We are excited to announce the latest title from digitalculturebooks, DOOM: SCARYDARKFAST by Dan Pinchbeck. This is the third book in our Landmark Video Games series. It aims not only to be the definitive work on DOOM, but a snapshot of a period of gaming history, a manifesto for a development ethos, and a celebration of game culture at its best.
In December 1993, gaming changed forever. id Software’s seminal shooter DOOM was released and it shook the foundations of the medium. This is a book about what is considered the most important first-person game ever made; about the blueprint that has defined one of the most successful genres of digital gaming. Pinbeck brings together the complete story of DOOM for the first time. It sets the scene with a discussion of the early days of first-person gaming and the video game studio system. It discusses the prototypes and the groundbreaking technology that drove the game forwards, and offers a detailed analysis of gameplay and level design. This is followed by sections on DOOM’s contributions to wider gaming culture: online multiplay and the mod scene, and consideration of the many ports and sequels the game spawned. This close analysis sets the scene for an extensive discussion of the first-person gaming genre, focusing upon DOOM’s status as a foundational title, using this analysis to offer a means of better understanding how the genre has developed since 1993.
Dan Pinchbeck is Senior Lecturer of Creative Technologies at the University of Portsmouth and the Creative Director of thechineseroom, an independent research-led game development studio.
DOOM: SCARYDARKFAST is freely available to read online or may be purchased from the University of Michigan Press.