‘Doom: The Dark Ages’ Director Reveals Which Earlier Installment Inspired the Upcoming Game

Doom’s influence is undeniable, even after more than 30 years since its release. The 1993 classic continues to inspire new Doom games, with the latest iteration, Doom: The Dark Ages, taking key elements from the original.

Game director Hugo Martin describes it this way: ‘It’s like a painter going to a museum and studying the Norman Rockwell painting he’s already studied 50 times. Every time you look at it, you learn something new.’

This time, the team focused on something small but impactful: the speed of enemy projectiles. In the original Doom, the challenge wasn’t about reacting to fast-moving bullets but about dodging and weaving around them.

Martin explains that ‘The projectiles start to collect in the world, and they create this maze that the player has to weave through.’

For Doom: The Dark Ages, the developers took this idea and built the gameplay around it. Instead of the quick, intense bullets from Doom Eternal, enemies in this new title fire slower projectiles. This makes the gameplay feel different, especially when you’re surrounded by enemies. You’ll need to be cautious to avoid bumping into a shot.

Martin notes that while Doom Eternal had a lot of action on the vertical Y-axis, Doom: The Dark Ages focuses on the horizon line. ‘It’s a movement shooter still, but the movement is more about what’s happening along the X-axis.’

In the end, the game’s combat centers more on strategic movement, similar to the original Doom, where timing and placement mattered more than pure speed.

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