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Released during the death throes of the Satanic Panic, id Software’s DOOM was quickly pinned by government officials and unhappy parents as a problematic, controversial video game that was a bad influence on children. In 1999, three years after release, the political platform exploded as the game was linked to the horrible Columbine High School Massacre.
Now, 28 years after the world-changing event, DOOM co-creator John Romero has looked back at the blame shoved at the developer. With the studio’s official comments during the time being a simple no comment, the game developer reflected on the “horrible, horrible situation”.
John Romero reflects on Columbine
Speaking to Shortlist, Romero explained that everyone at the studio knew the events at Columbine had nothing to do with them. In 1999, traditional media and right-wing politicians blamed DOOM for the shooting as 15-year-old Eric Harris was found to have played the game with rumours claiming the shooter made maps of the high school for training.
“Millions and millions of people play Doom – and nothing like this has happened”
DOOM CO-CREATOR JOHN ROMERO
Romero explained that the team knew “we were not the cause” and doubled down on their silence. Instead, the team simply continued development on their next project: Quake 3 Arena. At that time, Romero had already left id Software to focus on his own games, namely the ill-fated Daikatana.
“It was a horrible, horrible situation,” Romero remembered. “We didn’t make comments on it at the time, because it wasn’t the time for it, but we knew that we were not the cause, someone who’s sick did this – and we knew that’s what it was. Millions and millions of people play Doom – and nothing like this has happened. We just avoided it, because it was tragic. We didn’t want to say, ‘you have got to watch your kids. You’ve got to pay attention’…It’s just that [those kids] had issues.”
The violent video game “debate” continued for years as politicians and parents targeted games like Quake, Mortal Kombat and Grand Theft Auto. Almost cyclical, the debate often returns around the release of huge games with the upcoming GTA 6 likely set to experience the exact same controversy as its decades of predecessors.
For more DOOM coverage, read about the upcoming new game DOOM: The Dark Ages releasing in 2025.
About the Author
Doom
- Platform(s): 3DO, Android, Game Boy Advance, Gameboy Advance, Jaguar, Linux, Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, SEGA 32X, SEGA Saturn, SNES, Xbox 360, Xbox One
- Genre(s): Action, Shooter
