Skip to main content

Doom celebrates its 21st birthday with a trove of unseen concept art

Doom, the genre-defining first person shooter that id Software released in 1993, just turned 21, and to celebrate designer John Romero released a treasure trove of previously unseen art from the game’s development. We’ve compiled a selection for you here in a gallery, but you can check out even more at Romero’s Twitter page.

Many of the images are simply textures and environmental details from the game’s source. Particularly intriguing is the use of clay models, which were sculpted and then scanned at various angles and poses to generate sprites for the game’s assorted demons or the iconic “Doomguy” protagonist. Coincidentally, Doom came out in the same year as the SNES fighting game ClayFighter, which also used clay model scans to create its sprites, but maintained the claymation aesthetic in the final game.

A reboot of the Doom series (originally announced as Doom 4, but later re-branded as simply Doom) was revealed at QuakeCon 2014 after years of rumored development. The new game in development at id Software, to be published by Bethesda Softworks. There’s no release date, but the developer is aiming for a simultaneous release on PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One.

Bethesda announced in February 2014 that anyone who pre-ordered Wolfenstein: The New Order would be granted access to the Doom beta when the time comes.

Editors' Recommendations

Will Fulton
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Will Fulton is a New York-based writer and theater-maker. In 2011 he co-founded mythic theater company AntiMatter Collective…
Helldivers 2 just showed the highs and lows of live service in one chaotic weekend
A soldier in silhouette in Helldivers 2.

Helldivers 2 was on top of the world. Released in February to surprise acclaim, PlayStation and Arrowhead's co-op shooter quickly became the kind of success story that any gaming company would want to emulate. In a world of live service risks, this one was paying off thanks to a dedicated community whose commitment to democracy showed no signs of slowing down.

Then it all came crashing down in an instant.

Read more
The wait is over: Hades 2 is out now in early access on Steam
Hades 2 key art from its first trailer.

Hades 2 -- the highly anticipated sequel to a roguelike that Digital Trends considers to be one of the best games of all time -- is out now.

Developer Supergiant Games surprise released the game at 10 a.m. PT on Monday following a positively received Technical Test in April. It costs $30, a price that Supergiant Games says it "may raise" in the future depending on the scope of content added between now and Hades 2's full launch. As for how long that will take, the Steam page says that thegame will "be in Early Access development at least through the end of 2024." Supergiant Games isn't committing to a specific 1.0 launch date at this time.

Read more
Do you need a PSN account to play Helldivers 2?
A scene from Helldiver 2's opening cutscene.

Helldivers 2 has been a huge hit this yea,r with a consistent player base since its launch in February and a peak of over 450,000 players. Fighting for Super Earth, players have been waging war against monstrous insects and deadly robots and laying down their lives for democracy. But the game's reputation took a hit recently when it was announced that PC players would have to register for a PlayStation Network account to continue playing the game — a move that would have left players in parts of the world with no PSN support high and dry.

In  response, there was a major outcry (and review bombing of the game on Steam) in response, which led Sony and Arrowhead Game Studios to swiftly alter their policies to appease the player base. The entire ordeal has been a bit of a whirlwind, so it's OK if you're a little lost. Here's what you need to know.
Do you need a PSN account to play Helldivers 2?
No, you don't need a PSN account to play Helldivers 2 right now.

Read more