Marine Doom

Lore & Background

In 1996, General Charles C. Krulak, Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps, issued a directive to use wargames for improving military thinking and decision-making exercises. The Marine Combat Development Command was tasked with developing computer-based wargames to train Marines for decision-making skills, especially when live training was limited. A group of Marine simulations experts, originally led by Major Kirk Skinner, obtained a copy of the commercial Doom (1993) and used it to develop a simulation focusing on mutual fireteam support, protection of the automatic rifleman, proper sequencing of an attack, ammunition discipline, and succession of command. Their code was adapted for Doom II before its release, and the mod requires a commercial copy of Doom II 1.9 to run.

Reader's Guide

Marine Doom is significant as an early military adaptation of a commercial video game for training purposes. It demonstrated how off-the-shelf entertainment software could be modified to teach tactical coordination and communication among small units. The mod replaced demon enemies with opposition forces and required four Marines to play on separate computers in the same room, simulating a fireteam with a team leader, two riflemen, and a machine-gunner. Its legacy includes influencing later military training games like Full Spectrum Warrior and America's Army, and it highlighted the potential for video games in defense education. The involvement of Sergeant Dan Snyder, who later consulted on the game NAM, underscores the crossover between military simulation and commercial game development.

Did You Know?

• Marine Doom was a 1996 modification of Doom II for the United States Marine Corps.
• The mod replaced demon enemies with 'opposition forces'.
• It required a commercial copy of Doom II 1.9 to run.
• U.S. Marine Sergeant Dan Snyder, who worked on the mod, later consulted on the video game NAM.