For those keeping up, the latest installment of Doom has had a long and interesting past. With Doom 4 abandoned on the development floor, and some developers still wanting to bring aspects of that game to life, there may yet be plans for a potential Doom sequel. During the 2017 D.I.C.E. Summit (Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain), directors Hugo Martin and Marty Stratton discussed development with IGN.

Among the talking points was a potential Doom sequel for the latest installment in the franchise. When asked if they would seek new titles or keep marching down the Doom warpath, Stratton noted that in regards to the game they had left themselves with an “amazing canvas” and “a lot of colors to paint with”. They didn’t mention any new titles, however, they discussed the DLC success the franchise has enjoyed with their multiplayer DLC, mentioning that they’re looking to implement this in upcoming games.

“I think the DLC we did for multiplayer is, it’s definitely the best of the multiplayer stuff that’s out there. We are sticking with the multiplayer, we’ve got some things that we want to still do and give players… We try to keep a close eye on what people are talking about, it’s going to be hugely informative as we go forward with just about everything.”

Both Martin and Stratton reflected on the popularity of the title, discussing what worked well and how those elements might fit into a possible Doom sequel. They touched on production as well, discussing how they had kept in mind the audience as they created the narrative. Delivering something respective of the audience intelligence without being too cut-and-dry that the next thing was obvious was a challenge according to Martin.

“How do you make a game where it says Doom on the box and everybody already knows what the story is. There’s no mystery to Doom, so how do you make it compelling?”

Martin went on to explain that a key aspect to the middle ground structure of doom was being self-aware. They drew inspiration for films like Robocop, Evil Dead, The Last Boy Scout and others to help them connect to the kind of narrative they were looking for. The result was a game that “knew it was dumb” but “celebrated the fact that it was really kind of stupid”. Their aim wasn’t to insult the audience intelligence but to be obvious and super silly about the narrative in a way that brought something fresh to the game.

As iD Software moves forward, it looks as if they will be focusing on the things that made the latest Doom a unique addition to the franchise. With the success of this recent game, they can only serve to do even better as they continue to listen to fans and generate quality content. Whether a potential Doom sequel is in the works or not remains to be seen, but for now, we are excited to see what comes next.

What do you think about a potential Doom sequel? Do you think Martin and Stratton got it right with the last installment of Doom? Join in on the conversation in the comment section below or start your own on our Disqus! Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter for live gaming and entertainment news 24/7!