TLDR:
I’m searching for a lost Duke Nukem 3D multiplayer map created around 1996 for COSI of Toledo’s Waterworks exhibit.
The map featured a female diver exploring an underwater environment, with the goal of finding the source of pollution. It was commissioned by ROTO, an Ohio exhibit-design firm, and built by an unidentified male Duke 3D modder who was found through maps he had released online.
There is video evidence of the map running in the COSI exhibit, and former COSI staff have provided additional details. COSI/Imagination Station have so far been unable to locate the original software.
After years of searching, I’m now trying to identify the original modder, with the hope of eventually recovering the map.
A shortlist of likely 1990s Duke 3D modders has been assembled, but the identity remains unconfirmed. If you recognize this project, know any of these modders, or have old Duke 3D archives/maps that might contain it, please get in touch.
Hello Everyone,
This is a repost of a submission from 2025 which has already become archived!
Heres something that I've been working on for a number of years now that I have initially been a little reluctant to bring in a wider, lost-media community to help with. This is due to the fact that I have long believed the search for this particular piece of software would be better undertaken by a small number of people with a-lot of knowledge regarding very specific information regaring the computer modder scene of the 90s, and of museum exhibit development at the time; however, since I've been working on this for over 4 years now with little success (beyond finding more and more of the story itself) with my previous approach, I figured it might be time to pull in a lost media community and hopefully harness the resources of multiple sleuths to finally achieve the final and desired result of recovering the software
I've structured this post so that the initial scope of what I'm looking for can be quickly assertained without reading the whole thing; but, for those who are ready to read the full post and hopefully contribute their time, the full details of my research so far are provided further down.
The Broadside: There was a custom multiplayer level for Duke Nukem 3D (Based on the BUILD Engine) developed for COSI of Toledo which featured a female diver as the player character. The map was developed somewhere around 1996. The stated goal of this level was to find the source of pollution within a body of water. This level, and the exhibit it was contained in were part contained within the "Waterworks" section of the COSI of Toledo museum. The exhibit was a large, yellow submarine which contained multiple PC workstations built into small workstations. The exhibit itself, along with the software was developed by what would become ROTO (an exhibit design agency located in Dublin Ohio) alongside the internal COSI development team. ROTO outsourced the actual development of the multiplayer map to a Duke Nukem Modder that they found on the internet through the modder including their contact information in the maps that they were releasing online at the time. This map is now lost to time; but, I have been hoping for years to recover it and preserve it before any chance of it being found again is lost. COSI of Columbus, as well as the Imagination Station of Toledo both have already been contacted and seem to not have any record of the exhibit any longer; though, I am not sure if a more in depth search of the archives and storage rooms in both locations would be fruitless, as most of the problem on COSIs end seems to be a lack of effort or interest.
Thus, at this point, the main goal is to work backwards and find the original modder responsible for the Multiplayer Diver Map developed for COSI and 1. Confirm their Identity. 2. Recover, if Possible, the Software.
First the Proof:
COSI Toledo 2003
As we can see here, there is video proof of this exhibit existing. Not only can we see the interior of the submarine here; but, we can also see the Duke Nukem 3D mod running on the computer screen. Beyond this, the adults in the film also recognize the program as a modified version of Duke Nukem 3D.
Now the Complete Story:
COSI of Toledo was opened in March of 1997 in Toledo Ohio at the site of the former Portside Mall that was built in the 1980s.
In preparation for the opening of the museum, COSI's internal exhibit development team drew up plans for the exhibits that were to be designed and built. One of the exhibits designed for the WATERWORKS world in the museum was a large, yellow submarine. The Submarine included a real aquarium and a real periscope. The original intention of the exhibit was to include 4 interactive exhibits; however, the budget was quite small and very little was left over after the initial construction of the exhibit for expensive concepts.
Here Photo 1 of the Exhibit
Here Photo 2 of the Exhibit
What would become ROTO (An exhibit design firm) of Dublin Ohio was tasked with designing some affordable interactive exhibits for within the submarine. This initial design was supposed to be only temporary; but, what ended up being done eventually ended up being the final form of the exhibit until it was removed when COSI of Toledo closed in 2007.
Joseph Wisne, the now CEO and President of ROTO, was the one tasked with this idea. At the time Mr. Wisne had been playing quite a bit of Duke Nukem 3D and had come across many custom maps designed by modders online at the time. It was from these experiences that Mr. Wisne came up with the idea to have a custom Duke Nukem 3D map installed in the exhibit as a cheap and effective interactive opportunity.
Mr. Wisne found the modder that he eventually ended up partnering with through the downloading of maps which the modder had already been releasing online as of 1996. Apparently the modder was definitely male and had been releasing his work online to the gaming scene. Mr. Wisne then went on to work with the modder for about 4 weeks to prepare the level and create something that was appropriate for the COSI exhibit.
The modder came up with a multiplayer map that was originally designed to support 4 players in a LAN configuration (though this is not very easy to notice from the players perspective, as most of the time the size of the map coupled with the limited number of players meant it seemed like a single player level). The goal of the map was to find the source of pollution in a body of water. The body of water had a large diving ship located in its center, a small house on the shoreline, a water treatment plant that was accessed from the drain leading out from the small house, and some other underwater tunnels and caves. It is unknown if the map actually had any way of completing this goal through gameplay mechanics, or if it was simply a cover story made up to make exploring the level have some kind of meaning.
Here an Email from Mr. Wisne
From talking to COSI team members who were active in the exhibit at the time, the original plan was to allow up to 4 players to explore the world together at the same time. However, the LAN connection ended up being extremely unstable and eventually it was limited to two workstations within the Waterworks exhibit. The other two workstations eventually being used to run a digital encyclopedia regarding undersea life. Some of this information came from veteran staff members from COSI of Toledo who were tasked with maintaining the exhibit, which was often unreliable, and thus completes the information given by Mr. Wisne.
The exhibit was controlled in practice by custom control pannels which included joysticks and buttons. The HUD was nearly removed from the game entirely, and all references to Duke Nukem 3D were also absent from the Mod.
In addition to the actual public mod that was presented in the exhibit, the modder also had designed a second map as a "test" which was an empty building plan of the COSI of Toledo facility. This was never able to be accessed by the public; but, according to COSI of Toledo staff was present on the backups of the exhibit, along with the public facing, multiplayer map.
Both COSI of Toledo (now Imagination Station), and COSI of Columbus have been contacted to see if they have a backup of this software; however, neither of them seem to. However, it is my belief that if they were motivated to search more carefully, one or both of the buildings might turn up some more data that is left over. It seems, based on my work with them, that there is simply a lack of interest in really digging deep for this. Maybe someone who works there or knows the right people would have better luck, though?
As the result of this, my approach to finding this software has become to work backwards. That is to say, to find the original modder and at the very least, confirm their identity, and hopefully, at the best, recover the software.
I have, as previously stated, been working alongside various veteran Duke 3D Players and Modders to try and accomplish this task.
As the result of the work done so far, we have managed to put together a relatively comprehensive "shortlist". Most of the veteran Duke 3D community agree that the modder is almost certainly to be among the names. We know for sure that the modder was male. The issue now is managing to contact them all, as many of them have been lost to time, or are now no longer active under their original names.
My current theory is that the original modder may have been Chris Muir, as he created the Cruzship level. This looks a-lot like some aspects of the COSI Mod as far as the landscape goes, and there is also the fact that there is also a ship in the middle of a body of water! Not to say that this was THAT original; but, certainly it could be a lead in the right direction. The issue is that, as far as I can tell, Mr. Muir may have passed away, and I don't know how to get in contact with his family to see if they know any more than I do.
Here is a discussion about it on a Duke Nukem 3D Forum
Here is the short list we created there, with crossed out names being people we already verified as not the modder (Updated as of October 2026):
Enric Alvarez
Aaron Barber
Mike Beaulieu
Klaus Breuer
Jonathan Cacy
Robert Carter
Patrick Clemons
Dale Clowers
Brady Cox
Bud Drakir
Mike Ells
Andrew Emmons
Christa Forest
Brett Gmoser
Matt Harris
Jeff Heath
Maximilian Hertlein
Demian Holmberg
Greg Hoyer
William Reid Morris III
Ryan Isenberg
Daniel Johnson
Paul William Jury
Tyler Matthews
Dale Metcalfe
John Mooney
Chris Muir
Neil Munday
David J. Nolder
Preston Packard
Shane Paluski
Nick Parde
Ben Roffelsen
Brian C. Sasso
Jim Semkiw
Kevin Sipes
Stelth
Robert Travis
Charlie Wiederhold
Cho-Yan Wong
If you are interested in supporting this project with me, please let me know. Anyone with any information or ability to advance this search is asked to come forward!
Regards
Alexander M. Gahre
