In its 30th year, the iconic shooter DOOM still reveals surprising details that even seasoned fans might have missed. One such revelation involves the game’s ability to run across four monitors simultaneously. A detailed demonstration by the Tech Tangents YouTube channel showcases this setup in action, offering a rare glimpse into the original multi-screen experience that accompanied early PC gaming.
The demonstration centers on a DOOM build identified as version 1.1. In that legacy configuration, a player can span the game across four separate displays. The author of the video runs the game across four Pentium 4 systems, each connected to a monitor and all operating under MS-DOS 6.22. The footage highlights a distinctive arrangement: the primary gameplay is rendered on three screens, while a fourth screen serves as the map or a supplementary overlay. This layout underscores how the game’s engine and the era’s hardware allowed for expansive visual experiences that modern players might initially assume are impossible on such a period piece.
During the clip, which appears roughly around the 29-minute mark, the viewer can observe the action as it unfolds. The core gameplay fills three displays, producing an immersive, wraparound perspective, while a fourth monitor communicates navigational cues or a separate map view. The video’s narrator notes that there is no mystique or hidden trick behind this arrangement; it is a legitimate feature of the early DOOM engine that simply disappeared in later iterations or official updates. This discrepancy between early builds and subsequent releases highlights how design choices and platform constraints shaped the user experience in the dormantly powerful PC era—an era when hardware configurations could dramatically alter how a game was played and perceived. The phenomenon also illustrates how developers sometimes trimmed or altered capabilities in later versions, often for reasons tied to compatibility, performance, or a shift toward newer standards in gaming expectations.
These observations are discussed in the context of the broader history of DOOM’s development and its lasting impact on PC gaming culture. The four-monitor setup serves as a reminder of how players experimented with the limits of technology to push the boundaries of immersion. It also prompts a broader reflection on how early title optimization decisions can influence a game’s reputation long after its initial release. Enthusiasts and preservationists alike may find value in revisiting these archival builds, which offer an experiential window into the evolving relationship between hardware and software in gaming’s formative years. As reported by VG Times, this exploration of legacy configurations contributes to a deeper understanding of how timeless classics can still surprise new and veteran players alike, even decades later.