id Software design director Matt Hooper recently spoke with Eurogamer and assured DOOM fans that the upcoming fourth installment will be right on the mark, that it's going to be "great" and "awesome." Naturally such comments are expected from any developer, however Hooper added that DOOM 4 will definitely be "distinct" from id's other shooters, even RAGE.
"We have so many talented people, and as a company, we've grown so much," he said in a short interview. "But we've been able to keep them [the DOOM 4 and RAGE development teams] separate. With RAGE, we're concentrating on making our game as good as it can be. Those guys support us in whatever way they can. And we'll do the same for them."
Previous comments made by Todd Hollenshead indicated that DOOM 4 won't be a sequel to 2004's DOOM 3, nor will it be another franchise reboot. In fact, it will be different than all prior DOOM releases but still retain the classic DOOM greatness. "I don't really have worries that people aren't going to like it and start talking about it," he said back in 2009.
Tuesday Hooper said the DOOM 4 team is going in its own direction. "They're doing something DOOM fans will be happy with," he added. "I try to support them as much as possible. It's a good thing. We're separated enough to be able to go our own ways, but still connected where we can help facilitate both those directions."
But isn't there a fear that the two shooters will somehow mesh together given that team members are switching back and forth? "It is distinct enough," he admitted. "It would be dangerous... We don't want to make a re-skinned DOOM [with RAGE] and then DOOM 4 be a re-skinned RAGE. That would be bad. It's worked out really nicely where we have enough connection to take advantage of things like technology and talent, but enough separation to be able to go in a unique direction."
Currently DOOM 4 will be done "when it's done." RAGE, on the other hand, is expected to land on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Windows PC this September if all goes well.
