WAD Wednesday 1 Year Anniversary Mapset

Very cool set of maps full of doomcute stuff; a must-play for anybody who likes this sort of thing. Not too much in the realm of gameplay, and honestly I'd've liked these better with a few less monsters roaming around than the already minuscule amount of them and a bit more curation of the redundant parts, such as the large outside area of map01 or the many rooms of map02, but that's all part of the fun of exploring things though. Perhaps if there were more doomcute things to find in those areas they would have been more fun to explore. That minor gripe aside, these maps were a charming bunch and I agree with rd that anyone who kills the omg-cute-noise-making pet cacos is an asshole (and they should be very ashamed of themselves). 

Map01 has an interesting message (in the computer) and meaning to it that I think is touching and sad, but which adds some good meaning to the seemingly-silly aspects of the map, (pick up a health bonus at 1%) including maybe those who are assholes by the definition above, or hurting any other friends in the map. Maybe that was part of the point of the map, which is cool if true, though also incredibly tragic.

On a lighter note, the third map is just down right adorable.

Good maps for those who like doomcute, sector furniture and microdetail. The glass mug on the bar in map02 gets super props for looking legit through clever texturing, though a lot of these looked really good.

Unexpectedly wonderful.

These aren't traditional Doom maps. The second offers combat of substance, but the set plays out more like a whimsical, cutesy collection of ideas united by charm and good nature.

First up is a My House map. Whoever owns this one is living the good life. It's huge, with many floors, and it's surrounded by an idyllic multi-acre forest. You can easily imagine a real-life human subduing its small infestation of monsters -- 19 weaklings -- with steady hands and a good rifle. An elk or grizzly bear would be scarier. Despite the monster count, it might take you a while to fully explore everything. Many of the household items you might imagine, and some you certainly wouldn't, are recreated somewhere inside as a sector-detail prop. My favorites had to be the steaks on a grill and the (3D) water cooler. Custom textures are used to depict stuff like TV shows -- in this life stream, John Romero is a news anchor -- and whiteboards with computer code. ZDoom architecture allows tables and other furniture to be represented in a truer-to-life form. The design chops are rough compared to attractive, modern Doom maps, but what distinguishes it from many a comparable My House map is the cleverness. It's loaded everywhere with silly little ideas to the point that I was impressed. (If you kill the harmless pet cacodemons, you are an asshole.) 

The second map is the most conventional in the bunch, which is saying something because it's a brief dimensional time-warp that takes place on a floor of a residential building, with trippy progression and a boss spawner sound effect used purely for show. The obvious comparison was Going Down. I liked it. The combat is quick and bloody and satisfying. 

Last is a vignette, hardly a map, because as the in-game text informs us, the author ran out of time before the project deadline. But it has a spectacularly cute "gameplay mechanic" that I don't feel like spoiling. The author should not feel bad.

Judging by the text file, all three authors are far more game designers than Doom mappers (two had no prior Doom maps that can be readily tracked down), so this is a fantastic example of "outsider art." I hope JP LeBreton's stream audience will give us more.