DOOM: The Dark Ages Interview – Medieval Setting, Combat Changes, and More
DOOM never fails to impress, and it doesn’t look like DOOM: The Dark Ages is going to buck that trend. Shortly before its gameplay showing in January, we had the chance to get an early look at the first-person shooter’s Xbox Developer Direct presentation, following which we got to sit in on a Q&A session with the media attended by game director Hugo Martin and executive producer Marty Stratton. From the way DOOM: The Dark Ages’ combat is evolving and how it’s placing an added emphasis on exploration, to the new approach it is taking to storytelling and more, the duo spoke about plenty during the session. You can read the full Q&A below.
“It’s campaign only. We made that decision really from the jump. We wanted to basically free ourselves to create things like the Atlan and the dragon experience.”
DOOM has always been a fusion of sci-fi and trips to hell and back. Why the switch to a medieval setting?
Hugo Martin (Game Director): We wanted to do it from the beginning. When we started out rebooting the franchise, there’s kind of like a how-to book on creating IPs, sort of established by great brands like Lord of the Rings and directors like George Lucas. Usually, you want to create an interesting world and give that world like a history, and then you want to have heroes with a great and interesting past. And if you’re lucky enough and the fans are happy enough with what you did, you’ll get to make more iterations of your IP- your game, your movie. And you’ll be fortunate enough to explore some of that past, and that’s what we’ve been able to do. We wanted to make this from the beginning. This is very much like a full realization of the Slayer’s testament, and we’re super psyched.
I really like the idea of doing sliders for custom difficulty. Can you dive into some aspects you can change and why you decided to go with this approach?
Marty Stratton (Executive Producer): Some of the things that you can adjust- you can adjust the game speed, go up or down- and that’s a good place to start. The really important thing with the sliders is you can go down or up with them, so you can make the game easier, so to speak, in various different ways, or much harder. It’s really fun to actually go the other way and ramp up the speed or tighten the parry window. You can change the damage against you. So quite a few options there.
It works for a number of different reasons. It works for approachability of the game, allows players to – we’ve got some pretty hardcore players out there – allows them to ramp it up and create these ridiculous experiences for themselves. Even on the accessibility front, it really does make the game more accessible for somebody who maybe has motor difficulties or wants to dial in the experience just for them. We’ve actually done a good bit of testing on that front and really got a great response from the accessibility side of things, too.
Will DOOM: The Dark Ages feature any multiplayer modes?
Stratton: It will not. It’s campaign only. We made that decision really from the jump. We wanted to basically free ourselves to create things like the Atlan and the mech experience and the dragon experience. Those are both almost like mini-games within the game. We know our campaigns are to a great extent what people come to the modern DOOM games to play, so we decided to put all of our efforts behind that and really create the biggest and best DOOM game we’ve ever made.
Every sequel is a reaction to the games that came before it, but in what specific ways is the combat in DOOM: The Dark Ages a reaction to the combat in DOOM Eternal?
It’s a reaction to both [DOOM (2016) and DOOM Eternal]. We feel really lucky to be able to make the third entry in the DOOM series. Any time you get to make a game three times, there’s so many lessons that you’ve learned and experience that you could bring to the table. So we really do feel like this is the best DOOM game we’ve ever made together, and that’s not just a tagline, we really do feel that. That was our goal, to make the best game we’ve ever made together.
There’s a lot of lessons learned there, like what we learned from DOOM (2016) and watching people play. That’s the best part, you release the game, you get to see the response, and read all the positive comments, but in particular, I like to harp on the negative ones and see what people didn’t look. In 2016 it was that it was too repetitive, and in Eternal, some people thought it was too hard. I actually thought it was too complex. I think that the complexity of the control scheme led to unnecessary difficulties. You really want to be fighting the demons, the bad guys, not the controls.
“The first thing I say about DOOM: The Dark Ages is it’s a grounded Slayer.”
The Dev Direct is really a deep dive into the design story of DOOM: The Dark Ages. Everything I say in there is stuff that I’ve said to the team throughout development. Those are basically our core pillars of development- going all the way back to our greenlight, that stuff was in there. I like the analogy- an ergonomic control scheme, fewer strings on the guitar, so to speak, is really what the goal was. Something that felt intuitive. So that way when we do pressure the player, they’re not reaching for buttons that aren’t really familiar with.
Certainly a lot was learned there, by watching people and reading their feedback on Doom Eternal and 2016. It almost sounds like I don’t like the games that we ship, because you’re just tearing apart whatever you’ve made. But that’s our job, you have to be self-critical. You learn more from the negative feedback sometimes that you do the positive stuff, so we’re always looking at those things. You can’t make everybody happy, but you do your best.
And I think I spent more time playing classic DOOM on this project than I did on any other one. There was a real deep dive – there is at the beginning of every project – and just realizing why the original DOOM has stood the test of time is it’s really one of the accessibly shooters, first-person single-player campaigns, ever made. That’s not to say it’s easy. I don’t think an ergonomic control scheme or intuitive control scheme and a combat system that’s streamlined means it’s easy. But I think it means that it’s going to be an easy game to get into, but you could still make an experience that’s harder to master. Obviously, that’s always the goal.
And despite it being incredibly accessible, it was still really challenging. As soon as you turn on classic DOOM on harder difficulty, it’s really tough. So the parts of older DOOM that didn’t age well, that aren’t great for the modern audience – in some cases, not for everyone – is the getting lost, or some of the signage in the levels- the exit of the level, the texture of the door, is exactly like the rest of the wall so you can’t really see it. Things like that, you know. I think there’s a lot of modern conveniences that the original DOOM doesn’t have around exploring a level.
But when it comes to combat, it’s really incredibly streamlined, and that’s why it’s still fun to this day. The first thing I say about DOOM: The Dark Ages is it’s a grounded Slayer, more powerful and grounded over the acrobatics of DOOM Eternal- that’s what that means. You’ll see when you play it that it’s really a return to form. It feels more like classic DOOM than any game we’ve made up to this point. It’s crazy to think that after ten years, we’re still learning things from that original game, but it’s not surprising.
Stratton: There wasn’t a lot of places to go after DOOM Eternal, you know. You couldn’t go higher, couldn’t go more vertical, particularly once you got through The Ancient Gods. When we start a new project, it’s like, “what’s new, how do we do something that will feel new and make this game stand on its own?” And that was really the impetus around a lot of the changes.
Martin: Innovation. Totally. That’s how we felt about 2016 [and Eterna]. We couldn’t just do the exact same thing again. I know that would please people, but we really see that those games tend to be not as sticky. The opening weeks, everybody’s super stoked, but then they just kind of fade away. And people still talk about DOOM Eternal, because we didn’t choose to do DOOM (2016) 2.0.
And we really mean it when we say we want every game we make to stand on its own. We don’t want to repeat ourselves. The core essence of being aggressive is still there, and you know, weaving between projectiles and things- which is actually not really emphasized in 2016 or Eternal, but it’s a major feature in The Dark Ages, as it was in the original DOOM.
So it’s really about each game standing on its own. We always think like if you were to buy the modern DOOM trilogy, you’d really want each game to have its feel. So there’s that goal right away, we want to try and make something new.
“We always think like if you were to buy the modern DOOM trilogy, you’d really want each game to have its feel. So there’s that goal right away, we want to try and make something new.”
You mentioned story being taken out of the Codex and into the cutscenes, but will there still be a codex for that nitty gritty lore on top?
Martin: Yeah, there will still be a codex, but it’s less of a requirement this time. Yeah, you know out of the codex and into the cutscenes is really the goal. We think that the story, if executed well, can enhance the experience. It shouldn’t be a requirement, and it’s not a requirement this time around that you read every codex in order to understand what’s happening in the story.
Can you talk enemy variety? How do they suit and adapt to the more heavy feel of the Slayer?
Martin: Um, it’s their projectiles. I mean, it’s about their movement. We have, as always, chess pieces. There’s new chess pieces. But the board, I would say, is flatter to create more space for that strafe-to-aim combat loop that we see in classic DOOM. What you realize when you play classic DOOM is that there’s a lot of movement required in the game to be successful by the slow-moving projectiles. The slower you make the projectiles move, you create this almost schmup pattern, that three-dimensional schmup pattern that moves through the space, and the player has to weave between that on their way to delivering damage to the demons. We’ve balanced the range of the weapons to be medium-to-short range, so that way you’re encouraged to take the fight to the enemies, move through that maze of projectiles, just like in classic DOOM, as they’re whizzing by and delivering that killing blow with melee, shield, and guns. So there’s a lot that’s been balanced out to create this new loop.
Is this an open world game, or does it just have open world elements?
Stratton: Definitely not an open world game, but it is the most expansive worlds that we’ve ever built. Kind of kind of goes from typical, what I would say is normal linear DOOM, to these larger sandboxes, where just you know the exploration really opens up. You get multiple objectives that you can kind of complete in any in any order. And I mean, when we say exploration, there is a lot of exploration in this game. And it’s for power.
I mean, I think that’s one of the things that is really important. You kind of got a little bit of a taste of it in the Dev Direct. You’re finding resources and other things that allow you to improve yourself. You know, upgrade your guns, upgrade your shield, your melee… so it isn’t just the secrets or the toys [that you’re finding], it really is an exploration for power. And, you know, exploring on the dragon is really fun, I’m sure we’ll talk about the dragon a bit, too. But yeah, it’s our most expansive worlds we’ve ever made, and when you get out on those battlefields it really does you feel like you’re on a battlefield. It’s pretty amazing.
Martin: I think people will see, too, that the level design has that kind of balanced maze-like feel where I’m doubling back to the space that I started in, but this time have the key and it unlocks the space in interesting ways. There’s a lot of that, where we’re returning to spaces and unlocking them to find progression items. There’s secrets everywhere and, as Marty said, the secrets are really tied to the player’s progression, so there’s a great motivation there. I mean, you’re still finding toys and things like that, but really, it’s a much greater focus on progression items.
We’ve streamlined the economy and the currencies in the game. I think that’s another thing we learned from DOOM Eternal is, like, if you have too many currencies and too many skill trees, you can confuse the player. We’ve streamlined it this time. So there’s more secrets and the skill trees are less confusing. The currencies, there’s fewer of them, and they’re more intuitive. You’re finding gold, and you know what gold does. Gold unlocks things.
So yeah, we’re super proud of the work that the level designers did. We think it’s some of the best work we’ve done to date.
Stratton: One other thing that I think will impress people, and I don’t want to give too much away about this in detail, but the places that this game takes you to, the realms that you explore, they’re truly– I mean, it just sounds hyperbolic every time we say it’s like nothing we’ve ever done before in a DOOM game. But it really is true. I mean, you go to some places where you just literally stand and you look around and you’re like, this is unbelievable.
Martin: We didn’t do the multiplayer so we could make a better single-player game. Absolutely. So we couldn’t do the dragon, the Atlan, and all this other stuff if we were spreading the team’s resources around to different game pillars. So we’re really just focused on single-player, and I think it shows in the experience that we made. I mean, hopefully you saw it in the Dev Direct. We’re really proud to share it with everybody. And I’ve said this before, that’s a deep dive of the game. It’s the design story of the game. We’re sharing with you design pillars that we use in the office every day. That’s the real story of The Dark Ages. We’re not hiding anything. It’s all right there.
“There will still be a codex, but it’s less of a requirement this time. Out of the codex and into the cutscenes is really the goal.”
I’d love to hear about the decision to make The Dark Ages feel more heavy and have the Slayer be a tank as opposed to Eternal, which was more jump and shoot.
Martin: It’s just got to be different, that’s all. I just don’t think as a gamer I want to play the same thing, especially if I loved the game. I want to play a DOOM game, don’t change so much that it’s not a DOOM game. I want to feel strong. There’s got to be a good amount of speed and exploration and power. But I’m okay with you changing what that power fantasy is, especially if the change you make brings it back closer to classic DOOM. I’m super down for that, and that’s that was the goal is. Innovation is the goal, it really is. You know, it has to be. You’re competing for gamers’ time.
It’s a fantasy world, but it’s our fantasy world. So, you know, we’re in the fantasy genre, medieval, but there’s sci-fi elements, and you’re the iron tank battling the forces of hell in this medieval war. That’s just something that sounds fun that I’d like to do.
Stratton: And thematically, and from a story perspective and lore perspective, when we talk about this being a prequel, that is where that was always intended to be. And it fits in that prequel timeline. Back in the time of the Sentinels and that kind of thing. When we started years and years ago and built those Slayer testaments, I mean, it’s almost predetermined as to where the story could come back to, and it just fits and works so well.
Is this the biggest Doom adventure yet?
Stratton: Oh yeah, for sure. Yeah, I would say by a lot. Especially when you use the word adventure. I don’t think we’ve ever used the word adventure with DOOM games, you know, but it really is I mean. It’s an epic adventure for the Slayer, from the worlds that he ventures to, to piloting an Atlan, to taking control of a mecha-dragon. I mean, it’s truly like nothing that players have had their hands on before in the game.
You’re not shy about recognizing and respecting its history. Was Quake 1’s original vision and inspiration here at all in terms of the setting and melee focus at all?
Martin: Not really. The inspiration was really the Batman comic, Batman Year 1, when we wrote the fiction for DOOM 2016. I’m a pretty good comic nerd. There are bigger comic book nerds than me, but I’m a fan. And I just loved [the idea of] Slayer Batman Year 1. And as we wrote the fiction for the Slayer and his history and the Slayer’s testament stuff, that what we called it internally. There was that we were calling it Slayer: Year One. That’s what it was actually called for a while, which I still think is a really cool name. I was worried that Slayer: Year One would be too much of a deep cut. But The Dark Ages is very cool.
In particular, the main inspiration was- once we knew wanted to make a medieval theme, then a critical piece of reference was Leonidas coming out of the Hot Gates in 300. That one great scene, it’s a panning shot, they’re tracking with Leonidas as he takes out a bunch of guys first with a shield, then with a Spartan sword. Sorry, first with a spear, then with a Spartan sword and shield, and the time dilates in and out. That was a big focus for us. I actually made a meme for the team where we swapped out the Spartan sword for a shotgun. I think we’ve done a good job of capturing, credit to the team. They did an awesome job.
Another big source of inspiration there was, again, not so much Quake, but Frank Miller’s Dark Knight. He drew an older, more powerful, thicker Batman, and I just loved that comic so much. I always thought it would be so interesting to just… like, instead of a Ferrari, you’d be more of a monster truck. I think I said that, and that’s what we were working on. And we’ve been talking about that for years and years. That’s not just lip service, I mean it. We were really just inspired by those great moments in that comic, like when he fought that guy in that mud pit. He was just this huge old guy. and his Batmobile is enormous, and everything is just heavy about him. It just seemed like a really interesting way to take the Slayer.
How does the game dictate which of the three melee weapons to use when the button is pressed?
Martin: Well, you pre-select the melee weapon. There are three of them in the game, as I said. So not unlike swapping out equipment items in Eternal, you’ll swap to whichever. You can, through the dossier, pick whatever melee weapon you would like to use. Each has its strengths and weaknesses, and you progress throughout the level unlocking each one. You don’t start with all three. You start with the gauntlet, sort of the quicker, lighter one of the group, which I still love to use even in the endgame. And yeah, you charge them up, not unlike how you did blood punches in DOOM Eternal.
There’s a good mix of 2016 in Eternal and The Dark Ages for sure. The gameplay in Eternal is really dynamic, and there’s lots of elements of that in The Dark Ages.
“It’s an epic adventure for the Slayer, from the worlds that he ventures to, to piloting an Atlan, to taking control of a mecha-dragon.”
When it comes to exploring huge, open areas, are you able to call in your Atlan or dragon, or are those only accessible at predetermined points?
Stratton: Yeah, they’re predetermined points. There’s entire levels you’ll play as an Atlan. The dragon is a little bit different. You’re kind of piloting your dragon through environments with a good bit of exploration and places you can go. One of the examples that you see in the in the Dev Direct, there is that kind of floating city. In that level you pilot your dragon, and you kind of take out these hellgallions, take out their defenses and then you land on them and board them. You kind of fight your way through them and take them out from the inside and then jump off, and there’s places in the city you can land.
And you can do all of those in different orders. There’s massive titans that you can take out that are invading forces for the city. So yeah, it’s slightly different, but there’s big levels as the Allen and then big levels that you play as the dragon, kind of on and off. But they’re these pace breakers that are nicely thrown throughout the game. They’re not as quite as deep as the Slayer, but they’re fast-to-fun, and you get to do them a few times. They have their own bosses, they have their own kind of AI that you fight against, their own gameplay loops. But they’re very quick to learn and fun to master, for sure.
Are you doing another hub, like the ship in Eternal, or is this back to the more linear structure of 2016?
Martin: It’s the linear structure of 2016. The Dark Ages is a combination of Eternal and 2016, with more of the visual style of 2016, more cinematic and gritty, with elements of the gameplay of Eternal, but streamlined. There was a tremendous effort for an ergonomic control scheme that’s intuitive to use. That was a really big focus for us.
How much side content is there, and how long do you expect a thorough playthrough to be?
Martin: It’s really long. To be honest, we don’t want to be too long. That’s important, you don’t want a single level to overstay its welcome. I watch Brad Shoemaker play [DOO Eternal: The Ancient Gods]. And that just got- you know, it was fun, it was like an exercise in design for us, but it just got long. I mean, it was like an hour and 45 minutes. And I don’t think that that’s right for a DOOM level. I think that maybe for DLC it’s okay.
I think the sweet spot is just right at about an hour, no more. And so honestly, right now, what we’re doing is just refining that, making sure that we stay within that space. But it is a massive campaign for sure.
Stratton: Yeah. I mean, it kind of depends on how you’re playing, like any game. But it’s the biggest game, the biggest campaign we’ve ever made by a good bit. And if you’re exploring those levels, there’s just tons of opportunity.
Martin: I think it’s going to be mostly about secret hunting. If you explore all the secrets and you’re a completionist, I mean you’re certainly going to make for a much larger experience for yourself.
What other stories, games, books, movies, TV, etc. do you consume to help inspire you to create such expansive worlds, stories, characters, weaponry, etc?
Martin: Oh, too much, according to my family. But that’s the job, right? It’s a tough job, but somebody’s gotta do it. [Laughs.] It’s fun. So it’s Batman and… just a little bit of everything. 300 was definitely a big influence, and- Yeah, just so many things. Myths and legends and other games, our game. I can’t say it enough, just playing the original DOOM… For anybody who wants to be a developer or a game director, I tell the parents of my son’s friends who say they want to get into dev, I’m like, that whole thing that you can’t play too many video games, that’s not really true. You kind of have to to get into this business.
I think the key is you just don’t want to be derivative. We really worked hard to make the combat, the exploration, and the story feel unique, though I think people will like it.
Stratton: This is this is an entirely invented world. There is no googling, hey, I want to see a mecha-dragon. It’s having the vision and then communicating that vision to people who are just masters of the iterative process that gets you to something as cool as the dragon or the Atlan or whatever, that are all influenced by similar things. Hugo has these great conversations with everybody and people bring new ideas to the table, so it’s a pleasure to work with these people, many of them for many years. We get in sync on these kinds of things. Because everybody’s just thinking of it the same way.
What types of challenges will be present for the player who wants to master the gameplay loop over hundreds of hours?
Martin: The difficulty sliders, for sure. You’ll have your nightmare, you’ll have your ultra nightmare, you’ll have your extra life mode, which is going to be a little bit different this time, a little bit harder. And then on top of that, you can do an ultra nightmare run with the difficulty sliders dialed up, which is going to be fairly insane. I would say it’s going to be nuts.
Stratton: Yeah, including game speed. We’ve never given access to these kinds of things before. You can dial up the game speed, you can dial up the difficulty, like shortening the parry windows. Parrying is a big deal in The Dark Ages. And then changing the damage done to you, you can really create a very, very challenging experience.
It was mentioned that the game is a great entry point. What do you think will appeal most to new players?
Martin: The combat. I think the three pillars, they’re designed for everyone. I don’t think that you can separate the two audiences. I think you’re going to get in trouble doing that. Any good experience I feel is kind of designed that way. You know, like it’s not like the iPhone is made for just some people. Or Elden Ring or The Matrix, you know. So I think people will hopefully enjoy the combat, the exploration, and the story. You have to consider that this may be people’s first DOOM game.
I don’t think it would be weird to play the series in chronological order if you wanted to- The Dark Ages, 2016, and Eternal. That might actually be really interesting to play it that way, you know. So yeah, I think hopefully the core pillars of the game will appeal to both audiences.
The final boss of Eternal was one of the more heavily criticized parts of the game. What did you learn from that criticism when designing bosses for The Dark Ages?
Martin: It sounds like a bit of a skill issue in this question. I’m just saying. You could just get good. [Laughs.]
You know, [we learned] how far to push the player, and you can’t have a complex control scheme. That’s really what it comes down to. When you streamline your control scheme, then you’re actually able to ask more of the player. I think when you look at the footage of the extended gameplay, I think that’s played on Hurt Me Plenty, just to keep the token system in a manageable state, because the higher up difficulties you get, the enemies become more active. So for the sake of demos, we’re usually playing on Hurt Me Plenty or even lower.
But when they’re throwing these attacks at you, each attack is a decision that you have to make, each projectile, you have to consider where this enemy is and all that. You can press the player more when you have a really ergonomic control scheme. So I think it’s just making sure that in those moments with those boss fights that the buttons that they press aren’t too far out of reach. They’re familiar to them and the gameplay loop and that the core kit of the Slayer feels intuitive.
Did Finishing Move compose all the music that we heard today?
Stratton: Yeah, they did the trailer that we released last year at E3 – I still call it E3 – and everybody loved that. And yeah, they did all the music in the Dev Direct. Just awesome. They’re great team of just awesome dudes and great musicians. We can’t wait for people to get their hands on this.
What are you most excited for people to see about this iteration of DOOM?
Stratton: I think how much it’s DOOM, but different, I guess. We have been doing DOOM for 11 years. We release a game and then we start working on the DLC and then we start working on the next game. We never get that gap of time where you just kind of stop thinking about it.
I know there’s a lot of people out there that have continually played and played- and thank you. I do see the numbers and our fans are amazing. But I think there’s also a lot of people who play the game, and then play other games consume other media. And I’m excited for people to come back for this and for new people to get to experience it, and just see just how epic it is, how expansive it is. And get their hands on this new gameplay loop, because it is just so DOOM, but it’s different.
That is the exciting part of making something like this. You spend a lot of time working as a team and bringing it all together in this last push that we’re on. And then you get to put it in people’s hands, and know that they’re experiencing it fresh. And I think that freshness is always super awesome.
Martin: For me, it’s the shield. I think, as you said, you can name so many things, like the Atlan and the skull crusher. I think the shield, it’s a critical part of the loop, as you saw in the Dev Direct. And it does so many things. And I think it’s really, really cool. And it looks awesome.
“This isn’t designed to be the end of something.”
What’s the name of that gun that grinds up skulls and shoots skull fragments? And whose idea was that?
Martin: It’s called the Skull Crusher. Can you believe it? I don’t know who- I want to say it was Peter Sokol, and my apologies if that’s incorrect. But as Marty said, it’s really a team effort. So many people come together to make this stuff. I believe Ethan Evans made the design of the Skull Crusher. And from a concept perspective, I think it was Peter’s initial idea. We all contributed to the idea and it’s what makes it really great.
I think we get to work on this super silly stuff. And it’s always about a ridiculous premise with sincere execution. And nothing really represents that more than the Skull Crusher.
Stratton: I think it would be an awesome presentation, something I want to do it where we just take one thing in the game and we say, “who’s responsible for that?” Something like the Skull Crusher or a character that people love. And if like we actually detailed out everybody that touched it over the course of development, you would have a tree of like 30 people. It’s unbelievable, because there isn’t a single thing that goes into making a video game where it’s just like, oh, I can take credit for this. It’s such a team effort and that’s a perfect example.
With DOOM: The Dark Ages being the third DOOM game you’ve worked on, are you considering it as a conclusion to the trilogy or more of its own thing?
Martin: I don’t think I can answer that. We’re not supposed to talk about other ideas. So, uh… I like making DOOM games, so I wouldn’t have a problem doing this for a long time. I’d say this isn’t designed to be the end of something, you know? But genuinely, sincerely, we’re really just focused on this right now. But no, it doesn’t have, like, a period on the end of the sentence.
Can you explain how the new Glory Kill system works?
Martin: It’s really fluid. That was one of the big pillars. We wanted you to feel like a weapon of mass destruction, and when you look at that footage of Leonidas coming out of the Hot Gates, it’s like he’s moving from enemy to enemy and taking them out in one fluid motion. With the synced Glory Kills, player control is taken away and it kind of breaks the flow of the experience. It’s not an issue in Eternal and 2016, because you’re not really taking out three, four, five, six enemies at a time. But in this game you are.
So it was really important that you’re able to finish off an enemy, to go to transition from melee strikes to guns to shield play to an execution or a glory kill, and not feel like there’s a break in the action, where you’re losing precious seconds to that animation, and then over there is another AI that’s staggered that’s waiting to be executed, but you don’t get to him in time because you had to wait for the animation to finish.
By leaning on the physics part of our engine, the incredible team that we have, the animators, did just a tremendous job. You’re given control. There’s no control taken away. You can stagger – and this happens a lot, it was in the Dev Direct – where there’s like four, five, six enemies that are highlighted, ready to be taken out, and you could just take them out in one run. And again, really just feel like Leonidas in the Hot Gates, which is fantastic.
As much as we love Glory Kills, I just didn’t know that another game featuring Glory Kills was going to pull people in.
Stratton: And the fluidity, it plays into everything you’re doing, whether it’s your weapons or the way you use your shield. We haven’t even talked about it, but the shield has a capability to move you very fast through the world, where you kind of lock onto an enemy with the left trigger and then you hit the right trigger and it pulls you through the world long distances, and you smash into the character. Then you have the melee combos, you stagger them, then you go straight into a Glory Kill, or you’re using your gun in the course of that. The momentum that you feel would be completely broken by a synced Glory Kill, so it’s amazing how cohesive it all is.
Martin: It also always looks different because it’s using physics. It really helps address the issue of repetition, which is a challenge with the Glory Kill system in previous games. You start seeing the same animations again and again, even as great as they are. And so this time, it always feels a little different depending on what angle you’re hitting the enemy from. It was a little scary to pull away from synced animations, but once we did, we had a play test, and everybody was like, “oh, this is so good.”
Can we expect the same amount of collectibles and secrets hidden around the maps in traditional Doom fashion?
Martin: More. And the collectibles will have more meaning because they’re tied more to the progression of your power. So a little bit less in the way of records and toys. You’ll still have toys, but much more in the way of like gold and critical resources to level up your strength throughout the game.
“There’s a bigger story. It’s one of the pillars of the game.”
Will there be an enemy much like the Marauder, who will push the player to really learn the combat loop in this one?
Martin: Yeah, several. Those are the black belts on the battlefields, and we certainly have them. They will test your skill and knowledge and your ability with the parry system. So there are enemies who throw combos of attacks, and you don’t just parry one melee strike, you have to parry several in a row in order to falter them. The falter system definitely plays a role in this game, where parrying will falter enemies, so you’ll want to do that to help create openings for yourself.
Will the game have more cutscenes than previous games?
Martin: Yeah, there’s a bigger story. It’s one of the pillars of the game. And it’s fluid, it’s connected to the experience. It helps explain the what, the where, and the why. What are you doing? Why are you going there? Who are you going to fight and stuff? And we build up this fantastic villain for you to face off with. It’s cool, it’s a good story. It’s a good compliment to the other pillars of the game.
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