Ground breaking and game-changing are just two of the phrases that have often been used to describe id Software‘s Doom from back in 1993. I remember buying a demo of Doom on two 3.5″ floppies from my local computer store and when I got home and installed it, I was just blown away. And terrified. Seriously. Doom was executed so perfectly that even with visuals being pixelated and low-res (compared to today’s games) graphics, Doom was all at once immersive. Playing Doom alone on a rainy Sunday afternoon had me turning around i my chair to make sure that I was indeed alone. It was all part of the game’s charm and Doom soon became wildly popular as we played each other across 14.4k modems and reveled in each blood soaked level, eventually creating our own maps and levels with various Doom level editors
Sidenote: Doesn’t that sound weird? Paying for a demo? The idea of paying for a demo isn’t a new concept but in the early days of “The Internet”, i.e., back when it wasn’t quite known as The Internet yet, most of people (the cool kids anyway) were just dialing in to their local BBSes and if you wanted new software, you either got it from a store or maybe a friend made you a copy (which clearly wasn’t very legit). Software and online games just weren’t that readily available, except maybe through Usenet if your were in the know and knew how to deal with binaries
A Brand New Level, Same Old Lovable Doom
Ok. Enough with the nostalgia. The big news this week is that John Romero, aka one of the creators of the hugely popular game, has released a brand new level for Doom. The new level is an alternate Boss level called Tech Gone Bad and is apparently quite a large level and takes place outside for the most part. The response from new and old fans of the original release has been positive. This isn’t a slicked up version of an old game. Tech Gone Bad uses the original engine and maintains the same look and feel of the original.
Here’s a screenshot. I’m getting all misty eyed looking at those familiar barrels of toxic waste. Ah memories…
The new Doom level is available for download via DropBox.However, you will first need to install Doom in order to play it. Mashable has clear article on how to play the new Doom level. Check it out.