It's a running joke that Doom can run on anything, from player-pianos to pregnancy tests. But it's becoming equally true that anything can run on Doom. In the last few years we've seen Doom total conversions that replicate Sonic, Castlevania, even a dystopian version of Thatcher's Britain. Now, some modding mad scientist has Frankenstein-ed Minecraft into id Software's totemic shooter.
Specifically a mod for Doom II, Voxel Violence adds Minecraft-style blocks and a building system into the classic FPS sequel. It functions pretty much exactly like Minecraft's system, letting you stack various types of block onto one another to create structures, obstacles—come on, you know how Minecraft works!
You can see Voxel Violence's variant of the system in action via the video above. It's a pretty impressive adaptation. Not only can you build solid structures, you can also destroy them, as demonstrated in the second half of the demo with Minecraft-style TNT blocks. I can already see the potential for ridiculous multiplayer shenanigans, as players desperately try to erect defences while their opponents try to tear them down.
My only quibble about Voxel Violence is the decision to directly replicate Minecraft's blocks, rather than create blocks which better suit the world of Doom. This would be a great way for players to knock together Doom-ish maps without having to spend months learning a level editor, and indeed, the mod's creator expresses their hope to see such community maps in the mod's summary on Mod DB. Then again, Doom + Minecraft has broader appeal than a more generic Doom block-building system, which is probably why I work in journalism rather than marketing.
In any case, you can download Voxel Violence here. There are no instructions on how to install it, but it seems like a straightforward "whack it into GZDoom" affair.
