Despite its status as an absolute banger in the early PC gaming era, the originalDoomleft a somewhat negative mark on the industry. Along withMortal Kombat, id software’s iconic FPS caused parents and US congressmen to gasp at all that 1990s digital violence. “Why can’t video games offer more intellectual stimulation?” one might say.
Well, wonder no more. As noted byPC Gamer, there’s a mod you can get for the OGDoomthat will be a feast for art lovers. The Gallery Experience is pretty much what it sounds like, in that it re-imagines the game’s E1M1 map as an art gallery.
hmmmmmmmmff 🍷
Featuring notable works from some of history’s most famous artists, the experience lets you walk around admiring great and classic works of fine art, complete with links that will take you to more information on theMet Museumwebsite. Did you know, for example, that Filippino Lippi’sMadonna and Child“evokes the area around the Strozzi villa near Florence?” Fascinating.
A little Shiraz to go with that Baroque?
you’re able to playDoom: The Gallery Experiencein your browser over onItch.io, or you can download it. I chose the former, and I was particularly amused by the fact that Doomguy walks around with a glass of red wine in hand. Now you can appreciate all the pixelated delights of a Botticelli painting while sipping a Bordeaux. How elegant!
While there are no monsters in the mod, there are items you can pick up as you explore; notably a few hors d’oeuvre and even a bit of cash. All while classical music fills your mind to the brim with sophisticated enrichment.
If you thoughtDoomcould never be paired with words like “intellectual,” “cerebral,” or “Renaissance,” you would be wrong. When you grow tired of mowing down Imps with a chainsaw or firing rockets into the face of a Hell Knight, why not refine yourDoomplaytime with a trip to an art gallery? It’s almost as good as the real thing*
