When you say you've integrated some Rage tech, have you optimised the specs, or is it going to need an incredibly powerful PC to run, like Rage? We've done a handful of small things that really have a big impact to kind of re-introduce the franchise to our fans, and to really say hello to some new fans because everyone's heard of Doom, but you'd be surprised at just how many people haven't actually played it. So it is really kind of cool for us - especially as we all love the Doom franchise - to go back and rework the game in such a way. Then we went through every single level of the original and things that were really frustrating or not fun, we made them more enjoyable. We've actually put a heck of a lot of Rage tech into the Doom 3 engine to kind of modernise the game.įor instance: we have the Rage input control, checkpoints, we've updated the lighting so it's brighter, we changed the flashlight, tweaked ammo, we've put the Rage network layer in to make it run faster at low latency, and we added 3D support, multi-display support for PC. We're doing more with Doom 3 BFG than just re-releasing the original. Tim Willits: That is the big question, and it's not just Doom 3 - that's what we're keen to make sure everybody knows. It's also their chance to remind FPS fans everywhere that at one point, id was near-untouchable in the genre. Not only that, but id essentially fathered the FPS as it exists today - if not fathered, then certainly popularised it - so it's great to see them back doing what they does best. It's comforting to see a studio take such a broader view on its old content, rather than simply slapping them on a disc in HD mode. There are re-designed levels, elements of the Rage engine, new textures, lighting mechanics and of a new eight-mission chapter called the 'Lost Mission'. But id is returning to its roots in Doom 3: BFG Edition, a game that is more than just a simple re-release. In fact, Doom 3 was released on PC back in 2004, and the studio hasn't released much since then.

Id's Doom series has been absent for a long time. Again, it's not wholesale changes - like you won't see Rage AI or anything like that - but I think that we did enough small things that had a big impact.' 'Instead of a slower horror game with action elements, it's now more of a faster action game with horror elements.

VG247's Dave Cook speaks with id Software's Tim Willits about the Doom phenomenon. Doom 3: BFG Edition is out October 19, overhauling the original in almost every department.

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