Doom: The Dark Ages isn’t too far off with its May release date. It won’t be long before we’re taking on the next blood-soaked adventure with the Doom Slayer, this time going back before the events of 2016 to see some lore and origins behind gaming’s favorite demon destroyer.
It just so happens we got to see the next hellacious look at The Dark Ages early, and you can read about that in our full Shacknews preview, but we also got to sit down and talk with Game Director Hugo Martin and Executive Producer Marty Stratton and talk about all things Doom leading up to the new game.
"Slayer Year One"
We’ve seen a lot of cool stuff come out of Doom 2016 and Doom Eternal, and it looks like Doom: The Dark Ages will raise the ante on insanity once again. However, one of the more interesting aspects of it is that the story is heading back to before the events of Doom 2016, and whatever led up to our pal, Doomslayer, getting thrown in that coffin he was in on Mars. Why, after what we’ve seen in Doom 2016 and Doom Eternal, are we going back to the beginning of the story instead of continuously forward then? Well, because that was always the plan according to Martin and Stratton.
“In the third one, we would do a Batman Year One,” Hugo Martin explained. “We called ‘Slayer Year One.’ Marty and I talked about it for years while on Eternal, saying that if we are allowed to, we should do a prequel. I'm a big fan of the Batman Year One comic. And just exploring the Chronicles of the Slayer… getting the chance to explore the background of the character is always exciting.”
“In 2016, during the writing of the Slayer Testaments, we would always say, ‘This will be a game. We will make this game,’” Stratton recalled. “And then when you play Doom Eternal, you see the remnants of this war between the Demons and the Sentinels. You see the mechs and the downed giant titan demons. It's a vacant city that you are visiting. While we were developing those things, we talked about how our next game can be taking over that mech, being part of this world, and being part of these battles.”
And so maybe the most eagle-eyed among Doom fans could have seen The Dark Ages coming from a mile away. According to Stratton and Hugo, this game has been a long time coming for them.
The battlefield opens, but it’s still Doom
It’s hard to miss the epic set pieces that id Software has been showing off in nearly every look at Doom: The Dark Ages. Where Doom 2016 was an all-around epic arena shooter, and Doom Eternal gave us a wealth of verticality on top of that, Doom: The Dark Ages brings us vast battlefields full of enemy demons, massive robots fighting gargantuan monsters, and dragons with machines strafing the field. It’s looking like a bold new approach to what we’ve done in Doom up to this point, but Martin feels like it’s natural progression for id’s current era of Doom.
“I keep saying it's new, but more Doom,” Martin explained. “I think about the massive open areas of Doom 2 and just sprint strafing through these huge arenas and laying waste of just what felt like hundreds of demons. And so being able to do that in a Doom game was another goal that we had for a really long time. And I give a huge amount of credit to the tech team as it continues to evolve the engine, enabling us to put more and more demons on screen and have bigger and more epic battles.”
To that, we asked about the challenges of filling a wider space. Doom: The Dark Ages seems ambitious, but all that space wears out its welcome if it’s not packed with things to do. Thankfully, smaller arena gunfights aren’t lacking in the game either.
“We have the small arenas, too,” Hugo explained. “That's the best part is that this game offers you both. You have giant battlefields where you're going to feel like Leonidas in the film 300, that was a big source of inspiration for us. So, you've got full-scale battles. The enemies this time are waiting for you. It's very much a war against Hell. And they're set up in defensive formations awaiting the Slayer.”
Martin went on to share that various points of the gameplay are meant to provide variety while remaining true to what fans love about Doom. But the devs also tried to be mindful of the player’s time.
“The amount of content in this game is just staggering,” Martin concluded. “But for that to not wear out, its welcome… that's what the dragon is for, as well as the arenas, the formations, tighter maze-like stuff, big open sandboxes... all to keep it interesting. And that's not to mention the different locales that you'll go to. I don't want to talk about that too much yet. But yeah, you're going to go to all kinds of cool places throughout the three acts of the Slayer's journey here. It's an epic. It feels like an odyssey and you're the star of it.”
QuakeCon, community, and the speedrunners
BYOC Check-In Line at QuakeCon 2024 #quakecon #idsoftware #quakecon2024 pic.twitter.com/Cdj4z9O75I
— Shacknews (@shacknews) August 8, 2024
One of the last times Doom: The Dark Ages was shown was behind closed doors, at QuakeCon 2024. You won’t find that video online. You’ll only find the words of those who were there to see it in person. To that end, last year was the first time at a QuakeCon event that Hugo Martin and Marty Stratton got to take the stages with The Dark Ages and show off a deep dive into what it would be like. They couldn’t have been happier with the response in 2024 and can’t wait for what comes next.
“We always refer to QuakeCon as the greatest home field advantage in video games,” Stratton told us. “I am not a professional athlete, obviously, but I would imagine it’s the same feeling that a pro athlete has running out onto the field for the championship game and having that level of energy from the fans, being able to put your best foot forward and feel the appreciation for people that love what you do and just want to be part of it. It's the greatest feeling ever for the whole team. At QuakeCon 2024, we got to say, ‘Hey, everybody stand up,’ and our entire team was there in the audience. We wish they could all be on stage. We are privileged to be up on that stage and want to thank the fans for being there. We want to show our appreciation. You've shown yours for coming and keeping that energy. It's like nothing else.”
With that in mind, by the time QuakeCon 2025 rolls around, Doom: The Dark Ages will be out and id Software will be able to see its work in the hands of the players on the BYOC Hall floor. That thought is unnerving, but the devs’ hopes are high for its reception in its first year.
#QuakeCon returns August 7-10 at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center in Grapevine, TX!
— QuakeCon (@QuakeCon) February 25, 2025
Mark your calendars and get ready to join us at the greatest LAN event in North America! ☮️ ❤️ 🚀https://t.co/Vx4gxcHRIq pic.twitter.com/X1sfjHKwu5
“I hope people are just playing it in the BYOC,” Stratton continued. “It's just amazing to stand behind somebody and watch them play the game… Sometimes it's a little torturing to see how they do things that you don't anticipate, but I think that's just great. The QuakeCon after a release is always so fun. Of course, all of this comes down to fans' reaction to the game and we hope they enjoy it as much as we do. But it always feels special sharing the hopeful success and good feelings with everybody there, with everybody having had played it.”
Of course, when it comes to gameplay the developers might not anticipate, nobody does it better than speedrunners. Speedrunners have a long history with id Software games, and it extends all the way up through Doom Eternal. With that in mind, we asked Martin and Stratton if they ever consider any part of their games or features with speedrunners in mind, either supportive or deterrent. Their approach was enthusiastic, but hands-off. As in, make the game to the best of their ability and try not to make things that could affect a speedrunner’s experience, for better or worse.
“I think it works better when speedrunning is just organic. You can’t force it,” Martin told us. “I love that community, and I'm not sure they'll ever believe me, but we never ever want to stop them. We don't actively try to remove things and updates to stop them from breaking the game. We think it's the greatest thing ever. We couldn't stop them if we tried, nor would we want to. So that aside, most of what they ride are bugs [for Unrestricted runs], and there are people who get paid to find bugs to polish the experience for the consumer. So, when we have a patch, we may unintentionally remove some movement tech that they've been using to speedrun the game. And understandably, it really frustrates them, but it's never on purpose. So no, we don't really plan anything for them. I think it works best when that kind of thing just happens on its own, and we look forward to all the ways that they're going to exploit and explore all the hidden mechanics of Dark Ages. I'm sure there'll be many around the shield.”
“I mean, their whole thing is to find the gaps in what it takes to make a game,” Stratton added. “It's hard to explain to people how complex games are under the hood now. It's the most complicated form of entertainment being created, I think, because it's all running real-time, 60 frames-per-second, everything from cinematics to gameplay. It can look like a film, but is happening at the player's will. It's also 10 times longer than a film. But literally what speedrunners are doing is just finding the gaps in that complexity and uniquely navigating them. So as Hugo said, we couldn't stop them even if we wanted to. And why would we want to? It's so fun and there's a huge amount of appreciation for just that level of dedication to the game.”
That covers our interview, but you can find more coverage on the Doom: The Dark Ages topic. Stay tuned as we prepare for its release on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S on May 15, 2025.
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replyTJ Denzer posted a new article, Doom: The Dark Ages directors on doing a prequel, expanding the battlefield & QuakeCon
