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What is Doom?

Doom is the 1993 id Software first-person shooter that is widely credited with establishing the first-person shooter as a genre and demonstrating for the first time that this perspective could deliver fast, visceral, and genuinely frightening action at a technical level that no previous game had approached. You play as a space marine stationed on Phobos, the moon of Mars, fighting through demon-infested corridors, bases, and hellish dimensions using a progressively acquired arsenal of weapons ranging from a humble pistol to the legendary BFG 9000. More than three decades after its release, Doom remains playable, fast, and fun in a way that few games of any era match.

How to Play Doom

Doom's movement is fast, fluid, and forgiving - you sprint through corridors, strafe around enemies, and change direction instantly without the momentum limitations of more realistic shooters. Enemies approach from the sides and front, requiring constant lateral movement to avoid their projectiles and bites. The original Doom has no vertical aiming - enemies on different heights are hit automatically if your horizontal aim is correct - which keeps the focus on positional combat rather than precision aiming. Collecting health, ammo, and armour from defeated enemies and the environment sustains your fight through each level's growing demon population.

Weapons and the Arsenal

Doom's weapon roster set the template for FPS weapons that the genre follows to this day. The pistol is the starting weapon - effective but not powerful. The shotgun provides room-clearing capability at close range. The chaingun delivers sustained automatic fire. The rocket launcher deals area damage effective against groups but dangerous at close range. The plasma rifle provides high-rate energy fire. The BFG 9000 - one of gaming's most famous weapons - releases a devastating energy blast capable of clearing entire rooms. Each weapon has a tactical role, and managing ammunition across the full arsenal is the resource challenge the game sustains across its episode structure.

Enemies and the Demon Roster

Doom's demon roster is one of game design's most iconic sets of enemies. Zombiemen are the weakest human-derived enemies that fall to a single shotgun blast. Imps throw fireballs and close in on the player with claws. Pinkies charge directly and are dangerous in groups. Cacodemons float and attack from range. Lost Souls burn toward the player relentlessly. The Baron of Hell is an armoured brute that absorbs significant punishment. The Cyberdemon - the final boss of the first episode - fires rockets continuously and requires sustained damage from the most powerful weapons to defeat. Each enemy type requires a different tactical response and the combination of multiple types in a single room is Doom's primary difficulty mechanism.

Level Design and Episode Structure

Doom is structured across three episodes, each set in distinct environments - military base, nuclear plant, and hellish dimensions. The level design is non-linear and maze-like, with interconnected corridors, secret rooms containing bonus items, and keys that unlock progression through each level. The maze structure rewards exploration and punishes rushing - knowing the layout of each level is as important as shooting skill in the later episodes where enemy placement and resource scarcity demand that every room is approached with awareness of what lies ahead.

Why Doom Remains Worth Playing

Doom's speed and clarity are qualities that modern games struggle to replicate. The absence of cover systems, aim-down-sights mechanics, and regenerating health creates a purer action experience built entirely on movement skill and weapon management. Playing the original Doom is both enjoyable as a game in its own right and illuminating as a study in what made first-person shooters compelling - insights that remain relevant to the genre today.

Play Doom free on Classroom Connect with no download or login required. The game runs via browser emulation and delivers the complete original 1993 Doom experience.