Which prominent figures in the DOOM community do you look up to the most?

Modders, musicians, mappers, tutorial-ers, speedrunners, you name it! Which person(s), if any, do you follow and learn from in terms of Doom?
In my case, I really like Cutmanmike and the Casali Brother's work in modding and mapping respectively.

This one has to be obvious and I'm sure many would say this too, but Doomkid seems to have done it all. He's one of the best DoomTubers out there, he's a great mapper and project leader, composes great midis, and has been a pillar of the community long before I even signed up. Also another obvious one, Erik Alm for the Scythe series. His style of mapping has been one that I've sought to emulate over my mapping career at this point.

Everyone who is a quality sports out there and not just the famous faces of the community. From the newcomer who makes a killer first map to the veteran who have a decade of slumbering comes back with a new product.

But if i had to give an answer, i would go with:

• @Doomkid, a mapping Doom veteran but also a kindred spirit who often takes the middle ground in a lot of debates
• @esselfortium, because of Knee Deep in Knee-Deep In ZDoom for vanilla, the fantastic work behind that, aswell as the fantastic professional music she puts out. Its a regular on Spotify
• @Jimmy, just about everything. Mapping, music, textures. A walking and talking Lexicon of Doom.
• @Endless, Because of Wadazine, shaping our community happenings into writable form.
• @hobomaster22, for Helion, truly rewriting the rules on what it means to get performance out of the Doom rendering tech in the 2023 hellscape.
• @jval, just about the nicest individual ever to grace a community, along with the multitude of work done for and with Doom at a blistering iteration rate.
• @dasho, For EDGE-Classic, making sure that a different branch of Doom source tech is staying up and running
• @Not Jabba, for, you know, the Cacowards.
• @TheMagicMushroomMan, for bringing the straight rundown on a lot of things.
• @Major Arlene, the gorgeous maps made and co-organiser of things.
• @LexiMax, because Odamex.
• @AF-Domains.net, for pushing the boundaries with ZDaemon through innovative means.
• @Nine Inch Heels and also @Decay, even though we are often a million miles apart when it comes to topics, i value their worth highly for both their linguortal/Vanilla conveyor work and speedrunning views, respectively.

Good question! My answers would be:

• Zero Master - he's really good at speedrunning and discovering strategies.
• Baja blast rd. - one of the best posters on this site.
• Tatsurd Cacocaco - a complete legend
• Doomkid - a good mapper, youtuber, deathmatcher and poster. Also an OG.
• Decino - I got into classic Doom because of him.
• Ribbiks - a talented, influential, versatile and bold mapper
• Skillsaw - his amazing blockbusters Valiant and Ancient Aliens were one of the first mapsets I've beaten. 
• Composers, (especially Mark Klem, stewboy and Jimmy) since we'd run out of music if not for them
• Insane_Gazebo - he made Sunder. Enough said.
• Founders of Doomworld for obvious reasons
• The Casali brothers - best mappers of the 90's
• TeamTNT - not only responsible for classic mapsets, but also Boom.
• All the amazing mappers who came and went, such as Anders Johnsen, Kim Andre Malde, Gusta, Method, Iikka Keranen, Anthony Czerwonka, Sverre Kvernmo, Malcolm Sailor, Erik Alm and Fredrik Johansson

Edit: also people who make and improve source ports

Cory Whittles, the creator of the Immoral Conduct doom mod. He pushed doom weapons mods into a new level beyond the old DEH patches and inspired me to make my own Doom mods.

The Ultimate Doomer, the creator of Fragport and Super Sonic Doom. His Doomcute and "semi-realistic" levels inspired me to get into mapping.

my list mostly got inactive users

in mappers creators of kamasutra Adolf "Gusta" Vojta and Jakub "method man" Razak,

B.P.R.D Skypeck,mouldy,Joey ilya,Didi,Dutch devil,Torn,Obsidian 

in speedruners Radek pecka,blob,J4io,sav88,zero master,Ancalagon TheV1perK1ller 4shockblast, T.O.D,vdgg didierbertrand,Vile And Rizera

as poster Doomkid,memfis,scifista42,gggmork, and Graf Zahl

They might not be on the forum anymore but:

- Gibbon: Did (maybe still does?) a lot for preservation of some of the very earliest source ports, as well as being a very helpful resource when it comes to Mac support.

- ketmar: Managing to do wild things with k8vavoom and give friendly advice all while being stuck in the Ukranian boogaloo

If I were making maps, I'd look up to Skillsaw for his combat acumen, Jim Flynn for his creativity, and Nanka Kurashiki for her experimentalism and amazing visuals.

And in MIDIs, I look up to James Paddock for his consistently excellent MIDIs and stylistic range, Stuart Rynn for his ability to make genres beyond rock fit into Doom, and Cammy for his excessive prog rock style.

7 hours ago, Redneckerz said:

 

• @Not Jabba, for, you know, the Cacowards.

That isn't my fault! Blame @Scuba Steve!

I wrote Seanbaby-esque early 00s edgelord awards... You guys made it something to be proud of.

I’m quite the speedrunner, specifically in the UV-Max category. If it wasn’t for Ancalagon i wouldn’t have gotten into the whole doom speedrunning as a whole. It was Ancalagon’s rush speedruns that inspired me to do my own runs. Watching the maps be completed insanely fast even if very difficult was quite a jaw dropper. It did on the other hand make things look easier than it actually was when i started speedrunning.

But i’ve learnt from the past couple months of trial and error that looking up to someone isn’t necessarily comparing yourself to them, since you are who you make yourself out to be. Ancalagon is a lot better at the game than me, but i don’t ever compare my runs to his. I have my own playstyle and I need to reflect on that playstyle in order to improve myself. It was Ancalagon’s skills at uv-maxing maps that really gripped me and got me interested into speedrunning, and that’s ultimately why i look up to him. 

On 4/16/2023 at 4:16 AM, Redneckerz said:

often takes the middle ground in a lot of debates

All these years and still can't plant a flag

20 minutes ago, Doomkid said:

All these years and still can't plant a flag

me prob Doomkid,Decino or Andrea rovenski also known as cyberdemon531

I wouldn’t say I look up to anyone, because I’m probably taller than a lot of the prominent folks of the Doom community and it would be wrong to lift them up above my eye level, but I have certainly been motivated, inspired, and even educated by many. These are the ones off the top of my head but there’s enough to fill an entire page. Some from the past who are no longer here for one reason or another, some still around, some even newer. Anyways, off the top of my head are the top 3: 
 

3) As others have said about Doomkid, he’s done a bit of everything and has been around a long time, and his instructional and informational YouTube videos have been a great help.
 

2) Practically anyone who has helped keep Doom multiplayer alive in the past, present, and future. Be it the ones who make the programs to run the game, to those that host or join the servers, and without a doubt those that make the mods and WADs that are immortalized forever on servers year after year. Some of you I may have only encountered once yet they were moments that I’ve kept in my memory for a lifetime, especially back in the Skulltag days. Frag on!

1) I’d also like to mention Nathan Lineback. His websites and WADs were what introduced me to Doom modding even being a possibility in the first place. 

By no means an exhaustive list:

• @lunchlunch, @SuperCupcakeTactics, and @BiZ for their direct mentorship and inspiration for mapping.
• @skillsaw, @Dragonfly, @40oz, @AD_79, and @joe-ilya for further mapping inspiration.
• @Xaser and @esselfortium for doing some really cool Doom hacking.
• @ukiro and @Psyrus for releasing awesome resources in the form of art and music respectively to be used freely for wads.
• @bradharding and @sirjuddington for making awesome Doom software I use daily.
• @Doomkid for giving me a second chance.

It's my hope one day I can make something cool enough or help people to the point where I end up on one of these lists.

52 minutes ago, CAM-7EA said:

I wouldn’t say I look up to anyone, because I’m probably taller than a lot of the prominent folks of the Doom community and it would be wrong to lift them up above my eye level, but I have certainly been motivated, inspired, and even educated by many. These are the ones off the top of my head but there’s enough to fill an entire page. Some from the past who are no longer here for one reason or another, some still around, some even newer. Anyways, off the top of my head are the top 3: 
 

3) As others have said about Doomkid, he’s done a bit of everything and has been around a long time, and his instructional and informational YouTube videos have been a great help.
 

2) Practically anyone who has helped keep Doom multiplayer alive in the past, present, and future. Be it the ones who make the programs to run the game, to those that host or join the servers, and without a doubt those that make the mods and WADs that are immortalized forever on servers year after year. Some of you I may have only encountered once yet they were moments that I’ve kept in my memory for a lifetime, especially back in the Skulltag days. Frag on!

1) I’d also like to mention Nathan Lineback. His websites and WADs were what introduced me to Doom modding even being a possibility in the first place. 

wait how tall is doomkid

In no particular order;

Hobomaster, G0dcells, Chronohunter, Szymanski, Styx, B.P.R.D., Sverre Kvernmo,

Anders Johnsen, Nick Baker, Iikka Keränen, Womp the Cat, FranckFRAG,

Brian Vannatta, KevvyLava, RottKing, David J. Finnamore, Enjay, SapientLion,

Ralphis and Deathzor.

Edit: Oh! and Darkwave!

18 minutes ago, prfunky said:

In no particular order;

Hobomaster, G0dcells, Chronohunter, Szymanski, Styx, B.P.R.D., Sverre Kvernmo,

Anders Johnsen, Nick Baker, Iikka Keränen, Womp the Cat, FranckFRAG,

Brian Vannatta, KevvyLava, RottKing, David J. Finnamore, Enjay, SapientLion,

Ralphis and Deathzor.

Edit: Oh! and Darkwave!

 

i love how i havent heard of a single one of them

6 minutes ago, EmperorGZT said:

i love how i havent heard of a single one of them

You've never heard of the Millenium Falcon?!

Nobody 😎

@MTrop looks up to everyone hahaha!

I find the collective spirit, endurance and artistic/technical achievements of the entire community to be inspiring, so I guess I look up to everyone. :^)

3 hours ago, EmperorGZT said:

i love how i havent heard of a single one of them

sounds like a personal problem

I have many inspirations but the only doom member I might say I "look up to" (eww) is 40oz just based on the extent to which his philosophy has infected my own mapping. Even though I'm now making the type of maps he frowns upon and won't play, I'm still following his player-accomodating guidelines and at least making "slaughter" that's accessible to a wider audience.

Glad I can pay it forward @segfault

I don't remember many names, but some landmark inspirations for me are Dr. Sleep, Casali brothers, Skillsaw and Romero.

I don't look up or down on other members, I look at them straight into their eyes. You're all cool :)

People I find cool and look up to would be about anyone who ever used my music in their projects, most notably @antares031. I swear I'll play one of your WADs to completion one day! (In the meantime, there'll always be the footage of me bumbling the slaughter section in MAP32 of Ozonia) :v

@Xaser and the rest of the Syringe crew I look up to for about the same reason.

@Jimmy for being so damn good at about everything he does. Always a worthy role model to follow. Watching his music streams was a catalyst of starting to make MIDI music again.

@Cammy for having been my number 1 motivator at getting started with music again. Thanks for believing in me enough to send many music requests my way. In so doing, I started to believe in myself again and I feel far less hesitant to boot up the music creating tools as I used to for a while. I have a project in the works to showcase exactly how much of a help you've been.

@Doomkid for always being a person to look up to on the forums. I always regard them as a calming presence here and they have a Zappa avatar. That alone would make them cool.

16 hours ago, Scuba Steve said:

@MTrop looks up to everyone hahaha!

How dare you call me out in both a very figurative and literal way!

I'm honored to have been specifically named already by @continuum.mid and @PsychEyeball. You guys are wonderful - always excited to hear what you bring to the table next! I look up to the both of you, as well - it's the reason I've invited you to so many projects. And that goes for all the other musicians I've invited, as well. :)

I'd like to extend a couple special thank yous, too: First, while we're talking about music, to Mark Klem. The man was an absolute machine in the 90s, and he pretty much couldn't make a song that wasn't an instant classic. Through reuses of his midis he still continues to score wads to this day; hell, you can hardly walk 15 feet without entering a map with a Klem track in it. He and his compatriots like Tolwyn and @JDoyle set the bar for quality so high, and so early on, that I wonder if we have them to thank for having so much good music in the scene at all. Maybe without their rock-solid legacies and huge body of collective work, the Doom scene wouldn't have ended up attracting and maintaining as many excellent composers as it has.

I'm also amazed that nobody has mentioned @lupinx-Kassman yet! Every map I've played by him has been incredible and a standout in its wad, from the CC4 duology to Culture Shock to The New Technology. I have a ton of respect for his capacity to tell stories with his maps, and for his supreme dedication to setting his maps apart visually with custom-picked or even custom-built assets, both of which are propped up to the next level by his acumen for mapping magic. All that without sacrificing fun gameplay! I find his to consistently be some of the most inspiring, stimulating, and gripping work in the community. In many ways, he is our own present-day B.P.R.D - but in many more, he has created and still maintains his own peerless legacy. I'm always looking forward to your next work. :)

Now for a rapid-fire round, hopefully not forgetting anyone: shoutouts to decino, whose analyses were what lulled me into playthroughs which lulled me into joining for real, to @skillsaw and @Ribbiks for crafting the two incredible wads decino was playing that hooked me so utterly (Valiant and Swim With the Whales), to @antares031 for the deliriously fun and gorgeously crafted Struggle, my favorite megawad to date, to @Steve D for being an excellent collab partner and friend, trusting me with work on RoC, and vesting in me a deep-seated love for mean fights, big rooms, complex ceiling designs, and hanging Mussolinis, @Doomkid for being the most helpful and easygoing soul I've met on this side of the web, @leejacksonaudio for his incredible musical expertise and the work we've done together which I value more than I can say (and for him thinking he's the one who owes me respect and not the other way around for some ridiculous reason), and to the devs which made our beloved game, the founders which got this forum on the web, the mods that keep it running, and the curators who tirelessly maintain the archive!

Some additions I'd like to make to my list are @Enjay because of his ZDoom stuff (Runaway Train still boggles my mind and it's not even the most advanced usecase of the ZDoom engine), Jamie Robertson for his MIDI prowess (Bloody Hell and Rock the Building don't even sound like midis, that's how distinct his style is), @Jimmy for being a good sport and taking the place as the Bob Ross of the Doom community, @Peter for his wacky and serious MIDIs and sense of humor.
 

On 4/17/2023 at 2:47 AM, CAM-7EA said:

I wouldn’t say I look up to anyone, because I’m probably taller than a lot of the prominent folks of the Doom community and it would be wrong to lift them up above my eye level

is the only correct answer. CAM-7EA wins this thread.