MyHouse.wad

[ShallowB]

1 hour ago, Manny84 said:

 

  Hide contents

the Five and a Half Minute Hallway

 

 

Spoiler

Have you tried opening and closing the bedroom closet repeatedly? There's a 9% chance every time you open it for it to spawn the Hallway from the book instead of the closet!

 

[Manny84]

14 minutes ago, ShallowB said:

 

  Hide contents

Have you tried opening and closing the bedroom closet repeatedly? There's a 9% chance every time you open it for it to spawn the Hallway from the book instead of the closet!

 

Spoiler

Yup, I wandered around in it for about an hour. I just reached Expedition A in the book and in my mind it was exactly like the Doom version.

 

[aloysiusfreeman]

Just watched John Romero's playthrough of myhouse. What a trip - I really hope there's a second part where he tries to get to the final ending. 

 

I'm still thinking of this damn mod. I have to imagine whoever vvedge is lurks on another account - thanks so much. It's been a big inspiration and now I'm getting wrecked on making my own maps.

[daydreamer]

Does anyone know if theres' an analysis or some kind of story behind ""memory=entryrrrr/////"? 

I have considered analyzing it myself but would love to hear more about it, it is so impactful and well written. 

[TasAcri]

Yesterday i realized that MyHouse has one important issue: It relies on people's knowledge about DOOM/DOOM 2 to hook you, at least early on. For people in this forum, this is not an issue. But for casuals who may have only played a little of DOOM or not at all?

 

I have a friend who only played it casually back in the day on consoles. I think he only ever owned the 32X version. Anyway, sometimes i bundle some pre-made mods/wads for him to play and he always enjoys them. MyHouse though was the only one he didn't like.
 

Spoiler

 

He just couldn't get most of what the game is trying to do, which is to mess with DOOM players. Take the music for example. For us, it's something that's stuck in our brains and we can immediately tell when a note is off. But for someone like him? It was just a random midi that might as well be that way. Or how about the doors opening in a different manner? He didn't even notice that, i mean, how could anyone who doesn't know how the DOOM engine works notice this? Let alone the extra stuff from GZDoom? And other things like the Underhalls map. For us it makes sense because it's map02. MyHouse plays with the idea that it's a throwaway wad with no ending so it just dumps you to map02 after you finish it. We know it's not just a random map but for my friend it was just some random thing that didn't have any connection or reason. And i thought being able to bring the SSG with you the way you do was a brilliant touch, because i know map02 is the one that introduces this weapon, but for him? Just another random thing.

 

Basically, one of MyHouse's biggest strengths is that it feels off early on and it gradually tries to mess with you. But that only works on someone who has some expectations and gets the references. I guess there's no other way to make something like this work though so it's not really a fault. MyHouse is meant to be played by DOOMers. But i was kinda disappointed that my friend couldn't get it and enjoy it the same way i did.

 

 

[Eugen.Sechel]

I just made an account here to say thank you. This was such a wild ride and easily one of the best horror experiences out there. 

[Eugen.Sechel]

On 7/2/2023 at 7:27 PM, Matt Eldrydge said:

Found a lot of stuff this time around! Also found out the reflecting floors kill my framerate, oh well. :P

 

I realize now that I'm missing the blue card and can't open the plasma gun alcove in the brutalist house, thanks to me going to the mirror Underhalls (which made me feel quite ill). Is it a big deal? I still have it in my inventory.

 

 

 

For the reflective floors fps issue try switching the renderer from opengl to vulkan. That fixed it for me (i7-3770 with rx480). 

[SquareEngine]

12 hours ago, TasAcri said:

Yesterday i realized that MyHouse has one important issue: It relies on people's knowledge about DOOM/DOOM 2 to hook you, at least early on. For people in this forum, this is not an issue. But for casuals who may have only played a little of DOOM or not at all?

 

I have a friend who only played it casually back in the day on consoles. I think he only ever owned the 32X version. Anyway, sometimes i bundle some pre-made mods/wads for him to play and he always enjoys them. MyHouse though was the only one he didn't like.
 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

He just couldn't get most of what the game is trying to do, which is to mess with DOOM players. Take the music for example. For us, it's something that's stuck in our brains and we can immediately tell when a note is off. But for someone like him? It was just a random midi that might as well be that way. Or how about the doors opening in a different manner? He didn't even notice that, i mean, how could anyone who doesn't know how the DOOM engine works notice this? Let alone the extra stuff from GZDoom? And other things like the Underhalls map. For us it makes sense because it's map02. MyHouse plays with the idea that it's a throwaway wad with no ending so it just dumps you to map02 after you finish it. We know it's not just a random map but for my friend it was just some random thing that didn't have any connection or reason. And i thought being able to bring the SSG with you the way you do was a brilliant touch, because i know map02 is the one that introduces this weapon, but for him? Just another random thing.

 

Basically, one of MyHouse's biggest strengths is that it feels off early on and it gradually tries to mess with you. But that only works on someone who has some expectations and gets the references. I guess there's no other way to make something like this work though so it's not really a fault. MyHouse is meant to be played by DOOMers. But i was kinda disappointed that my friend couldn't get it and enjoy it the same way i did.

 

 

This is something that has been on my mind. While reading House of Leaves I got into a conversation about MyHouse with someone who I know would hate the violence in Doom and never plays videogames. They're in their 20s. MyHouse has some universal traits that make for a good story, but the medium in which it tells that story cannot be separated from it. When I told the story of the mod it was a thrilling tale. I'm no professional storyteller and I abridged many parts to suit my audience, but it was the story and experience of MyHouse that made it captivating. (I am, admittedly, competent enough to tell stories without absolutely bombing it.)

 

I think that if someone has never played Doom or Doom II then they should be encouraged to play through 10 levels or so. I'd point them at The Ultimate Doom and tell them to give Knee-Deep in the Dead a try on any difficulty they like. It still holds up. Plus, GZDoom as a program has some painful rough edges that make it hard to casually use despite its impressive compatibility and feature set. I'm still having to manually change the resolution to 1920x1080 sometimes and alt+tabbing when using it in fullscreen mode sucks so bad. I know by personal experience that the program has improved greatly since 2016-2018... but it's in need of a casual review of quality of life features.
 

Spoiler

 

EDIT: What the heck? I go to make a separate thread to make a list of these problems that have plagued me since reinstalling GZDoom to play MyHouse and now I can't get them to happen? And everything is fine? Even though they were all literally happening to me an hour ago!?

I don't understand why computers just work sometimes.

 

 

Edited July 8, 2023 by SquareEngine

[Matt Eldrydge]

2 hours ago, Eugen.Sechel said:

For the reflective floors fps issue try switching the renderer from opengl to vulkan. That fixed it for me (i7-3770 with rx480). 

 

Iirc I run it on Vulkan by default, but I have integrated graphics with an I7 from like 2015 - which is likely the culprit here. :P

 

I'll take a look though, maybe there's something I missed thanks to GZDoom having way too many options.

[Aattrix]

On 6/30/2023 at 4:29 PM, Gregor said:

The creator of the map identifies themselves as Steve Nelson aka Veddge. Now, we know that BOTH of these monikers are most likely pseudonyms. The creator of myhouse is unlikely to be the original Veddge that made the account back in 2004. But since we don't have any info about their real name or other account name they might be known under, and these are names that they choose to use, it's not our place to refute that.

That's why we use them in the Doomwiki article to identify the creator of the mod. Because the fact is, they chose those names as their names for this upload. So until they choose to reveal their "real" name, we gonna refer to them by the name(s) they provided. Everything else would just be speculation.

oh man really thank u for message me and don't being rude, nice thank u for making me understand this :)

[tornado potato]

People are even speedrunning this haha.
 

Spoiler

 

How on Earth did they manage to do it without the BFG? The Archvilles at the end were just like "oh sorry sir I'm in your way, please, go ahead"
 

 

 

[Scuba Steve]

I love the meta narrative that, in life, there are some people who are able to deal with traumatic events with relative ease and just keep moving forward.

[ShallowB]

Speed running a lawnmower through the house is a metaphor for therapy.

[itaisinger]

hey many thanks to @Not Jabba , @Maldito and @ZeMystic and many more for finding all of those secrets and guiding me through this map. I got into doom for this map and it was hell of fun. thanks!

[rafax_x]

It's one of the best Doom maps I've played, it's unsettling and good at the same time.

Edited July 18, 2023 by rafax_x

[Geniraul]

For those who are interested, here are some MyHouse.wad commentated playthrough videos (+ couple of analysis videos + a speedrun + a review) that I found and I think are worth watching. I haven't watched them all yet, but based on the snippets I've seen so far, I'd like to mention these ones.

 

• by John Romero

 

Spoiler

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1837899879

 

• by Rob Martens

 

Spoiler

 

 

• by @DavidN

 

Spoiler

 

 

• speedrun in 7:22 by Zorilla0

 

Spoiler

 

 

• by @RCooper

 

Spoiler

 

 

• by @BigMacDavis

 

Spoiler

 

 

• by Decino

 

Spoiler

 

 

• by @Vytaan

 

Spoiler

 

 

• by @ShallowB

 

Spoiler

 

 

• by Vinesauce

 

Spoiler

 

 

• by @Spectere

 

Spoiler

 

 

• by @DeathwingDuck

 

Spoiler

 

 

• by @RoastDoom

 

Spoiler

 

 

• by @Matt Eldrydge

 

Spoiler

 

 

• by @strike

 

Spoiler

 

 

• review by @MisterIcarus

 

Spoiler

 

 

• analysis by @DavidN

 

Spoiler

 

 

• analysis by @ShallowB

 

Spoiler

 

 

• analysis by @PowerPak

 

Spoiler

 

 

Edited August 6, 2023 by Geniraul

[Ash4ash]

nvm

Edited July 15, 2023 by Ash4ash

[Shepardus]

@Ash4ash

 

[Major Arlene]

40 minutes ago, Ash4ash said:

!!!

I found it!!!

I found the realhouse!

dude, now even Kotaku has standards and removed it from their article. please remove the link from your post.

"Update, 07/10/23, 10:00 a.m.: Removed TikTok links and embeds at request of mod creator."

[orffen]

I haven't been keeping up with this thread, but I randomly came across JPHOUSE.WAD by JP LeBreton and was struck by the similarities with MyHouse.wad, especially when considered with the YouTube videos/trailers linked from the author's webpage. There's a similar surreal feeling and some interesting things going on in the level.

[OceanMadman]

8 hours ago, orffen said:

I haven't been keeping up with this thread, but I randomly came across JPHOUSE.WAD by JP LeBreton and was struck by the similarities with MyHouse.wad, especially when considered with the YouTube videos/trailers linked from the author's webpage. There's a similar surreal feeling and some interesting things going on in the level.

That was beautiful. never heard of it before, thanks for sharing. A shame it remains unfinished.

[Electro Rage]

Best ten minutes of my life

[daydreamer]

On 7/15/2023 at 9:22 AM, Major Arlene said:

dude, now even Kotaku has standards and removed it from their article. please remove the link from your post.

"Update, 07/10/23, 10:00 a.m.: Removed TikTok links and embeds at request of mod creator."

To be fair, a lot of users, myself included, were not aware that the creator had requested to stay anonymous. Part of the map’s mystery could have been linked to some discoverable part of Veddge’s real identity. 
If Veddge had stated more clearly that the use of an alt account was to remain anonymous, not as a part of the mysteries in the linked Google drive, I think fewer people would have tried deducting who made the map. 

[Major Arlene]

53 minutes ago, daydreamer said:

To be fair, a lot of users, myself included, were not aware that the creator had requested to stay anonymous. Part of the map’s mystery could have been linked to some discoverable part of Veddge’s real identity. 
If Veddge had stated more clearly that the use of an alt account was to remain anonymous, not as a part of the mysteries in the linked Google drive, I think fewer people would have tried deducting who made the map. 

Sorry but no.

I've said this several times in other conversations but even with the information in the Google doc, if you're more worried about who wrote the story than what the story is about then you missed the point. how many other people have made a My House style wad? And we never went looking for said house or identity of the authors because guess what? That wasn't the point of the exercise! 

Also, I think the whole point of using an alternate account *is* to stay anonymous because it's not supposed to be tied to either your irl information or your "regular" pseudonyms. 

All said, if you need to be told not to repost IRL information about someone that was not posted by that person, then idk what else to say. Common sense left this thread a long time ago, obviously, but I'm fed up with people defending this. 

[daydreamer]

1 minute ago, Major Arlene said:

Sorry but no.

I've said this several times in other conversations but even with the information in the Google doc, if you're more worried about who wrote the story than what the story is about then you missed the point. how many other people have made a My House style wad? And we never went looking for said house or identity of the authors because guess what? That wasn't the point of the exercise! 

Also, I think the whole point of using an alternate account *is* to stay anonymous because it's not supposed to be tied to either your irl information or your "regular" pseudonyms. 

All said, if you need to be told not to repost IRL information about someone that was not posted by that person, then idk what else to say. Common sense left this thread a long time ago, obviously, but I'm fed up with people defending this. 

I understand your perspective, but I think you’re making initial attempts to uncover the mapmaker more malicious than often intended.

It was in no way something I was more worried about, but with the mystery regarding the characters in the map, I think there was a reasonable chance that the creator had purposefully left clues about their own identity to see who could guess it. 

Granted, that was not the case and I totally respect that. That takes nothing away from the map which is outstanding in its own right. 
 

 

[Major Arlene]

Just now, daydreamer said:

I understand your perspective, but I think you’re making initial attempts to uncover the mapmaker more malicious than often intended.

It was in no way something I was more worried about, but with the mystery regarding the characters in the map, I think there was a reasonable chance that the creator had purposefully left clues about their own identity to see who could guess it. 

Granted, that was not the case and I totally respect that. That takes nothing away from the map which is outstanding in its own right. 
 

 

Because it doesn't particularly matter what the intent was by this point. People that were NOT the author shared personal information to bury the lede. And then folks like Kotaku spread it around uncritically. 

Sometimes things can be fictional mysteries. Read a Stephen King book sometime. Or read the Vice article about La Dispute that I linked in an earlier comment. There was another split off I remember that people were pissed off it wasn't "real grief". What is suddenly the obsession with it having to be some IRL mystery to be solved, actually? 

[SGT. Denton]

Gameplay little wad with my mod

Spoiler

 

 

[ShallowB]

On 7/16/2023 at 12:43 PM, Major Arlene said:

What is suddenly the obsession with it having to be some IRL mystery to be solved, actually? 

I think it’s people that feel “late to the party” because they watched a bunch of videos laying out all the details of MyHouse, and now want the feeling of discovering some of the mysteries themselves, only there’s nothing left to find. (And, as the creator of one such video, I will take some responsibility here, although I did tell people to play it themselves first several times.  Not everyone who covered MyHouse did that, which is a shame, because the experience really can’t be replaced with a walkthrough, but I digress.)
 

Participation in live puzzle-solving within the community, while I’m sure it was lots of fun, was never a requirement for solving, understanding, or enjoying MyHouse.  You could still jump in for the first time today and figure it all out on your own just like everyone else did.  If you rob yourself of that wonderful sense of discovery by having someone do it all for you, that’s fine, but understand that that’s it.  You don’t get to keep digging; it’s over.  If you still need your fix, perhaps try a different story you haven’t spoiled for yourself yet.
 

If you watch someone else put together a jigsaw puzzle and then track down the artist who made the puzzle and post their address on Twitter, you didn’t help solve the jigsaw puzzle, nor did you add anything of value to the completed puzzle.  You’re just an asshole.

 

 

And that’s not even getting into the internal narrative.  There’s nothing within the story that suggests Veddge is an alias or has a hidden identity or something.  For the sake of the story, Veddge is Steve Nelson, and Steve Nelson‘s story is over.  There’s nothing in the map or the additional documents that suggests any secret information about his identity even exists, so tracking it down is in no way part of any “mystery.” 
 

Edit: oops I wrote a book, sorry

Edited July 17, 2023 by ShallowB

[Not Jabba]

1 hour ago, ShallowB said:

Participation in live puzzle-solving within the community, while I’m sure it was lots of fun, was never a requirement for solving, understanding, or enjoying MyHouse.  You could still jump in for the first time today and figure it all out on your own just like everyone else did. 

 

People could still have that by playing in small groups without spoilers. It took about four or five people solving the map collaboratively at the beginning of this thread. Just don't read the thread, don't watch the videos, find a few buddies on Discord or people you know irl, and work on it as a group.

[ebrl]

7 minutes ago, Not Jabba said:

People could still have that by playing in small groups without spoilers. It took about four or five people solving the map collaboratively at the beginning of this thread. Just don't read the thread, don't watch the videos, find a few buddies on Discord or people you know irl, and work on it as a group.

Well, it's not unlikely that some people's first exposition to the wad was one video or another that dissects it from start to finish. Then we're back at ShallowB's "late to the party" problem.

 

 

On 7/16/2023 at 4:17 PM, Major Arlene said:

Sorry but no.

I've said this several times in other conversations but even with the information in the Google doc, if you're more worried about who wrote the story than what the story is about then you missed the point. how many other people have made a My House style wad? And we never went looking for said house or identity of the authors because guess what? That wasn't the point of the exercise! 

Also, I think the whole point of using an alternate account *is* to stay anonymous because it's not supposed to be tied to either your irl information or your "regular" pseudonyms. 

All said, if you need to be told not to repost IRL information about someone that was not posted by that person, then idk what else to say. Common sense left this thread a long time ago, obviously, but I'm fed up with people defending this. 

Well, now certainly not, but in the first couple weeks or so - to be fair, long before the creepier stuff started happening - there was a strong feeling among some people that Veddge could be a prominent community member simply setting up a big reveal, so the "real" identity - which is to say, the real doomworld identity - looked like a rather inoffensive thing to pursue at the time. It wasn't until much later that things spiraled out of control, as some people probably began to get frustrated. Oh, and also: "how many other people have made a My House style wad?" sounds straight up disingenuous, the kind of comment that only risks riling up people still not satisfied with the conclusion into thinking they're being played for fools. This is about on par with Veddge saying that he "took the plunge and installed Doom Builder in order to polish up his map and add a few modern amenities just for convenience sake". I'd say there have been enough misunderstandings already to be this careless with words. I mean, you were just a bit careless there, right?

 

 

 

Either way. I've said this elsewhere, and it's almost certainly way too harsh on the wad itself since it's absolutely not its fault in any way - not to mention certainly unfortunate - but the impact of MyHouse on the Doom community seems to be resoundingly negative. It not only invited a wave of a certain kind of questionable behaviour that's probably? without precedent in the community, but it also looks like (and again, through no fault of its own) a bit of a creative dead end anyway - the ways in which it connects to Doom hauntology are so thorough that any attempts at replicating its ideas would probably feel derivative, and I imagine the same applies to its major non-Doom influences (though I have no real point of reference for these to be sure).