What movies/series/books/music inspire you to make maps?

[The Royal We]

I find it very interesting how much our background influences the way we make maps. So I ask you: what movies/series/books/music inspire you to make maps (other than other games)?

Personally, I'm very inspired by the films of David Lynch, Yasujiro Ozu and the Cohen brothers. Both have films whose aesthetic works well with little text. I've also been inspired by Evil Dead, The Thing and other horror films.
Poetry (especially Mario Quintana and Mia Couto), short stories by Edgar Alan Poe, are materials that inspire me to take the Doom builder and create atmospheres that I find interesting.
Shotaro Ishinomiri's Kamen Rider mangas make me want to make maps like crazy.

How about you, guys?

[Rykzeon]

Personally, sometimes I make some dark with dramatic lighting maps when I feel empty and lonely, sometimes I make tech base maps when I listening to a high beat musics, sometimes I make maps to utilize some map tricks like self-refencing sector, sometimes I just wanna try illusion/storytelling devices that I get from reading books. Most of the time, I listened to Japanese music (mostly random).

[MacDoom81]

I like to make 3D versions of the Atari games of my youth. Had a blast making some levels of Montezuma's revenge and now I day dream of making Alley Cat and Twilight World. I love those total convertions like Hocus Pocus, Jazz Jackrabbit and Zombies ate my neighbors where the spirit of the original game still survives whithin the DooM engine.

[Chezza]

It's games that inspire me.

I would say classic Unreal and Half Life influences my maps. Since they have semi realistic locations that are full of aliens, they are great games to reference when building maps for similar themed games, like Doom.

For example, the classic "lights gradually turning off, then pitch black, then walls opens and enemies attacks" (Unreal) is one I love using. I also love using props and decals for environmental storytelling (Half Life).

[oneselfSelf]

Sometimes an idea will come from me playing some WADs but most ideas I've had came from dreams weirdly. Sometimes I'll dream up of a whole map, sometimes I'll dream about a particular combat scenario, or sometimes I'll dream up just a single room. If I manage to remember it when I wake up I try to draw it out so I don't lose it forever.

[Kor]

While there are no specific media that influence my maps overall, I will say that Invasion 1 episode 4 is heavily influenced by Star Trek, as it takes place on a starship. There are transporter rooms and sickbays. The command center seen in E4M8 is heavily influenced by Trek. And an area of E4M1 was inspired by the Stellar Cartography room seen in Star Trek Generations. E4M2 got its theme from the Jeffries tubes on any Star Trek starship. 

[The Royal We]

10 hours ago, MacDoom81 said:

I like to make 3D versions of the Atari games of my youth. Had a blast making some levels of Montezuma's revenge and now I day dream of making Alley Cat and Twilight World. I love those total convertions like Hocus Pocus, Jazz Jackrabbit and Zombies ate my neighbors where the spirit of the original game still survives whithin the DooM engine.

Zombies ate my Neightbors in Doom is phenomenal. There are moments when it's even more tense than the original!

[DoomGappy]

In my case it's more other games, but also books. I have a literary project of sorts in store. Being a Doom 2 fanatic, combat for me is paramount. Still, most of my maps have some sort of narrative, as it raises the standards of a map a thousand times. The ones I've made purely focused on combat are the weakest, and I tend not to like them at all, except maybe for the homages to classic maps.