Thatcher's Techbase
{{Infobox video game
| title = Thatcher's Techbase
| developer = 3D: Doom Daddy Digital
| composer = Barry Topping
| artist = Rafael Batista de Lima
| platforms = Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo Wii{{Cite web|title=Thatcher's Techbase|url=https://thatchers-techbase.github.io/get.html|access-date=2021-09-24|website=GitHub}}
| engine = Doom engine
| released = 24 September 2021
| genre = First-person shooter
| modes = Singleplayer
Multiplayer
| director = Jim Purvis
| image = Thatcher's Techbase cover.jpg
}}
Thatcher's Techbase is a mod for the video game Doom II, released by Scottish Doom developer 3D: Doom Daddy Digital on 24 September 2021. The game is set in the United Kingdom, and the player is tasked with killing former prime minister Margaret Thatcher, who has risen from the dead.
Gameplay
{{See also|Doom (1993 video game)#Gameplay}}
File:Thatcher's Techbase gameplay.png shotgun. Pro-Thatcher propaganda is visible in the background.]]
Thatcher's Techbase is a WAD for Doom 2, and largely retains the same first-person shooter gameplay, but features new weapons, levels, and enemies.{{Cite web|last=Price|first=Renata|title=To Win The Game You Must Kill Me, Margaret Thatcher|url=https://kotaku.com/to-win-the-game-you-must-kill-me-margaret-thatcher-1847681908|access-date=2021-09-21|website=Kotaku|date=15 September 2021 |language=en-us}}{{Cite web|last=Clayton|first=Natalie|date=2021-09-15|title=Hunt down a resurrected Maggie Thatcher in this frightfully British Doom campaign|url=https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/hunt-down-a-resurrected-maggie-thatcher-in-this-frightfully-british-doom-campaign/|access-date=2021-09-21|website=PC Gamer|language=en-US}} The WAD supports co-op and deathmatch, and it offers five difficulty levels.{{Cite web|last=Good|first=Owen S.|date=2021-09-15|title=Doom mod resurrects Margaret Thatcher as a Cyberdemon|url=https://www.polygon.com/22676226/margaret-thatcher-doom-mod-thatchers-techbase-soundtrack|access-date=2021-09-21|website=Polygon|language=en}}
Plot
In Thatcher's Techbase, Margaret Thatcher, "one of humanity's greatest threats",{{Cite web|last=Mason|first=Richard|title=You can hunt Margaret Thatcher through Hell in rework of classic video game|url=https://www.thenational.scot/news/19584618.hunt-margaret-thatcher-re-imagining-doom-released-free/|access-date=2021-09-21|website=The National|date=16 September 2021 |language=en}} rises from the dead, leading the player to descend into the tenth circle of Hell, the United Kingdom, in order to kill her and send her back to Hell.
Development
Development of Thatcher's Techbase began in winter 2020 as a joke, after director Jim Purvis saw Twitter user @spewlieandrews claim that if he was sent to Hell, he would "spend eternity scouring the place for Thatcher".{{Cite web|last=Peppiatt|first=Dom|date=2021-09-16|title=Inside 'Thatcher's Techbase', the 'Doom' mod that lets you kill Margaret Thatcher|url=https://www.nme.com/features/gaming-features/inside-thatchers-techbase-the-doom-mod-that-lets-you-kill-margaret-thatcher-3047299|access-date=2021-09-21|website=NME|language=en-GB}} Purvis said that the game is dedicated to "everyone Margaret Thatcher hated and everyone who hated Margaret Thatcher".{{Cite web|last=Yin-Poole|first=Wesley|date=2021-09-15|title=Thatcher's Techbase sees the return of "one of humanity's greatest threats"|url=https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2021-09-15-thatchers-techbase-sees-the-return-of-one-of-humanitys-greatest-threats|access-date=2021-09-21|website=Eurogamer|language=en}}
On 15 September 2021, a trailer for Thatcher's Techbase was released, which announced the game's release date. Initial response to the announcement was described by Purvis "as shockingly huge", with the WAD receiving the attention of initial Doom developer John Romero.
The game's soundtrack is composed by Barry "Epoch" Topping, who also wrote the music for Paradise Killer.{{Cite news|last=Connor|first=Alice O'|date=2021-09-15|title=This new Doom mod will let you send Thatcher back to Hell|language=en|work=Rock Paper Shotgun|url=https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/this-new-doom-mod-will-let-you-send-thatcher-back-to-hell|access-date=2021-09-16}}
== Controversy ==
In September 2022, Thatcher's Techbase featured in a number of British newspapers when former Labour leader and independent MP Jeremy Corbyn was pictured playing an arcade version of the game at The World Transformed in Liverpool.{{Cite news|last=Fletcher|first=Harry|date=2022-09-26|title=Jeremy Corbyn played a version of 'Doom' that lets you 'kill Thatcher'|language=en|work=The Independent|url=https://www.indy100.com/viral/jeremy-corbyn-margaret-thatcher-doom|access-date=2021-09-27}}{{Cite news|last=Penna|first=Dominic|date=2022-09-26|title=Pictured: Jeremy Corbyn plays video game that lets players kill Margaret Thatcher|language=en|work=The Telegraph|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2022/09/26/pictured-jeremy-corbyn-plays-video-game-players-kill-margaret/|access-date=2021-09-27}}{{Cite news|last=Ledwith|first=Mario|date=2022-09-27|title=Jeremy Corbyn takes on the 'demon Maggie'|language=en|work=The Times|url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/jeremy-corbyn-takes-on-the-demon-maggie-mxzqjqxhh|access-date=2021-09-27}} Later, in 2024, Bethesda removed Thatcher's Techbase mod from Doom II
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://thatchers-techbase.github.io Official website]
{{Doom series}}
{{Margaret Thatcher|state=collapsed}}
Category:Cultural depictions of Margaret Thatcher
Category:Political satire video games
Category:Sprite-based first-person shooters
Category:Satirical video games
Category:Video games based on real people
Category:Video games developed in the United Kingdom