'Doom' creators pull 'Blackroom' Kickstarter after four days
John Romero and Adrian Carmack want to make a demo first.
That lasted long. John Romero and Adrian Carmack, founders of the Doom and Quake developer iD Software, have already pulled the plug on their new Kickstarter project. The Blackroom campaign had been running for four days when the pair decided to press "pause," citing the need to make a gameplay demo. That's most likely so that their new, rebooted campaign can adhere to Kickstarter's own rules, which require "explicit demos of working prototypes" for any proposed physical product. The pair say finishing an early slice of Blackroom will take longer than the current campaign, which is why they've decided to end it so prematurely.
"We believe, however, it is the right choice," Carmack and Romero explain on the Blackroom Kickstarter page. "We know you do, too."
Blackroom was pitched as a "visceral, varied and violent shooter" inspired by the games both men worked on at iD Software. The Kickstarter had some early concept art, but otherwise it was just Carmack and Romero explaining what it would be about. You would take on the role of Santiago Sonore, an engineer at a fictional company called Hoxar. In the future, this firm develops a technology that can create ultra-realistic holographic worlds. When the simulations begins to mesh with our reality, it's up to Sonore to investigate and vanquish increasingly horrific aberrations.
While Romero and Carmack say they've decided to "suspend" the campaign, that's not technically possible on Kickstarter. They will, therefore, need to start again with a brand new campaign once their initial gameplay demo has been completed. The developers promise to honor backer achievements in their next campaign and say they'll be offering an extra something for those that decide to carry their pledge forward.
