Recently I entered the wonderous world of DOOM 2 mapping with the beautiful community mapping project : the RAMP. This yearly community event was started in 2021 by David Newton (DavidN / DavidXNewton) to help beginners and experienced creators make and share their own custom Doom levels.
Today I will tell you why every enthusiast gamer should try mapping at least once! Since anyone can join and submit a custom map, provided they follow the rules of the year – it is a great way to start learning some game design and level design basics.
A form of art
Creating a map from the ground up is very much a form of self-expression. Think about it? The pacing and what you prioritize in your 5–20-minute adventure says a lot about you as a person. The monsters, decorations, the setting, the mechanics, the soundtrack you choose – this is a small window into you as a person. Not too dissimilar to writing a story or making a movie or creating music. Sure, it is not going to encapsulate you as a person, but… there is still beauty in that I think.
The most moddable game – ever
DOOM is open source and has multiple easy to use modern tools that are kept up to date and improved upon by the community. It is easy to change and modify its code and even though a massive mapping project like RAMP has some limitations – you can still get massive mileage out of your map and make it truly unique. Custom textures? Perhaps your own music? A monster you found in a forum online or one you yourself made, a picture of your pet or a loved one, some cool props you found online – as long as it fits within the project’s limits it is on the table.
The game is light to run – its DOOM after all!
Remember that DOOM 1 and 2 were some of the most impressive and demanding games of their era. They made a $4000 computer stutter at single-digit frame rates in 1993. But we are no longer in 1993 – any modern system can easily run modified DOOM code and a modern Source Port like ZDoom.
At SAPPHIRE we know that hardware prices are tough right now. We also admit that we’d love it if all our fans went out and bought the excellent NITRO+ RX 9070 XT, but we must be honest here – you don’t need this much power for DOOM 2. The old little soldier – your PULSE RX 6600 will handle this game and the RAMP project just fine at 4K 200 FPS. Not only will you be able to create your map.
The community aspect
The DOOM community is one of Gaming’s most mature and the people within RAMP or any other community map project are a pleasant, helpful bunch. If you need a play tester or someone to critique your work? Oh, you can find one. Do you want someone to help with decorating your map or programming some custom weapons? Someone can offer help.
Remember too - you will be able to play dozens or hundreds more maps made by others just like you. Or more experienced than you. Perhaps a few professional game designers as well? And some total noobs who have no idea what they are even doing – and this is glorious!
You will learn a thing or two about level and game design
This one is obvious but playing a game is different from making a game. Understanding good map design as a player will for sure help when designing a map – but going from the other side and trying to create something for the fans is a wholly different experience in itself.
Try to ask for feedback when making your map, as soon as it’s somewhat playable. And of course, playtest it yourself. There is no getting around it, by the end you know a lot more than when you just started!
It does not have to be RAMP or DOOM!
I obviously am talking mostly about DOOM and my own experience with one of its community mapping projects. But it is not the only one! And DOOM is not the only game with an epic community full of people wanting to share their work! So, whether its DOOM or Quake or Warcraft or CNC, or a modded modern game. Whether its NaNoWADMo or RAMP or something else entirely – the key point of this article is simple. Just give it a try! It is fun.
And even if you will never do this again at least now you know what its like to be on the other side of the game/map development!
The articles content, opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed in SAPPHIRE NATION are the authors’ own and do not necessarily represent official policy or position of SAPPHIRE Technology.
