Have you ever agonized endlessly over the solution to a particular problem until finally in one glorious moment the answer came to you? If so, then you'll understand why Doom is so graphically significant. Other games laid the groundwork for the first-person shooter (Wolfenstein 3D being the most notable of them) but all the games that came before were forced to employ as many tricks as possible to maintain the illusion of the environment. By finding ways to get around those smoke and mirror tactics, Doom was able to employ actual level design complete with previously unheard of concepts such as scale and depth. The result was a game that created a genuine sense of atmosphere. Believe it or not, that was a concept and word that never really came up before when talking about video games. Doom showcased just how immersive and intense a video game could be. There was no going back.
