bitebwad (BITEBWAD.WAD)

My first introduction to Andy Leaver was via Community Chest 4, as of this time the last of the CCHEST series as well as - as far as I know - aleaver's last published level. His authorial career began during the source port boom in the year 2000, however, with the curiously-named BITEBWAD, found in a .zip named DIGIMORT. The latter is uncomfortably close to the title of the first level from No Hope For Life, which Andy released in 2001. I'm sure that the two are related in some fashion. This is a three-level minisode for the original Doom, replacing E1M1-E1M3. At least, I'm pretty sure it would play back without the Ultimate features. Looking ahead, it seems as though most of Andy's non-community project works were for the original Doom.  It'll be interesting to see how his craft develops from here.

aleaver does not appear to have been an author who indulged in the bits of flash fiction that pepper so many .TXTs. BITEBWAD has no inkling as to its naming scheme. As far as I can tell, it's because each of the levels are bite-sized. If I were to desperately ascribe some sort of setting or story then I would guess that it's set in a UAC facility that's undergone a fairly recent demonic invasion. Maybe you're another surviving space marine tooling around the remains of the massacred Phobos base. Perhaps it's a different planetoid entirely, a parallel place where the demons have once again come through a forbidden door that humanity opened.

Every level of BITEBWAD is small, short, and basically linear. E1M1 is literally a corridor crawl to a larger, outdoor area where you finish. E1M2 has the same, linear corridor / room approach except it teleports you back to a previously-seen blue key. After E1M3 walks you past a yellow key door you are actually given a forked hallway and the ability to choose which path to follow. Of course, you need to go one direction before you can solve the other, but it's a little less literal than the Blind Alley sealed door style. One perk is that you are in no danger of becoming lost and can thus focus on blasting zombies and other monsters to death quickly and efficiently with the shotgun.

A downside is that there isn't much of a sense of place in these maps, at least when compared to John Romero's landmark Knee Deep in the Dead level design. BITEBWAD feels like level fragments of larger pieces, if only because people tend to make larger, more exploratory affairs. It's... depersonalized, for lack of a better term. In KDitD, all of the interconnections and visions of the admittedly spartan Phobos make the locations feel like something more than demon delivery devices. These three levels are in contrast very much a function of dungeon crawler Doom at its most straightforward, which may take a bat to your immersion. Or, perhaps, you are just as happy putting your brain on auto-pilot and navigating by instinct.

I may think that each of these levels lacks a certain specific character but I would not call them plain. Andy demonstrates, at the very least, a talent for oddball detailing and memorable structures and room shapes. I was immediately caught offguard by the Hellish tunnel that cuts across your path in E1M1. Other levels feature infernal alcoves where victims of the demonic onslaught are displayed. The architecture can be chunky at times but Leaver knows the first and most important rule of detailing - appreciable lighting. I may not love the layouts but the author breathes a lot of life into the set by way of bright / dark contrast and dynamic light effects.

There is nothing about BITEBWAD that will put it toe to toe with your favorite OG Doom episodes but the action is serviceable and fun while it lasts. If you like the steady action of Knee Deep in the Dead then you'll probably enjoy it.

BITEBWAD

by Andy Leaver

E1M1

This is a long and winding hallway that eventually spills out into a decent-looking outdoor yard. The corridor portion is easy to pistol your way through and has interesting if schizoid detailing with the intersecting, Hellish cavern. The exterior area is an easygoing shotgun blast-a-thon with a huge, silver pavilion. Fast and fun, as long as you don't get bored just mowing your way through monsters.

E1M2

Another linear jaunt but with more rooms. Interesting shapes, at that. The opening is humdrum pistol-shooting zombies ad nauseum. Things get a little more exciting when you open the door to the round room and encounter mixed imps and shotgun guys. The last room and its silver structure - in a skin-bound circle - look cool but there is little threatening in its four spectres or cacodemon. What IS great is the teleporter ambush that follows after taking the teleporter to the blue key. Your little slice of the world is quite claustrophobic, making for a fun little finish.

E1M3

Leaver plays with the formula a bit, here. You walk past a yellow key door, so you get to do some purposeful backtracking (as was with E1M2). You also stroll into a big, bifurcated techguts hallway that's staffed with imps, giving you a choice as to which direction you will explore. The southwestern yard is beefy with monsters, making for a decent shootout. I like the grimy look of the penultimate hallway.

STAY FOR THE NIGHT

IT'LL ONLY BE A BITE

I CAN SHOW YOU MY FAVORITE... OBSESSION