DOOM creator John Romero reflects on horrid Columbine blame – “we knew we were not the cause”

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As a gamer who has been around since the golden age of gaming, I can’t help but feel a pang of nostalgia when I think about DOOM and its controversial past. I remember vividly the uproar caused by this game during my high school years, and how it was unfairly linked to the tragic events at Columbine High School.

During the final stages of the Moral Panic surrounding Satanism, the game DOOM by id Software was criticized and labeled as problematic and controversial by government officials and disgruntled parents, who deemed it harmful to children. In 1996, three years after its release, political tension escalated when the game was connected to the tragic Columbine High School Shooting.

28 years following a momentous global event, DOOM’s co-creator John Romero recently revisited the criticism leveled towards the development team. At the time, the studio chose to remain silent with a simple “no comment.” Reflecting on the past, Romero described it as a “terrible, terrible ordeal.

John Romero reflects on Columbine

To Shortlist, Romero clarified that everyone at the studio was aware that the Columbine events had no connection to them whatsoever. In 1996, certain media outlets and right-wing politicians wrongly accused DOOM for the shooting incident. Eric Harris, a 15-year-old, was discovered to have played this game with allegations suggesting that the shooter designed layouts of his school for training purposes.

“Millions and millions of people play Doom – and nothing like this has happened”

DOOM CO-CREATOR JOHN ROMERO

Romero clarified that the team was aware they weren’t responsible for the situation and chose to maintain their discretion, instead focusing their efforts on the creation of their upcoming project: Quake.

For a long time, discussions about whether violent video games are harmful have been going back and forth among politicians and parents. Games such as Quake, Mortal Kombat, and Grand Theft Auto have often been at the center of these debates. Interestingly enough, this debate seems to recur whenever a big new game is released, with GTA 6 being no exception, as it’s expected to face the same controversy that its predecessors experienced for decades.

For more DOOM coverage, read about the upcoming new game DOOM: The Dark Ages releasing in 2025.

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2024-12-12 14:40