‘Doom’: My Dad Raised Me in Hell, and I Was Better for It

Playing Doom made me acutely aware of something: My dad and I are two completely different people. He’s very outgoing and will talk to pretty much anyone. I prefer to sit in a room and disappear into it. Though, I can talk to anyone. I inherited that superpower, I’m just very judicious about using it. 

He’s a Commanders fan, I’m an Eagles fan. So, two times a season, we sit together and watch his team lose to mine in increasingly hilarious ways (I might not get to say that again — thanks, Jayden). But there’s something else we both bonded over as I grew up.

Gaming. Specifically, Doom. My dad LOVES Doom. There isn’t a game in the series he hasn’t played, and more to the point, he hasn’t played one without me. And I’ve learned more about gaming from those sessions than anything else. 

DAD’S INFERNO

The PS1 was always in my parents’ bedroom, so anytime he ducked off in there, I knew what time it was. I remember the first time he fired up Doom in front of me, and I was immediately sucked in. We played other games together like Madden and Crash Bandicoot, but this one was special. 

As he would blast through each level, I’d lay on his bed next to him and get introduced to the various enemies in the game, including the Cyberdemon. An enemy I repeatedly called the “Motaro Monster” because I also played a lot of Mortal Kombat 3. We had a notebook full of level passwords that I would guess he still has today. When my mom would call us for dinner, we’d finish the level and scribble it down.  

During our sessions, he would often say things that I held onto to this day. Things like, “If they give you a bunch of stuff, you’re about to be in a big fight,” and “Don’t get greedy.” Stuff I applied to life as well as gaming. If you don’t think that first one applies to life, try managing a grocery store for 10 years and then get back to me. 

‘doom’s legacy

I tell my dad I love him all the time, but I’m going to say something here that he’ll see for the first time: He’s a superhero to me. I’ve never had a problem he couldn’t fix. It’s only with the benefit of experiencing adulthood and fatherhood for myself that I understand that sometimes he couldn’t, but he’d find a way. 

And I found myself in that position as a gamer. Over the years, gaming became my thing. He still does it, just not as much as I do. But every now and then, a game comes out that puts us right back in the same room. Doom (2016) and Doom: Eternal did just that.

As games got more complex and faster, he’d often reach out to me for help on clearing a level. And there are three times I can think of that are, by far, the most memorable. Mainly because of what it took to actually get through those games.

STUDENT BECOMES MASTER

Doom (2016) dropped, and it was a monster. Fast-paced, violent, and just flat-out fun. It felt like everything the franchise should be. Of course, when my dad picked it up, it took some getting used to. Fresh off my own playthrough, I popped over to his house and (speed) walked him through the controls.

The next one was Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time. Here’s something else he’s going to learn here: I practiced “The Crate Escape” at home for four hours straight because I knew he’d ask me for help on it and I didn’t want to mess up when I went over. I cleared that one on my first shot at his place.

The last game was Doom: Eternal. He took every shot he could at clearing that last boss and it just wasn’t happening. I practiced the living hell out of that one before helping him, too. All of that led me to being the gamer I am now. I’m competitive, and I’ll sit down with something for as long as it takes to get it. I learned that from him. But my time playing Doom and other games with him also taught me how to be a better man and father. Thanks, Dad.