Autobiographical Architecture Is A Personal Doom Mod
Interactive Non-Fiction
After two decades, Doom still has a vibrant modding community. Now game designer JP LeBreton has opted to draft his autobiography, Autobiographical Architecture [official site], as a Doom II mod, deeming the game a perfect medium for the multi-volume telling of his life. Doom has been a huge influence on LeBreton. He started out making his own Doom levels in his bedroom, later finding a career including working on BioShock, becoming lead level designer for its sequel, and being a designer at Double Fine Productions, before going solo. Here's a trailer showing a little of the mod:
LeBreton told Kill Screen why a Doom mod was the natural choice:
“I’ve spent much of my career speaking the language of game levels, and it gives me ways of expressing ambiguity, interconnection, bittersweetness that feel true."
The game has been an important, continuous presence throughout his life, although in differing capacities. In the past he's written extensive analysis on Doom following the release of his Arcadia Demande mod which recreated his BioShock level within Doom II. He even interviewed John Romero during his time at Double Fine.
Autobiographical Architecture will be a free, interactive story released in multiple parts. Lebreton expects the first volume, set during his childhood, to be released by the end of 2016. Until then, you download the playable trailer, JPHOUSE.WAD, from /idgames. You'll need Doom II and a recent version of GZDoom.