A classic question to ask of any piece of hardware with a screen (and quite a few without) is, “but can it run DOOM?” – a question to which the answer is almost always yes. Though this paper isn’t quite so ambitious as to propose a method of running DOOM itself within a TEI-encoded document (yet), it does explore the ways in which TEI encoding can help us understand the broader field of DOOM’s vast network of mods, modders, toolmakers, and creators.

This initial exploration discusses possibilities for encoding metadata and some limited level information for the more than 14,000 mods for DOOM and DOOM II catalogued by Doomworld.com and the /idgames archive. Beyond analyzing how to adapt TEI standards to this particular kind of born-digital materials, this project is interested in tracing the evolution of DOOM modding over more than thirty years. What tools have modders used and created, and how has their usage shifted with new technological developments? Who makes mods, and how do the connections between individual modders and modding teams evolve? What do modders’ readme files tell us about their motivations and goals? How permeable is the boundary between a “mod” and an entirely novel game? This project seeks to investigate all these questions and more, and this presentation will serve as a first look at our findings.