Doom

Game Summary: Doom is a standard first person shooter where the user is given the experience that he/she is running around with a weapon, killing villians to get through levels or “Episodes.” The goal is to uncover hidden secrets, weapons, and bonus levels, while working through an interesting story line. The Story behind the game is the user or "hero" is the last space marine left on the moons of Mars. The moons have been invaded by demons, and it is the players role to fight through the monsters level by level to eventually make his way back home. As the player progresses through the “epsiodes” a story line starts to form, revealing more information as you get through levels. 

When Playing a game like Doom it is pretty obvious what the user is about to get themselves into...blood, guts, and horror.  When picking out a game or browsing in the stores or online, the first thing that stands out to anyone is the title. Is it intriguing? Would it be of interest? What does the design and preview pictures tell me? For any gamer looking for a thrill, Doom is the perfect game for them. Although the game is old (released in 1993) many who start playing will find themselves engulfed in the game for hours, resulting in complete loss of time.  

Preparing for Hell: The Game Begins at the Menu screen, here the player is given the option to start a new game, load an already saved game, or adjust the sounds, settings and controls. As all of this is taking place, there is a preview of the game running in the background, playing a reel of what the user is about to get themselves into. Once the user hits “new game” they are asked to choose their difficultly level. The clever part here is instead of choosing from, novice, intermediate, and hard. Users must pick from an array of perspective scenarios they might be getting themselves into, which would indicate the difficultly of play. Choices like “I’m too young to die”, “ Hey not too rough”, “hurt me plenty”, and “Ultra-Violent.” These simple changes, help instill a small sense of fear and anxiety into the user, leaving them thinking, “ok this shouldn’t be too rough” or “I need to be on my A-game instantly because this is going to be ultra violent.” Also as the gamer flows through these options, it is important to note that the visuals are all cohesive further enhancing the experience of the game. The screen is dark, the words are written in blood, and the noises and sound are far from pleasant. The user is instantly brought into a state of high awareness and anxiety. Their impending doom is on the horizon....

Lets kick ass and take names: Once the user picks their difficulty level, the current screen melts away throwing them right into the game. From here our gamer is greeted with a dashboard of stats, the level in front of them, and an image of “your arm” with the given gun. The dashboard displays stats like ammunition, life percentage, and an image of the “space marine’s” face cautiously looking about for demons. As the player moves, the face in the dashboard reacts to what happens. If a new, better gun is obtained, he’ll grin with joy, if he is hurt, he will wince with pain, as the user hears him cringe. This simple feature allows the player to create a connection with the games “hero,” if hurt in the game, then the player will react in a similar manner, trying desperately to stay alive at all costs. In Doom, the more a player explores, kills, and discovers secrets the more points he can get, making it easy for him to travel through the game later on. The user wants to discover as much as possible so they can understand the full story behind each “episode.” In a first person shooter such as Doom there are surprises around every corner. As users draw closer to their enemy, the sound of breathing demons can be heard. The closer they get the breathing deepens, with finally the monster popping out, chomping down on ones face (Om nom nom FLESH!) until the gamer can shoot it down. 


Game Play: The game play in doom is very easy to pick up and figure out, to move, the user can either use a joy stick if attached or just as easily use the arrow buttons on any key board. Opening the door is a simple as clicking the space bar (conveniently located right next to the arrow keys) and changing weapons is as easy as 1, 2, 3 (literally) each number represents one of the 10 weapons the user can obtain. The controls in the game can also be adjusted and customized to work for the user. This feature is key in keeping players coming back. When a game is customizable to how the user uses controls, they feel more comfortable using the game, putting the concentration towards the story line and whats going on, not on if they will hit the right key to fire their weapon. 

Great experience: Overall this game has an amazing user experience, the cohesive experience, creates excitement, anxiety, and curiosity for the gamer. Although the game is old, the platform leaves users wanting more. The short, peculiar story line is intriguing, and the drive to beat scores, and find secrets is a gold mine of knowledge, granting bragging rights to any Doom geeks.