Hand-drawn maps and game mechanics from DOOM Bible

These notes and drawings by id Software designer Tom Hall served as the reference material used to construct the DOOM Bible, the original design draft behind DOOM.

id Software designed DOOM to support user contributions to the game. Game data was stored separately from the game engine in WAD (Where’s All the Data?) files that allowed players to create their own data without making any modifications to the engine. Users were free to distribute their homemade WADs and leveraged early internet forums, creating a large online community. id's strong relationship with players and their homemade content influenced future generations of game designers working in the industry.

Today's online gaming communities expand a players social network and facilitate sharing of meaningful life experiences with others regardless of their location. Fifty-four percent of the most frequent gamers play with others, 53 percent play online in multiplayer mode weekly, and nearly half of the most frequent game players say that video games help them connect with friends and family.