Doom Source Code Released

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December 24, 1997 (12:32 PM EST)

By Andy Patrizio,

Who would consider the source code to a four year old game a Christmas present?

Fans of id Software, that's who.

In keeping with tradition, id Software released the source code to the best-selling PC game Doom on Tuesday with a "Merry Christmas" message from lead programmer John Carmack.

The code may be freely used for non-commercial efforts, and some programmers plan to spend their Christmas vacation poring over the code.

The code id released is for the Linux operating system. The DOS source code wasn't released because the company hired an outside programmer to write the sound system. Rather than delay the code release and let it out with no sound, Carmack chose to release only the Linux version.

"If significant projects are undertaken [with the code], it would be cool to see a level of community cooperation," Carmack said in a message file that accompanied the source. Id has been an enthusiastic supporter of efforts by programmers to make modifications to its games for non-commercial purposes.

For many young programmers, the old code represents a chance to study a real-world product, even if the technology isn't new. "It will provide me with an insight into the minds of id," said college student Tony Collen of Plymouth, Minn. "It will also be neat to see how some of the things were done."

"I don't think I'll learn every aspect of 3D programming from looking at the source, but it should be useful in learning different rendering techniques," said Bryan Vaccaro of Dumont, N.J. "Once I get into 3D programming, I plan on looking over the source and seeing if I can fix anything that needs fixing, or speed it up in a particular place."

Id, of Mesquite, Tex., began the tradition in 1994, when it released the source code to Wolfenstein 3-D, its breakthrough hit. Id's latest game, Quake 2, came out earlier this month and already vendors are reordering more copies, according to officials at Activision, the game's distributor.