They're commonly nicknamed "tomatoes" or "pumpkins" in the same way Demons are called "Pinkies" or "pigs", similar to how Pain Elementals are often nicknamed "Meatballs"., The Cacodemon's frightening but comical appearance helps explain their popularity as a symbol and mascot for the Doom series, even earning them a place as an Internet meme for humourous purposes.Cacodemons are called pumpkins in the Doom novels, and the marine in the Doom comic refers to them as "big-mouthed floating thingies.".The earliest known version of Doom to include Cacodemon graphics is the 0.5 alpha, released on May 22, 1993, and the earliest known appearance of the monster as an in-game adversary is in the press release version of Doom, released on October 4, 1993.Doom Eternal makes a reference to the Astral Dreadnaught in it's codex entry for the cultist base, citing a mythic cyclopean giant from Argent D'Nur's past, called an "Aggaddian." The creature itself is known as an Astral Dreadnought, and was created by Jeff Easley for that book.
#ASTRAL DREADNAUGHT MANUAL#
In addition, the Cacodemon was created from a cropping of a creature that appears on the cover of Manual of the Planes, a Dungeons & Dragons expansion book. The monster's general visual design is similar to that of the Beholder, a similarly one-eyed classic Dungeons & Dragons monster (with eye stalks instead of horns).The name Cacodemon, which comes from the Greek κακοδαίμων (kakodaimon) usually meaning "evil spirit", a more precise name for what is generally known as demon (which ultimately comes from "god" or "spirit"), is in English a word that may be found in most comprehensive dictionaries.The "Astral Dreadnought" creature which the Cacodemon sprite was cropped from, on the cover of the Manual of the Planes.