focused, with a bunch of cutscenes, background/lore, characters and most if it isn't goofy.

Demons are redesigned and some barely resemble their original versions (Might be because they looked "goofy" even if we have fanart that knows how to make them eerie; Meanwhile, D3's Arch-vile didn't capture the original design that much).

New demons represent a new art style that makes them "more serious and scary" or at least surreal.

The UAC stuff is still low-tech but in a more detailed, "professional" way.

Gameplay is slower, with a focus on reloading and the lantern.

Darkness focus and horror etc.

More serious tone, with little music.

D3 marine never smiles and looks worried most of the time.

Besides UAC and Hell, there's the Martians as a way to "extend" the universe but they're still mostly mysterious and not shown a lot.

The premise of a UAC marine having to fight demons after the UAC unleashing Hell is technically there, but it's also differently done from the original games (At least/specially if you look into the "lore" in the old manuals).

This game divided some fans, though a prespective i like to hear more is one that likes the idea but not so much the execution and i also always bring up how unfair it is that later versions (BFG edition and others) tend to have new problems or cut content for no reason, while not fixing certain flaws.

Because you'll still find some older fans thinking Doom was supposed to have some form of tension or horror, compared to those that prefer the fast action side of things.

Oddly enough, Hell in the series always had potential to be weird but D3, the game with the most experimental demon designs, didn't really took advantage of those elements.

At least D3 has some mods that fix some people's issues with the game, whether or not it leads to them respect the game more.

If you ask me: Doom 3's horror isn't just the dark corridors or slow "doomed" marine, but it's the crazy designs like the Bruiser having a screen on its mouth or the Revenant having transparent skin.

And i think D3 has its fair share of goofyness like the Turkey minigame (And the others in RoE that later versions deleted for no reasons) or that one fat zombie going "mmmm boy" that farts.

Doom 2016 and Eternal

D2016 is like an extreme opposite to D3: You are the horror and gameplay is more focused on movement and projectile avoiding that there's barely hitscan enemies besides the Possessed Security and maybe the Hellrazer.

Besides the arena focused combat, there's the Glory Kills, alt fires, upgrades, Mick Gordon's music, the character of the Doomslayer and so on.

But bits of D3's style are still present, speciall Mars and Hell a bit since Doom technically wasn't always "Mars" (Otherwise, more people would bring up the classic Phobos aesthetic and specific textures but even Hell still doesn't carry certain elements back).

(In fact, when D2016 was revealed, people complained about the lack of color and even said the demons looked "MOBA-ish")

The Hellknight is clearly inspired by its D3 design but one major difference is being eyeless instead of the weird eyes (Or are they sockets?) it had in D3.

Most demons have a rather "focused" aesthetic of chitin armored creatures and even lore explaining how they work or even how the UAC was involved in some being created/modified (Which may or may not affect the appeal of Hell being a weird dimension of evil that Doomguy has to put up with).

It's also somewhat known that D2016 was influenced by outside factors for Doom: The Doom comic ("Rip and tear") is obvious but there's probably other theories like anything to do with Death Battle or internet copypastas/webcomics joking about Doomguy (And i guess Brutal Doom but there's still arguements about it).

Doomslayer being a killing machine that scares demons is like an inverse to the "doomed" D3 marine: Putting classic Doomguy in the middle since he's both a strong action hero but still gets hurt (Even his portrayal in the 90's comic is like this).

The existence of D2016 is also a result of Doom 4 being cancelled: A game that was so deviated from Doom, it didn't even feel like a D3 sequel (And maybe it wasn't).

In a way, D2016's appeal relies on some bits of fanservice and at least getting basic ideas that people associate with Doom, which contrasts D3 not relying on "outside factors" but also chosing specific parts of the series while also executing them in a way that i'm not sure if it was ideal for D3 itself.

Then there's Doom Eternal, which builds up from 2016 in a lot of ways (And in was that people either like or hate it but it's still a very beloved and popular title).

The aesthetic is more colorfull and brings back some classic designs (Not entirely as they're put inside the new aesthetic), there's the concept of the "Doom universe", lots of new mechanics and a lot more to like (But also things that divided some fans).

Eternal's "videogamey" pickups were technically based on how some people thought pickups in D2016 overlapped with the environment, even if people liked how items in D2016 "existed in the setting" (Because even in classic Doom, you didn't have those kinds of pickups).

There's a lot of debates about Eternal's lore and aesthetic that leads to comparisons to 2016 but i'm thinking on making a post dedicated to that (Specially with some prespectives, opinions and stuff that most people don't consider).

Regardless, Eternal has clearly different media influences compared to the originals and feels like a different genre.

Basically, if classic Doom is a "campy B-movie", Eternal is a "saturday morning cartoon with gore" (And D3 is a serious sci-fi horror movie, i guess).

(And let's not forget: Different people are behind these games, in a series where people already interpret them in their own ways)

Sometimes, i think Doom is like the Planet of the Apes movie series:

D3 is closer to the original premise but 2016/Eternal are seem to be the more liked iteration of the series.

(Meanwhile, we have Mighty Doom as the most cartoony Doom game but in a cute way while the RPG Doom's had a different cartoonyness and sense of humor and a rather serious intro comic)

"Horror" in Doom to fans (And what else)

If you look at some pieces of fanart (Or even fan redesigns) and some mods, there's definitely an appeal of Doom being more horror focused and tense, even without affecting certain designs or the personality.

It's why one could not only defend D3 but even think that D3's issue isn't being different but rather doing a flawed job at its own direction.

Because 2016/Eternal also have their own differences from the original games but they seem to mostly nail their own direction.

I even see "horror" complement the "power fantasy" concept of modern Doom: Making Hell weirder and stranger, which makes Doomguy/Slayer feel even stronger.

Because "horror" as a concept can mean a lot: Not just dark corridors or walking slow, but it can lead to really interesting designs that make Hell feel threatning and weirdly creative.

After all, if it's possible to make a game out of "fans want a Doomguy that is more powerfull and the gameplay is fast", i don't see why we couldn't have one that is "fans want a tense, bone chilling experience and the demons look scary but still cool", even if you see those cool fan redesigns as better than what we got in D3.

(I like to believe that different types of Doom can coexist)

Even D3 haters may find or cherrypick some parts of the game they like (Which also makes me think it's another good reason why MetaDoom is a really cool mod).

I believe it should be possible to make a game that has elements of both "paths" represented, even if it means like a level with disturbing environments and then you find a goofy collectable toy in a secret.

I also said this before but i kinda get D3 hate coming from older fans but not people who got into the series at 2016 and after, because you technically "skipped" the "dark age" that some fans went through.

How hated D3 really is depends on which opinions or mindset overcome the others, because fanbases and hobbies almost tend to have an "anglicized canon" that is rather pushed by some specific people.

Anyway, i tried to add as much i could in this post but i'd like if someone like a Youtuber or older fan were to analyze this and even add more to this or correct potential flaws.

It's a topic that could be more explored, because even people that argue "Doom was always X" overlook elements that support their claims.