MyHouse.wad

[DitheredOutput]

A truly beautiful experience!

[LordShadowZ]

If there was anything that could make me feel inadequate as a mapper, it would be this. This map is truly brilliant.

 

Spoiler

One of my favorite things was how the classic D_RUNNIN subtly and gradually began to change. Genius.

 

[TJG1289]

Just a dumb thought: Do the red colored numbers in the Journal have any significance? Anything we could have missed with that?

 

Also, notice on some drive contents:

Spoiler

The photo used in the QR code has an earlier "created by" date than anything in the MyHouse folders. Thought that was interesting.

 

Edited March 23, 2023 by TJG1289

[Gregor]

30 minutes ago, TJG1289 said:

Just a dumb thought: Do the red colored numbers in the Journal have any significance? Anything we could have missed with that?

Possibly. I added some more info to the Doomwiki article. But there is still a lot things that we haven't figured out about this mod.

Spoiler

Like, what does the CH03 displayed on the TV screen mean? i also feel the flight number of the plane might be of importance as displayed on the board. M 324. Even the way the word cancelled next to it is corrupted to "cacenleld" might have some meaning. But i don't think this is something that can be deciphered by us. Unless Veddge or who ever created this mod tells us we'll probably remain in the dark about most of the finer details here.

 

Btw, did anyone else notice the apparition that watches you inside the Brutalist house?

 

[LSC Lasico]

4 minutes ago, Gregor said:

 

Btw, did anyone else notice the apparition that watches you inside the Brutalist house?

 

Holy shit i did once and literally never again, i almost completely forgot about it until now.

[Qoko]

Woah, just woah. Started this in the afternoon after watching like three minutes of playthrough on YouTube, started it thinking "probably another play on the horror/surrealism trope..." (which frankly is my cup of tea). Well, I wasn't wrong! This is something, and really intrigued to see the origin of this.

 

Spoiler

One of the more triggering details for me is the inclusion of Underhalls as a proper continuation: in the regular world you'd not even realize it brings you back to My House with an SSG, but then the 'penalty' of exiting the mirror world and pistol starting Sllahrednu which is a complete 180 rendition of the classic map... brilliant.

Oh, and as for an addition to the ARG backstory... I didn't really see it mentioned, but did others also felt uneasy after reading the complementary text file?

Spoiler

* Copyright / Permissions * Authors MAY NOT use the maps in this wad as a base for additional maps. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ DO NOT COPY AND REDISTRIBUTE THE MATERIAL IN ANY MEDIUM OR FORMAT! I tried to delete this map but it continues to change and evolve without any input from me. What began as a tribute to a lost friend has consumed my entire life. As this map grew beyond what I created, I suffered paranoia and insomnia. It consumed me. Don't let it consume you as well. Delete it. Do not credit me. Do not try and contact me. Do not attempt to use the material for commercial purposes. Do not remix, transform, or build upon the material. Above all, do not distribute this file, modified or otherwise. I tried to keep it from the internet, but it found its way online. It's still changing. It wants you to feel sad. Alone. Desperate. Don't let it win. Don't play it. * Where to get the file that this text file describes * don't

 

Edited March 25, 2023 by Qoko

[Felix_Margarita]

3 hours ago, Qoko said:

Woah, just woah. Started this in the afternoon after watching like three minutes of playthrough on YouTube, started it thinking "probably another play on the horror/surrealism trope..." (which frankly is my cup of tea). Well, I wasn't wrong! This is something, and really intrigued to see the origin of this.

 

  Hide contents

One of the more triggering details for me is the inclusion of Underhalls as a proper continuation: in the regular world you'd not even realize it brings you back to My House with an SSG, but then the 'penalty' of exiting the mirror world and pistol starting Sllahrednu which is a complete 180 rendition of the classic map... brilliant.

Oh, and as for an addition to the backstory... I didn't really see it mentioned, but did others also felt uneasy after reading the complementary text file?

  Hide contents

* Copyright / Permissions * Authors MAY NOT use the maps in this wad as a base for additional maps. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ DO NOT COPY AND REDISTRIBUTE THE MATERIAL IN ANY MEDIUM OR FORMAT! I tried to delete this map but it continues to change and evolve without any input from me. What began as a tribute to a lost friend has consumed my entire life. As this map grew beyond what I created, I suffered paranoia and insomnia. It consumed me. Don't let it consume you as well. Delete it. Do not credit me. Do not try and contact me. Do not attempt to use the material for commercial purposes. Do not remix, transform, or build upon the material. Above all, do not distribute this file, modified or otherwise. I tried to keep it from the internet, but it found its way online. It's still changing. It wants you to feel sad. Alone. Desperate. Don't let it win. Don't play it. * Where to get the file that this text file describes * don't

 

 

Felt mega unease reading that readme.txt

 

Also, I adore all the nods to House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski -- in the book, anytime the 'house' of House of Leaves is mentioned, there's some kind of format screw: house written in red, a letter in 'house' being just a little higher than the others, etc.

[andrewnebz]

On 3/23/2023 at 5:29 PM, TJG1289 said:

Just a dumb thought: Do the red colored numbers in the Journal have any significance? Anything we could have missed with that?

 

In my experience:
 

Spoiler

The red numbers are a guide. The focal details of those dreams describe how the player progresses via their in-game equivalents, and the numbers indicate the order you go about doing them in.

 

[TJG1289]

23 minutes ago, andrewnebz said:

In my experience:
 

  Hide contents

The red numbers are a guide. The focal details of those dreams describe how the player progresses via their in-game equivalents, and the numbers indicate the order you go about doing them in.

 

Yeah, that tracks. 

[Renbot]

Thoughts on one of the included files (and one hidden one);

Quote

Obviously one big question is "Who is Veddge", as we know he can't be Steven.

The obituaries imply him and Tom were lovers/partners, and yet Veddge claims that he finished this map for the sake of an old childhood friend he hadn't seen in 10 years. But then on valentines day, he writes in his journal about his lover who had died, wishing he could be with them again. Keep in mind this journal entry is well into his psychological troubles.

 

I think what's happening here is that Veddge is a third party who started working on this map for the sake of his recently deceased friend Tom. However throughout this process, he seems to have started living through Steven's memories, eventually convincing himself (at times) that he is Steven. This is why he reminisces about his deceased partner late in development, and has his author info as Steven in the text file. It's also why he ends his post with "Miss you Tom".

This isn't a perfect theory, as I don't know why he would start living through Steven's memories while editing Tom's map. But it's definitely Tom's map that he was editing; the photo gallery has a shot of cross country runners in highschool (mentioned in Tom's obituary), and he mentions talking with his parents (Steven has 1 living parent) prior to recovering the map. And it's definitely Steven whose memories Steven sees, as the map's author is listed as Steven.

Anyway, I hope we get to see new stuff soon :)

[Gregor]

13 hours ago, Renbot said:

Thoughts on one of the included files (and one hidden one);

Anyway, I hope we get to see new stuff soon :)

I don't expect Veddge to comment about this project any time soon. That would kinda go against the concept of the project. But we'll just have to wait and see.

Spoiler

The newspaper article is most likely fake, at least as far Steven's obituary, so i wouldn't take anything written in there too literal. And the Valentine's message can just as easily be interpreted as referencing an ex that he simply lost contact with - as so often happens. Keep in mind the entire journal is written from the perspective of someone who is losing his grip on reality. As a result it's difficult to know which things reference Steven and which do Tom. He's mixing his own traumas and regrets with the tragedy of Tom's death. The stillborn baby for instance could very much be a reference to an actual miscarriage that he and his former partner experienced. It's difficult to know. There certainly seems to be a theme of switched gender identity in the bathroom scene at least and the medication bottle in need of a refill. There's also the gaunt female apparition that watches the player from across the street in the brutalist house. But these could all be references to his ex partner rather than his own sexuality. What is clear though is that Steven to some degree feels like he died along with Tom that day, hence the obituary, even though in reality he did not. He feels like some part of him has been lost and buried with Tom. As a result he very strongly identifies with Tom, blurring the line between the two characters. This manifests in the game by how Tom's childhood house is invaded by foreign rooms and artifacts from Steven's mind.

This is first and foremost Steven's story, a journey into his subconscious, his traumas; with Tom's death more of catalyst that brings about this crisis than the actual main event. The burnt down house is likely a direct reference to how Tom died; but this is more of a side area. When the bookcase slides opens to reveal the breaker switch, it sounds almost like a grave opening up, revealing the corpse of Tom's house. Steven's story on the other hand starts with the mirror theme - an alternate reality which allows for different outcomes, but also brings about a descent into a distorted reality that is pervaded by sadness and depression. But it's also a journey towards a possible resolution of this crisis, while the burnt down house path feels more like a dead end for both characters.

Steven as a person obviously has taken some scars from life since those more innocent teenage years symbolized by his friendship with Tom and Doom mapping.

Feels to me like the whole game is a metaphor for feelings of regret and denial, and the struggle to move forward despite that, with the ultimate realization that one cannot run from life and hide in illusions and self-pity. That happiness has to be fought for. 

 

Edited March 25, 2023 by Gregor

[ebrl]

Just now, Gregor said:

I don't expect Veddge to comment about this project any time soon. That would kinda go against the concept of the project. But we'll just have to wait and see.

 

Spoiler

Yeah, my theory is that Veddge is a collective of well-known, high profile users, operating under the name of one of said members' previous old account. I'm actually kind of shocked at so many people taking so many things at face value - from the obviously fake picture to the marginally less obviously fake obituaries, and all the creepypasta and backrooms stuff; the thread almost dying in obscurity unless "Veddge" showed their hand, only to be brought back by esselfortium (!!!) and Jimmy (!!!) not only commenting on it but nudging people towards seeing some of the cool stuff; and the sheer conspicuousness of it being a riff on a "my house" wad, of all things, just as Doom is completing a nice and round 30 years? Yeah no, this is the big in-(my(our?))house Doomworld cake.

 

[Not Jabba]

38 minutes ago, ebrl said:

 

  Hide contents

Yeah, my theory is that Veddge is a collective of well-known, high profile users, operating under the name of one of said members' previous old account. I'm actually kind of shocked at so many people taking so many things at face value - from the obviously fake picture to the marginally less obviously fake obituaries, and all the creepypasta and backrooms stuff; the thread almost dying in obscurity unless "Veddge" showed their hand, only to be brought back by esselfortium (!!!) and Jimmy (!!!) not only commenting on it but nudging people towards seeing some of the cool stuff; and the sheer conspicuousness of it being a riff on a "my house" wad, of all things, just as Doom is completing a nice and round 30 years? Yeah no, this is the big in-(my(our?))house Doomworld cake.

 

It's clear that some other people were involved in this, and I'm very curious who (and how), but I feel like Veddge must be real and the main author of the wad, given the age of his Doomworld account. It looks like he was inactive for most of the time since he registered, and he wasn't well known, so it'd take a pretty weird scenario to cause a bunch of high-profile mappers to single out his dormant account, get his permission, and decide to use it that way. The stated origin of the wad makes more sense than that -- long hiatus, came back, got in touch with some people somehow, used their help to bring an idea to life. The alternative is that somebody was planning to make this map in 2004, which would be a hell of a power move. I've definitely wondered, though. I doubt we'll get any answers about how this was created. 

 

Or I guess you're saying that it could have been an older account of someone well-known? That sort of thing doesn't happen that often (except among ban evaders), but I guess it's possible. A Doomworld moderator could verify whether the account shares an IP with someone else, although I doubt they'd ruin the mystique. 

 

Re: collaboration, I think the only lead we have is essel, who most likely did the soundtrack. I talked to Jimmy about this wad and it felt pretty clear to me that he was discovering its secrets along with the rest of us.

Edited March 25, 2023 by Not Jabba

[ebrl]

Just now, Not Jabba said:

It's clear that some other people were involved in this, and I'm very curious who (and how), but I feel like Veddge must be real and the main author of the wad, given the age of his Doomworld account. It looks like he was inactive for most of the time since he registered, and he wasn't well known, so it'd take a pretty weird scenario to cause a bunch of high-profile mappers to single out his dormant account, get his permission, and decide to use it that way. The stated origin of the wad makes more sense than that -- long hiatus, came back, got in touch with some people somehow, used their help to bring an idea to life. The alternative is that somebody was planning to make this map in 2004, which would be a hell of a power move. I've definitely wondered, though. I doubt we'll get any answers about how this was created. 

 

Spoiler

 

No, I mean, I think there's no "permission" involved - I believe "Veddge" is simply an abandoned alias of someone who long goes by another name on a completely different account. Not sure what you mean by "planning to make this map in 2004", tho, people ditch old accounts and make new ones pretty often.

 

Of course, for all I know, you might know all of this already, too, and this is simply misdirection... I doubt we'll get any answers, indeed!

 

 

[indigotyrian]

46 minutes ago, ebrl said:

 

  Hide contents

Yeah, my theory is that Veddge is a collective of well-known, high profile users, operating under the name of one of said members' previous old account. I'm actually kind of shocked at so many people taking so many things at face value - from the obviously fake picture to the marginally less obviously fake obituaries, and all the creepypasta and backrooms stuff; the thread almost dying in obscurity unless "Veddge" showed their hand, only to be brought back by esselfortium (!!!) and Jimmy (!!!) not only commenting on it but nudging people towards seeing some of the cool stuff; and the sheer conspicuousness of it being a riff on a "my house" wad, of all things, just as Doom is completing a nice and round 30 years? Yeah no, this is the big in-(my(our?))house Doomworld cake.

 

 

Spoiler

This is honestly my take as well. Veddge is either a parachute account of a famous wad author, or was recently created by one and had its age forged by Doomworld admins who wanted to keep the story straight. There's no way that this isn't someone who is deeply tied into the classic Doom community. Not sure if we'll ever find out who it really is but I really don't believe it's a newcomer. The entire story is a fabrication -- but that's not to say it isn't powerful or important regardless.

 

[Catpho]

I'm also going to take this partially at face value. The account has a history (people quote and talk to the account) that honestly would require such coordination and effort to forge it that it seems improbable, although I'm still struck by how awfully convenient that the person to make this work would have a spare DW account lying around just for this gotcha. In my mind, Veddge is real, and when they felt moved to make this level, they just privately contacted people like essel (or, implied in their post, kevansevans) to help flesh out this complicated map. I am intrigued at how the supposed backstory might be fabricated at some level, given the contradictory facts deliberately left there by Veddge themselves that was already noted in this thread. As for the familiarity, they might just have been playing while lurking or participating in a place other than DW for a long time, and in their circa 04 posts they mentioned they were mapping, so it is likely this was still continued privately. As for sockpuppets, well, I got no good answers, but that's god-tier rule breaking and it's nice we celebrate that before they get banned :)

[Not Jabba]

Yeah, it's easy enough to think that there's a shadow cabal behind the whole map, but I think to pursue that theory, you'd have to come up with some idea of what people would have been involved in making it, and then I guess you could check their accounts against Veddge's activity. Essel's registration predates Veddge's hiatus, so again, I've got nothing. I can tell you I had nothing to do with this map, but of course that statement is meaningless. However, I don't think either Jimmy or I would have created detailed walkthrough-style content for this map if we'd been trying to keep secrets about it.

Edited March 25, 2023 by Not Jabba

[Mr. Freeze]

Ockham's Razor just makes me think he had a hankering to make a map and decided to go whole hog 

[andrewnebz]

1 hour ago, Mr. Freeze said:

Ockham's Razor just makes me think he had a hankering to make a map and decided to go whole hog 

Yeah, feeling that myself too. Way I see it, bro read House of Leaves and went "I have GOT to make a loose Doom map adaptation of this with ARG elements"

[INfront95]

I've been avoiding this wad for a while, and finally caved in today, did few blind playthroughs and guided true ending. 
Wow, just wow, what a ride. Definetly MyHouse.wad of all time. 

Edited March 25, 2023 by INfront95

[esselfortium]

I did the ambient track for this, and that was the extent of my involvement.

[Gregor]

2 hours ago, esselfortium said:

I did the ambient track for this, and that was the extent of my involvement.

 

"Do you solemnly swear that you will tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you DOOM?"

[Serathis]

We went so meta that you lot are theorycrafting about the author of this WAD. I'm impressed

Edited March 25, 2023 by Serathis

[Jimmy]

I din do nuffin

[Felix_Margarita]

3 hours ago, esselfortium said:

I did the ambient track for this, and that was the extent of my involvement.

 

Can I ask who reached out about your involvement?

[esselfortium]

20 minutes ago, Felix_Margarita said:

 

Can I ask who reached out about your involvement?

The author of the map did.

[Felix_Margarita]

31 minutes ago, esselfortium said:

The author of the map did.

I’m not sure what I expected, but fair enough lol.

[tarrasqueSorcerer]

Apparently, there's a bug that can softlock you. I've seen it happen on two streams already.

Spoiler

If you take the door from the house to gray house before the bathtub to bathhouse, the bathtub doesn't work.

 

[ENEMY!!!]

Spoiler

I thought it was a softlock when I couldn't find the way to the airport from the Brutalist house, but my impression is that if you get to the airport and then enter the house via the plane you should be able to get out the house and trigger ending 1 (where the house gets sold).

 

[Catpho]

@tarrasqueSorcerer

Spoiler

I think that's intentional, given how the bathhouse segment is supposed to end if you do everything correctly. This map is abrasive like that on a 100% run. If you screw up some small thing, it's highly likely that you'll lock yourself out of the rest. Like memories resisting to be opened.