Carmack & Mustaine Talk Doom Resurrection For the iPhone

themacgamer writes "Luis Sosa had a chance to sit down with John Carmack and Tom Mustaine of id Software and discuss Doom Resurrection for the iPhone: 'At the start we thought it was just a touch screen, so you'd tap to shoot the monsters, but it was never fun; it felt too clinical. It didn't feel like you were swinging your heavy gun around to bring down the monster before he chews off your head,' said Carmack. Mustaine added, '[The shooting mechanic] was definitely a trial-and-error thing. You said the word "distilled," and that's definitely a word we've been using. We really wanted to distill the visceral Doom experience into the iPhone.' He also said, '... we have P2P co-op play that's not in the shipping version, but will come later. We didn't expect the 3.0 OS out so quickly! Two players join together, they see each other's cursors, and they either compete or co-op for a score. We're hoping to patch it in down the road. We're also looking at additional levels and potentially some stat-tracking stuff as well.'"

Re:Meh

[erroneus]

I was thinking nearly the same thing. Actually I was thinking something more along the lines of a tiny bluetooth game controller... maybe something about the size of a zippo lighter that can expand to the size of an NES controller and collapse into a zippo-sized hard shell that can be stowed easily in the pocket. But then again, after that, the iPhone becomes more of a display unit and needs a place to be mounted as well, but there are lots of people more clever than I am so I imagine that (1) someone else has already thought of this and even created it and (2) other aspects of the gaming experience have also been considered as well.

I'm just too damn old

[stokessd]

I've tried some of the first person shooter type games for the iPhone and i just can't get into them like I can with a keyboard and mouse. I have the same problem with console games, sure I can play them, but there just isn't the same level of immersion than WASD has for me. I guess it's time for a blanket and rocking chair instead.

The biggest challenge is aiming, if they can do something clever and creative then they will have a real winner. until then simple games like doodlejump and ragdoll blaster seem to be taking my eyeball time.

Sheldon

Re:Meh

[binarylarry]

Most iphone games aren't fun, they're money grabs.

The iPhone's touch only interface wrecks it for games.

It's Fun

[ericcj]

Any hack can make a gorgeous looking 3D world. id has always led the pack by delivering that experience under real-world hardware constraints.

I downloaded this expecting a ported version of the 1993 Doom. I was pleasantly surprised and very impressed when a fully 3D environment with Doom 3 media loaded up.

NASA does super cool work, but they have billions of dollars and an army of PhD's at their disposal. We like MacGyver because he solves problems with whatever he's given. iPhone developers are given a 412 MHz ARM processor, 128 MB of RAM, a 3-axis accelerometer, and a touch screen.

I think John Carmack and Co. are excited about developing for the iPhone because it's a fresh technical challenge for them. DR is an impressive accomplishment. Given the hardware constraints, and the fact that the game needs to be fun, I'm not sure what I would have done differently.

Re:Meh

[WiiVault]

Except he made a blanket statement about iPhone games sucking, which is false anybody but an anti-Apple fanboy. The iPhone has many shitty games, lots of them, but there are tons of gems as well. Anybody who says any major platform has "no good games" usually that is the time to realize they are loon and not hop on board. Hate the Appstore's restrictive BS all you want but don't think the iPhone, or any other major platform has "no games". That sounds like fanboy FUD. Check sites that review mobile games for instance. There are as many 8's and 9's as you see on the big guys.