Cacowards
Annual awards honoring the year's best Doom modifications.
The Cacowards are a yearly online event that celebrates the best "Doom WADs"—modifications for the 1993 first-person shooter *Doom*. These mods can be single levels, collections of levels, or total conversions that change the game drastically. While the awards mainly focus on classic *Doom* titles (*Doom*, *Doom II*, and *Doom 64*), mods for other games using the Doom engine, like *Heretic*, *Hexen*, and *Strife*, have also been recognized. The Cacowards have been hosted on the fan site doomworld.com since 2004.
The event began in 2003 when Doomworld marked *Doom*'s 10th anniversary with "10 Years of Doom," a series of articles by Mike "Cyb" Watson and Andrew "Linguica" Stine that looked back at a decade of modding. This continued in 2004 as the Cacowards, now focused on the year's standout modding contributions. The name comes from the Cacodemon, a monster from *Doom*, which appears in the award's design.
The main category is the Top Ten, which highlights the year's most notable WADs. Other common categories include Runners-up, Honorable mentions, Multiplayer Awards (for excellent multiplayer maps), Gameplay Mod Awards (for mods that change core gameplay, like new weapons or enemies), the Codeaward (for the best software, added in 2017), the Mordeth Award (for a project with the longest development time, named after a *Doom* total conversion in development since 1997), the Machaward (for the most creative project, introduced in 2017 to replace the Mockaward), the Odyssey of Noises or Dootaward (for outstanding soundtracks and music, added in 2020), Most Promising Newcomers (for first-time modders with impressive work), Creator of the Year (for the best content author), and Adrian's Pen (for best original art, named after Adrian Carmack and introduced in 2025). Some categories are no longer given out: the Worst WAD (for low-quality mods, ended in 2011 due to concerns it encouraged bad content) and the Mockaward (for the best comedy WAD, discontinued in 2017 and replaced by the Machaward).
The Cacowards have been praised as a guide to high-quality *Doom* mods. *PC Gamer* called them a direct route to the best maps and mods, while *Rock, Paper, Shotgun* said they are a handy pointer to good, fun new content. Many winners have also received extra attention from journalists covering the event.
Quick Facts
- Awarded For
- Doom modifications of outstanding quality
- Presenter
- Doom community, doomworld.com
- Year
- 2004
- Coverage
- Video games
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The Cacowards originated from "10 Years of Doom", a series of articles and reviews written by Mike "Cyb" Watson and Andrew "Linguica" Stine in 2003 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Doom, discussing the history and legacy of the Doom modding community. The event continued in 2004 as the Cacowards, shifting focus to the year's most notable contributions. The name derives from Doom's Cacodemon monster, whose likeness appears in the award's design.
The primary category is the Top Ten, which discusses the most notable Doom WADs of the year. Other common categories include Runners-up, Honorable mentions, Multiplayer Awards, Gameplay Mod Awards, Codeaward (introduced in 2017), Mordeth Award (named after a long-in-development total conversion mod), Machaward (introduced in 2017, replacing the Mockaward), Odyssey of Noises (also called the Dootaward, introduced in 2020), Most Promising Newcomers, Creator of the Year, and Adrian's Pen (introduced in 2025, named after Adrian Carmack).
Some categories have been retired: Worst WAD (discontinued in 2011 due to concerns it rewarded low-effort content) and Mockaward (discontinued in 2017, replaced by the Machaward). Notable winners include Brutal Doom (2011 Gameplay Mod winner), Sigil (2019 runner-up), Sonic Robo Blast 2 (2019 Mordeth winner), and MyHouse.wad (2023 winner).
Reader's Guide
The Cacowards have been critically praised as a resource for high-quality Doom modifications. PC Gamer stated: "If you want a direct route to the best Doom maps and mods, the place to go is the Cacowards." Rock, Paper, Shotgun similarly commented that the Cacowards are "often a handy pointer towards good and fun new things." Numerous award recipients have received additional commendations by journalists covering the Cacowards, who often review highlights from the year's ceremony. The awards serve as a central annual event for the Doom modding community, providing recognition and curation of notable works across categories ranging from gameplay mods to soundtracks. The introduction of new categories over time, such as the Codeaward and Adrian's Pen, reflects the evolving nature of Doom modding. The Mordeth Award, named after a total conversion mod in development since 1997, highlights projects with exceptionally long development times. The retirement of the Worst WAD category in 2011 indicates a shift away from rewarding low-quality content. Overall, the Cacowards function as both a historical record and a guide for players seeking high-quality Doom content.
Did You Know?
- The Mordeth Award is named after a total conversion mod for Doom that has been in development since 1997.
- The Mockaward category was discontinued in 2017 and replaced with the Machaward.
- The Worst WAD category was discontinued in 2011 following concerns that it rewarded low-effort content.
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