So far, I've only used this blog to talk about my RPG Maker projects. But I recently learned that original Doom titan John Romero is set to release (in February) an all-new chapter to the original Doom in celebration of the game's 25th anniversary. It's titled SIGIL, and will be considered episode 5, to take place between Ultimate Doom's episode 4, and Doom II. I've been going back and playing through all the old Doom levels in anticipation.
Romero mentions in an official interview that he used Doom Builder 2 to create these new levels - the same level generator fans can use to create their own custom Doom levels. It's a perfect example of how, ever since id Software released Doom's source code, the game has been placed into the hands of its fan community, which has kept it alive with continually new user-generated content over the past 25 years and counting.
SIGIL isn't even an official product by the company helming the modern Doom franchise (which I must admit, I do not keep track of). The levels will be released as freeware - like the first episode of Doom originally was - and can be loaded onto your favorite Doom source port (GZDoom seems to be the favored one at this time). It's essentially another fan-made product, except that the fan in this case is none other than one of the masterminds behind the original game itself!
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Naturally, in all of this, my mind has wandered back to level editing for Doom. I've dabbled in the past, but it had always been a chore wrestling with level editors which tend to be finicky about how you build lines and sectors and such, often producing frustrating errors. But technology tends to improve over time, and Doom Builder 2 looks to be as user-friendly and foolproof an editor as I've ever seen. So I've downloaded it and already gone through some basic tutorials. It's worth giving this level editing thing another try.
Sadly, from what I can gather, all of my old files and folders related to custom Doom levels I've worked on have been lost, probably in hard drive crashes over the years. All I've got is what little I've held onto in my own memory, and an unfinished project I fortunately had the foresight to publish to the 'net at some point. It's my magnum opus - it's called Realms of the Berserk, and merges three of my favorite fandoms, with a story inspired by dark fantasy manga Berserk, and levels drawing on environments from the cult PC adventure horror game Realms of the Haunting.
I re-downloaded and played through the two levels (out of nine planned total) I have posted in semi-complete form, and I have to say, I'm very impressed with what I'd managed to accomplish. The levels are imaginative, even more complex than I'd remembered, and actually quite challenging (I say as a veteran Doomguy who only ever plays on the Ultra-Violence difficulty). And seeing some of these environments from Realms of the Haunting rendered in Doom is a sheer delight! I feel inspired, and disappointed that I'd never completed this project.
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If I am to work on this project some more, however, I feel like I should warm up by building a "dummy" level in Doom Builder 2 first, to get familiar with the program and make sure I'm confident using it. I've decided to try putting together a stand-alone level I have in mind from a separate unfinished project. Once upon a time, it was intended to be part of a total conversion (where even the names and sound effects and graphics are changed), replacing the violence that is intrinsic to this game with sex, instead.
The whole idea is that there is this demon beast invasion (think Urotsukidoji/Legend of the Overfiend), and rather than killing, their goal is to mate with the human population (with a nod to Duke Nukem, which I enjoyed playing immensely as an adolescent). Your only recourse is to stimulate the demons to exhaustion before they have a chance to push you over the edge to orgasm.
Instead of health, your life meter is replaced with sexual stamina. Your armor is just clothing - a buffer against the ministrations of the damned. Punching becomes stroking, the chainsaw a vibrator. Instead of rockets you can launch dildos at your enemies. All bodily fluids would.be changed from red to white. Chaingunners are re-envisioned as trenchcoat flashers; Barons of Hell become satyrs. You run around collecting panties (clothing boosts), and gulping down Red Bulls (stamina boosts). Secret sectors consist of hidden naked virgins that must be found before the demons do!
I'm pulling this all from memory. I'm sure it sounds silly, but I had it all worked out. In lieu of the total conversion, however, I think it would still make a fun straightforward Doom level. You start out in a holding cell in a police station, break through the wall into the sewers, climb up to street level, then explore some high-rise buildings. I'm gonna try to put the level together and see how it turns out. I know - it's pretty ambitious for a "dummy level", but as you've probably figured out by now, I'm nothing if not overambitious...
