NaNoWADMo 2023 - The month-long mapping challenge!

[scwiba]

 

I'm a little late on the announcement this year, but never fear -- NaNoWADMo is here!

 

Every October, dozens of mappers come together to do that thing we love to do: make maps. Maybe you've been itching to get your first finished map under your belt? Want to break through a creative block that's held you back for months? Thinking about laying the groundwork for that megaWAD you always wanted to make? Give NaNoWADMo a shot and see where it takes you!

 

The premise is simple: you start mapping on October 1st and challenge yourself to complete a project by the last day of the month. "Completed" doesn't necessarily mean released, polished, or even playtested. Nobody expects a masterpiece; the point of NaNoWADMo is to buckle down and make maps without overthinking or second-guessing yourself. At the end of NaNoWADMo, if all you've got are some half-finished concepts to build off of later, consider that a victory!

 

You're also encouraged to share your work as you go! NaNoWADMo-ers and spectators will be giving feedback and cheering you on both in this thread and over at the Discord. We're in this together!

 

The challenge runs from October 1 to 31, and at the end I hope everyone who participated will share what they made. That's it! Any additional rules are ones you set for yourself. You could make it your goal to reach a certain number of maps, sectors, or linedefs. You could aim to have a playable map at the end of every week, or make it a rule that you'll set aside 30 minutes each day for mapping. But if rules don't work well for you, don't use them! It's all up to you.

 

For me it helps a lot to have concrete goals and deadlines, so I've included a spoiler below with the rules I used in previous years. Keep in mind that this is just one example of a goalset, and a pretty extreme one at that. NaNoWADMo is about what you want to get out of the challenge.

 

Spoiler

1) At midnight (your time) on the 1st, you're free to start work on your brand new WAD. It's okay to have ideas, a written outline, even a resource pack compiled before then, but no work can be done on the actual maps (including sketching them out) until the 1st. For the next 31 days, you map at whatever pace makes sense for you. Know your limits and don't compromise your mental or physical health to get a few more maps done.

 

2) A complete project is 27 maps, regardless of IWAD you're working with. Maps can be any length, for any port, and any gameplay style.

 

3) Post a download link for your WAD in this thread on the final day or the day after, whatever state it's in. Don't worry if the maps are buggy and unpolished! You can playtest, expand, and polish to your heart's content after the fact. They're your maps to do with as you please!

 

Okay, so you set out to make a 32-map epic and you didn't quite make it. You've only got 25 maps, or 10, or 3. Did you "fail?"

 

Heck no! You've got 25 or 10 or 3 maps you didn't have a month ago! You've got something to build off of at your leisure, or some cool concepts you can turn into even cooler concepts later. The idea of the challenge is to get your mapping juices flowing, so if you get anything done, pat yourself on the back! You did it!

 

Remember: this is a challenge, not a contest. Above all, it should be fun. Happy NaNoWADMo!

 

Here are all the awesome projects that came from previous years' NaNos (note that some of these are still works-in-progress):

NaNoWADMo 2022

Spoiler

 

Boxcutter by @Arsinikk

By Candlelight by @DeathBearOfDeath

Containment by @granggg

Deadliest Dem(o(li)ti)on by @Scypek2

Doomed: By the Hour by @finnks13 and @Yumheart

Fromage by @dashiefrickintyan

The Gorge by @Fidchell

Handsome Hellscapes by @A Handsome Fridge

Hekla and Waypoint Manor by @Blue Phoenix

The Lost Magic by @Vortale

Machete by @A2Rob

MBOS by @Master Medi

NapsNoWadMo by @Napsalm

Night on Doom Mountain by @cannonball

Operation: October by @SilentD00mer

Phil FINALLY Made a Hexen Wad! by @Philnemba

Pilonidal Cyst by @Worm318

Place Unknown by @SuyaSSS

RandomLongMap by @Norb

Redundancy 2 by @Forli

Sepia by @Petyan

Skeletonano by @Walter confetti

TARGET: The Tei Tenga Troubles by @Kam Tovalski

Yum.wad by @Meowgi

 

[If I missed your project or there's a newer version than what's linked here, please let me know so I can update the list!]

 

NaNoWADMo 2021

Spoiler

 

Asphalt by @Matacrat

Black n' Blanco II by @Origamyde

Charcoal by @MFG38

Dawn of the Arrow by @Scypek2

Doom Hockey by @Dieting Hippo

Down In It by @A Handsome Fridge

Every Part of the Buffalo by @scwiba

Flooded with Demons by @lokbustam257

Getting Started by @StarSpun5000

Linux Jank by @E.M.

Lunar Laceration by @finnks13

Martial Mineral Refinery by @BetelgeuseSupergiant

Micromaps by @Alper002

Moon Madness by @DukeOfDoom

NoSp3 by @NoReason

NostraDM by @Scorpius

One Way To Hell by @SilentD00mer

Phobian Odyssey by @DavidN

Satanic Synthesis by @ChestedArmor

Seeds by @Walter confetti

Toxic Processing by @Biff Dunderbuff

 

NaNoWADMo 2020

Spoiler

 

Ascent of Titan by @DavidN

Blast Processing by @Darox

The Descent of Evil by @Kam Tovalski

E.M.'s Turbo Turds by @E.M.

Emblem by @JustAthel

First Time for Everything by @Yoshiatom

Fragor Portum by @RiviTheWarlock

Heelbain, select maps by @Major Arlene

Trick&Tear Map08 and Hellevator Map31 by @BluePineapple72

In Loving Memory by @MidnightMage

Lost Luxury by @Alper002

Mercuria by @Walter confetti

Mictlan Calling by @TheOrganGrinder

The mystery of Red(c) island by @Redead-ITA

NANO2020 by @MortisCausaDonatio

NaNoWeNMo by @ThatWeNGuy

nice-31 by @deathz0r

NoSp2 by @NoReason

Premonition by @DukeOfDoom

Some Shenanigans by @finnks13

Space Travel is Boring by @joe-ilya

Temporal Tantrum by @WashingMachineEnthusiasts

Terrible 3s by @croc_rock

Thy Flesh Removed by @Omniarch

TNT Goes Boom! by @The_SloVinator

The UnMaking by @scwiba

 

NaNoWADMo 2019

Spoiler

 

Booze and Bullets by @MortisCausaDonatio

Dysnomia by @Chainie

Extra Spicy by @E.M.

Four Weeks of Pain by @Gothic

Friday Night Unidoom by @Tango

Genocite by @Solmyr

Hasty Evil by @Worm318

Heresy by @wolfmcbeard

Keeper of the Seven Keys 3: Disk One by @DavidN

nanoDMwad by Greentiger1

NaNoHexen 2019 by @Alper002

Redundancy by @Forli

Some Speedmaps for Nanowadmo by @NoReason

summaps by @Biff Dunderbuff

Technicolor Antichrist Box by @Major Arlene

Three Is A Crowd by @Scypek2

Tivauri by @yakfak

When the Stars Are Right by @Havoc Crow

Withered Dimension by @MidnightMage

 

NaNoWADMo 2018

Spoiler

 

Beautiful Nightmares by @elmle

Beyond the End by @Scypek2

Chicxulub Impact by @TheOrganGrinder

Deathless by @Jimmy

Doom Doom by @Walter confetti

Fun N' Gun* (direct download) by @joe-ilya

Halfdeath by @Worm318

Hell on Phil by @Philnemba

Nanocore by @franckFRAG

NaNoDanMo by @Danlex

Nanopineapple by @meapineapple

NoisyDiarrhea by @NoisyVelvet

Scattered Ashes by @Lorenz0

Sinergy by @Crunchynut44

Wolfenstein 3D, Part 2: ROTT by @MidnightMage

UnBeliever by @scwiba

Edited October 30, 2023 by scwiba

[scwiba]

This year's NaNoers and their projects are:

 

@A Handsome Fridge - Exit the Gecko

@A2Rob - Escape From Sunveil Starport

@Arsinikk - Boxcutter

@Ash4ash

@BarbarianGrunge

@beansguy

@BigBeanDotGov

@BluePineapple72

@Bobby "J

@Cacodemon187 - Ciudad Empresarial

@cannonball - Return to Hadron E4 and Almistice

@CorzaX24

@DaBigNerd

@dac

@DankMetal - The Dank Levels Vol. 2

@dashiefrickintyan

@DavidN

@DeathBearOfDeath

@DeetOpianSky - DeeNanoWadmo Episode 1

@Dieting Hippo - Doom By the Numbers

@DoomGuy999

@DRON12261 - Russian Random Speedmap Pack #1

@DukeOfDoom

@Dusty_Rhodes

@Ecafr8708

@El Inferno

@Engired

@finnks13 and @Yumheart - Doomed: By the Hour 2

@gabirupee

@General Roasterock - Alcázar

@Heretic926 - Onset

@HiMyNameIsChair

@ilmutus

@IvanDobsky

@JJBoren - Trouble in Tiny Temple

@JustAthel - Power Struggle

@Kam Tovalski

@KillbotMKV

@komojo

@Large Cat

@LoatharMDPhD

@lokbustam257

@Major Arlene

@Maribo - Let's Be Enemies

@Master Medi

@Melodic Spaceship

@Misty

@MoiraHeart

@Napsalm

@NecrumWarrior

@Nefelibeta

@NiGHTS108

@NinjaDelphox

@OliveTree

@Pechudin

@Petyan

@Phoenyx

@Plerb

@plums

@Rayziik

@riktoi

@russin

@Scypek2 - Yangshuo Invasion

@SilentD00mer

@Skela - Enter the Facility

@Sneezy McGlassFace

@spd7693

@Spectere

@spineapple tea

@StarSpun5000

@stochastic

@stupid (tsocheff) - Doom But My Way

@Super Mighty G

@Surreily

@SuyaSSS

@Synami - Synami's Speedmaps

@ThatWeNGuy

@The_SloVinator

@TheShep

@tonytheparrot - Tony's Speedmappy Tomfoolery

@VIE-rus

@Vortale

@Walter confetti

@Worm318

@Worriedidiot

@Yagacaw - Midnight Movie Marathon: Spooky Sequel Season

@Yoshiatom - Yoshiatom's NaNoWADMo 2023 Midis

@yourlocalchef

Edited March 28 by scwiba

[Master Medi]

Count me in for this year as well

[DankMetal]

I want to participate in this!

[Scypek2]

Here we go! I'll attempt something, that's for sure. I think instead of coming up with totally new stuff, I'll challenge myself to take care of some unfinished business...

• I'll try to complete a map for a certain project I was invited to partake in. I won't mention it by name - that way once we get around to releasing it, we can lie and say it totally took us less than a year.
• I'll try to create the remaining 6 out of 8 maps for Yangshuo Invasion, a Doom 1 mod concept I came up ages ago, and later reimagined to include my Bite-Sized Threat vanilla-compatible gameplay mod.
• I'll try to create the remaining... 12 maps? For The Other Moon, a fully vanilla (no dehacked) Doom 1 two-episode replacement spawned from another extremely old idea of mine.

Also, I'm absolutely not giving up on Dawn Of The Arrow. I already have 5 completed maps and 12 more in progress, but it's a full blown Doom 2 megawad and I might have to do a bit of gameplay reworking as well. So it seems like a pretty huge project still and I'd rather tackled those smaller ones first. But I've been slowly but surely making progress on the Arrow and I'm already confident it's gonna be my new masterpiece when it's done.

[Arsinikk]

Finishing Episode 2 and Episode 3 for BOXCUTTER? Let's go!!!

 

[Vortale]

Uh oh, I said I wouldn't, but I'm signing up for round 2!

[NinjaDelphox]

Definitely interested with a break from 2 of my other ongoing projects, so sign me up! Planning to make a small episode of 4 - 5 larger maps for Doom II.

[DavidN]

Yes! I’d like to take some time to pick up Phobian Odyssey again and use some of the stuff I implemented but never used :)

[Engired]

I might as well do this year too. Maybe I'll actually finish a mapset before November?

[dashiefrickintyan]

it's not that cheesy to continue last year's project>:]

[A Handsome Fridge]

Well I'm on the list now, I have to commit lol.

Now to think what I'll be working on, I've been in a mapping hiatus for more than a month now, gotta get the engine restarted.

[Ash4ash]

Count me in

[LoatharMDPhD]

// This is a brilliant idea and im keen to see the fruits of our labor... I however, am going to buckle down boot up drop out hang on tune in and start/finish 2 CP {No Pockets Doom and Embryo} maps, and work the bastards till they meet the vision that flashed in my brain pan when i signed on. pressure and commitment breeds results, and even more so when there's no paycheck in sight! Happy Mapping Lads and Lasses...

[Worriedidiot]

I could try actually making something playable this year so sign me up :P

[Kam Tovalski]

lets gooo

 

[OliveTree]

oh count me in !!!

[Walter confetti]

As i wrote in the Discord server, i'll use this time for completing one (or maybe more) of the million projects maps i'm involved... Not sure if i can do something completely new, but never say never!

So, in short, sign me in.

[Misty]

Finally after few years I've got free time and not bound to midterms and such, tempted to join and do some speedmapping. I'll give myself some time to think about it. 

[Phoenyx]

Sign me up :)

[JJBoren]

I guess I should make a map or two for the megawad I have been working, though I won't be releasing them for a while.

 

Edit: I'll try to make a map every week.

Edited September 16, 2023 by JJBoren

[lokbustam257]

sign me in, I'll try to complete my wad this time, well I hope..

[Petyan]

Sign me in. This time i'll try to complete only 1 map instead of 30 like the last time.

[Sneezy McGlassFace]

Okay, sign me up!

I had this dumb idea so it's a good time to go through with it. A level (or more) of Heretic using one of the 90s DOS editors. So either HEU or DETH. Curious how it'll go

 

edit: I also have a couple maps for CPs that I should get finished. So I'll do those first, Heretic can wait. 90s aren't going anywhere anytime soon.

Edited September 19, 2023 by Sneezy McGlassFace

[A Handsome Fridge]

Oh @scwiba and people who are interested:

My Handsome Hellscapes of last NaNoWADmo can be found in this thread:
 

It didn't really get on the radar but at least @LVENdead made a few cool videos of it lol

[Death Bear]

2020 - I joined the community, and in an overly ambitious project, I got one map partially done.
2021 - Blue and I got REALLY ambitious, and I got 2 or 3 maps finished, before shifting gears.
2022 - By Candlelight was created... 9 maps for Heretic! (I need to finish this up soon!)
2023 - Here we come!
@BluePineapple72 and I are planning on actually doing something together for this, this year! (Something less ambitious this time.) Let's GO! It's NANOTIME again!

[BigBeanDotGov]

It'd probably help if I actually posted in this thread this year lmao. Sign me up.

[NecrumWarrior]

I think completing 1 really solid map is going to work for me. I have never released anything other than speedmaps before so this will be a good goal to break that. 

[IvanDobsky]

Sign me up, not sure how many maps i can make in a month but i'd like to find out.

[Yagacaw]

Count me as this sounds like a lot of fun and perfectly timed with spooky season. 

 

I was thinking of doing a reimagining of an old Raycaster game engine game I made years ago to the GZDoom engine.  This way I can compile the textures and custom monsters into a resource pack and wait till Oct 1st to do any mapping.