ROBERT DUFFY MUST DIE. Ill let him finish working on Doom 3 first,
but his day is coming. The programmer is tap-dancing around my rocket
fire...and when Im just about to get the drop on him, the lights
go out. How did I come to be so owned, you ask? After three years of development
with minimal press information (and hundreds of stories for every gib-sized
morsel of information), Id promised CGW a behind-the-scenes peek at the
latest progress on Doom 3, no holds barred. In a single day, theyd
show everything: All the big questions would be answered, all the weapons
would be revealed, and previously unseen levels would be explored. Welcome,
gentle readers, to your Doom.
HELLFIRE, TEXAS
In the same building that houses the office of the mayor of Mesquite,
Texas, sits the unassuming headquarters of Id Software. Once inside, its
obvious these offices arent for selling insurance. Theres
a 6.1 THX-certified conference room equipped with a plasma monitor and
a Falcon Northwest PC with Doom 3 emblazoned in neon lights on the side.
Our demo driver for today is lead designer Tim Willits. He fires up the
single-player game, talking about how he wants to scare the shit
out of people. Since the only thing scary about the original Doom
for me was the multiplayer competition, I take Willits warning with
a grain of salt.
Do we really need to go into the proprietary physics, shadows, and A.I.
being poured into the Doom 3 engine? Its been praised, it looks
good, and everyone has said their two cents. Seeing it firsthand however,
makes me feel like Im on the set of Aliens. The slow pacing, claustrophobic
environments, and use of shadows all add a great deal to the games
palpable tension.
The pacing is intentionally slow, says Willits. After
all, we put all this work into [the environments] and we want to give
people the opportunity to explore them. Otherwise, whats the point?
He says this while unloading buckshot into a zombie commando. A whip-like
tentacle snakes out from its right arm and lashes at the screen.
There are plenty of other details in the carnage, including a bloody handprint
on the wall and a disemboweled body hunched over a table. Wait. Was that
the sound of a cracked pipe hissing...or something else?
Willits opens his in-game PDA for the next mission objective. The PDA
contains maps, goals, e-mails retrieved from bodies, and so on. It's a
cool little window into the world, but if you read some information carefully,
you'll find hints to secret areas, inside jokes, and other minutia. For
example, at one point you read an email that you've downloaded to your
PDA from a supervisor. In it, you're asked to fix the loose floor panels
in the Alpha Labs before someone falls through and is injured. If you
read the e-mail, you'll know where to find the broken floor panels, which
lead to a secret underground passage. You can then sneak up behind a number
of demons and zombies and kill them before they can ambush you.
Back in the game, a stray shot at a window suddenly breaches the base's
atmosphere. Oxygen is getting sucked out to the Martian surface. You'll
die from suffocation if you're not careful, but the developers, unfortunately,
had to kill the visual effect of getting sucked out along with the air.
"The calculations for physics of shattering glass are bad enough,
but trying to factor in [getting sucked out a window] is just too much,"
says Willits.
Now, we're walking in the dark and escorting the NPC Ed through some corridors.
Lit only by Ed's lantern, imps pop out from the shadows, and I jump back
for a second, laughing. These aren't come pixilated little buggers. They
are detailed and coming right at you. It feels like a movie.
You start the game as a marine walking through a research outpost on
Mars. " you don't jump into the action right away. As soon as you
want to begin, you report for duty and go out on patrol," Willits
says. Before long, a gateway to hell opens, leaving you as one of the
few survivors. Ah, but seeing as how you played the original Doom, you
already knew that. But did you know that there's an ancient civilization
buried deep in the heart of Mars? Did you know that this had also happened
centuries ago and the demons were beaten back with some ultimate weapon?
While the folks at Id didn't have any artwork to show of this nifty bit
of alien gear, we can give you a hint: the new weapon, called the soul
cube, has nothing to do with hell raiser. This contraption, though, was
powerful enough to beat back the demonic hordes once. Realizing its
power, the hordes grabbed it and brought it back to hell to make sure
it couldnt be used again-which means youre going to have to
go down into the bowels of the underworld, where this super weapon is
being guarded, retrieve it, and stop the inevitable invasion of Earth.
HOT POCKETS
Deep in the caverns of Mars, at an excavation site, we start seeing signs
of a previous culture. A huge temple with writings on the wall means more
secrets for you to uncover. Little pockets of hell are busting through
the walls. Normal areas meld with brimstone, and pentagrams appear on
the ground. But theres no time to see the sights, as a couple of
revenants start launching plasma balls and a demon floats overhead. Next
come waves of zombie security guards armed with shotguns. A couple shots
connect, sending you reeling.
This is one part of the game that surprised me-the visceral feel of each
blow. Whether you get slashed by a zombie or take a shotgun blast to the
grill, your head snaps away, making it tough to focus and
aim properly for a few seconds. And, thanks to the per-poly hit detection,
the strength of that shot and the subsequent blow varies. Some bits hit
your armor, but the strays that actually connect with flesh are going
to do more damage
and every projectile is precisely calculated with
the physics engine, whether youre taking potshots or just knocking
out the glass from a window.
Some creature/boss spoilers ahead!
VISIONS OF HELL
The art in Doom 3 looks like an H.R. Geiger nightmare. Lead artist Kenneth
Scott starts by showing the cast of prezombified characters, each with
different types of head and effects. He uses a blending technique to shift
a woman from the normal state to a sallow zombie. Early shots weve
sent out only have a couple zombies in them. People are probably thinking
they all look alike, but they dont, says Scott. There are
lots of gruesome ways to die, and theyll all be on display. Various
chunks from a body could be missing, an exposed skull here, no stomach
there. Then there are some personal favorites, like the security guards
who still wear cracked goggles after their eyeballs have burst. There
are effects also being added to some, like Burnie, for example.
This zombie model has flames licking off parts of his body, and you can
see the charred flesh underneath.
But this is saying nothing of the bigger, tougher denizens of hell: fearsome
hell knights, Thing-inspired trites that make Half-Lifes headcrabs
look like the catch of the day, and lots of as-yet-unnamed creatures.
Theres a spidery demon boss that skitters around and has a pouch
in the back that looks like itll spawn little tritelings. Scotts
favorite: the sinister hell cherub. Hey, heavens got em,
he says. Not like this though: Twisted baby faces top tiny, disfigured
bodies that fly around with insect wings.
A huge monstrosity fills the screen for a split second. Oops, I
dont think I was supposed to show you that! The unarmed Jurassic
demon is so big it cant be seen in its entirety in one screen.
While Scott cant go into detail on what it is, he assures me that
this isnt the final boss. Now thats a scary thought.End creature
spoilers
If you want scary, though, you also need to get a feel for the animation
work being put into doom 3.The trick is to add little sequences
in the game engine that dont pull you out of the game, says
lead animator Fred Nilsson, who was one of the animators for Shrek. So
how does creating that movies gingerbread man torture sequence compare
to working on a game like doom 3? Games are a lot more creative.
Youve got to do a lot of things, like creating models and setting
up the character and skeletons.
The large number of bones in each character allows for detailed animation.
Whether youre observing a marines face contorted in pain,
seeing a mouth form words, or simply noticing sets of eyes darting around
the room, it all sells the realism beyond the graphics. And, after a two-day
motion capture marathon, its easy to overlay mannerisms, staggers,
and the like.
But the really creative part is being able to place cameras, down and
edit the scene. Using Maya, and the in-game engine, Nilsson briefly yanks
the camera out of your control. The next 10 seconds in one scene focus
on a pinky demon knocking over a railing, jumping down, and ramming a
door. Only then do you get control back. Finally, Nilsson gets to be the
director.
Technically, youll get to be one as well, since the editing software
will be available when Doom 3 ships. This is Rob Duffys domain,
programmer and the keeper of the tools.
The fact that we include all the tools, source maps, and textures
on the disc is big. This is the first time this has been done. You
wont get the 3d modeling (Lightwave) and animation (Maya) tools
that we used, but there are light versions and free programs available
on the Web. Because of the things the engine can do, we can expect
to see some great things [from the modding community].
You see, Doom 3 may be intentionally slow-paced, but that doesnt
mean you cant get some serious speed. The physics engine allows
for vehicles, if desired. You can also get fast and furious combat, as
in the upcoming Quake 4. (Duffy confirmed that Raven Software is working
on Quake 4 right now in tandem with the id folks, but other than that,
mums the word.) Whats Duffy looking forwarded to? More single-player
mod offerings. All the mods lately have been multiplayer. If you
have a team that wants to break into the business with a commercial venture,
a single-player mod is the best way to get noticed.
In order for those coders to get crankin, though, the game has to
come out. Early ads said that Doom 3 was coming in 2003, says
id CEO Todd Hollenshead, but we knew that probably wasnt going
to happen. People are getting anxious, though-anxious enough to
distribute the game early. A year ago, the E3 build was leaked to the
public, and the recent news of the Half-Life 2 source code leak brought
up some painful memories.
So when will Doom 3 ship? Hollenshead gives the stock answer on cue: Itll
be done when its done, Looks like were going to have
to settle this with a deathmatch before I hit the road.
"Let's get ready to Giiiiib!"
The single-player game may be intentionally slow, but the pace is kicked
up for multiplayer. No adrenaline meters required on the six to eight
maps thatll come with the game when it ships. Youll be able
to manipulate switches, activate security cameras, move objects, close
shutters, and turn off lights. There may only be four people playing at
a time, but Hollenshead explains, We knew we were onto something
because we started lining up to play it in the office.
Imagine moving a canister in front of a doorway and turning off the lights.
You hide in a corner and-whoosh-the door opens. All you can see is the
silhouette of your enemy in the doorway and its time to open fire.
Just pray your target isnt in berserker mode.
Scott describes the berserker mode as the sci-fi drug red-eye
that was seen in an episode of Cowboy Bebop. As you slap the berserker
helmet on, the world goes crimson; you run uncontrollably at a full sprint,
and youre only able to punch or club someone with your flashlight
for ridiculous amounts of damage. And all the while, youre maniacally
screaming.
Which catches us up to where we are now: Ive already been brained
twice with a flashlight by a berserking Marty Stratton, and Duffy once
again has me in his sights. Click. I forgot to reload. His shotgun blast
catches part of my armor and sends my head reeling. The visceral
screen shake, combined with the 6.1 surround sound, makes me feel the
impact of every bit of buck-shot. Its over. I come in second place
with seven kills. The sad part? I know they were going easy on me.
Theres always next time-especially since Nilsson waits in the wings
like some sinister end boss. Everyone in the office fears his deadly aim,
but not me
not yet, at least. Ill be in training until I head
back down to see whatevers next from Id.
While id has only a few renders available, we learned about all the weapons
that will be in the final game. Not pictured here are the flashlight,
grenades, the rocket launcher, the infamous BFG, and the soul cube.
Fun Facts: The face of the space marine you control in the game is that
of Kevin Cloud, artist and co-owner of Id Software. Nobody has told him
yet.
Fun Facts: The shotgun from the original Doom was actually modeled on
a plastic toy gun. It still sits in Id's lobby.
Carmack Quotes
- It's funny at 33 years old being an old man in the [game] industry.
I wrote my first game for the Apple II, Shadowforge, about 16 years ago.
- "I'm not nearly as big of a game player as a lot of the guys [at
id]. Part of taking a step back from being a designer to the directorial
role is that I may not be the best person to design games. I can code
certain aspects, but I'd rather have passionate people that have a vison
they want to get in. I'm more the engineer and technician who wants something
to work well."
|