1993 saw the release of Doom, a popular first person shooter which featured 3D graphics, multiplayer capabilities and the ability to add mods and shareware to the game. Despite players killing monsters rather than humans, its satanic imagery and graphic violence created a storm of controversy and criticism. Despite this controversy the game is widely considered to be one of the most influential games in video game history, paving the way for popular mainstream games like the Call of Duty and Halo series’. The game was technically brilliant and was much better graphically then the games we had seen before. Its influence as a pioneer in the first person shooter genre is only slightly overshadowed by the controversy generated from the Columbine massacre.

 

In 1999 two students massacred their fellow students at a school in Colorado. The Columbine massacre was a shocking event and the two perpetrators, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold were said to be avid players of the game Doom. The link between the game and the tragedy were talked about heavily in the mass media in the aftermath and many blamed the games graphic violence as a main cause. Eric Harris reportedly said ‘the killing would be like playing Doom,’ and ‘it’ll be like the LA riots, the Oklahoma bombing, WWII, Vietnam, Duke Nukem and Doom all mixed together.’

 

Doom was not the only media product blamed for the Columbine tragedy. Marilyn Manson was heavily criticised after it emerged that Harris and Klebold were fans of the singer’s heavy rock music. Mortal Kombat was another which was said to be a corrupting influence on the two shooters. Mortal Kombat is a violent fighting game which enables users to perform brutal ‘fatalities’ by performing specific combos. The game was released in 1992 and its graphic violence was one of the key reasons it was so criticised in parts of the media. In fact the U.S. President at the time, Bill Clinton stated that “video games like Mortal Kombat, Killer Instinct, and Doom, the very game played obsessively by the two young men who ended so many lives in Littleton, make our children more active participants in simulated violence.”

 

Doom’s Lead programmer and ID software co-founder, John Carmack was supportive of the game despite criticism. “The violence is central to what this entire game genre is about,” he says, “but being able to be violent against demons that are threatening to destroy humanity, that gives you a good cause. I do not feel bad at all about the games that I’ve made, what their impact on people has been. I tend to think that it’s probably been a net positive.” Compared to the games of today Doom wouldn’t shock nearly as much as the tendency for violence in video games has only increased in the years that have passed.