Directional orientation in Doom

[mattjoes]

Hello,

 

This is probably going to be either a very interesting subject to discuss, or a real "meh" kind of thing. I guess it doesn't just apply to Doom, but to any 3D game, and in fact also to other forms of visual media, not to mention real life™. It's a subject I personally haven't seen discussed here before. I'm talking about directional orientation.

 

So, we've got our cardinal points: north, south, east, west. From a sensorial point of view, to talk about their differences is like talking about flavors of ice cream-- not very useful. It's a very personal thing, and not something that can be put into words. But suffice it to say, I feel "north" different from "south", and "east" different from "west", as I imagine we all do.

 

Now, I don't know if my mental compass is lousy or whatever, but when I was a five year old experiencing Doom for the first time, in going through the classic maps for the first time --and obviously not knowing their layouts ahead of time--, certain "mistakes" were ingrained into my brain regarding directional orientation. For instance, Hangar follows what John Romero has called a "horseshoe design". Well, when I start playing, I feel I'm facing north, but as I go down the stairs to enter the nukage room, I now feel the exit door is north of where I'm standing. This is completely wrong of course, and goes completely against the horseshoe layout that is apparent when looking at the automap, but I guess this directional misconception happened when I first played the game, and that "feeling" has remained with me ever since. I just played Hangar again like two days ago, and it's the same way. I'm facing north at the beginning of the level, and I'm facing north when I'm about to enter the exit room.

That is just an example. This happens to me on several levels, though not all of them. Some, like say Spawning Vats, I understand correctly from a directional standpoint, but others, like Phobos Anomaly, present the same issue as Hangar. I'm not even sure the complexity of the layout has something to do with it; it just happens for some reason. It doesn't bother me, it just is what it is. When I cross a certain section of the map, my brain readjusts and the cardinal points have changed. I can even go back and the cardinal points will go back to the way they were.

Now, I know what you are thinking: "go see a doctor". Or perhaps: "use the automap, man". Well, when I was a kid, I did use the automap, but a) it didn't occur to me at the time that "up" is "north" (ugh), and b) I guess my directional interpretation of a level was created before looking at the automap, and looking at it afterwards made little difference. Even today, when I start playing a level for the first time, my brain immediately decides --sometimes unconsciously and sometimes consciously-- that whatever direction I'm facing is south or east, or whatever. And the automap can't change that feeling, because the map comes after the first visual impression. If it came before, things might be different. But it doesn't. So, today, when I look at the automap, I don't adjust the cardinal points in my head to the automap. Instead, I adjust the cardinal points on the automap to my head. Know what I mean?

 

Does this happen to anyone else in whatever Doom map? Has this subject matter ever crossed another Doomer's mind? Does directional orientation bother you, or are you indifferent about it? Will I keep asking these questions?

[SixtyCargo]

You might know this but they had strafing and most of the demons were claymation which is cool to me and it was the first 3d shooter, not the full version but when the first playable version though this is hard to answer really i know people in the doomworld know more than me so just hope that they get you topic

[Azuris]

Well, seems like your Brain learned to use certain geometrical and architectural Points to say :"Thats North", or that the Exit has to be in a certain Direction et cetera.

 

With five Years you were maybe a bit to young for the fully Comprehention of the Dimensions and its Orientation. 

For Kids and also Newcomers to Games it is easier to start with two Dimensions to get used to it. 

In the Evolving of little Kids even Seeing is the same as beeing visible, if they can't see the Sorroundings, the Sourroundings can't see them, thats why they hide only their Head often while playing hide and seek.

 

I remember very well playing on the C64 before and while i was in Kindergarten.

I was really bad at most Games :P

The Super Nintendo was my Salvation.

It has to be 1997 or 1998 when i first played Doom (2) with 9 or 10 Years.

Biggest Problem was to find out that you can run to "jump" over Areas.

 

[Cinnamon]

It happens to me on occasion when going through a map at 200 km/h, I can get disoriented briefly. Nowhere near as rigidly as you describe, however. That being said, I've realized through experience and comparing with others that my "internal compass" or whatever is *really* good. I rarely get lost even when walking about in foreign cities and stuff and can always find my way back. So I might be the completely wrong person to chip in on this.

 

The quick answer is of course that if it doesn't bother you too much or, more importantly, affect your everyday life (e.g. navigating while driving) negatively I wouldn't worry about it. Thankfully as well there are extremely few maps that are on timers (Scythe, hmm).

 

It hasn't ever crossed my mind, but when I read your post my reaction was more like "yeah I can definitely see how this is a thing." As for how you've ingrained some of these "directional inconsistencies," it feels analogous to me and my mother when she's practicing the piano. She's flubbed the same parts in the same songs for 30+ years. Also, when I was younger and taped songs from CDs to cassettes, there were hiccups and mistakes in the copying that I still today, 20 years later, expect to show up even though I've listened to the correct version for way longer.

 

Some things are really hard to unlearn. If even fully possible.

[Pechudin]

Never had this uh ... issue (is it even and issue?). In real life, you know where north is because of the Sun, and the temperature differences inherent to out planet being a sphere. In DooM the space is completely isotropic, and there is nothing objectively singling out one particular direction (or a pair of such direction) as North/South/West/East (except maybe collision boxes and the Blockmap lines).

 

[Cruduxy Pegg]

Not to me. I don't think it is important to know the 4 directions when you are in a limited size planar dimension. They are more helpful for long travel but not for Doom maps. I find it more useful to know where the land marks are. A statue or decorated door that stands out is way more useful for navigation. Unless it is an extremely abstract map with none of those and everything looks the same with small variation.. Then it is going to be an awful mess. Not like knowing the directions will help at all in those maps.

 

[Jello]

Generally I feel like I'm facing east when I start a level. Not all of the time, but generally I feel like I'm starting out facing east, if I go left I'm going north, if I go right I'm going south. It may not be the actual way the level is designed, but it helps me keep my bearings if I assume that I'm starting out facing east. This is really noticeable in E1, so Romero may have decided to make his levels that way. There are levels that change it, like the Waste Tunnels, where I feel like I'm starting at the south end and the exit is north, or the Slough of Despair, where I feel like I'm starting at the southern point and working my way north.

 

Either way, I don't think it's abnormal to associate cardinal directions with Doom levels.