Doom (1993 video game)
The ability for others to create custom levels and otherwise modify the game using WAD files turned out to be a popular aspect of "Doom". Gaining the first large mod-making community, "Doom" affected the culture surrounding first-person shooters, and also the industry. Several future professional game designers started their careers making "Doom" WADs as a hobby, among them Tim Willits, who later became the lead designer at id Software.
Doom (1993 video game)
Within hours of "Doom"s release, university networks were banning "Doom" multiplayer games, as a rush of players overwhelmed their systems. After being alerted by network administrators the morning after release that the game's deathmatch network connection setup was crippling some computer networks, John Carmack quickly released a patch to change it, though many administrators had to implement "Doom"-specific rules to keep their networks from crashing due to the overwhelming traffic. The game became a major problem at workplaces, both occupying the time of employees and clogging computer networks. Intel, Lotus Development, and Carnegie Mellon University were among many organizations reported to form policies specifically disallowing "Doom"-playing during work hours. At the Microsoft campus, "Doom" was by one account equal to a "religious phenomenon". Doom was #1 on "Computer Gaming World"s "Playing Lately?" survey for February 1994. One reader said that "No other game even compares to the addictiveness of NetDoom with four devious players! ... The only game I've stayed up 72+ straight hours to play", while another reported that "Linking four people together for a game of Doom is the quickest way to destroy a productive, boring evening of work".
In late 1995, "Doom" was estimated to be installed on more computers worldwide than Microsoft's new operating system Windows 95, despite million-dollar advertising campaigns for Windows 95. The game's popularity caused Microsoft to hire id Software to port Doom to Windows with the WinG API, and Bill Gates briefly consider buying the company. Microsoft developed a Windows 95 port of "Doom" to promote the operating system as a gaming platform. The development team in this effort was led by then-employee Gabe Newell. One Windows 95 promotional video had Bill Gates digitally superimposed into the game.