Some themes behind the original DOOM

[nightmare imp]

Prehaps this is a stupid post,but this is in the general forum so I decided to post up a thought.

I was playing the Ultimate DOOM the other day,and I was on E2M6,halls of the dammned.
I played the level for awhile,but by the time I reached the red key and I realized,whats is the level about?
Yes,its a bunch of halls and corridors,but what is the level?
A comm center?A dormitory area,a mining area?
Sure it's a creepy level,but I dont know what it is.

I noticed it had an unhealthy mixture of an open,empty lake of toxic,bending corridors,creepy mazes and computers here and there.Just a simple queston,no less a dumb one either.
All the DOOMERS kick ass on these forums!

[Vorpal]

You've got to realize that these are pretty much the first 3d levels made. When you first start to edit, many things are not clear to you... like bad texturing, and themes. That is why no one should release their first attempts at level design ;)

[nightmare imp]

yeah.you got a good point there,I was just woundering,know what im saying,like back in the day?
I dont make levels anyomre,i never released em ever cuase one time back on my old computer it fucked up and I couldent find them.

[Zeratul 982]

I had a similar thought once.
It first I thought it was just something to scare you a bit, like a diversion. Then you mentioned the computers and the nukage area. Maybe it's an abandoned nuke containment and processing base. Then again, maybe not, because the wood maze looks like catacomb tunnels. That's one of the spookiest areas of the map besides the long stone corridor that splits up into 8 different directions, which was taken out in PSX Doom. (Dammit) The first time I played that level (which was on SNES Doom), that corridor creeped me out. The music helped as well.

"Halls of the Damned" inspired me to make a crude blueprint of a Doom map on paper I called "Catacombs" that consisted of a bunch of tight corridors and multiple passageways, but I never made it on here because I didn't have a computer back then.

[Guest giltygear]

I never really got that one either -- to tell the truth, I really don't get ANY of the levels in any of the games. Take the "Spawning Vats"-- you start out in a stone and rock room, then you end up in a base.

"Downtown" and "Tenements" dont make any sense either. They don't even look like buildings! Thats the only things that mystifies me and pisses me off about the games--the levels look nothing like what theyre supposed to be

[nightmare imp]

Zeratul 982 said:

I had a similar thought once.
It first I thought it was just something to scare you a bit, like a diversion. Then you mentioned the computers and the nukage area. Maybe it's an abandoned nuke containment and processing base. Then again, maybe not, because the wood maze looks like catacomb tunnels. That's one of the spookiest areas of the map besides the long stone corridor that splits up into 8 different directions, which was taken out in PSX Doom. (Dammit) The first time I played that level (which was on SNES Doom), that corridor creeped me out. The music helped as well.

"Halls of the Damned" inspired me to make a crude blueprint of a Doom map on paper I called "Catacombs" that consisted of a bunch of tight corridors and multiple passageways, but I never made it on here because I didn't have a computer back then.

I always used to make up new DOOM's in scribblers with new enimies and wepons etc.To bad Im not a good level maker,i only made six and I quit,to confusing for me.
But some of the levels were reasonable like the hangar and a few others.

[geekmarine]

Vorpal said:

You've got to realize that these are pretty much the first 3d levels made. When you first start to edit, many things are not clear to you... like bad texturing, and themes. That is why no one should release their first attempts at level design ;)

So, then, Doom never should have been released? I mean, after playing it long enough, I know lots of glitches in the levels and misaligned textures. Also, it's this kind of stuff that's prevented me from ever releasing anything in the 4 or 5 years I've been playing Doom because I go nuts trying to make my levels look good and give up in despair because either my level will look too newbieish or I will run out of ideas (the latter being much more common). I can never come up with good ideas for my levels, or I'll get an idea for part of a level, but won't have anything else to finish it. That really stinks.

[Mordeth]

Vorpal said:

You've got to realize that these are pretty much the first 3d levels made. When you first start to edit, many things are not clear to you... like bad texturing, and themes. That is why no one should release their first attempts at level design ;)

Oops..?

[DooMBoy]

Here're a couple of levels that don't make a lot of sense-besides the one that you have already mentioned-Suburbs and Phobos Lab. Suburbs is just plain weird. Phobos Lab does not look like a lab of any kind, unless you're drunk. Maybe it's because the demons' presence warps everything.