Doom is more fun on mobiles, says Carmack

Legendary industry veteran and founder of Id Software, John Carmack, has stated that the mobile only version of the classic Doom franchise is "the best game that we have ever made."

Making his declaration in a Slashdot blog, Carmack stated that the game, which is being developed by Fountainhead Entertainment and will be published by Jamdat, has "exceeded all my expectations."

Featuring eight hours of turn-based gameplay based in the Doom universe, the latest game in the franchise is a marked variation on the traditional First Person Shooter genre which previous titles have adopted. The reason for the change in gameplay mechanics and style for the mobile version stems from Carmack's disappointment with the speed and fluidity of the J2ME programming language, which he labelled as "really slow".

Deciding to opt for something which could be more accessible for mobile gamers playing on small screens with limited accuracy of control using the numerical keypad, Carmack decided to create a turn-based game instead, which it would seem he's extremely pleased with. The game has already received worthy praise from the industry, offering an innovative take on the globally popular Doom universe and enhancing the diversity of the mobile platform's gaming portfolio.

Although it's a single-player only title, Doom RPG provides mobile gamers with their first chance to truly engage with the franchise on a mobile handset, and incorporates original sounds, music and enemies from the cult 1993 classic. Carmack declared the concept of the game as a cross between Doom and renowned adventure game The Bard's Tale, stating: "Step-based smooth-sliding/turning-tile movement and combat works out well for the phone input buttons, and exploring a 3D world through the cell phone window is pretty neat."