doom

—doomy, adj.

/doohm/, n.

1. fate or destiny, esp. adverse fate; unavoidable ill fortune: In exile and poverty, he met his doom.

2. ruin; death: to fall to one's doom.

3. a judgment, decision, or sentence, esp. an unfavorable one: The judge pronounced the defendant's doom.

4. the Last Judgment, at the end of the world.

5. Obs. a statute, enactment, or legal judgment.

v.t.

6. to destine, esp. to an adverse fate.

7. to pronounce judgment against; condemn.

8. to ordain or fix as a sentence or fate.

[bef. 900; ME dome, dom, OE dom judgment, law; c. ON domr, Goth doms; cf. Skt dháman, Gk thémis law; see DO¹, DEEM]

Syn. 1. See fate. 3. condemnation. 6. predestine.

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▪ video game

      video game (electronic game) released by the American company id Software in 1994, beginning a series and revolutionizing the genre of first-person 3-D shooters. After succeeding with the first installment of the series, id Software released Doom II: Hell on Earth in 1994 and spawned numerous expansion titles for the franchise. After the series went on hiatus through the late 1990s, Doom 3 was released to great critical acclaim in 2004. In 2005 the popular video game title was made into a motion picture of the same name.

      In Doom the player sees through the eyes of an unidentified space marine while shooting, punching, and chainsawing through armies of the undead, aliens, and monsters in hellish settings. Doom sported a large array of weaponry—ranging from brass knuckles to rocket launchers—and offered so much to the genre that, initially, all similar titles were referred to as “Doom clones.” Eventually, however, the term first-person shooter was coined to describe the genre. A copious amount of blood and gore made Doom the target of criticism for simulating mass murder too realistically. Some legislators called for regulations, which eventually led companies to attach game ratings similar to those of the movie industry.

      While newer technology took Doom out of the spotlight, another generation of gamers have used the game's source code to create mods (modifications), where programming is altered to change the characters, enemies, and backgrounds in the game. Doom mods include Ghost Busters, Star Wars, Alien, and South Park versions. In a 2004 poll of industry opinions reported in the magazine GameSpy, Doom was rated the greatest video game of all time. See also electronic game; .

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