What's the big idea?

TLDR: You have till December 4th to make a Doom map. Then, I'll stream myself playing through all the submissions! The winner will receive bragging rights, and a €/$/£20 gift code for their gaming platform of choice.

But I don't know how to make a Doom map!

You're in luck. Doom was designed to be extremely easy to mod, so anyone can pick it up pretty easily. You'll need a piece of map-making software like Doom Builder X or Eureka, if you're on Mac. I've posted some tutorials down below, but there's plenty more info to be found on YouTube and other sites.

But I don't even OWN Doom (2)!

It's 5 smackers on Steam, but you'll want to download GZDoom for free along with it. GZDoom is what's known as a 'source port' - basically, an engine to play Doom in on modern machines. It runs a whole lot better than the Steam port, and is almost necessary for making custom maps. You'll still need to own the Doom 2 WAD to use it, though.

If you're really strapped for cash, Freedoom Phase 2 works exactly the same as Doom 2 does - it just has different graphics, levels and sounds. Maps are inter-compatible between Doom 2 and Freedoom Phase 2, so it's all the same to me what you use!

What's a WAD?

WAD stands for Where's All the Data! It's a type of file that Doom games use to store maps, amongst other things. There are two types of WADs: 'internal' WADs and 'patch' WADs.

An internal WAD (or IWAD) is what you need to play the game. For Doom 2, you use doom2.wad. For Heretic, you use heretic.wad. For The Ultimate DOOM, you use doomu.wad. Get the picture? The IWAD contains all the original game's music, maps, and graphics, and usually isn't modified in any way.

A patch WAD (or PWAD) is what you'll be sending me! It contains modifications to the base game. If you make a map, it'll be stored on its own in a PWAD. This way, you can just send me the map that you made, without having to send me the full Doom 2 game along with it.

Where's this being streamed?

I'll send an email to remind you, but all submissions will be played through, live, on twitch.tv/benpaste, on the 5th of December, at 8:00PM UTC.

Rules

Contact me!

  • bendoomcontest@gmail.com
  • Benpaste#3049 on Discord
  • Tips

  • It helps to plan your map out on paper first! This way, you get a nice, clear overview.
  • Work alongside a friend! Two heads are better than one.
  • If you want to get a little more advanced, you can add your own textures, music, and even enemies with a WAD editor like SLADE.
  • My tutorial series (more to come!)

    Helpful videos

    © Benpaste 2020