True evil never dies

Doom Does anything come to mind?

Yes, to pass the time on some summer evenings, I reloaded Doom. The old 1994 series, with all the episodes.

I don't think there's another game that has managed to embody evil like Doom. The monsters of Doom may be laughable compared to the graphics and detail of today's ones, but they have a perverse quality that has never been matched by other games, and even by later editions, like Quake.

And its popularity proves it. Wikipedia reports that the phenomenon had such a huge impact that many companies (including Intel and Lotus Software) and universities specifically banned the use of the game on their premises, to prevent it from being used online even during working hours. The total number of copies sold, including all games that bore the Doom name, is unknown, but it could be well over four million; sales of Doom II alone exceeded $100 million. By 1995, its popularity was so high that, according to one estimate, more computers had Doom than Windows 95, despite the latter's huge advertising campaign.

Being the first "first-person shooter" (aside from the previous game, Wolfenstein 3D), the game also sparked a series of controversies that reached a peak when it was discovered that the two authors of the Columbine High School Massacre were fans of the video game. An urban legend says that one of them, Eric Harris, created additional levels to prepare for the massacre, complete with depictions of the school building and classmates.

Personally, I think the monsters in Doom have such a strong emotional impact because they aren't just monstrous beings, but have elements of significant archetypes. The Baron of Hell, a literal minotaur, the brains with robotic spider legs (Arachnotron and Spider Mastermind), the disembodied, flying skulls of the Lost Souls (Lost Soul), and the Arch-Vile who resurrects the dead — all these things connect to age-old fears.

It's also coincidental, but interesting, that John Romero, the game's creator, shares the same last name as George Romero in Night of the Living Dead, perhaps the most famous horror film of all time. Kill, kill!

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