Thatcher's Techbase: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 12:12, 13 August 2025

Latest revision as of 14:53, 15 August 2025

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| composer = Barry Topping

| artist = Rafael Batista de Lima

| platforms = [[Windows]], [[macOS]], [[Linux]], [[Android (operating system)|Android]], [[Nintendo 3DS]], [[Nintendo Wii]]<ref>{{Cite web|title=Thatcher's Techbase|url=https://thatchers-techbase.github.io/get.html|access-date=2021-09-24|website=GitHub|archive-date=2021-09-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210924130017/https://thatchers-techbase.github.io/get.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

| engine = [[Doom engine]]

| released = 24 September 2021

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{{See also|Doom (1993 video game)#Gameplay}}

[[File:Thatcher's Techbase gameplay.png|thumb|Doomguy fighting a chaingunner with the new [[Winchester Repeating Arms Company|Winchester]] shotgun. Pro-Thatcher [[propaganda]] is visible in the background.]]

''Thatcher's Techbase'' is a [[WAD file|WAD]] for ''Doom 2,'' and largely retains the same [[first-person shooter]] gameplay, but features new weapons, levels, and enemies.<ref>{{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|archive-date=2021-09-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210917103950/https://kotaku.com/to-win-the-game-you-must-kill-me-margaret-thatcher-1847681908|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{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|archive-date=2021-09-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210917164542/https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/hunt-down-a-resurrected-maggie-thatcher-in-this-frightfully-british-doom-campaign/|url-status=live}}</ref> The WAD supports co-op and [[deathmatch (video games)|deathmatch]], and it offers five difficulty levels.<ref name=":1">{{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|archive-date=2021-09-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210917104007/https://www.polygon.com/22676226/margaret-thatcher-doom-mod-thatchers-techbase-soundtrack|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Plot ==

In ''Thatcher's Techbase'', Margaret Thatcher, "one of humanity's greatest threats",<ref>{{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|archive-date=2021-09-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210917165422/https://www.thenational.scot/news/19584618.hunt-margaret-thatcher-re-imagining-doom-released-free/|url-status=live}}</ref> 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.<ref name=":0" />

== 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".<ref name=":2">{{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}}</ref> Purvis said that the game is dedicated to "everyone Margaret Thatcher hated and everyone who hated Margaret Thatcher".<ref>{{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|archive-date=2021-09-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210921141243/https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2021-09-15-thatchers-techbase-sees-the-return-of-one-of-humanitys-greatest-threats|url-status=live}}</ref>

On 15 September 2021, a trailer for ''Thatcher's Techbase'' was released, which announced the game's release date.<ref name=":1" /> Initial response to the announcement was described by Purvis "as shockingly huge", with the WAD receiving the attention of initial ''Doom'' developer [[John Romero]].<ref name=":2" />

The game's soundtrack is composed by Barry "Epoch" Topping, who also wrote the music for ''[[Paradise Killer]]''.<ref>{{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|archive-date=2021-09-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210915160347/https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/this-new-doom-mod-will-let-you-send-thatcher-back-to-hell|url-status=live}}</ref>

== 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.<ref>{{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|archive-date=2022-09-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220926075324/https://www.indy100.com/viral/jeremy-corbyn-margaret-thatcher-doom|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{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|archive-date=2022-09-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220926155221/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2022/09/26/pictured-jeremy-corbyn-plays-video-game-players-kill-margaret/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{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|archive-date=2024-06-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240622164035/https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/jeremy-corbyn-takes-on-the-demon-maggie-mxzqjqxhh|url-status=live}}</ref> Later, in 2024, Bethesda removed ''Thatcher's Techbase'' mod from ''Doom II''<nowiki/>'s official mod browsers due to concerns over "real-world politics".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Al-Tekreeti |first=Abdullah |date=2024-09-02 |title=Bethesda Removes Margret Thatcher Doom Mod |url=https://www.dualshockers.com/bethesda-bins-thatcher-doom-mod/ |access-date=2024-09-03 |website=DualShockers |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Wales |first=Matt |date=2024-09-02 |title=Bethesda yanks Thatcher's Techbase Doom mod from in-game browser |url=https://www.eurogamer.net/bethesda-yanks-thatchers-techbase-doom-mod-from-in-game-browser |access-date=2024-09-03 |website=Eurogamer.net |language=en |archive-date=2024-09-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240902222300/https://www.eurogamer.net/bethesda-yanks-thatchers-techbase-doom-mod-from-in-game-browser |url-status=live }}</ref>

== References ==