Doom (1993 video game)
Because id planned to self-publish the game, as the game neared completion they had to set up the systems to sell the game. Jay Wilbur, who had been brought on as CEO and sole member of the business team, planned the marketing and distribution of "Doom". He felt that the mainstream press was uninterested in the game, and as id would make the most money off of copies they sold directly to customers—up to 85 percent of the planned US$40 price—he decided to leverage the shareware market as much as possible, buying only a single ad in any gaming magazine. Instead, he reached out directly to software retailers, offering them copies of the first "Doom" episode for free, allowing them to charge any price for it, in order to spur customer interest in buying the full game directly from id.
Chex Quest
The development of "Chex Quest" differed from traditional video game development in that the basic game engine had already been created and the bulk of the creation process consisted of aesthetic changes made to the music and artwork from "The Ultimate Doom". For budgetary reasons, Id Software was contacted and an inexpensive license was obtained for the "Doom" engine which was considered obsolete in light of Id's recently released "Quake". "Chex Quest" was the first foray into professional game development for lead artist Charles Jacobi and programmer Scott Holman, though both had previously modded "Doom" levels in the past. In an interview with PC Gamer magazine in 2009, Jacobi stated that the biggest reason for the lasting success of "Chex Quest" has been that it is still essentially a disguised version of "Doom" with basically unaltered game dynamics. Indeed, the game has been recognized for having a sense of humor about its identity and origins.