Is Doom really outdated?

[DOOMsteinZone]

I've been thinking about this question for a long time, and I do agree that Doom is outdated by modern standards, but only for the most part. There are certain elements in Doom that could be perfectly incorporated into modern shooters, in my honest opinion. Case in point, maps from cleverly designed, custom-built content like Deus Vult and Hell Revealed 2 revealed that you as the player can maneuver your way through literally hundreds of enemies or just slaughter your way through. It's not the simple fact that there are hordes of enemies. Many games have that already. In Doom specifically, however, players are encouraged to run, jump, and glide through meticulously designed levels that are more than just mere open areas conveniently placed for spawning enemies, all the while shooting their way through massive hordes of enemies. Resource management is another element from Doom that could be incorporated. Whether you like exploration, wild slaughterfests, or keeping items in check, Doom seems to retain all of these elements in one savory package. In order to provide a better representation of my point, I see no better way than to ask people to watch this little gem https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcxJ9Klyct8. Imagine if we had that in modern shooters.

Sure, Doom may be outdated from a technical and graphical standpoint. But in terms of gameplay, I truly believe that the aforementioned elements would hold up well in modern times. People always say that Doom is still being played today only because of mods and nostalgia, that it's just a dumb shooter of a bygone era of gaming. The ironic thing is that this "dumb shooter", with just the right push, can be just as relevant today as it once was in the 90s.

Doom, man. It got so many things right. Intelligent input would be much appreciated.

[leileilol]

is fine wine outdated?

[SuperSomariDX]

It's a hard question to answer logically without seeming opinionated on the whole view. If you're going for the technical aspect and are referring by DOS/Win95 in terms for example, then yes. The game is pretty outdated. If you're going for an overview aspect to look over everything from then to now, then technically no. It's still as fresh as those whom help keep it that way. The only way for something itself to truly be outdated is most likely through the factor of something fading away itself without the idea or so touched or even remembered. One could say the mods keep it alive, another the modern engines, some could even say the theme or pure idea itself. It's quite a large view with various answers that all differ to get an exact answer. Each person will feel that a certain aspect can add to subtract from the feeling. Some people like the simplicity of the gameplay, others may like the satanic and demonic atmosphere, while others may get turned off by the engine, or just dislike the demon based theme altogether and like an atmosphere to that of Heretic. It's quite interesting, really.

Then again, that's like saying the pencil is outdated due to the mechanical pencil and the pen being invented. It all seems to fall back into a loop within itself. The question may not exactly be the hardest one out there, but if you try to look at it in every possible aspect and the various ways that it could be answered, it's almost insane.


That's why I'll say I'm in the middle of the feeling. Mind the wall of uninteresting text of mine, I apologize for that.

[Nash]

Doom's gameplay is still relevant in 2015 and as a matter of fact, no triple-A nextgen photorealistic grafic's game has ever been able to replicate or surpass yet. Funny 'cuz when you think about it, Doom is basically just Robotron in first person.

[DOOMsteinZone]

Mind the wall of uninteresting text of mine, I apologize for that.

No problem. You make an interesting point. I made sure to specifically touch on the gameplay aspects so as to narrow down my argument. I could definitely understand why people say Doom is outdated from an overall perspective. I just feel that the elements I've mentioned are left under the bus nowadays. Here's to hoping the new Doom will bring some sort of resurgence in that regard.

[XCVG]

I wouldn't say it's inherently better or worse than modern shooters. It's a completely different kind of game, which some will like more and some will like less over what is offered today. In that sense, nothing today does a better job at being Doom than Doom.

I think the big thing that keeps Doom relevant today is how easy it is to work with. You can pick up the tools and create a passable level very quickly, and at least with ZDoom it's not much harder to start adding in custom resources. The old-school graphics and 2.5D help. I don't want to say they lower the standards, but it's definitely less resource-intensive to produce something that can compare favorably to Doom than something that can compare favourably to Skyrim.

[Marisa the Magician]

From a technological standpoint, I find games from the 90's to be quite clever. It's amazing, the things people come up with under restrictive hardware limitations. Nowadays such concerns are completely removed, so it's perfectly fine to use 4K uncompressed tga files for lens flare textures, or have models with a lot of redundant vertices saved in formats that have so much overhead it's laughable (COLLADA, anyone?).

[SuperSomariDX]

As I was taught by looking into hardware limitations for the NES and other similar systems. Limitations fuel creativity with the resources you can use. Setting limits for yourself can yield better results for something rather than trying to go entirely over the top and have something seem too insane.

[xenoxols]

I always viewed Duke Nukem 3d as just a better Doom, so I'd say yes.

[Tormentor667]

No

[Oberron]

Answer is no, I still enjoy it... along with Quake.

[Marisa the Magician]

Doom is currently the only game I've never gotten tired of playing ever since I got my hands on the first episode in a shareware collection cd when I was 5. I'd say it's because of how well it has aged and how nicely it has been kept fresh by the community. Although even vanilla gameplay is still enjoyable for me.

[DOOMsteinZone]

Although even vanilla gameplay is still enjoyable for me.

Exactly the premise to my main point! Mods are arguably what keep Doom alive. But the vanilla gameplay aspects show that Doom might have been on to something, something that I hope we'll see in the new Doom and future shooters.

[Naniyue]

DooM is eternal!

It got so many things right on the first try. Yes, mods can help freshen things up, but the core is still the same, and an awesome core at that.

I've played many FPS games, hybrids included, but DooM is the only one I regularly keep up with.

[Hellser]

I've been playing Doom since I was 5 as well, being 25 now - the game has kept up well. Is it outdated? No. Hardly. Doom gets my blood rushing unlike the latest Call of Doody: Money Ops III