How would you have done nuDoom’s story differently?

[Man of Doom]

Welp, it’s been a long time since the last time I did one of these thought experiments.

 

As a preamble:

 

Even though I’ve long since acknowledged that Doom Eternal is flawed in the story department, I do have a deep appreciation for what id Software has managed to accomplish (from the base game to the expansion packs).

I know that despite all the humps the team had to overcome (especially with a pandemic), that it all came from a place of love and reverence for the Doom franchise. Hell, I still remember that in a livestream, Hugo Martin had mentioned that they envisioned TAG2 as being Doom Eternal’s version of Return of the Jedi.

So even though the final product has its own share of flaws, it would almost feel like a copout for the continuation of the Doom franchise to either just completely start from scratch or just pretend that Doom Eternal (and The Ancient Gods by extension) never happened in the first place.

Or at the very least, something about a retcon would just not only feel cheap but also kind of wrong.

 

On a side note, the reason I put this in this forum and not Doom 2016 is because Eternal is widely considered to be the main point of contention with nuDoom, whereas 2016 is considered to be the franchise’s zenith (both in gameplay and in story).

Additionally, the only new faction introduced in Eternal was the Maykrs even though the foundation was sort of there; the Night Sentinels/Argenta faction was slightly more established in 2016. And even so, a lot of the groundwork for both new factions were mainly relegated to multiplayer elements like maps and player customization.

 

 

But onto my main question for you:

 

Say that you’ve been contacted by id to retool Doom Eternal’s story (base game, DLC, or both).

This can range from minor plot changes to an entire overhaul of the story.

There are no restrictions as to how Doom Eternal’s story is retooled.

Or even if nothing is changed about the story, how would you set up the possibility of future installments should the Slayer rise from his sarcophagus yet again (though sooner rather than later)?

 

(obviously, all spoilers would need to be spoilered)

[whatup876]

I bring up the "blank canvas" thing for a reason: to me, creating my own version of the "Doomverse" wouldn't "overwrite" a pre-existing one.

And depending on how creative you get, you might as well try different takes and more than one.

For example, you could do a version of Hayden where he's human and not a Maykr. but then, you could also try a "what if he was purely a demon and becomes an Icon of Sin?".

 

I did thought Immora could've instead be a "heaven for sinners" where the "humans" there are terrible people rewarded for being terrible, meaning most zombies and weaker possessed are either innocent or just not evil enough to warrant the Immoran form.

And of course use the modern demonic 2016 MP armors, give them a proper Reaper or the Hellshot (both a weak weapon but with a health drain alt fire) and maybe make Immora look a bit more twisted and borrow elements from SKINTEK/classic Hell or even Cultist base.

And then all the stuff i said about making Hell weirder of how i think the Dark Lord could've been.

 

But that could be in "my" version of the universe, while the Slayer one could still be there.

[Lt.Gonflette]

I'd retool Ancient Gods 1 and 2 into a full-fledged third NuDoom game (could be called "DOOM Beyond Eternal" as a nod to Hexen), give the Dark Lord and Samur the proper build-up they deserve, implement Erebus as the Lord Regent of Hell and top general of the Dark Lord, tease the Dark Lord and Erebus in Eternal, and fix the plot holes from Eternal.

Immora could look like an oversized city reminiscent of John Martin's paintings (which often feature gigantic halls and palaces) and Le Corbusier's projects for major European cities. Have the player strive throughout the whole game to breach Immora, and see Earth and Argentan armies slowly building outposts in Hell in preparation for the final assault.

Also, no more "Mysterious Voice" and "Primevals" that are above the Dark Lord or something. It just makes the conflict to save the multiverse in NuDoom sound insignificant.

 

I could turn this into a small-sized fanfiction but you get my point :p

 

[nathanB404]

absolutely nothing. Nudoom's story, from 2016 all the way to tag 2, was pure perfection. just like the star wars prequels. pure kino, wouldn't change a dime about them.

[whatup876]

I mean, nothing's perfect and some people's opinions on why they didn't like the story aren't bad either.

And i still believe id themselves occasionally look at parts of it and wonder about them.

If anything, a good reason to not see perfection in anything Doom is just to see what can be done with it because that has its own fun.

[deepthaw]

I'd like to have seen a part where they use the divinity machine to remove the Slayer's power and strength, and he comes out just as angry and strong as before. Basically - in keeping with 2016, every time you think something is going to be explained, just make it even more inexplicable.

[Zhaojue]

On 5/2/2024 at 3:26 PM, whatup876 said:

And of course use the modern demonic 2016 MP armors.

 

Oooooo! That is something I would love to see in a blank canvas alternate universe of sorts. I had my own alternate universe talking place after the end of DOOM II. I hope I can stop being so lazy and continue this idea.

 

Also, those MP armours deserve more love! :}
Mine was that demonic prince that had a face on the 4 sides of his helmet. I would specifically give him taunts where head turns would be involved (like the robot dance, if I remember correctly) and it would be hilarious like he was switching his dominating demon x}

Edited June 15 by Zhaojue

[whatup876]

2 of the cultist skins inspired me to think of a large demonic head demon with 4 mouths shooting stuff from all sides.

[D4NUK1]

Some changes that would flow better and connect better Eternal with 2016.

 

-Change back Samuel Hayden / Samur Maykr into two different characters. Where Hayden after failing to attack the demons by the ARC, falls back yet again to change body but now with Maykr technology. Without knowing, he only serve the purporse to ressurect the Seraphim and now Hayden it's reduced to a back up copy like Vega, and Samur Maykr fit's the role of the one to try to get the life Sphere like the Doom Eternal DLC.

-Make Vega a child of the Father instead of the Father, so when Vega learns from Urdak they true origin, try to fill the gaps at what could be possible from him to do, and end saving Doom Slayer life opening a last second portal after the Seraphim defeat by the Slayer, and be nostalgic about how the Slayer saved him from a Self Destruct sequence only to end dying on one in a much great scale.

 

-Make a boss from Blood Swamps a great scale Marauder with a back story from the Setinels.