COMM344: The Art and Influence of Doom.

It's older brother, Wolfenstein 3D, was the first ever first person shooter. It was the first game in it's genre to use varying floor heights, textured floors and ceilings, and varying ammo types. It single handedly created the massive game modding culture that is now one of PC gaming's most celebrated features. It was, along with Night Trap and Mortal Kombat, one of the reasons for the creation of the ESRB. It's nine free shareware levels, known collectively as "Knee Deep In The Dead" were some of the most iconic level designs in gaming history. 

The game was Doom, and it's influence was obvious. From the fact that a game from 1993 is now considered a must-have on every new console (and every console has it, from the Atari Jaguar and SNES to the PS3 and Xbox 360), to the plethora of derivative titles (Doom bore Heretic, which bore the Elder Scrolls franchise, Doom bore most shooters, but particularly Space Marine shooters like Halo, Gears Of War, Killzone, and Crysis) Doom was a massive success. This is a game that I have personally purchased on Xbox 360, Steam, Boxed PC Copy, and Game Boy Advance. Perhaps the only game I've purchased more times is Tetris, and that's not the same experience or worse on every system.

The important thing about Doom, besides it's incredible replay value, huge influence on the industry, and great art design, is the way it's perhaps the most charmingly violent game I've ever played. Plenty of games are violent, but Doom has a way of making violence make you smile. Mods and addons like Batman Doom and Brutal Doom (not to mention the massive conversion of Doom into Sonic Robo Blast 2) have extended the life of a 21 year old game into infinity. Everything about Doom makes me nostalgic, and I didn't even first play it until it and myself were 13 years old.