This 2010 article by @jplebreton on the original Doom is a gem: http://vectorpoem.com/news/?p=74. The FPS genre is in a much better place nowadays, mostly thanks to indie games, though the new Doom games also did a good job of resetting the design even if they aren't harking back to the originals. It's perhaps a bit disappointing how many of the good indie games are retro flavored rather than trying to innovate on their own terms, but it's better than everything being a modern military shooter.