Doom (1993 video game)
Doom (typeset as DOOM in official documents and stylized as DooM in other media) is a 1993 first-person shooter (FPS) video game by id Software. It is considered one of the most significant and influential titles in video game history, for having helped to pioneer the now-ubiquitous first-person shooter. The original game was divided into three nine-level episodes and was distributed via shareware and mail order. The Ultimate Doom, an updated release of the original game featuring a fourth episode, was released in 1995 and sold at retail.
First-person shooter
"Doom", released as shareware in 1993, refined "Wolfenstein 3D's" template by adding improved textures, variations in height (e.g., stairs the player's character could climb) and effects such as flickering lights and patches of total darkness, creating a more believable 3D environment than "Wolfenstein 3D's" more monotonous and simplistic levels. "Doom" allowed competitive matches between multiple players, termed "deathmatches," and the game was responsible for the word's subsequent entry into the video gaming lexicon. According to creator John Romero, the game's deathmatch concept was inspired by the competitive multiplayer of fighting games. "Doom" became so popular that its multiplayer features began to cause problems for companies whose networks were used to play the game.