Just for fun: My 5 favourite DooM mappers

[Crunchynut44]

As im starting to hone my own craft (and while im laying here begging for sleep) an ode is due to write tribute to the mappers that have inspired me the most. So in no particular order, my 5 favourite mappers are...

 

Eric Alm

Basically a given, the simple yet stylistic brilliance of Scythe is what convinced me to make maps of my own. Followed by the wonderful Scythe 2, a staple in my evening Doom diet is what I always turn to when I hit a creative block. Somehow in the architectural clones that were soon to come, Erics maps still stand out and hold their own with a signiture I cant explain.

 

Jimmy

The mapping machine himself, I always get excited when he announces something new. Those smooth flowing layouts are something I reference a lot to improve my own. When it comes to the mapping process and making use of your time, I follow Jims advice to the tee. Tons and tons of quality content and a plethora of MIDIs to boot, what more could you want?

 

Paul Corfiatis

I typically find elegance in simplicity, Pauls work however is an exception. Whispers of Satan is a wad that I have turned monsters off and just explored the hundreds of vistas and architectural wonders for the sheer gratification. The incredibly balanced gameplay from tight difficulty curves and perfect ammo balance is always solid and thoughtful. (Special mention the Kristian Aro as well)

 

Skillsaw

The modern architectural wizard, not only creates incredible scenery but is often overlooked as laying out some of the most interweaving and interesting layouts that can only be described as poetry in motion. Always tough on the player but never unfair and oh so satisfying to make it to the exit when he puts you through a skill test.

 

Mouldy

More creativty in his finger than in my entire body, I cant help but be jealous of some the incredible and unique ideas he implements into his work. Usually using stock textures or basic effects, and turning them into something wild and zany, is always a delight to see. An absolute fantastic musician too, with compositions that can be just as bizzare and interesting as the maps that acompany them.

 

 

Well thats it, you can go back to what you were doing.

Edited June 29, 2019 by Crunchynut44

[noisebloom]

I actually have yet to play Scythe, but I really look forward to that day...

 

I have a lot of reverence for map layout efficiency. Smaller maps with great gameplay are a lot of fun for me.

[pcorf]

It's hard for a top 5 as there have been so many great mappers who have graced us over the years and quite a few of them are sadly not here today. Here is just a few of them.

 

Brett Harrell aka Mech

Michael Jan Krizik aka valkiriforce

Ronald Lubbelinkhof aka Dutch Devil

John W. Anderson aka Dr Sleep

James "Jimmy" Paddock

Erik Alm

Christian Hansen

Kristian Nebula

John Romero

Esa Repo aka Espi

Huy Pham

Mouldy

Skillsaw

Kim André Malde

Dario and Milo Casali

AD_79

Jim Flynn

Tom Mustaine

and many many more .....!

Edited June 29, 2019 by pcorf

[franckFRAG]

Extremely hard to choose only 5 favorite mappers... I think I'm more sensitive with the classic mapping vibe.

My list with no particular order :

 

Memfis

40oz

Paul Corfiatis

Jimmy

Mechadon

 

Bonus : Valkiriforce

Edited June 28, 2019 by franckFRAG

[Roofi]

My most recent list :

 

1. TimeOfDeath

2. Death-Destiny

3. Gusta (Adolf Vojta)

4. Insane_Gazebo

5. Nathan Lineback (The author of "Mars war" , one of my favourite old-school megawads)

[Arrowhead]

Dr. Sleep

Eric Alm

Qingshuo Wang

Ken Kesler

Casali Brothers

 

[Not Jabba]

As someone who generally finds creativity and beauty more inspiring than smooth combat, these are the people I've been inspired by the most:

 

lupinx-Kassman

dobu gabu maru

Xaser

Mechadon

skillsaw

Lainos

Azamael

Nanka Kurashiki

Naturaltvventy

Thomas van der Velden

[Snikle]

My favorites are probably Skillsaw, Ribbiks (Especailly his older stuff), and Mouldy.

[ReaperAA]

My favorites are Skillsaw, Jimmy, Dragonfly, Mechadon, Xaser and Esselfortium

[Deadwing]

Hmm... nicolas monti, Dragonfly, Jimmy, Eric Alm, Memfis.

[Vorpal]

ego stroking time!

 

hail to king Gusta

nokturnus

richard wiles

naturaltvventy

paul schmitz

 

[Danlex]

Skillsaw

Ribbiks

TimeOfDeath

Mechadon

Insane_Gazebo

[haruko haruhara]

mArt1And00m3r11339

Angel Neko x

Doomkid 

Memerz1

Wario

Mifu

Blood

Yourf Anki

Ribbiks

John Romero

terminus13

Deadwing

These are my favorite mappers 

 

Edited June 28, 2019 by haruko haruhara

[Kyka]

Natural Tvventy

Xaser 

Chris Lutz

Espi

Darkwave

Thomas van der Velden

 

Honorable Mentions: Valkiriforce, Mechadon, Skillsaw, John Romero, Esselfortium, Dragonfly, Jimmy, Insane Gazebo, Megamur, Erik Alm, Adolf Vojta, too many more to mention.

[Yugiboy85]

-Vader: he was a big inspiration for me back in the days and, while I have kinda sweyed away from zdoom mapping, I still hold him dear 

 

-Skillsaw: From his early work (zpack, lunatic, vanguard) to his more recent work (valiant, ancient aliens), he has shown to have an awesome style imo. He is my main source of inspiration currently

 

-Erik Alm: Not so much as far as gameplay goes but, design wise, he is no doubts one of my favorites. I remember being AWED by some of his maps in scythe 2 (map 27 mainly) 

 

I can only think of these three so far because they have contributed, to some extent, into who I am right now as far as mapping goes. I cannot refute the inspiration they gave me. 

 

Honorable mentions: AD_79, esselfortium, an_mutt 

 

And many more of course

 

 

[Kyoh1]

I would say:

 

Payload4367 (Dark Encounters)

floatRand (Disjunction)

Insane_Gazebo (Sunder)

mouldy (Going Down)

Ribbiks (Sunlust)

Edited June 28, 2019 by Kyoh1
Ribbiks (Sunlust)

[Kyka]

Sandy Petersen.

 

 

 

 

There. I said it.

Edited June 28, 2019 by bLOCKbOYgAMES

[Spie812]

There are so many talented mappers out there that ranking them is a goddamn impossible task, so I'm gonna throw out some (mostly older) mappers who I feel aren't getting enough love here:

• Adolf "Gusta" Vojta (Kama Sutra, Plutonia 2)
• Yonatan Donner (Hell Revealed)
• Denis and Thomas Möller (The Innocent Crew)
• Jens Nielsen (Memento Mori)
• Tom Mustaine (TNT, Perdition's Gate, Master Levels)

[pcorf]

10 hours ago, Arrowhead12 said:

Dr. Sleep

Eric Alm

Qingshuo Wang

Ken Kesler

Casali Brothers

 

 

Kurt Kesler

[Poncho1]

Skillsaw

Mechadon

Erik Alm

Mouldy

Ribbiks

[Solmyr]

TimeOfDeath

Xaser

Mechadon

John Romero

Casali Brothers

 

 

 

[theDia]

Well, I was of the game for more than 15 years so I really don´t know the more recent mappers, but from an old-timers point of view:

Paul Schmitz (who inspired and helped me a lot)
Sverre (Darkdome is still the best looking "old-school" map ever)
Jim Flynn R.I.P (he taught me a lot and I liked his riddle-ridden style)
Bob Evans (I still play Odessa from time to time)
John Romero (obviously:) )

Strangely enough all of them but Romero worked with me on Eternal Doom, but Romero at least mentioned "Eternal Doom" as his all time favourite Doom-Addon.  :) 

From the levels I tested during the short period of time I`m back in the forum I liked "Legacy of heroes" from Gaspe playwise and from the sheer visual impact Elend´s "Hurt" a lot.

[seed]

Well, since we're doing this, here's mine, in no particular order, and no top 5:

 

skillsaw

Dragonfly

Insane_Gazebo

Doom Marine

Casali brothers

John Romero

Sandy Petersen

Ribbiks

Erik Alm

Jimmy

esselfortium

 

I don't doubt that I have missed quite a few mappers, but, I don't remember the authors of every single wad that I have played.

[antares031]

It is hard for me to pick 5 "favorite" doom level designers. But, if I have to pick 5 level designers, who inspired me the most to let me make doom levels, here's the list. Without them, I couldn't have enough motivation to start making levels for doom:

 

Kim André Malde "Mutator"

Anders Johnsen

Adolf Vojta "Gusta"

Brett Harrell "Mechadon"

Paul DeBruyne "skillsaw"

 

Special shout-out to Geminl and Ebola for making Killer Colours of Alien Vendetta.

[Arrowhead]

13 hours ago, pcorf said:

 

Kurt Kesler

Not the first time i've made that mistake lol

[MFG38]

In no particular order:

 

Dragonfly

skillsaw

esselfortium

Mechadon

Xaser

[Phobus]

My favourite mapper has been me for a long time. If I didn't enjoy what I make, I wouldn't spend the time on making it. I'd like to think many others are the same. To list a top 5 runners up:

 

Enjay

Jimmy

Vader

Khorus

Xaser

 

Generally speaking people who have established reputations making great ZDoom maps or awesome speed maps without indulging in brutal difficulty. Honourable mention to Tormentor667 for being a previous favourite and running the ZDCMP projects, which are easily my favourite maps.

 

[eulo]

Hmmm... no votes to No Rest for the Living designers? I give a bit for both of them. After the legendary Romero of course.

[xvertigox]

Spoiler

 

 

[Fonze]

In no particular order, my favorite 5 doom sp mappers are:

rdwpa

NiH

Ed C.

Mechadon

Ribbiks

 

Not Jabba and RottKing get my Heretic votes

 

For dm maps, idk if they'll be mapping again any time soon but the a3 gangsters ru5tk1ng, razgriz, and decay make amazing dm maps.

 

Lotta other great mappers who I'll also drop what I'm doing to check out their new stuff, and to a large degree the top 5 sp doom mappers I chose could be switched out with other mappers I didn't mention. I hesitate to list off other mappers that easily could be in that top 5 as I know I'll forget some mappers I really respect, but to list off a few more I really look up to and draw inspiration from:

AD_79

Alf

Antares

Chris Hansen

Danne

Doomkid

Dragonfly

Essel

FranckFrag

Jimmy

Lutz

Mouldy

Pcorf

Skillsaw

A Xaser

Yakattack

Z0k