| Revision as of 20:29, 28 July 2004 editGregb (talk | contribs)239 edits rewwrite in anticipation of release; add software patent and UAC info← Previous edit | Revision as of 20:31, 28 July 2004 edit undo68.117.78.131 (talk) →Doom development teamNext edit → | ||
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| == Doom development team == | == Doom development team == | ||
| * ] - game engine (graphics |
* ] - game engine (graphics) | ||
| * ] - sound engine | * ] - sound engine | ||
| * ], one of the founding members of ] that wrote the music for ] - music | * ], one of the founding members of ] that wrote the music for ] - music | ||
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| * ] <!-- spelling? -->, a ] writer who worked on the famous games ] and ] - game script | * ] <!-- spelling? -->, a ] writer who worked on the famous games ] and ] - game script | ||
| * ] - lead programmer | * ] - lead programmer | ||
| * ] - game engine (physics) | |||
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Revision as of 20:31, 28 July 2004
DOOM 3 is a first person shooter computer game developed by id Software and published by Activision. Versions for the PC and the Xbox (developed by Vicarious Visions) are scheduled to be released. Set in 2145 in a Union Aerospace Corporation (UAC) research center on Mars, it is a complete retelling of the original DOOM, with a completely new graphics and game engine.
Development
The game was in development for 4 years, starting from June 1, 2000. In 2001 the game was first shown to the public at MacWorld in Tokyo. It was later demonstrated at E3 in 2002, where a 15-minute gameplay demo was shown in a small theater. It was extremely warmly received and DOOM 3 won five awards at E3. Shortly after E3, a development version of the game leaked from ATI Technologies and quickly spread on the Internet.
The game was also shown at the subsequent E3 exhibitions in 2003 and 2004. In July 2004, id Software confirmed the American release date of Doom III is August 3, 2004. Due to high demand, there are plans for availability at select stores at 12:01 AM on the release date in the US. The British release date is August 6. The rest of the world (except for Poland and Russia, where no official publisher was announced and only the pirated versions will appear on August 3) will have the game in stores on August 13.
DOOM 3 went gold on Wednesday, July 14 2004. A Mac OS X release was confirmed on Thursday, July 15 2004.
Features
According to John Carmack, the lead graphics engine developer at id, the "tripod of features" in Doom 3 technology are unified lighting and shadowing, complex animations and scripting that show off the lighting and shadowing and GUI surfaces that add extra interactivity to the game. Other engine features of DOOM 3, such as normal mapping of textures, realistic handling of object physics, dynamic music and true six-channel Dolby Digital sound, aim to provide the most realistic gaming experience yet.
Most monsters from the original DOOM will be in the new game, including imps, cacodemons, pinky demons, etc. All weapons from the original DOOM will be in the game too, with the addition of hand grenade, soul cube, flashlight (to be used as a melee weapon), and possibly a flamethrower.
Software Patents Controversy
A few weeks after the game's release, word leaked out that id Software had been threatened with lawsuits by Creative Labs for infringing a software patent owned by the latter company. The patent deals with a technique for rendering shadows developed independently by both John Carmack and programmers at Creative Labs. Due to current laws, id would be putting themselves under legal liability if they used the technique in the finished game. To defuse the issue, an agreement was worked out where id would license other Creative labs sound technologies in exchange for protection against suits.
Web-integration
Shortly following the announcement of Doom 3's development, a promotional website was released that pretends to be the homepage of the fictional corporation operating on Mars in the game. Until the announcement of gold status, the site served merely as a teaser. However, once the release date for the game was set, the site began to act as a countdown to the impending release. The final game is rumored to have a puzzle that requires that players visit the finished corporate site to input clues. There have even what could be construed as passing references in reviews, but no solid evidence for either side has surfaced.
Doom development team
- John Carmack - game engine (graphics)
- Graeme Devine - sound engine
- Chris Vrenna, one of the founding members of Nine Inch Nails that wrote the music for Quake - music
- Seneca Menard - 3D modelling
- Kenneth Scott - character models
- Fred Nilsson, an animator who worked on Antz and Shrek - animation
- Jim Dose - AI and scripted scenes
- Matthew Castello , a science fiction writer who worked on the famous games The 7th Guest and The 11th Hour - game script
- Robert Duffy - lead programmer
- Jan Paul van Waveren - game engine (physics)
- Tim Williams
External links
- Official site
- UAC's fictional website created by id Software after the announcement of DOOM 3
- PlanetDOOM – a DOOM 3 community website
References
- The Making of Doom 3, Steven L. Kent (unreleased)