Doom origin story | John Carmack and Lex Fridman

TL;DR

id Software co-founder John Carmack discusses the technical challenges and innovations in developing the game Doom, which pushed the boundaries of creative freedom in game design.

Transcript

what is the story of how you came to program doom what are some memorable technical challenges or innovations within that game so the path that we went after uh after wolfenstein got out and we were on this crazy arc where keen one through three more success than we thought keen four through six even more success wolfenstein even more success so we... Read More

Key Insights

• 💨 Wolfenstein's success paved the way for the development of Doom, which offered a higher level of creative freedom and improved graphics fidelity.
• 👾 The concept of complete design space in games like Doom allowed for unbounded creative ability, resulting in the creation of thousands of levels.
• 👾 Binary space partitioning (BSP) trees played a significant role in the development of Doom, enabling efficient rendering and ordering of game elements.
• 👾 Doom marked a shift towards openness in game development, with the introduction of user-created content and flexible game modification.
• 😀 The technical challenges faced during the development of Doom, including epsilon problems and dealing with rational numbers in precise arithmetic.
• 👾 Doom was not considered a fully 3D game, but rather a "two and a half D" game due to its limitations in building structures and the absence of full 3D movement.
• 🥺 The success of Doom led to competition in the game development industry, with other studios using different technologies for 3D rendering.

Questions & Answers

Q: How did the success of Wolfenstein influence the development of Doom?

The success of Wolfenstein propelled the team to explore new possibilities, leading to the creation of Doom which offered enhanced creative freedom and improved graphics fidelity.

Q: Can you explain the concept of "complete design space" in games like Doom?

Complete design space refers to the ability to have unbounded creative freedom in game design. Unlike Wolfenstein, Doom crossed that line with its freeform lines, artistic freedom, and ability to create thousands of levels.

Q: What were the technical limitations that Wolfenstein had compared to Doom?

Wolfenstein had limitations in terms of creative ability due to its blocky graphics and wall-sized blocks. Doom, on the other hand, had variable floors and ceilings, arbitrary angles, and smaller blocks, which increased creative possibilities.

Q: How did binary space partitioning (BSP) trees contribute to the development of Doom?

BSP trees allowed for efficient rendering and ordering of game elements, providing a clever way to overcome limitations in graphics rendering. It provided a valuable tool for the development of Doom and subsequent games.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• After the success of Wolfenstein, the id Software team embarked on creating Doom, which offered a higher level of creative freedom due to improved graphics fidelity and design capabilities.

• The game engine used in Doom allowed for the creation of thousands of levels, expanding the creativity and possibilities for game designers.

• Carmack introduced binary space partitioning (BSP) trees, a technology that enabled efficient rendering and ordering of game elements, contributing to the success of the game.