Shortly after Russia began its invasion of
Ukraine, Elon Musk
activated Starlink's Internet service in the country, in response to the Ukrainian Vice Prime Minister’s plea for assistance. Two days later, Musk also
supplied Ukraine with a shipment of Starlink terminals, earning the Vice Prime Minister’s personal thanks. Now industry heavyweight game designer, John Romero, is stepping up to help Ukraine in his own way.
Romero, a co-founder of id Software and game designer behind the groundbreaking first person shooters Wolfenstein 3D,
Doom, and
Quake, announced the release of a special new Doom II level. Doom II was originally released in 1994 for MS-DOS, and while expansion packs with additional levels were released in the following years, Romero has never designed another Doom II level since 1994.
Romero created this new Doom II level, titled “One Humanity,” in order to raise funds for humanitarian aid in Ukraine. Romero announced the level on
Twitter, saying, “To support the people of Ukraine and the humanitarian efforts of the Red Cross and the UN Central Emergency Response Fund, I’m releasing a new DOOM II level for a donation of €5. 100% of the proceeds go toward these agencies. Thank you.”
The .WAD file, which is the standard file format for Doom and Doom II, consists of a readme file and the external mod data. You’ll need an original copy of Doom II and a modern source port to play the new level. You can help support Ukraine by buying the “One Humanity” Doom 2 level
here on Romero’s website. Romero also encourages people to donate directly to the Red Cross, the UN Central Emergency Response Fund, and other humanitarian organizations supplying aid to Ukraine.