A recently released DOOM II mod titled NFT Doom openly mocks NFTs by allowing players to steal a collection of ape photographs by shooting them with a camera. Known as a genre-defining shooter, DOOM is considered to have spawned one of the oldest modding communities in the history of gaming. Players began creating mods for the first two classic titles in the mid-'90s and have been recognized for more or less creating the video game modding phenomenon. While almost two decades old, hundreds of mods continue to be released for DOOM and DOOM II using the DOOM engine, as fans and modders continue the legacy of the original titles that helped revolutionize first-person shooter games.
NFTs are blockchain-derived proof of "ownership" that uses blockchain technology and can be granted to people who buy certain data online. These can come in the form of images, artwork, or any other digital item. Though favored by some, NFTs have been heavily criticized by many due to the practice's ties to an ever-growing scene of scammers and negative ecological impact. With NFTs becoming mainstream in the cryptocurrency market, popular game companies like Ubisoft have introduced exclusive NFTs, and despite being constantly shunned, NFT video games continue to grow in popularity.
Uploaded on Mod DB, modder Ultra.Boi (via Kotaku) created a brand-new DOOM II mod/WAD that turns the classic FPS title into an NFT stealing minigame. The mod completely replaces all in-game sprites, turns demons into banana throwing apes, and changes the Doom Guy's weapons into a single camera. To defeat the apes, players have to go around photographing them, with each one losing $999,999,999 of value every time you shoot one. While out of context for anyone who is unfamiliar, this mod clearly makes fun of the rise of NFTs and the logical reason that they can be easily reproduced and saved by easily screenshotting them online instead of being bought online. It has certainly drawn the attention of several NFT image artists, such as Twitter user mutantsimian.
While the DOOM modding community is known for creating innovative WADs such as distinctive maps and total conversions, there have been numerous mods that blatantly make fun of trends similar to NFT DOOM. Most recently, another modder parodied Rockstar's maligned Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - Definitive Edition, recreating its obscure rain effect as a DOOM mod. In the same matter, loot boxes were also made fun of with a mod that locked several of the games features behind microtransactions.
With the NFT fever rapidly catching on, developers and modders are slowly working on fighting the new blockchain strongly linked to cryptocurrencies. Many believe that NFTs could be the next form of online transactions and only time will tell if they completely take over the industry or dry out.
DOOM II's NFT Doom mod is available on PC via Mod DB.
Source: Ultra.Boi/Mod DB (via Kotaku), mutantsimian/Twitter