Directed by Derek Murphy and Mitchell Zemil • Documentary • 2021 • 25 minutes
The first person shooter Doom launched in 1993 and quickly secured its place in popular culture. The game’s creators were unusually mod-friendly, and they set the game up so it was easy and legal for fans to create their own Doom level packs (known as WADs) and distribute them online. Players took full advantage of this aspect of the game, and BBSes were soon flooded with custom Doom levels.
27 years later, Doom still has a thriving modding community. We spoke with writer, musician, and game designer Liz Ryerson, who gave us her historical and critical perspective on player-created Doom maps.
Up Next in Season 1
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Preserving Worlds S1 Ep5: NeoHabitat
Directed by Derek Murphy and Mitchell Zemil • Documentary • 2021 • 28 minutes
Habitat, the first ever graphical massively multiplayer online game, emerged on the Commodore 64 home micro computer in 1986. Because the game was the first of its kind, its developers tried a number of odd experiments...
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Preserving Worlds S1 Ep6: Second Life
Directed by Derek Murphy and Mitchell Zemil • Documentary • 2021 • 30 minutes
Arguably the most well known social virtual world, Second Life started in 2003 and it’s still online today. The software is extremely flexible, and users are able to customize almost every aspect of the experience. The...
