Considered one of the godfathers of the first-person shooter genre, John Romero has shown that he is by no means done with his creation, as he recently went live to show fans his process when it comes to building maps forDoom. Specifically, he’s been demonstrating work that’s currently going into a new episode. Highly regarded asone of the most influential FPS games of all time, the original 1993 release from id Software laid the early groundwork for the genre and continues to inspire to this day.
Not only did it innovate at a time when PC gaming was in its infancy, it alsoturned developer id Software into an overnight success. Building off what came before it with 1992’sWolfenstein 3D, Romero and his colleagues — including John Carmack, an equally influential figure in the gaming industry — pushed the boundaries of what was possible in game development with the release of the firstDoomgame. It’s been nearly 30 years since the series was launched, but the long-haired programmer is still making custom maps for it.
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In a recent livestream on Twitch, Romero showed the world the work he’s been putting into some new content for the originalDoom. The five-hour broadcast featured the designer building a new level using level editing software. The reason for the stream, Romero said at the start, was to celebrate the fact that the first game in the franchise recently turned 29. While he said that the milestone anniversaries would normally be something like 25 or 30, he felt it was still worth doing something to celebrate. During the broadcast, viewers could see the developer piecing together the rooms he’s working on, adding textures, setting triggers, and testing out the map. After every thirty minutes, Romero turned to the chat to answer questions.
This is actually part of a larger project, asRomero has been working on a new episode forDoom, and this map being constructed live on Twitch is part of it. Called “Sigil 2,” a follow-up to the unofficial fifth episode ofDoomcalled “Sigil,” this new project is expected to release in 2023, just in time for the franchise’s 30th anniversary.
Although the reboot ofDoomin 2016 and 2020’sDoom Eternalare stillhighly praised FPS games, many fans, especially older ones, will think of the classic installments from the 90s when they hear the word “Doom.” Romero still putting out custom content for the iconic series really gives some insight into just how much of an impact the early entries have had on gaming.
Doomwas released in 1993 and is available on multiple platforms.
