I’ve done a small amount of modding across a few games in the past and found that one of the most rewarding things is seeing what you can do within that game’s limitations, to see how far you can push it and what tricks you can come up with to fudge it the rest of the way. In the Doom community, this is high art. Actually, they take it a step further. The Doom engine is already pretty confining, but Doom people like to take it to new heights by imposing their own artificial limitations. The limitations of Doom aren’t
Category: Modding
Reverie
I’ll admit right from the get-go that I’m probably a bit biased when it comes to Michael Jan Krizik’s Reverie. If you take a look in the readme, you might see why: I did a little playtesting for this WAD back in the day, when the pieces were still coming together. I’m not sure my feedback was all that helpful, but just being able to play a WAD before it’s released publicly has a way of endearing you to the final product more than you might have been otherwise. That’s not to say Reverie is bad and I’m giving it
High/Low 2, 3, 4
Hey there! Welcome back to the program. In case you missed it, on the last episode, we talked about a little gem called High/Low 1. And I did intend to take a break from that series this month, but… well, I couldn’t stay away. Chris Hansen’s bite-sized maps make them really easy to tackle, and his light, airy style honestly is difficult to resist. So this month I’m back with the remaining three entries in his High/Low series instead of the megaWAD I was intending to show off. I’ll get to that next month. (It starts with an R!) Anyhow,
Literally The Best Thing Ever to Happen Ever
BREAKING NEWS World hunger eliminated? Uh… Okay, well, not quite. Aliens land and they turn out to be friendly? That would be cool. But no. John Romero now in charge of Doom 4? Wait, what? No, no, no. This: Turok: Dinosaur Hunter to return to the PC. Full story at 11.
High/Low 1
I’m trying to keep a good balance on here between the kind of short, sweet WADs that can lure in new Doom players who aren’t sure if they want to get their feet wet yet, and the sort of massive epics that I live for. Chris Hansen’s High/Low 1 is firmly in the first category. This is the kind of WAD I probably should have started with: finely tuned and straight to the point — wonderful for testing the waters if you’ve ever been interested in Doom mods but haven’t taken that first step. I’ve never worked in a place
Back to Saturn X Episode 1: Get Out of My Stations
A great Doom WAD is an emotional experience for me. I feel more invested in a good WAD than I do in 90% of videogames. The minimalistest story, some level design that makes me feel like I’m progressing and accomplishing something, a strong soundtrack — that’s all I need. The last one most of all. Really; music will make or break a levelset for me, and when is makes it, it makes it. If you’re not a big Doom person, I wouldn’t blame you for not believing me here, but I honestly think the world of Doom WADs hides behind
Wire Brush
In an attempt to offset the daunting scope of the last two WADs, this month I’ve got something short and sweet: rf’s Wire Brush. As much I enjoy single-level WADs, they don’t usually stick with me the same way bigger megaWADs do. They don’t leave that indelible impression on me the way the Suspended in Dusks do, or the Memento Moris, or the STRAINs. So the fact that I remember this one years later is a pretty good indicator of quality. (Disclaimer: It may also have something to do with me just really, really liking rf’s stuff, and also also
The Eye
The Eye is a WAD I probably wouldn’t have heard of if it wasn’t for this year’s Cacowards. The WAD contains only a single level, when I generally gravitate toward bigger, longer projects. It’s the second creation by mouldy, a relative unknown in the community, and I haven’t really been in the loop at all this year. Instead of slipping under my radar, though, The Eye was brought to my attention just in time to be a charming little Christmas present. Okay, so “charming” and “little” aren’t the best descriptors for this level. “Big,” “grand,” and “epic” are closer to
Suspended in Dusk
You can’t talk about Doom WADs without mentioning Suspended in Dusk. In the Doom scene, it’s a modern masterpiece, and if you ask a Doomer what their favorite WADs are, you’re almost guaranteed to find Suspended in Dusk on the list. It’s on mine for sure. To cover some history, Suspended in Dusk was created back in 2005 by Esa “Espi” Repo, self-proclaimed “Finnish Doom freak.” Espi is best known for this and his followup, Back to Basics, but he also worked on some smaller WADs and contributed to a number of community projects and speedmapping sessions. So Espi was