Our Own Personal Slice of Hell - (Doom 2)

Given the success of the 2016 release of Doom, and in anticipation of the upcoming Doom Eternal, I want to talk briefly about the granddaddy of the modern 3d shooter, Doom.

For those not in the know, Doom was released by iD software in 1993. Originally designed as a game based on the movie Alien, the overall plot was changed to battling minions from hell to avoid any potential legal upset, and the rest is history. Doom was notoriously difficult to run on PCs of the time. For all intents and purposes, it was every bit as massive and imposing as the demons it hoped to emulate. As time progressed and technology improved, this gap closed, and more and more people were able to experience the game... without having to go to a friend's house or use a work computer to do it.

These days, computers are titans compared to what they used to be... but they haven't forgotten what Doom did to their ancestors. They were thirsty for revenge, and as Doom sat feeble and gray in retirement, the looming shadow of the modern PC fell upon its decrepit form...

For a title that's over 15 years old, there is a very active modding community surrounding the original game. Forget the controversy over "SnapMap" that was packaged into the 2016 release, the modding community has been making their own content as early as 1993. Just as Doom originally tore the insides of underpowered PCs apart, modern modders and powerhouse PCs (at least by 1993's standards) are able to make Doom do things that it never could before.

For those nostalgic of the original game, those who missed out originally, or even just those who are curious to hear about the art designed by some incredibly imaginative people, I'm going to help separate the wheat from the chaff and shine some light on the many mods that the community graces us with.