The best around

I think I can safely say that if the Doom community ever dies, we have bigger problems than an ancient computer game fading into obscurity... like the extinction of the human race. Doom is now 21 years old and it's still getting ported to new mediums and it's still getting a glut of player-created content. It's clear that id Software knew that it would change the face of PC gaming, but I don't know if they had reckoned that it would age into a mild-mannered juggernaut, continuing to serve as a creative outlet for hundreds if not thousands of authors. The list of projects in development is long, but every year we get to cross a few off with a sigh of relief. That's not to mention all of the stuff that appears on the archives with all the warning of Athena springing forth from Zeus's head.

Now that Doom is old enough to drink pretty much everywhere, it only stands to reason that a lot of people I thought of as having "grown" out of it are returning to the spotlight, like Linguica, Sverre Kvernmo, Bob Evans, and even a drive-by from Cyb. Maybe if we all join hands and chant the words of the Icon, we can bring Erik Alm back so he can finish Scythe X. Or, uh, at least summon up Dr. Sleep so that he can finish Lethe. More than anything, it's great to see guys like Kvernmo, Enjay and Adam Windsor still boxing their way around a map editor as proof of Doom's longevity. Maybe, one day, I'll join them, but I can't very well play Doom maps if I'm too busy making them.

Doomworld has had its fair share of events alongside the rest of the internet. The TNT2 project endured a major split, resulting in the foundation of a sister project headed by former team members. Stomper, an honorable mention from last year, got picked up by Alter of Soulcrusher fame and is looking to achieve the finished product status everyone was asking for. We also saw the community try to eat itself with the release of Doom 2 in Name Only. The official Doom Wiki is still going strong three years after its transition, recently reaching a milestone of 3400 articles. If anything really characterized 2014 as a year for me, though, it would be as the year of the speedmap, with speedmapping megaWADs finding their way to the archives from all manner of places, including such exotic communities as Russia, France, and 4chan's /vr/ board.

2014 has been a pretty busy year, and while picking the winners has been relatively easy, the honorable mentions have been a knock-down drag-out brawl. From the way things look, 2015 will be a real blood tornado. The same crew is back from last year, with Alfonzo and I tag teaming the main stuff, dew looking at the multiplayer side of things, and Xaser filling in the holes with glorious, glorious towers. We even managed to get write-ups from Scuba Steve and Quasar! I'd also like to give a shout-out to Brandon D. Lade, who's gone almost an entire year without getting outed on the Doomworld forums, which must take considerable willpower on his part. Here's to another exciting year of Ladespotting.

- kmxexii

2014 Cacowards

Espi Award for Lifetime Achievement

Top Ten - Page 1

  • Going Down
  • The Adventures of Square
  • Back to Saturn X: Episode 2

Top Ten - Page 2

  • Plasmaplant
  • Shadows of Cronos
  • Monster Hunter Ltd. 1/2

Top Ten - Page 3

  • Resurgence
  • Mayan Mishap
  • Urban Brawl: Dead of Winter
  • Thy Flesh turned into a draft-excluder

Multiplayer Awards

  • 32in24-13: A Thanksgiving Without Burgers
  • Push
  • Rage CTF

Other Awards

  • Best Gameplay Mod
  • Mordeth Award
  • Mockaward
  • Mapper of the Year

 

RUNNERS UP

  • Bauhaus
  • Bloody Steel
  • Mayhem 2048
  • Whitemare 2
  • You Dig
  • The Wailing Horde
  • Reconstruction / Decomposition