DOOM Shareware ??The FPS That Changed Everything

Category: Action / FPS | Developer: id Software | Year: 1993 | Play: Browser (DOSBox) | Price: Free

About This Classic

On December 10, 1993, id Software uploaded a file called DOOM1_0.ZIP to the University of Wisconsin’s FTP server. Within hours, the server crashed from the traffic. Within weeks, DOOM was installed on more computers than Windows 95. John Carmack, John Romero, Adrian Carmack, and Tom Hall had created not just a game, but a cultural phenomenon.

You are the Doom Slayer (or “Doomguy”), a space marine stationed on Mars. A teleportation experiment at the Union Aerospace Corporation (UAC) facility goes horribly wrong, unleashing demons from Hell. Armed with a pistol and a whole lot of rage, you fight through 9 levels of Episode 1: Knee-Deep in the Dead ??the legendary shareware episode that hooked millions of players.

DOOM was named one of the “100 Greatest Games of All Time” by multiple publications, added to the Museum of Modern Art collection in 2012, and is still played competitively in speedrunning and deathmatch communities today.

Gameplay & Tips

DOOM is fast, brutal, and addictive. Here’s how to survive Knee-Deep in the Dead:

• Always Be Moving: Standing still is death. Strafe (Alt + Left/Right) while shooting to dodge Imp fireballs and Demon charges.
• Weapon Progression: Pistol ??Shotgun (E1M2) ??Chaingun (E1M4 secret) ??Rocket Launcher (E1M6). The Shotgun is your workhorse ??one-shot kills on Imps and Zombiemen at close range.
• Secret Hunting 101: Walls with slightly different textures (often misaligned or darker) are pushable. In E1M3, the secret exit requires running across a nukage pit to a timed door ??one of gaming’s most famous secrets.
• Monster Infighting: Demons will attack other demons if hit by friendly fire. You can bait groups into fighting each other ??a core tactic for Nightmare difficulty.
• Berserk Pack: Makes your fists lethal for the rest of the level. Punching a Pinky Demon to death in one hit is deeply satisfying.

Controls

• Arrow Keys ??Move and turn
• Ctrl ??Shoot
• Space ??Use (open doors, flip switches)
• Alt + Left/Right ??Strafe (essential!)
• 1-7 ??Switch weapons (Fist, Chainsaw, Pistol, Shotgun, Chaingun, Rocket Launcher, BFG9000, Plasma Gun)
• Alt+Enter ??Toggle fullscreen
• F1 ??Help screen
• F5 ??Save game

Why It’s a Legend

DOOM didn’t just improve on Wolfenstein 3D ??it redefined what games could be. It introduced height variation (stairs, lifts, platforms), non-orthogonal walls, texture-mapped environments with dynamic lighting, and an atmosphere so thick you could feel it. The sound design ??from the heavy breathing of demons in adjacent rooms to the iconic E1M1 music (“At Doom’s Gate”) ??was lightyears ahead of its time.

Even more importantly, DOOM popularized networked multiplayer deathmatch and gave birth to the modding community. id Software released the DOOM source code in 1997, and it has been ported to literally every device with a screen ??including calculators, ATMs, and pregnancy tests.

Did You Know?

• The term “deathmatch” was coined by John Romero during DOOM’s development, inspired by a phrase from Marvel Comics.
• DOOM was briefly banned from workplaces worldwide. Intel, Microsoft, and even the U.S. military complained about lost productivity as employees played LAN deathmatches during work hours.
• The game’s iconography ??pentagrams, inverted crosses, demonic imagery ??sparked moral panic in the 1990s. It was blamed (unfairly) for the Columbine shooting, leading to congressional hearings on video game violence.
• The BFG 9000 (Big F—ing Gun) is one of gaming’s most iconic weapons. It fires a ball of green plasma that deals damage not just on impact but also traces rays from the player to all visible enemies upon detonation.
• DOOM is estimated to have been installed on over 10 million computers within 2 years of release ??more than Windows 95 at the time.