Doom co-creator John Romero launched another level for the classic action-packed shooter once again after 21 years.
Porting it to unlikely platforms such as the Apple Watch and Apple TV or even a virtual cabinet inside the game itself became a trend, and at some point, it seemed like bringing Doom to modern devices was the best thing to do with it – aside from the modding, of course.
In other words, a new area from one of the original makers to shoot up monsters and whatnot may have come across as something unthinkable for some, but thanks to Romero, here it is.
It's been 21 years since I made a DOOM level. Here's my version of E1M8 using DOOM1.WAD. https://t.co/ueKM7gBbXd pic.twitter.com/NlmA9aIALN
— John Romero (@romero) January 15, 2016
Romero created the level using Doom WAD – the modding tool that Id Software released way back in the 1990s – so that he would be restricted to the same capabilities he would have had in 1993, according to him. As for the time he took to build it, he says that he spent two weeks during his spare time on it.
Calling it the E1M8B, he describes the level as his "boss level replacement for E1M8 ... 22 years later," which is the eighth and final map of Knee-Deep in the Dead, the first episode of Doom.
"After exiting the Computer Station you knew the worst was up ahead. You still hadn't reached the place where the demons were coming from. The steel door shuts behind you as you realize you're there; you're at the Phobos Anomaly. Cracks from hell are all over the place as seepage from the portal invades the entire installation. Now it's time to find the portal and stop the demons from coming through," the description of the level reads.
In an email conversation with Dean Takahashi of VentureBeat, Romero shares some of his insights of the new level.
"As for the level, E1M8 was an obvious choice for me. Out of the shareware episode of DOOM, E1M8, the boss level, was the only level I didn't make. Sandy Petersen did an amazing job with the original one with the very memorable Barons of Hell right in your face at the end, of course," he says, noting that DoomBuilder is his go-to tool to create the level.
To play it, the tool ZDoom or other similar software plus the original Doom are required. Also, the new map is playable solo, co-op or deathmatch. Interestingly, the original Doom paved the way of deathmatch mode to the first-person shooter genre, which has since become a standard for many other similar games.
Now, Romero is no longer part of the team that's developing the series. Bethesda took over things this time around, and the developer is all set to roll out a modernized take of Doom sometime this year - yep, there are currently no specifics yet, but Amazon "leaked" a possible release date just recently.
With the recent development, Doom seems even more unlikely to die out anytime soon, not to mention that the dedicated gaming community DoomWorld has been playing and modding the game for over 20 years now.
