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This Doom mod is made from Id Software’s abandoned and rejected ideasDrawing from alpha versions and Tom Hall’s Doom Bible
Drawing from alpha versions and Tom Hall’s Doom Bible
Image credit:DrPyspy
Image credit:DrPyspy
BeforeDoombecame the lean, mean murdermachine we know and love, Id Software had far bigger plans for their seminal satanicFPS. Ideas dropped during development include a big focus on story, four playable characters, elemental shields, demonic weapons, and more. The mod Doom Delta brings to life many such ideas from sources including an old design document and leaked alpha builds, which I think makes it fanfic? A new version of Doom Delta launched last week, offering a curious vision of the many Dooms Id didn’t make.
Doom Delta v3.0 - Mod Release TrailerThe trailer for Doom Delta’s new versionWatch on YouTube
Doom Delta v3.0 - Mod Release Trailer
Doom Delta is not trying to recreate any particular pre-release version of Doom, more playing with the many different elements from the different games Doom could have been (and was) at different times during development. As developer DrPyspy explains, it “aims to bring together many elements from the pre-release iterations of Doom, including (but not limited to) the alpha builds, the press release beta, and Tom Hall’s Doom Bible. Elements such as the helmet HUD from early alphas, enemy designs, unique characters, and unused weapon concepts return.”
You can grab Doom Deltafrom its site. To play, you’ll need a copy of Doom or Doom 2 as well as theGZDoomupdated engine. Ta toPCGamesNfor pointing out the latest version’s launch.
Doom Delta isn’t the first mod to channel and intepret Hall’s Doom Bible. Many modders have tried over the years, though few were released and fewer reached any state of done-ness. Another you can try isThe Tei-Tenga Incident, which finished its first episode but hasn’t been updated since 2019. You could give a dozen teams the same design document and end up with a dozen different games.
Doom The Tei Tenga incident E1M8 Walkthrough (SPOILER WARNING)A reimagined final level of Doom’s first episode in The Tei-Tenga IncidentWatch on YouTube
Doom The Tei Tenga incident E1M8 Walkthrough (SPOILER WARNING)
Doom wasn’t the first Id Software shooter to dramatically change shape during development. Initial proposals for Wolfenstein 3D were closer to the stealth game it’s ostensibly a sequel to, Castle Wolfenstein. Doom wasn’t the last either. Early plans forQuakehad included RPG elements, third-person melee combat, and a mighty magical hammer. When John Romero left Id to co-found Ion Storm, his design forDaikatanacame closer to ideas he had for Quake for Quake.
It’s only natural for games to change shape during development, so I often find mods claiming to “restore cut content” more interesting as a novelty and historical curio than any sort of ‘true version’. I like that Doom Delta takes a load of different ideas from different stages as a starting point to run wild. “Cut content” is often cut for good reason. Good game design is a process of cutting as much as adding, honing a game to lean into itself, whatever that might be. Part of the craft is how this intersects with the pressures of time and money, how you cut and shape to make a game you can actually release on time. “Cut content” is often parts that didn’t work out or didn’t fit in what the game grew into, or fell victim to descoping under pressure because they weren’t important enough to prioritise in time for release. Or sometimes because the devs kept restarting development.
Doom’s 90s rival,Duke Nukemhas spawned several mods attempting to recreate unreleased versions. That’s more becauseDuke Nukem Foreverwas a bit rubbish. The developers, 3D Realms showed many distinct iterations across DNF’s 14 years of development hell, each of which looked more fun than the game Gearbox Software helped crawl across the finish line in 2011. After DNF finally DF, fans drew elements from its E3 2001 trailer to recreate and expand inside ye oldeDuke Nukem 3Dwith this mod. A wonky DNF build from 2001 actuallyleaked in 2022, leading another mod team to start polishing and reassembling the fragments into what they cheekily callDuke Nukem Forever: Director’s Cut.
Duke Nukem Forever 2013 TrailerThis mod recreated bits of Duke Nukem Forever’s unreleased versions inside the previous gameWatch on YouTube
Duke Nukem Forever 2013 Trailer
Doom recently celebrated its 30th birthday, and we gave the gift ofa whole series of articles remembering and celebrating it. We talked with John Romero, checked out mods like Siren and MyHouse.wad, had a young’un play Doom for the first time, made you pick a favourite shotgun, and heaps more.
