Favorite piece of architecture in classic Doom games?

[DoctorNuriel]

With its various texture themes and map authors, the classic Doom games have a wide variety of structures, layouts and setpieces. While Doom's maps are first and foremost arenas for the player to explore (and rip and tear their way through), its groundbreaking engine allowed the authors to create unique, interesting architecture, even with relatively simple geometry. Which areas in these maps stood out to you for their shape and/or aesthetics?

 

My personal favorites are:

 

- The water cube above the exit portal in Doom 2's Map25: Bloodfalls, for its abstract look.

- The central ring in Doom 2's Map11: Circle of Death / "O of Destruction!" provides a handy circuit for the player to run around in the midst of combat, while the nukage down below adds that sense of risk and tension.

- The eponymous Human BBQ in TNT's Map02 is a nice little example of a creative use for vanilla assets.

- The small outside area in Doom 2's Map06: The Crusher adds some nice contrast to the map's interiors. I like the pillared structures.

[Deleted_Account]

The giant star in E1M8: Phobos Anomaly.

[NinjaLiquidator]

Map14 overdetailed portal before exit

[pming]

I'm going to go with DOOM, E1M1. I just LOVE where you start...the pillars, windows to the outside, stairs to your left in a dark'ish area, sunken area in front. Love it! I always picture it...hmmm..."realistically", not in DOOM textures and such, but as a real place. Light-shafts streaking through the windows, dust particles floating in the air, the strange smell of both fresh air garden vegetation mixed with the smell of electronics and oil...and then the smell of rotting meat coming from the darkened stair area. Just so evocative!

 

^_^

 

Paul L. Ming

[roadworx]

i've always had a fondness for the water area of map03. i just think it looks cool.

[Unholypimp1n]

I always liked the snake like path in The abandoned Mines as well as he crusher room In the Crusher.

I love the Factory and downtown maps, idk why but they seemed nice and big and had multiple ways of beating it. 

 

[durian]

There are so many, but this is the first thing that comes to mind:

 

It demonstrates how effective fake contrast can be at making even simple scenes pop.

Edited April 8, 2017 by durian

[RUSH]

The merging of Hell and machine! From E2M7.

 

[Gifty]

Love the outdoor grassy area of the crusher. The little central "house" in the starting room of E1M2 also makes me really happy.

[Lila Feuer]

3 hours ago, pming said:

I'm going to go with DOOM, E1M1. I just LOVE where you start...the pillars, windows to the outside, stairs to your left in a dark'ish area, sunken area in front. Love it! I always picture it...hmmm..."realistically", not in DOOM textures and such, but as a real place. Light-shafts streaking through the windows, dust particles floating in the air, the strange smell of both fresh air garden vegetation mixed with the smell of electronics and oil...and then the smell of rotting meat coming from the darkened stair area. Just so evocative!

 

^_^

 

Paul L. Ming

I love your vivid descriptions, imagine if Doom had smell-o-vision though.

[BigDickBzzrak]

e2m2: because a bunch of stacked crates is totally a "structure"

[40oz]

I really like the mountain in the middle of MAP29

[Mosshopper]

I really, really like the Hell Castle parts of No Rest for the Living, especially Vivisection.

[SilverIce]

The portal at the end of TNT MAP23.

[Soundblock]

The first time a sky was used as a floor for the exit made me pleasantly dizzy at the time. Its in Doom II, but I don't recall what map # it was off-hand.

[Crunchynut44]

E3M4

 

[nxGangrel]

The tight silver and blue corridors of e2m7

The outdoor area in map 06.

Every location in map 14.

Places like the end of map 15 or the plasma(?) secret in map 26

[Megalyth]

The final outdoor area of map20 of  Evilution was one of the grandest set of vistas I can recall from back then. I've always found the giant floor-smashing piston in map02 of Doom64 particularly impressive. Also, several areas in map14 and map15 of BioWar have inspired my mapping over the years.

 

There are a ton of others, but I could think on it for an entire day and not remember them all.

[_bruce_]

The room of DoomII's Map13 that Durian "show-cased" was in my oppinion one of the most bombastic looking visuals in vintage Doom maps - awesome.

Episode I maps along with the gorgeous maps that McGee created have an overall abstract beauty where I would have a hard time picking favorites.

Some visual hotspots for me out of the many...

 

 

 

 

[SFoZ911]

I always liked E4M9. I think it's a great looking map and I really like the symmetry in it and the overall structure and hectic gameplay. Also a techbase in E4 kinda works for me as a secret map.

 

[Chezza]

I'm with Crunchynut44, E3M4 stands out to me. That particular scene he posted gave me a sense of endless Hell as if there are many rooms, mazes and killing fields far beyond what we fight through, possibly with entities we have yet to see.

[ranhcase]

I always liked the start of E1M1, the light that comes through the window, and hits the pillar is really cool.

 

[ASD]

The hallway leading to the plasmarifle secret in E2M5. I'm a sucker for obscure design.

[scifista42]

There is probably no architecture in any IWAD map that I appreciate more than modern quality PWAD architecture. The Human BBQ gimmick scene is nice, though.

[Kristian Nebula]

20 hours ago, Crunchynut44 said:

E3M4

 

Image hidden from quote

I really liked that view, too back in 1995 when I saw it the first time on a new year's eve playing Doom the whole evening when other kids were blowing up firecrackers outdoors. I was playing on a computer of an architect friend of my mum in his home office :D

[ShoDemo]

I always play E1M1 from Doom 1 and I find it a legendary map. I am never bored of 100% it. And it is so detailed. Other than that, I like Map 13 from Doom 2 (Downtown), because of the verticality and its realistic at parts depiction of a city. Also, E3M1 Hell keep has an interesting outdoor area from the beginning. Finally E3M6 Mt Erebus is very open ended map and gives you plenty of freedom while moving. It is in fact a big area with many small buildings, each one a lot different than the others, which adds to the variety.

[DoomKnight1984]

The first comes to mind are Maps 2 and 9 of Episode 3 of Doom. I liked the fact that the overhead view looked like a hand and the place is cramped-up with demons lurking on many sides. While Map 9 is an almost direct copy of Map 1, the place changes once the Cyberdemon shows up and the atmosphere tells you you're now in Hell itself.  

[riderr3]

-giant skull-switch at the end of MAP11 Doom 2.
-the courtyard area in MAP18 Doom 2.
-starting place of e2m8. Who do this to barons?
-a truck in MAP19 Evilution.
-the mysterious crushers in MAP04 of Evilution, also other part of map looks like another dimension.
-curvy paths of MAP03 Plutonia.

[Dav_NW]

- E1M3 soulsphere room

- E1M5 outdoor nukage pool

- E2M2 room opened by the yellow card

- E2M7 invsphere hallway

- E4M7 outdoor area

- MAP09 starting area

- MAP19 central courtyard

- TNT MAP05 blue keycard room

[Bauul]

I always liked the demonic fortress at the center of MAP15's lake of fire. You see it almost straight away and it provides this wonderful focus - you know you're going to get into it eventually. When you do, I love the way you can make your way around the ramparts in addition to delving into its core. MAP15's sheer scale is something I always appreciated.