Slay your boredom with Doom…Slayer!
The Doom Slayer photo (Jonathan Jones/The Puma Prensa)
By: Jonathan Jones, staff writer
Once upon a time, in 1991, in the hot, sunny town of Richardson, Texas, two young indie developers were about to strike gold. John Carmack and John Romero both worked for a young game development company, ID Software, which had not yet made a name for itself since its foundation in 1991. Then, one day, in November 1992, only a year after the company's establishment, they were given an assignment that would change their lives forever.
They were told to work on a game called Doom. It was a new style of game that no one had seen before. It was the first ever first person shooter game to be announced and developed during a time when family-friendly games like Super Mario Brothers, The Legend of Zelda, Pac-Man, and many others were sweeping the nation. There hadn't been such a violent and gruesome game until then. On December 10, 1993, Doom was officially released for all of America to enjoy. The game was a smashing success, easily overtaking other hit games of the time. It would go on to be one of the most influential titles to ever be released.
Now, 32 years after the release of the first game, there are a total of 16 Doom games, with a new one, Doom: The Dark Ages, on its way to release later this year on May 13, 2025. It is a prequel to the newer Doom games that have been released in the past 10 years. However, to fully understand and enjoy the story of this new game, it is important to first know who exactly the Doom Slayer is.
Doom is a very chaotic game. The main premise of the game is about ripping and tearing your way through the waves of demons and zombies sent up from hell to stop you. The first few games introduce us to the main character. Though he had no official name, he was aptly named the Doom Marine by the fans. This name was eventually recognized by the creators, until it was officially changed to Doom Slayer. As the games go on, you find more and more information about how the world was taken over and how the demonic invasion started. His rage and hate for the demons all began when he returned home to find his entire family dead, as well as his beloved pet rabbit, Daisy. The death of his loved ones pushed him to limits never thought possible.
As the games went on, new lore was introduced, presumably just to make Doom Slayer even cooler. In the more recent games, such as Doom (2016) and Doom Eternal, it had gotten to the point where it was believed that Doom Slayer was the messiah, and then he ended up facing the most powerful creature in existence. The very thing that created the universe and every other holy spirit, ended up just being an evil clone of Doom Slayer.
The absurdity of the story and the absolute chaos that was the gameplay, skyrocketed the game to its success. Some of the most iconic weapons in all of gaming came from Doom. Items like the Super Shotgun or the BFG 9000 all originated from Doom. Even the music that was produced for the games were so amazing that it practically saved the careers of some small indie artists such as Bobby Prince and Mick Gordon. The extreme metal music that plays while you are slaughtering hordes of the undead creates the sort of atmosphere that makes players jump up in their seat and make them feel like an unstoppable force. Some of the most popular songs like “At Doom’s Gate”, “Rip and Tear”, and “The Only Thing They Fear Is You” have become some of the most iconic pieces of music to ever release from a video game original soundtrack along the likes of Minecraft or the original Super Mario Bros theme.
The extreme violence and exaggerated story, the outlandish weapons and heavy metal soundtrack, and as well as the communities undying loyalty and love for the game, has pushed the little 8-bit pixel shooter that you can play on a calculator, into one of the most iconic and successful games to exists in the current world of gaming.