Since the Russian invasion of Kyev, manygame developershave pledged to donate profits from their game sales to the Ukrainian Red Cross to aid its citizens. Providing those in need with shelter, food and water, the originalDoom 2co-creator John Romero is the latest to raise funds for emergency support to those affected by the conflict.
Over the course of the last week, several game studios including Bungie, CD Projekt Red and, Ukrainian-basedSTALKERdeveloper GSC Game World, have formed statements on the situation currently affecting residents of the country’s cities and capital of Kyev. The latest is former idco-creator John Romero, now under Romero Games, as he announces a small expansion toDoom 2.
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Making the statement via Twitter, theDoom 2co-creator John Romero has announced he is releasing a new level, titled “One Humanity” in support of the people of Ukraine. This marks the latest instance of Romero’s involvement in the game’s level development since its release in 1994. For a donation of €5, fans of the series will be able to access the level, with all proceeds going towards the Red Cross and the UN Central Emergency Fund. The tweet also includes a screenshot of the level, displaying thefamiliar tall goat-legged Cyberdemonthat fans are too accustomed to hearing before having to eliminate.
The level can be bought from Romero’s website as a .WAD file that includes the external mod data and a readme text file. It can only be run on the original copy ofDoom 2, however, with a modern source port needing to be installed to access the level. As a game that played a significant role in paving the way for mods, retro enthusiasts and old school fans can rejoice at the addition of a new level. As of recent, the title has become popular for speed running with a plethora of categories pertaining to its differing difficulty options. However,Doom 2’s fan-made modsare very much what keeps the game alive.
SinceDoom 2’srelease, it has continued to see a string of additional content, most notably an official expansion of 20 levels that were created as fan mods before later being contracted by developer id. As the follow-up to the immensely popularDoom, released a year prior, it also brought with it new monsters andthe super shotgunthat wielded a wider spread and triple the damage to the normal one.
The impact that theDoomseries has made on the gaming climate and specifically PC gaming cannot be understated. With the series’ initial release in 1993 and revival in 2016, its influence on the FPS genre andmultiplayer is still prevalent today. Though a harsh reminder of the reality currently facing Ukraine, Romero’s addition toDoom 2is very reminiscent of the shareware distribution that the originalDoomspearheaded nearly 25 years ago.
Doom 2was originally released on MS-DOS computers in 1994, it has since seen several ports. The new level can only be accessed by PC.
