I dont think this is just another Doom level for me.

So its official, I have added a secret level in my Doom 2 level. Which I think is an interesting statement by itself. This Doom 2 level is not one level but is rather a long series of smaller levels. The structural format of this secret level is a closed loop. Notice how the entrance and the exit in the north west corner of the map intersect. There is no need for backtracking in this sequence, once you are complete you simply continue forward to the next portion of the level.

A great deal of this levels design has been about practicing the art of creating a very long experience that flows and intertwines in ways that feel similar to modern first person shooters while still allowing the backtracking and exploration commonly found in older arena first person shooters such as Doom or Quake.

This concept was first explored by Half Life 1. I have always felt that it was an beautiful accident as a major strength of the game came about due to the inability to create larger levels. Half Life was based off of the Quake 1 engine and the size of the levels you can make were extremely limited. So what Valve did was they allowed for technology to seamlessly load levels without having to even leave the game. You would walk up to a section of the map and it would almost instantly load the next area.

What this did was it allowed very focused development of each area in the game. Then the devs would were able to string the levels together in any order they felt was ideal. One of the game engines biggest weaknesses was turned into its biggest strength. Not only was development easier and more focused on each individual area but it is possible to re order the levels to prevent player burnout. Each area felt like a unique bit sized experience, thus it was hard to put the game down once you started playing it.

While this doom level does not have the luxury of instantly loading new levels on the fly as you progress, it does allow for almost zero limitations when creating very large maps. And in this case, I have taken it upon myself to build the level with the Half Life mindset. a long string of unique sequences and directional flow that travels in loops or figure eights. You are always moving forward as you play but you have the option to explore any time you want.

So here is a sneak peak at the secret level.

And finally, The Castle Was Here Easter egg has been added to the level. The level is getting very close to the next release. But I feel I need to do one more round of testing before it can be fully ready to go.

The Castle Was Here as seen in No Rest For The Living

Its also appears in
Condition Zero deleted scenes and Sin Episodes.
I kind of regret not placing more of these lol!