Amsterdoom

From Videogame Morgue File

AmsterDoom is a first person shooter developed by Davilex and published around March of 2000. Davilex was a developer of video games, computer games and computer software from the Netherlands. The game is set in the city of Amsterdam, which has been invaded by alien creatures. It takes place in several well known locations like the central station, red light district and Schiphol Airport. The game was only released officially in the Netherlands.

The concept of the game that guided its design and development was described by the lead technical director of the game:

  • Localized for the Dutch market: recognizable locations and ingredients from Amsterdam
  • No gore (no blood & limbs flying)
  • Simple entry-level gameplay for casual, non-hardcore gamers.
  • Interesting opponents (Grøbbers) with enough marketing potential.


The game was developed for over a year. It used a modified Genesis3D engine, an existing open 3d engine that could also be licensed for commercial usage. It also used a game engine that was developed in house.

The game was not the success that Davilex hoped it would be. Around October of 2001 the game was renamed and republished as Amsterdam Monster Madness. Davilex stated that this was a business decision: the game failed to reach its intended audience in the numbers it hoped for. The change of the name and the box art was made to appeal more to a general audience instead of a traditional gaming audience, who in some reviews were very dismissive of technological and gameplay aspects of the game compared to other shooters like Quake 3 and Unreal Tournament.

Before its release the game spawned a minor controversy by a supposed possibility kill parking attendants in a virtual re-creation of Amsterdam and destroy city landmarks. The controversy died down when the game was released and people could see what the game was actually about.

The game Invasion Deutschland (also by Davilex) was published after this game and uses a lot of the same assets, level designs and enemies from AmsterDoom. That game takes place in several locations within Germany, in cities like Berlin and Cologne. This builds upon the same strategy that Davilex took with some of its previous games, where the Netherlands focused racing game A2 Racer would also get adapted and localized versions for countries like the UK and Germany.

Alternative box art[edit]

News[edit]

Interviews[edit]

Reviews[edit]

Television[edit]

Item in the news program NOVA with interviews discussing the slight uproar at the idea that a player would be able to shoot parking attendants in the game. Interviews include the CEO of creator Davilex and a parking attendant.

Item in the afternoon program Middag Editie with interviews discussing the slight uproar at the idea that a player would be able to shoot parking attendants in the game.

TV commercial of the game. Unknown broadcast period.

Technical information[edit]

Technical overview of the game and its development, documented by the games lead technical designer Lambert Wolterbeek Muller. It describes the engines used, modifications made, rendering techniques and level editor implementations. It even documents levels should be compiled. Published in March of 2000, right around the time the game was launched.

Forum threads[edit]

Thread on tweakers.net from March 2000, with people discussing the game. Hardcore gaming oriented

Another thread on tweakers.net from March 2000, with people discussing the game. Hardcore gaming oriented

Website[edit]

Website of the game as it was in April of 2000. Redirects to this page when you visited amsterdoom.nl

Information page on the Davilex website from October of 2001 showing the box art of the Amsterdam Monster Madness version of the game for the first time. The title of the game has not been updated yet on the page. Price of the game is Hfl. 29,95.

Information page on the Davilex website from November of 2001 showing the box art of the Amsterdam Monster Madness and the new title. The text describing the game has been updated as well. Price of the game lowered to Hfl. 14,95.

Updated information page with new price: the game is now € 6,95 as the Netherlands has now moved over to the Euro as its currency.

Miscellaneous[edit]

Screensaver of the game included on a pack-in disc included with Eigen PC magazine

Game credits[edit]

Source: help file included with the game.

Productidee
* Rudolf Wolterbeek Muller

Projectleiding
* Edwin van Dessel
* Vincent Beek

Productontwerp
* Peter Cossee
* Richard Duijnstee

Technisch ontwerp
* Lambert Wolterbeek Muller

Programmering
* Arjan van den Boogaard
* Frits Broekhuis
* Jacco Bikker
* Juri Oudshoorn
* Mike van der Voort
* Paul de Feyter

Grafische vormgeving
* Alejandro Gasch Kuhne * Anko Elzes * Arjan Ubert * Camiel Feij * Jan-Pieter van Seventer * Marc van den Boom * Mathijs Mahon * Milan Polle * Peter van Dranen * Remi van Loenen * Rudy Seedorf * Shawn Burnam Documentatie * Marleen Overduin Muziek en geluid * Marwijn Mommersteeg * Nico Verrips Intro animatie * Bumble Bee Studios Kwaliteitscontrole * Didier Pippel * Jan Molenaar Marketing * Ellen van Meerendonk