E1M1 Hangar, or Knee Deep in the Dead in General. Why is it no secret that chapter or Episode in good ole Doom is one of the most prized sets of levels in the history of history? Its a secret.
However, Its totally not a secret that Idsoftware's Wolfenstein 3D and Doom were two of the games that pioneered how Secrets are in a shoot and explore game. That satisfying musical jingle or that "DIIIIIIIING" sound that plays when finding one is just euphoric to hear, and getting equipment and loot, such as a high powered weapon or even a piece of heavy armor, that Megahealth, or even an early Heavy weapon such as a Rocket Launcher, Plasma Rifle, or an early BFG. I can safely say that while
DOOM 2016 does make some of its secrets the "Hidden collectibles", at least those Doomguy Figurines are not only adorable looking, but they also serve a purpose since finding secrets in Doom 2016 nets Upgrade points, so they still serve a purpose when it comes to making the Doom Slayer stronger. Also, Doom 2016 does the whole "Secrets" jig right, then again, that game already does several things right already. Not to mention that some of the secrets are also Rune Trial rooms that kinda remind me of Devil May Cry, which is a very nice addition other than just the usual loot and extra pickups.
So I'll just say the other thing I like about secrets -> Easter Eggs. Yep. Easter Eggs. This is another aspect of secret hunting that I enjoy since i get to see some of the cheekyness that the game developers do to their games, even though it takes a lot of effort in seeing them. Duke 3D is one of those games that make not only secret hunting fun, but also humorous with the cameos from other games and other references, such as the ever wonderful "That's one DOOMED Space Marine" From Duke 3D's Death Row map, among other things.
More on easter eggs -> Borderlands 1 and 2 also does secrets this way, especially the second game where obviously everyone right now knows that many of BL2's secrets are easter eggs that reference things outside of Borderlands' lore and many more are even in-jokes towards the BL Community and gaming in general. Some of these easter eggs reward the vault hunters with some extra loot or even a unique one that can only be acquired through it.
So in short, Secrets. Secret Areas. Secret stuff. Secret Stashes. Secret Cameos, Secret Easter Eggs. THEY ARE GREAT and should stay in video games god dammit. We like being rewarded for actually taking time to explore every nook and cranny in a map.
However, when it comes to secrets, i won't say an opinion about that the trend is dying or any smarky comments like that since I'm no smark or the typical "Games industry talk" kind of guy so I don't really have a say on the trend. Smarking is for plebs with no skill and are in low or sh*t tier ranking hehexd. But if people get offended by this obviously strikethrough'd sentence, then I'm sorry for actually being offended. Hehexd
I'll have a bigger say on Secrets in a later post.
