From Shots to Chardonnay: What If DOOM Was an Art Gallery?
What happens when you blend classic gaming nostalgia with highbrow art gallery culture? A free browser game transforms DOOM into a serene museum experience.
If you’ve played the 1993 video game DOOM — first of all, hats off to you for playing one of the best games of all time. But after thirty-something years, you could be excused for being less inclined to shoot satanic monsters. Maybe you’d much rather drink a glass of wine, eat some cheese, or look at a fine piece of art. If that’s the case, well, I’ve got good news.
Two game developers have released a free browser game that recreates the first level of DOOM as an art gallery. Instead of demons and shotguns, you get a wine glass and nice paintings.
“In this experience, you will be able to walk around and appreciate some fine art while sipping some wine and enjoying the complimentary hors d’oeuvres,” write the developers on the game’s itch.io page, “in the beautifully renovated and re-imagined E1M1 of id Software’s DOOM (1993).”
Initially, the project started as a simple student assignment, transforming the E1M1 level (the first level of the first episode in the 1993 video game DOOM) into a virtual museum. But Filippo Meozzi and Liam Stone wanted to turn it into a parody of art gallery culture. Speaking in an interview with VG247, Meozii says he drew from his own experience in art galleries:
“I work in the art industry as an artist’s assistant; I produce sculptures and other things like that. So, I’m fairly familiar with the process of gallery openings and sort of just the nightmare that is going to galleries and experiencing these high-brow, drinking wine, [saying] pompous phrases to each other [kinds of people].”
However, the two students also included some new ideas into the project. For instance, as Doomguy navigates around the level, each artwork is linked to its corresponding page on the Metropolitan Museum of Art website. The two also used a different engine (called Construct 3) rather than utilizing the original Doom engine.
It’s hard to explain why this parody seems to work so well. Maybe it’s the juxtaposition of what used to be chaotic monsters and shooting versus art, wine, and cheese; maybe it’s the mix of art and old-school graphics; or maybe it’s just the idea that Doomguy finally gets some well-deserved peace and quiet.
Whatever it is, it’s a fun novelty. Good on you for taking a break, Doomguy! I’d toast to that.
