What makes secret levels so special?

Is it just that they feel different to all the other maps in the episode/cluster? Or is there something else?

For example, E1M9. It isn't terribly different compared to rest of Knee-Deep in the Dead, but it does feel slightly strange. For example, that box of imps in the center. That's an idea you don't really see in other levels (except maybe E1M4 with the 4-way door opening room.)

I don't really see the point of this thread. But maybe it's just me...

The only secret levels that are special, IMO, are Doom 2's MAP31 and MAP32. What's so wrong with E1M9?

You know, all the levels are different in Doom, they all have a characteristic trait. By your logic, E1M5 would be special because it's got creepy music.
Or E1M6, because it's got that cool maze in it. Or E1M9, because you never saw a Baron until that point in the game... I could go on for days, but I think you already know what I mean.

It's special because it seems like it's extra stuff to play.

I never really thought about it before...
I guess that secret levels aren't particularly different from other levels (though it does depend on the megawad), however there is an added thrill when you find a secret level.

I remember playing Doom 64 and finding the secret level on Altar of Pain completely by accident -that was pretty awesome.

Special style, enhanced gameplay. Something which is different and maybe more happy and/or more funny. Even easter egg or credits.

One of my favorite secret levels is the color themed one in Alien Vendetta ... I think it's called Killer Colours? Anyway, I remember really liking the visual aesthetic.

I think I can summarise what makes each secret level special in the original Doom games.

Ultimate Doom

E1 - Romero resorted to a more simple design unlike all his other maps in the episode.
E2 - Completely different style to the rest of the episode (except E2M8), all hellish with no techbase. Could be foreshadowing what we'll see in the following episode.
E3 - Just a repeat of E3M1, but with more rooms once you reach the "exit."
E4 - Like Episode 2, the style is different, nearly techbase in design as opposed to the marble/wood style maps of the episode.

Doom 2 - both Maps 31 and 32 are from Wolfenstein, with SS Nazis, and the Commander Keens for Map 32.

Final Doom

TNT - Supposedly meant to be places in real life, Egypt for Map31, and the Caribbean sea for Map32 respectively.

Plutonia - Nothing more than maps being far more difficult unlike anything you seen before.

Neverthless, most secret maps are meant to be special, giving us something unique and sometimes memorable situations and challenges.

Good topic.

Clearly they have to differ from the rest of the map set, but most of the time a good map set should feature variations in gameplay, pace of play, tone etc. from start to finish. For a secret level to be successful then, it has to depart from the rest of the maps in a way that not any of the other maps in the set might be expected to do (unless it's to a rather extreme end, which is where your popular slaughterfest map32's and such come in). Gimmicks, therefore, are top of the game, as are departures from the overarching tone or story (if there is one), or the re-grounding of disbelief by referencing things outside the game.

I Dunno Torn!

[PROTOTYPE] said:
I don't really see the point of this thread. But maybe it's just me...

Heh.

IMO, Secret levels are special because when you find one, it means that you are worty of finding secrets in the Doom games. It's also a fun way to play the game because you get a extra level to play in if you find the secret level. In Doom 2, if you find the super secret level which is Grosse (MAP32), then that means you are 100% worthy of finding secret levels in the Doom games.

Also, shouldn't this thread topic be in Doom General and not WADs & Mods?

I'll assume you're asking about the use of secret levels in general (since it makes it a more interesting question, and one that does indeed belong in Wads & Mods).

There isn't necessarily anything special about secret levels, but they do give the mapper the opportunity to do something totally oddball and wackily creative without it seeming incongruous - the rest of the wad can be consistently themed and internally logical, but in the secret levels, all bets are off. Also, it's good if the secret levels do offer something a little bit different, since the player has presumably had to search a little to find them, and has the right to expect a reward in the form of something a little different.

A secret map feels special if it tells a different story than the rest of the wad. When you play a good level, it takes you someplace. This could be a darkened techbase or the mouth of hell itself, but what's important is the feeling of progression. Everything plays a role - architecture, encounters, flow paths.

In E1M5, for example, you start on the exterior of the labs, get a brief glimpse in for the key, then fight around the outside of what looks like a castle. You go inside for an intense tunnel run, then end up at the ultimate room, the lab itself, a terrifying dark area filled with specters.

When you look at episodes (or the informal "episodes" between D2 intermissions), they tend to keep the general story consistent. Episode 2 is all partially-helled techbase, like T-Rex said.

Secret levels turn this upside down. Let's go through some of the classics:

* E1M9 does two things notably different. First, there's no direction of flow. You can choose pretty much freely between the 9 sectors of the map. At the same time, there's new tricks - intentional jumping puzzles, monster warps, and a forced slime run on faith. The total is something that fits, but not quite.

* E2M9 changes the story quite literally - the demons are fighting each other! A dead cacodemon lies between barons at the start, and the cacos have drawn and quartered barons nailed to the walls! It plays up the barbarous nature of the demons, but it also makes you live it. From a pistol start you'll only kill everything if you intentionally get them fighting.

* E3M9 was clearly inspired by deadlines, but it's an interesting study. The story it tells us is that time and space flow differently in Hell. It's deja vu, but as you find at your peril, it's not quite the same! The level tells you, "You thought you had Hell beat? Think again!", and as a player you can imagine the same thing in all the levels. What broken wastes might lie around Mt. Erebus? Good money says it's DTWID E3M9, Lake of Fire, which is why I think that map is utterly fitting despite cries of 'homage!'

* Heretic E1M9, the Graveyard. This was really interesting, and even now we see DOOM and Heretic PWADs set in graveyards. It made sense, given the skeletons and mummies you fight during the rest of the episode, but it was also creepy in a way that the more medieval feel of the main levels didn't replicate. Combat reinforced this, with huge graveyards full of skeletons posing a hard challenge that forced you to fight a running battle.

* Classic Sonic the Hedgehog. Pick any of the first three - the bonus zones really let you feel what 'Zone' means, where ring warps could take you anywhere, anytime. They change the gameplay, but as a series not as much as you'd expect - Sonic 1's bonus zones are essentially Sonic 2's Casino Night in a nutshell, you could see shades of Sonic 2's secrets in Hydropolis and the Doomsday Zone.