in the game industry? Could you tell me a little more about the kind of work
that you do, and some of the projects you've been involved with?
Devo: As much as I'd love to say I'm in the games industry, I've been working
in the mobile and web application development space for about ten years. I've
coded in Java, C#, JavaScript, C++ and Python. The closest I ever got to game
dev was an elective unit in university (college) looking at games design and
implementation using the Unreal Engine. At that time, the most thought-of
games critic was Yahtzee Croshaw, famous for his "Zero Punctuation" series.
Nick: What got you into Doom? Do you remember the
first Doom game you played?
Devo: As a
kid I was always interested in alternative music and horror films. So, when I
saw Doom 64 (1997) at my local games store I had
to give it a go. I actually got lost half way across town trying to walk to
the store. I must have been about eight or nine. The owner of the store needed
to give me a lift back home, game in tow.
I really sank my teeth
into Doom 64 as a kid. Prior to that I'd only
played a small slice of the "Knee Deep in the Dead" shareware at a friend's place. Doom 64 was my
first real go at Doom.
Nick: Doom (1993) isn’t live-generated 3D like Quake (1996) is. Has the classic Doom games' ingenious use of technology
influenced how you work on games today? Do the
modern Doom games continue this level of innovation,
technologically-speaking?
Devo: I have a lot of respect
for the intellect of the developers of that period—John Carmack, Ken Silverman
and David Brevik, to name a few. Not just their intellect, but their ability
to draw different concepts together is very inspiring. Back then they couldn't
open Google or Stack Overflow. They had to read the relevant manuals and
textbooks, network, and then be able to bring it all together. Just some
brilliant minds who were dedicated to their craft.
I think these
days, given the scale of game development, there's probably less room for
rockstars. At least from the outside looking in. What's left to evaluate is
the performance and polish of the products or the degree of design innovation
they've heralded. Doom Eternal really stands up tall in both
these respects, especially technologically. The fact the game cranks out the
frames it does with the geometric detail and particle effects it contains is
remarkable. I think the performance and disk size of Doom Eternal has many consumers questioning the engineering practices of
similarly-equipped studios. This is remarkable.
Nick: Pre-Doom Eternal, what is your
favorite Doom game? Soundtrack? Individual track? Monster?
Gun?
Devo: Game, Doom 2016;
soundtrack, Doom 2016; individual track, "BFG Division"; monster, [the] Hell Knight [from] Doom 2016: Their
movement patterns are so much fun to dodge and they look awesome.
are some of your favorites?
Devo: Love
both! Hellraiser (1987) is one of my all-time favourite
movies, followed closely by the original TV adaptation of Stephen
King's It (1990). As far as metal goes, my favourite albums
belong to bands like Fear Factory, Behemoth and Parkway Drive. Although the
first album I ever bought was that Hanson album [Middle of Nowhere (1997)] with "MMM-Bop". Good times.
Nick: In terms of the classic, '90s games, do you
prefer early Doom or early Quake (1996)?
Devo: Doom. I'll sooner fire up "Knee Deep in the Dead" and blast
through that either on the Switch or using GZDoom than I will Quake. I think Quake was the
greater technological achievement, but it lacks the cohesion and enemy
balancing that Doom had—especially if we're just talking
about Doom 1.
Nick: When did you start speedrunning and why did you
decide to speedrun Doom?
Devo: I haven't
been speedrunning for that long—maybe for about nine months by this point.
I've always admired glitchless runners like Orchlon (Resident Evil 3) and Byte Me (Doom 2016). I felt that you could only get so far playing
the game under normal conditions on the hardest difficulty. The best way to
make it harder and competitive is to add a timer. As soon as a timer exists
you're under this new kind of pressure to make decisions faster and execute
your actions more cleanly.
I started speedrunning around the middle
of 2019 in the "Leon A Standard" category of Resident Evil 2 Remake (2019). Prior to this I'd mostly done non-timed runs of Doom 2016
on Ultra-Nightmare.
Nick: Do you speedrun
non-Doom games?
Devo: I love "The 4th
Survivor" mode in Resident Evil 2 Remake. It's all movement and
shooting with no menuing or puzzles. It's also a very short run—under seven
minutes if you're fast. I've contemplated jumping into
the Souls games but have yet to make the leap! It's quite a
daunting task learning a new game and Dark Souls (2011) is no
joke to begin with!
Nick: How would you describe your speedrunning style
compared to other Doom runners?
Devo: I probably take more risks, engaging the combat with style, preferring to go
all-in rather than to use the most efficient methods to complete the arenas.
I'm not as interested in optimizing routing the same way other runners might
be. I still go relatively fast, but I tend to trust my instincts more than the
objective measurements from trying different strategies. For that reason I
tend to just "do the run" rather than practice. It's usually to the detriment
of the time but, I prefer to have fun and engage the audience.
Nick: Do you have any favorite Doom runners that you like to watch
and/or learn from?
Devo: RedW4rr10r, ByteMe, DraQu, and King Dime.
The Next Big Thing
Nick: During Eternal's development process, the
developers mentioned their game being made with Twitch and speedrunning in mind. Was the
game "made to be speedrun," or is it simply a game with fast combat?
Devo: There are elements of the game that you can see were added with
speedrunning in mind. There is a milestone for completing "Hell on Earth" in
under 11 minutes, cutscenes are easily skippable and the menus are simple to
navigate using the keyboard. I don’t think speedrunning was a primary design
objective though. There is no completion time at the end of each map such as
there was for the original games, nor is there a ranking system for the end of
the game based on time as is seen in the Resident Evil series. It is a fast game but not primarily designed as a speedgame.
Nick: A recent video by Karl Jobst
is also convinced Doom Eternal is the next Big Game in the
speedrunning world. Do you agree with him? Will Doom Eternal rank up there with popular speedrunning games like Super Metroid (1994) or Goldeneye (1997)?
Devo: I think there is a huge amount of optimization in the glitchless
categories. The combat can be executed with far more efficiency than we have
seen. I don't think we will see nearly the degree of optimisation overall that
might be seen in single segment Doom (1993)
or Goldeneye speedrunning. I don't think it will even get
remotely close too what we see in a full Resident Evil (1996)
speedrun where lines and RNG are very tightly managed. I do think we will see
the 100% Ultra-Nightmare category come down quite a bit though over the next
six months.
Nick: Will Doom Eternal (and Twitch) help change speedrunning into something we haven't seen
before, bringing the practice to an audience of unprecedented size, but also
further its demographic range?
Devo: I hope so. I
watched what speedrunning did for Resident Evil 2 Remake on
Twitch. When [that game] came out, it exploded for about a week then like most
single player games [it] dropped off. But for an entire year it attracted a
solid, consistent viewership. Twitch ran the Rivals tournament for it which
really helped bring a heap of new people to
speedrunning. RE2R still peaks at around 2,000 viewers daily,
twelve months after release and following the release of the
sequel, RE3R (2020).
healthy competition within speedrun communities; they also garner attention
from outside of these communities over a longer period, and potentially
bring speedrunning to a larger audience as a result. Super Metroid continues to be considered a classic, regularly cracking the Top Ten on Speedrun.com despite being a 26-year old game!]
Nick: How does Doom appeal to
you—not simply as a speedrunner, but as a gamer? Are you just as invested in
"flexing" or being creative as you are getting the fastest time?
Devo: I like to flex! But after awhile you need to find new ways to flex and
adding a timer is part of it. I really enjoy trying to find new strategies,
trying different upgrade paths or incorporating different mechanics more
frequently.
Technical Issues
Nick: Id's reputation for
making technically-solid games precedes them. However, during your stream, you
mention several technical issues with Doom Eternal. One is that
hit boxes occasionally don't spawn. Is this a big issue—say, enough of a
problem to make speedrunners' lives miserable?
Devo: I
think that can affect the balloons on the untracked secret in Super Gore Nest.
It's not an issue thankfully as it doesn't count towards the 100% criteria.
Nick: You also mention needing to uninstall/reinstall the game from time to
time? Can you speculate on why this might be?
Devo: Sometimes, it's the only way to exact revenge on the game.
Nick: Are there any other technical issues you've
noticed, but think aren't getting enough attention that you'd like to mention,
here?
Devo:
- Getting physically stuck on a Slayer Gate Gore Nest after completing it.
-
Being unable to change weapons or attack after overlapping a weapon swap
with collecting a secret until using the weapon wheel or "select previous
weapon" actions are used. - Marauder AI being affected by enemy projectiles.
- Blood Punches happening when Glory Kills should be happening.
- Melee swings happening when Blood Punches should be happening.
-
View angle being "flung" upwards randomly when using the Plasma Rifle and
Heat Blast. - Game crashing randomly, or especially when using the BFG.
Game Design
Nick: Does being a software
engineer make you notice anything—positive or negative—about Doom Eternal that you might not otherwise, from a game design standpoint?
Devo: The decision to have Blood Punch, Glory Kill and melee all on one bind
is perplexing. From a coding perspective, the edge cases to adequately
implement this would be non-trivial. The complexity could lead to
inconsistency in the behaviour of the feature. If it were separately keyed
these systems would be less coupled leading to fewer instances of Blood
Punching instead of Glory Killing and vice versa.
Nick: You recently observed during a livestream how the Slayer is constantly
getting stuck on surfaces, almost as if his body is covered in Velcro. Is this
a technical issue with the game, like a bug? Or is it simply an oversight in
its design from the developers, given their attempts to force the player to
play as fast as possible?
Devo: I think this was a
design decision to punish players for standing still. The Slayer's hitbox is
massive leading to frequent collisions with enemies. In the event a player
stands still they get surrounded and then stuck. Unfortunately this also
applies to the geometry which can lead to some extremely frustrating deaths
when you're stuck on an outcropping of a wall, a box, a pillar or a pebble.
Nick: Are there any choices you'd make personally to
make the experience more enjoyable in terms of how Id intended it? They want
the player to set up more punishing attacks with smaller ones, peeling back
armor with managing resources and constantly moving. What about the game's
current design could be changed to make this more fun? Is there anything in
particular that holds the game back in this respect?
Devo: The Mancubus AI needs to be changed so on Nightmare he doesn't
instantly drop AOE. A brief windup—even less than a second—would be fine, but
currently there is no warning animation or windup.
Nick: Despite the game's flaws, what keeps you coming back? Are you a glutton
for punishment, or is the game mostly fun?
Devo: I just
love the challenge. The game itself being fantastic also helps, but a
desire—to truly master the game—is the main thing that keeps me coming back
for more.
Speed and Mobility
Nick: Speedrunners tend to refer to non-speedrunners as "casuals," implying a
specialized difficulty that comes from speedrunning games. However, Doom Eternal is meant to be played fast, and be harder for it; it forces the player
to play at the game's speed, or die. Do you think this mindset appeals to
speedrunners, in general?
Devo: I think if you
speedrun, you speedrun. It doesn't matter so much how fast you are, what
matters is having a go. Doom Eternal requires
precise execution of a set of steps given a particular strategy. It is fast,
but it has a speed limit because you can't just demolish everything by
concentrating on movement and dealing damage.
Nick: How does Doom Eternal's speed feel compared
to Doom 2016?
Devo: At times it
feels like busywork, especially early-game. Dismantling weak points and
platforming really slows the game down. Once you reach Super Gore Nest the
game becomes GREAT and moves significantly faster than 2016. I do wish the
pacing of Eternal were more like Super Gore Nest onwards
because [that is] amazing.
Nick: Is there
anything about the slower, more
horizontally-oriented Doom that you prefer, or is Doom Eternal a straight upgrade?
Devo: Doom 2016 was great because it was so open
that you could complete the game without taking a single upgrade or completing
anything OTHER than the combat. That meant not using BFG on Argent D’nur for
example because it would mean making progress towards the mission
challenge. The 0% (Full Combat Rating) category of 2016 was a testament to how well-designed the game was. Yes, people could
run around with Super Shotty and blow everything to bits easily, but you could
also make the game really challenging and satisfying with your own
rules [editor's note: see Under the Mayo's "brawler mode" for a good example of this].
this kind of play. It's kind of like how in Dark Souls most
builds were viable with varying degrees of difficulty and
cheese. Sekiro (2019) and Bloodborne (2015)
were much more about "this item must—or at least should be—used on this boss".
Tone
Nick: Doom Eternal is
less minimal than Doom 2016. It's also campier. How do you
feel about this?
Devo: I don't mind the arcade-y
approach to be honest. I've always placed gameplay on a pedestal. I did really
grow fond of the world [Doom] 2016 built, though. I miss its cohesion
and pacing. Eternal's environmental pacing is a mess to be honest.
The constant change in locale and scenery makes the entire world difficult to
suspend disbelief of. Exultia is really jarring, but Nekravol makes sense as
there is a more gradual transition from the Hellish environment to the Urdak
technology—plus the story backing it makes sense and is delivered
exceptionally well.
Nick: Should Doom be scary? What's your opinion
about Doom PSOne (1995) or Doom 64?
Devo: I love Doom 64. It applied a thick layer of atmosphere and
tension with an amazing soundtrack, great visuals and excellent level design.
The traps in the levels and their navigability (which was poor) really messed
with me. It did all this without compromising on the fast paced gameplay of
the originals. I think it can work all without making the Slayer/Doomguy look
any less badass nor slowing the game down.
power-ups, but also some incredibly fast gameplay and powerful heroes: the
likes of Samus, Alucard and the Hollow Knight, flying at top-speed through
the twisted castle-like dungeons. Personally I saw hints of this in Doom 2016 and would love to see it more in the sequel to Doom Eternal.]
Nick: Was there anything
about Eternal that surprised you, was bad when you thought
it'd be good or vice versa?
Devo: I thought Blood Punch
would be the new "Super Shotty stagger". I am still working on it more and
learning enemy movement patterns to make it safe to use. It's very punishing
though when [you melee by accident] instead of Blood Punching.
Nick: If you had to pick one of each, what is your
favorite level, gun, and monster in Doom Eternal?
Devo: Nekravol 1, Super Shotgun, Cyber Mancubus.
Nick: Which Glory Kills do you like the most?
Devo: Left-hand side Archvile! Oh, maybe the Mecha-Zombie one where the
Slayer makes him shoot himself in the face!
Technique
Nick: How do you feel about the Marauder? Do
complaints about him upsetting the combat feel justified, or is he easier to handle than most people think (see: King Dime's latest strategy)?
Devo: He's easy to handle when his AI is
being completely jank. His pathing in some arenas (looking at you, Mars Core
Slayer Gate) can be terribly busted.
Nick: What
are some of your favorite ways to handle the Marauder?
Devo: Frost Bomb + Rocket Launcher Lock-On Burst, Stagger into BFG, or Super Shotty/Ballista
Nick: Do you find
yourself having to adapt and change your strategies—for the Marauder, and
regular demons—because of the game's chaotic nature? Is this fun?
Devo: Umm, the enemy priority changes because you absolutely have to remove
excess fodder demons from the arena—especially projectile demons as their
projectiles can cause [the Marauder] to spawn dogs.
Nick: Given the sheer number of projectile enemies, does Doom Eternal ever feel like a bullet-hell type game, albeit in the 1st person?
Devo: Doom 2016 felt more like a bullet hell kind of
game. Eternal has heaps of attacks that can hit you instantly
or are extremely difficult to dodge. If Eternal was more
bullet hell, its other mechanics would not get used as often as players would
learn to dodge every pattern flawlessly. [Eternal] has fast-moving
projectiles, hitscan attacks (Arachnotron), enemies that teleport behind you
(Gargoyles), homing attacks that follow you to the last second (Whiplashes).
If you could somehow avoid getting hit by all of those things, you wouldn't
[often] come down to land for armor or health.
Nick: Is there one fight you couldn't believe you survived, but enjoyed
yourself with anyways?
Devo: I remember being pretty
chuffed with myself the first Gladiator Ultra-Nightmare kill I got. That
was pretty exciting because back then he was a huge wall in Ultra-Nightmare.
Now that there’s some established strategies and understanding of mechanics,
he isn't so bad.
Using Glitches
Nick: Combat is definitely a core part of the gameplay experience in Doom Eternal. Do you ever find yourself using glitches to give yourself an edge in
combat, or to perform faster speedruns?
Devo: Absolutely. I used the dash boost glitch to avoid some platforming
sections, such as the "one- Arachnotron-and-two-Possessed" room in Exultia
where you have to punch the block. That mostly gets skipped using a wall-dash
boost.
Nick: I'm not so sure the game's action can survive the speedrunning approach, unless
categories are made that discourage so-called "major glitches." As a software
engineer, what constitutes a major glitch like clipping or slope-boosting
versus something more minor in your mind?
Devo: A
major glitch in new Doom is anything that allows for the
bypassing of entire encounters and often multiple encounters in one, single
skip (for example, the mouse wheel boost on Exultia).
Nick: Are invulnerability-frames enough to keep the player reliably "safe"
when Glory Killing, or do you feel exposed when doing them?
Devo: The issue is getting stuck. There are plenty of i-frames, but usually
if you Glory Kill in the earlier Slayer Gate's its super risky because you
suddenly might have a Revenant and Dreadknight on you and it's GG.
Nick: Are there any moments in Doom Eternal's gameplay that feel
cheap, or that force you to play a particular way that doesn't feel fun? For
example, would you prefer having tutorial levels that unlock all your gear,
and then simply start out with all of your equipment?
Devo: The weak-point system can kind of force you to play a particular way.
Anything pre-ballista, you should be breaking weak points—especially against
Mancubi and Arachnotrons.
Nick: Do you ever find
yourself inventing ways to make Doom Eternal harder, like not
using the BFG or the Crucible, or using sub-optional weapon specs?
Devo: Yep, I've been toying with a "No: HUD, BFG, Unmaykr, Crucible"
[approach]. It's good fun and gets pretty sweaty when you have next-to-no
information. Icon of Sin is soooo much fun; you're constantly smashing Blood
Punch and grabbing the Blood Punch refills.
Difficulty
Nick: For me, difficulty feels relative. For example,
classic Doom has hitscan-type enemies, which are
theoretically more dangerous than enemies with projectile-based attacks.
Conversely Doom Eternal attacks the player from all
directions—on open ground, with fewer opportunities to take cover and abuse
choke points; its enemies are numerous, armored and aggressive—with multiple
attack patterns, and specialized weaknesses. But the potential for obnoxious
difficulty exists in both generations.
the Doom games in terms of difficulty when each one is so
different?
Devo: They are totally different kinds
of games. Especially when you start dipping into WADS like Sunlust or Sunder. The game in that scenario is more about crowd management and causing
in-fighting.
Nick: Do you have a preference in
terms of the sort of difficulty offered by the various games in
the Doom franchise?
Devo: I prefer the
difficulty of new Doom—fewer enemies that are more impactful on
their own.
Note: For the rest of this section, I refer to an on-stream interview I had with King Dime.
Nick: After a certain point, every demon in the game
can drop armor, ammo and health. Eventually. Early on, the player can't Blood
Punch or Flame Belch, which makes them potentially harder than later levels.
For these reasons, Civvie complains about the beginning of the game being too hard.
Is it
"too" hard like Civvie says; or is King Dime on the money by saying how the
beginning to Doom 2016 is more challenging?
Devo: The early game is hard for the wrong reasons. Enemies feel spongy and
you have to lean into the Chainsaw/Belch loop of the game. This puts you at
risk half the time because you need to pick and choose when you use either of
these abilities. If you Chainsaw at the wrong time, or without 70%+
health/armor, you could get smothered by enemies.
Nick: King Dime explains
how Doom 2016 is more "permanent" if the player loses heath
and armor. Meanwhile, there's little challenge to Doom Eternal once you know how to play the game: Lose hundreds of points of armor
and health. Find a low-tier demon. Flame Belch [or use the flaming meat hook]. Get everything back. To make this even easier for the player, Doom Eternal constantly spawns low-tier enemies; it also regenerates the player's
Chainsaw fuel.
Is King Dime's assertion correct? Does the challenge
in follow-up Doom Eternal playthroughs decrease; or, does it
merely oscillate as players pick up new speedrunning tricks that they learn,
master, and incorporate into their individual play styles?
Devo: Both KD's view and your own are correct. Going faster will cause the
difficulty of the game to increase again. He is correct though, if you're
doing an untimed run, once you have most or all upgrades it is extremely easy
to get stack back. This is one of the leading reasons the balancing and
difficulty scaling of the game is not the best.
Nick: Hqrdest himself says that Doom Eternal is harder than Doom 2016, early on, but then gets
easier by the end of the game? Spud also says in his guide how the first three levels are the hardest.
Would you agree
with them?
Devo: Yes. The first three levels are
significantly more difficult than the remainder of the campaign. SGN, ARC and
Mars Core all feel like a walk in the park compared to HoE, Exultia and CB.
Nick: To stay relevant in combat situations where the player is constantly
growing stronger, enemies need to climb in strength and abilities, a
la Dragon's Crown (2013). Because those in Super Metroid (1994) do not, they are soon eclipsed by a fully-upgraded Samus
Aran.
Does Doom Eternal operate like Super Metroid? In other words, is there ever a point in the game where its casual
difficulty lessens, allowing speedrunners to focus on speedrunning instead of
simply trying to survive?
Devo: There’s kind of a few
turning points in difficulty. The first being when you grab the Super Shotgun
on Cultist Base. The second being once you get the Ballista. Once you have
both of those weapons the game comes down about four notches in
difficulty.
suit in Super Metroid. In Super Metroid, I wish there was an enemy that actually required Samus' arsenal to be so
powerful. Instead, the strongest "opponent" is the world map itself, and the
player's own personal record to compete against. It's incredible to see so
much competition, and so many categories, spring from Super Metroid's impeccable world design.
Doom
Eternal has a similar problem, enemy-wise: There's nothing introduced anywhere near as strong as the
Ballista, let alone the BFG. I think the closest is the Marauder, but heated
arguments for/against him demonstrate the risk of a certain cheapness
creeping into the game loop. He's also a single opponent, not a group of
enemies working against the Slayer together (think the Mantis Lords fight from Hollow Knight (2017)—not a mob, but a coordinated effort).]
Nick: Might these turning points in difficulty
you mention have anything to do with your recent statements during a
livestream, where—to paraphrase—you say the player has to play a certain way until the game opens up and lets them into "the Fun Zone"?
Devo: Yup.
You might be playing really well, but [you'll feel it soon enough] if you
disregard one Mancubus or one Cacodemon by neglecting to address their
weaknesses.
Nick: A popular request I've heard is NG+ master
levels for the entire game. Essentially the player starts out with all their
movement abilities and gear, and the entire monster bestiary is unlocked and
randomized from the start.
idea?
Devo: If it's seed-based it could be very
good; every runner needs to deal with the same set of monsters.
Nick: Would you recommend Doom Eternal to players who are
new to speedrunning and FPS games, but want to give it a try?
Devo: Probably not.
Ultra-Nightmare / Length
Me: Their first time on Ultra-Nightmare, many runners beat Doom Eternal one level per stream. Now that you've beaten it, do you find yourself
reliably able to beat the entire game in one sitting?
Devo: Yes
Nick: Do you find Ultra-Nightmare wearing you out? Or
can anyone do it with enough practice and patience?
Devo: It is a very annoying category to run. However, other categories pale
in comparison when it comes to excitement.
Nick: How often do you take breaks, to keep yourself fresh? What determines
if you stream for a longer period—let's say, eight hours—versus a shorter
one?
Devo: If I am stuck in the first three levels of
the game for two hours I usually finish up. I can stream for up to five hours
if the run is looking quite okay.
Nick: Is there
a specific point when you die in the game that makes you want to quit for the
night?
Devo: At that two-hour mark if I die in the
first three levels I'll usually call it for the day.
Nick: Zero Master recently beat the game at 2h25m37s (on Ultra-Nightmare Any% No Major Glitches, I believe). How
much lower do you think that time can go?
Devo: No Major Glitches in Ultra-Nightmare could go as low as ~2 hours, I
think.
Runner Tech
Nick: What are
some of your favorite speedrunning runes and weapons? Are there specs that
suck under normal circumstances, but work better for speedrunning
play?
Devo: Equipment Fiend + Air Control + Blood
Fueled is my favourite setup at the moment. If I am doing Nekravol, I'll
usually swap Blood Fueled out for Dazed and Confused to get a better chance at
the GK challenges.
Devo: Chrono Strike, Saving Throw.
Nick: Are there
things you prefer about
speedrunning Eternal versus Doom 2016, or
vice versa?
Devo: Eternal's movement speed feels more
exciting and the depth of the combat is wonderful. I prefer 2016 for the lack
of friction when it comes to moving between enemies and against walls; 2016
enemy movement AI is also less random and tedious to deal with.
Nick: Do you find RNG to be a large issue, playing the
game? For example, weapon damage in classic Doom is random. Compared to other Id games, how much RNG does Doom Eternal have?
Devo: There's not as much damage RNG as there was in 2016. Unfortunately
there's some randomness to the stagger mechanic in Eternal. For
example, Pain Elementals on Taras Nabad just decide to outright die instead of
stagger. The main source of RNG in Eternal comes from enemy
movement—particularly in Hell on Earth, and late Exultia. It's not a huge
issue, but [it] can be tedious.
Nick: Which
enemies are the most annoying to come up against during a speedrun? Which ones
are you the most happy to see?
Devo: The single
most frustrating enemies in the game are Whiplashes—slithering around,
avoiding your rockets, hitting you with attacks that have no business hitting
you. The best enemies in the game? Probably Tyrants or Doom Hunters? Tyrants
could be buffed up a bit; their accuracy is quite poor and they don't move as
much as they need to in order to be a threat. [editor's note: Perhaps the empowered demons feature in the first Doom Eternal update can address this weakness.]
Nick: As a speedrunner, how do you feel about
the game's climbing mechanics? Are they fairly easy to perform, in the
speedrunning sense (i.e., sequence-breaking)? Do you find yourself using them
to go faster than you ever thought possible?
Devo: They
are okay and get the job done. Much of the platform in the game feels like
servicing some "pacing" issues that were cited in 2016. I feel like they just
break up the cohesion and immersion of the game.
Nick: As a speedrunner, how do you feel about Doom Eternal's
other movement schemes—the dash, double jump and so-called "yeet-hook"?
Devo: The yeet-hook is the single best
emergent gameplay technique to come out of the community. Double-jump feels
fairly useless besides traversal. Air Control is the best addition in the
movement kit with respect to avoiding damage.
Nick: In the quest to go faster, speedrunners have found ways to move around/avoid the movement penalties of the purple goo; but
also ways around certain in-game architecture. Do you feel there are still plenty of tricks like that to learn, that don't
fall under the category of glitch, necessarily?
Devo: Hopefully there's more tricks that will be discovered. The purple goo
is something that no one would miss at all if it disappeared from the game
overnight. So, I welcome more skips like those.
Nick: Can you potentially play Doom Eternal faster/more
effectively in combat situations by not doing the so-called
"Doom dance" (the armor/weak-points/stagger game)?
Devo: Potentially yes. Your movement, enemy selection and weapon swapping
still needs to be very good in order to do that—particularly in Cultist
Base.
Nick: Glory Kills seem essential—not just
for speedrunners, but for anyone playing the game. However, they also arguably
slow players down. Is there a point in the game where Glory Kills can be
skipped by players altogether?
Devo:: Definitely. Using
Equipment Fiend, Blood Punch, [and] Frost Grenade you can harvest plenty of
resources. Glory Killing even in early game now is being avoided unless it's
necessary to take enemies out such as Cacodemons.
Nick: In "Way of the Gun," Rune Klevjer describes Doom's gameplay according to the
relationship between the player, monsters and items. He calls this
relationship "a search for the optimal pattern of movement." Given how
monsters can be killed for resources in Doom Eternal, can you
explain what you think this optimal pattern is when speedrunning the game?
Devo: Learn which enemies are the most impactful, get rid of
them when appropriate and learn the correct player positioning for each arena.
Early in the game there are some instances where saving Chainsaw [ammo] can be
great. Generally speaking however the best thing is to just grind out the
enemy spawn locations, learn when they arrive into the arena and which
weapon/position combination will deal with them the quickest.
Nick: In Spud's recent guide video for Ultra-Nightmare, he notes the classic "circle-strafe" movement strategy as being essential.
Because of the new, expanded, vertical elements I liken it to "spherical
moment.”
Despite the inclusion of non-Doom, vertical movement
schemes into Doom Eternal, does its combat retain that core,
"Doom feel" in your opinion?
Devo: The arenas in both games have plenty of verticality, enemies that lead
their shots and also run their target down. Imps climb up and down, they throw
fireballs—not at you, but where you are going. Hell Knights literally chase
you down. The combination of verticality and enemy AI makes it difficult to
just circle strafe. Even in 2016 the best way to avoid damage was to bob,
weave and also shoot your way out of trouble. I think any good 0% Nightmare
run in Doom 2016 will showcase this.
Nick: In his own video, Under the
Mayo likens Doom Eternal cosmetically
to Doom but mechanically to Quake; I feel this
isn't entirely accurate: Rocket-jumping—a Quake staple—is
strongly discouraged due to extremely high rocket splash
damage—a Doom staple. For me, it's a strange amalgam of both
franchises: old-meets-new, Doom-meets-Quake.
How
much like Quake is Doom Eternal, or is the
comparison only being made because the game is 3D?
Devo: I think Doom Eternal shares some more similarities to
multiplayer Quake. The management of cool-downs and resources is
very important in both games. In Quake, you must know when the red
armor and mega health will respawn. In Doom Eternal you have
to keep in mind when Frost Bomb, Flame Belch are ready. Weapon selection and
positioning are also important aspects of Quake's gameplay that
any good player will be keeping in mind when playing Doom Eternal's single player campaign.
Nick: The classic Doom games weren't
true 3D. However, just because the new Doom games are, can
they still be closer to classic Doom in various respects? How
is the spherical movement in Doom Eternal a) different from
the Quake series and b) emblematic of Doom?
Devo: Doom Eternal's movement is more regimented or prescriptive
than Quake's. Bunny-hopping, air-strafing and rocket-jumping were
all mechanics identified by players. They were emergent gameplay features.
In Doom Eternal, they've been put together by the developer and
encouraged through other elements of the game's design.
With
respect to old school Doom, I do not believe things such as SR40 and SR50 were anticipated to be a part of the game by id Software. In this sense
old-school Doom and Quake have more in
common with each other in terms of movement systems than they do with Doom Eternal.
On the Pandemic
Nick: With the
pandemic going on, it's important to maintain physical distance, but
also to keep our social bonds strong. Why do you think videogames, including speedrunning them, are so important
in doing this?
Devo: Games have always been a great way
to stay in touch with friends living far away. Covid-19 has allowed more
people in the world to realise this and start playing video games with their
friends online. Videogames in particular are helpful as they allow a complete
escape from discussion of the pandemic and its effects.
***
Persephone van der Waard is the author of the multi-volume, non-profit book series, Sex Positivity—its art director, sole invigilator, illustrator and primary editor (the other co-writer/co-editor being Bay Ryan). Persephone has her independent PhD in Gothic poetics and ludo-Gothic BDSM (focusing on partially on Metroidvania), and is a MtF trans woman, anti-fascist, atheist/Satanist, poly/pan kinkster, erotic artist/pornographer and anarcho-Communist with two partners. Including multiple playmates/friends and collaborators, Persephone and her many muses work/play together on Sex Positivity and on her artwork at large as a sex-positive force. That being said, she still occasionally writes reviews, Gothic analyses, and interviews for fun on her old blog (and makes YouTube videos talking about politics). To learn more about Persephone's academic/activist work and larger portfolio, go to her About the Author page. To purchase illustrated or written material from Persephone (thus support the work she does), please refer to her commissions page for more information. Any money Persephone earns through commissions goes towards helping sex workers through the Sex Positivity project; i.e., by paying costs and funding shoots, therefore raising awareness. Likewise, Persephone accepts donations for the project, which you can send directly to her PayPal, Ko-Fi, Patreon or CashApp. Every bit helps!
