Since 1995, Tim Willits has had a hand in pretty much every major id Software title to come out. His efforts as a level and scenario designer created most of the backdrop we’ve come to know as we gibbed enemy after enemy in every corridor of Hell and every space installation. Now, in 2019 following his work on DOOM Eternal, Tom Willits will be ending his tenure with id Software after 24 years of work with the company.
As reported on GameDaily.biz, the Studio Director of recent and current id Software projects formally announced his departure on his personal Twitter. Willits has moved up the id Software chain slowly, first taking over the Lead Designer role on DOOM 3 in 2004 and taking over his first Director roles on Quake Live and Rage in 2010 and 2011 respectively. He has since been the Studio Director of multiple id projects, including DOOM’s 2016 revival, Rage 2, Quake Champions, and most recently DOOM Eternal. With QuakeCon right around the corner, Willits promises to still go and will announce his next plans soon after.
After QuakeCon I will announce my future plans, where I am going, and what new exciting things I am doing. Stay tuned.
— Tim Willits (@TimWillits) July 18, 2019
Willits arguably had an excellent hand in titles like DOOM 2016 and RAGE 2, but perhaps he longed for more time getting his hands dirty in game design. According to a 2015 IGN interview, Willits missed being in the process as opposed to running it. Even so, he did his part.
“I do less design work than I used to, which is sad,” Willits said. “But I make sure that everything just moves forward because I’m the studio director, so I have to. I describe it as I am the snowplough in front of Doom production.”
Tim Willits began his work as a level designer for DOOM Ultimate. In that role, he had a hand in designing levels and scenarios for all core Quake games as well as Strife and Hexen: Beyond Heretic. If you love the cultish, hellish, and space station corridors and environments of any of those games, plus DOOM, you probably love Willits’ work.
It would be a shame to see such an awesome and experienced director and designer pack up and leave video games behind altogether, so we’ll hope Willis’s next efforts continue to bring awesome projects to the world of gaming. That said, even if Willits is altogether out, his impact on gaming, and especially the world of first-person shooters, can’t be denied and Twin Galaxies wishes him the best in whatever comes next.
