multiplayer is really, really fun. They basically have the best multiplayer code that exists, kind of like how World of Warcraft probably has the best for an MMO that’s ever existed, Call of Duty is that for shooters. “But I think people just want more variety, they want
that fun puzzly exploration stuff. It’s why, I think, that Sigil (Romero’s 2019 Doom episode) did so well. Because it goes back to the design that made these games really fun - it’s serving that retro market. “I think people are looking for more variety, because
they feel like there’s some sameness and maybe some limitations to what they can do. You know, when you play Warzone, you’re not exploring. When you play any of these games in the battle royale space, you do need to learn the levels really well, so you can expect where people are going to drop or places they’re going to go. And that’s great, it gives you mastery of the level. But it is like ‘oh, we’re playing the same level over and over again.’ I remember I used to be able to go through a story, going through all these different exciting spaces, and just exploring and learning everything about it instead of being shuffled towards the exit.” That isn’t to say Romero is at all dismissive about
battle royale titles. Games like Fortnite and Warzone have become two of the biggest names in the industry for good reason. After all, I myself have been ensnared in a Warzone-centred group chat for the better part of a year now. But the genre is perhaps more of a useful next step, rather than a radical evolution of the genre. “I think it’s good for creators to try new things,”
says Romero. “Even if they’re not going to work out, some of that could be a hint to what might work out. If you’re exploring how to expand the genre, if there’s not any clear big ideas then you just go forward and incrementalise on what you think might be the next step of something, versus a revolutionary thing. “Battle royale is huge, but the funny thing is it could
have been in the original Doom. If you had a big enough level with 100 people playing, you could have battle royale in Doom. The rules are not a genre, they’re just the rules. And those rules can be in any game. “The reason battle royale really worked, I think, is
because when you play a free-for-all kind of game, you’re dead pretty quickly. Those games are only for hardcore people, but the battle royales are for everybody, because you can decide where you want to land - and it can be away from everyone else, so you can have some fun running around and picking things up. And maybe you’ll kill somebody, so at least feel like you got some gameplay, and when you’re killed at least you learnt something and had fun. “So I think the battle royale formula actually helps
people get into deathmatch shooters. That [battle royale] ruleset could lead to something new, it could lead to someone making something that points in the direction of what all shooters should have. I wouldn’t mind having battle royale in pretty much all shooters, so long as that’s not the only thing that shooter is.”
THE FUTURE OF FPS Not that Romero ever expects shooters to become any one thing. As much as Wolfenstein 3D once defined what a shooter could be, Romero is keen to stress that it should never just be that. While Call of Duty so often dominates the
conversation around shooters today, the genre is far more diverse than it’s often given credit for. While new trends like battle royale may attract a lot of attention, they’re a part of a wider expansion of the genre rather than seeking to redefine it entirely. “There are so many differences in shooters nowadays
that I don’t think that Call of Duty is the North Star for the whole genre. It’s a kind of shooter in the same way that Overwatch and DOOM Eternal are both kinds of shooters. None of them are like, ‘this is what a shooter is.’ They’re one of the things that a shooter could be. “I don’t think that any one of them is pointing to
the future, they’re all kind of incrementally moving forward in their subgenres, their niches, and any of that stuff could become the beacon for a new rule set that everybody jumps on top of, in the way that PUBG was. I think it’s great that it’s not just one thing, and it has a lot of different playstyles and stories people can point to. These different games can have these cool features that can become the standard, like the way Half-Life 2 had the Gravity Gun and physics puzzles - but you know, things people could actually take forward!” Of course, the shooter genre isn’t the only thing
to have changed in 30 years. Looking back on the development of Wolfenstein 3D is like gazing into a time capsule from a lost civilization. For instance: the Wolfenstein IP, one of the most recognisable franchises in gaming history, was acquired by the Wolfenstein 3D team for just $5,000 in 1992. Just comparing that to the enormous figures involved in gaming acquisitions today is enough to make your head spin. Additionally, during development publisher FormGen
approached id software with concerns over its violence and shocking content. The team, in what is perhaps my favourite decision in gaming history, responded by making the game even more violent and shocking.
EDITH’S GOT A GUN While this was unquestionably the right move in
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