Nods To Mods: An Introduction

By: Joshua Boyle

YoD_Nods_to_Mods_HERO_1920x870.jpg

Ever since you heard that first rhythmic line from E1M1, got your hands on a shotgun and started dropping Zombie Soldiers while strafing out of the path of an imp’s fireball, you knew what it meant to be in love with a game. The snarl of Pinkies as they charge in to gnaw on your flesh, the scream of a heavy-hooved Baron of Hell as it gets you in its goat-eyed sights, the amazing gun animations that felt weighty and fine-tuned. All of this in an incredibly dangerous world with visceral feedback being taken in second by second via your tough Marine mug in the bottom HUD, reacting to every intense encounter. !

Old PC.960x540{.center}

For some, it was enough to have that one-time experience at a friend’s house, lights off and Altec Lansing speakers blaring, drenched in sweat as they went to activate the switch at the end of a level. But for others, they would see and hear the hordes of hell in their dreams like chess pieces. They would have visions of all new labyrinths to explore with custom encounters tailor-made with the perfect weapon, ammo, armor and key placements to ensure ultra-rewarding pathing. They would daydream in class or mastermind at the office, sketching top-down views of all new scenarios.

DOOM2.big.box.960x540{.center}

By the time DOOM II was in big boxes on store shelves, id Software had released tools to the public so that anybody and everybody with a PC could try their hand at level design. The tools were akin to CAD programs, commonly used then (and now) by architects. But with enough time and effort, anybody could build their own nightmarish worlds and output them into a file called a “.WAD” (an acronym for “Where’s All The Data?)”. This file could be uploaded to the internet (back then made purely of vacuum tubes and cobwebs), and people could instantly download these .WADs to have an entirely new DOOM experience—made by community, for community.

Maybe it was your math teacher, the guy taking your order at the fast food counter, your neighbor, or possibly even your dad, but people from all walks of life were trying their hand at map-making and creating crazy full-graphic, music and sound replacement mods called total conversion patch wads or “.PWAD”. They would come together on forums (called bulletin boards systems at the time, or BBS) and upload their work to FTP sites like Walnut Creek’s ftp.cdrom.com and later doomworld.com to share their ideas and deepen their respective and collective DOOM experiences.

In this Nods to Mods series, we’re going to spotlight community creations to commend their unique contribution to the fun and ethereal depth of DOOM during this amazing Year of DOOM celebration. We’ll focus mainly on some of the showier total conversion mods here, but we’ll make sure we also get into a few tried and true classics as well. Unless specified otherwise, all .WADs will be for DOOM II. So, get your favorite DOOM II client ready and prepare to be battling your way through the insides of some of the craziest community creations of all time!

ShareShareAll Articles
Slayers Club

Latest Articles