💾 Archived View for kayvr.com › gemlog › 2022-02-18-Doomed.gmi captured on 2022-03-01 at 15:20:06. Gemini links have been rewritten to link to archived content
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On a whim I decided to play through *all* of the early 1994-1995 doom levels. At least the ones submitted to /idgames. Perhaps it's crazy, but I've spent the last 4 weeks fighting through 878 levels. Now my hands want nothing more than to spend time away from WASD. So I'll type one column over instead. ;)
Below you'll find a couple of level recommendations and architectural tidbits. In fact, immersing myself in the architectural progression of doom levels was the real reason I dove into the experience. Even though my focus was construction, I couldn't help but see parallels emerge between the Doom community and the Gemini community.
For a game that is approaching 3 decades old it's notable how cohesive the community still is. To this day there are doomers belting out levels. Thirteen wads appeared on idgames in January 2022. Comprised of roughly 54 levels. That's pretty great considering 57 wads were released all the way back in January of 1995. At the height of Doom.
Even with source parts the Doom community is using rather dated technology. Especially by graphics standards. But the tech is going strong and one can't help but think there's a dovetail with long-term / durable / hierloom computing.
Teasing out different kinds of permacomputing
Before I began zipping through levels earlier in 2022 I suspected Doom's community stability was related to the shared experience generated decades ago when doom was released. That's certainly a part but not the whole picture. For example, it doesn't explain the younger demographic that exists in the community (see Romero's discord for an age poll). Nor does it explain why Doom persisted while other games, nearly as popular as Doom, never stabilized.
Today Romero, one of the original creators of Doom, has his own active discord largely focused on these early id games. There's twitch channels. Organized Saturday deathmatches. And even more ports and chat channels you can shake a boomstick at.
The community is very much alive. And for an early taste of this Doomed community, I've prepared some early 90s wads from the horde of levels I've played through. These levels all deserve honorable mention.
Release date: September 18th, 1994.
Bunka is an early deathmatch level that employed mechanics well ahead of its time. Ever played 'AS-Overlord' in Unreal Tournament? You'll notice the similarities. And a full 5 years before UT was even released.
The premise: a group of players defend a bunker while an assault team attempts the assault. Those defensively patrolling the 'bunka' have turrets, killboxes and better cover. Team based combat at a time in the 90s where free-for-all deathmatches were commonplace.
Even weapon selection was thoughtful. Want the shotgun? You'll have to leave the chaingun behind. And they didn't achieve this through in-game menus or programmed pedastals. This decision is creatively handled by controlling the depth and height of alcoves players must walk though to leave the starting area. No going back for other weapons. Ahh, the creativity of limitation.
Bunka even has doors that seemingly open on timers. Allowing the onslaught to progress through the bunker; through the mazes where the defenders are lightin' up the intruder's feet. How this was possible without DEH I'm not sure. And it was achieved in 1994 to boot!
While Bunka's architecture is straightforward, this is simply a fantastic level well ahead of its time.
Release date: August 10th, 1994.
In terms of architecture this is simply a great wad for 1994. In fact, it was one of my top rated wads from 1994 period. The lighting and chamfered corners and entryways make this wad feel mor like a late 90s wad. It's design out-shines many of Doom's and Doom II's original levels. All before Doom II was even released.
The mazes are tricky, but this is well worth the time of any avid doomer.
Will Gemini persist decades like Doom and Gopher? Time will tell. But there appears to be similarities beetwen Gemini's current values and this classic community of doomers: