Csucskos

My best advice is: Don't make maps you don't enjoy playing. (Since you are the only player guaranteed to play your map.) That's it. Congratulations, if you can follow this simple advice, your maps will be awesome and epic and stuff like that. Since every other opinion will only come from haters who you should not care about :D

Games were built different back than. I remember getting my ass kicked in Eye of the Beholder 2 and Descent, yet they are my most vivid gaming memories from my childhood. Blood is the exact same. I still remember that train level... Looking back, they are frustrating and unfair and well... not up to today's standards. But I firmly believe Blood was one of the most influential fps of its time.

You can say "we like to play with saves". That's it :)

I've been thinking about this. And for me the main defining trait of a "game" is the reduced risk. I believe your question was far less philosophical, but I tried to get to the game-ness idea. To encompass every game, this was my best try. It could have been the set rules people agree on or the challenge it provides but the distinction between a game and a non-game I think is the comparatively low risk. (You can parkour on rooftops or steal cars and massacre or build giant block structures in games, without the real-world problems associated with them) The main "issue" with this challenge-based definition is for example the relaxation game genre or whatever Journey is. But maybe you argue that those aren't even games. I dunno, I'm not totally satisfied with my own approach, probably could be criticized but I do think challenge is not essential for games.

Sunlust

Plasma is the best weapon when teleporting into the unknown. With the BFG you may fire and miss and then you get shredded, but with plasma you can stunlock and quickly reengage targets.

I dunno what are you playing currently with this strat. :/ But Schyte 2 or Speed of Doom is considered to be intermediate so it's a good starting point... or you can give my wads a try ;)

This means you play not so punishing maps. The SSG and the regular shotgun are different, neither is better each has their own use case. As they say, the right tool for the right job. But if you are having fun who am I to say anything. It's a game after all, the main goal is entertainment. (So no, sometimes I use the SSG sometimes I use the shotgun but I'm still learning which is better at certain situations.)

I pronounce it as "dzs". Deal with it ;D

I never really had a favourite animal. When I was asked I always said the rhino, because it's big and strong and cool. But actually, I didn't really care for them. I'm still not really enthusiastic about animals but I had a life changing experience, when I was wondering in the zoo. It was in highschool and we were let free to roam but had some forms to fill with animal facts. I went where I found the least people and somehow I ended up on the cliffside where the griffon vultures were loose. (No, I was not trespassing, they were deemed not dangerous so you can actually get into their enclosure.) And oh my god those are majestic animals. Being alone, from a few meters away from them... Yeah, so I'd say vultures.

OK, so I think the OP has been flamed enough. There are no such books. Case closed.

I know I'll come of as a rude b*tch, but who the heck are you? And who the heck am I to you for you to care about my opinion? It's really easy to think that everyone else cares about the same things as you do, but the truth is... noone cares. You remember all your mistakes and probably (at least that's what I do) project it onto others that they also have the same recollection about all of them. But most of the time it just wasn't that important to them as it was for you. So... don't assume the worst. People forgive... and also forget. :D (Also the "RTTPPAY" thread is a fun and positive way to spark interaction between strangers.)

It stands for Gen Z Doom. Easy.

I had to think about this topic a lot and my final verdict: I disaggree. Secrets are fun because you see the number go up. And you feel smart that you actually found something not meant to be found (as it is a secret). (The satisfying 'ding' cannot be replaced though with just the knowledge that it was a secret. Also the sound signals that you actually found a secret, sometimes you jump to a ledge and don't know whether it was worth it or was that just a climbable ledge. When you hear the sound you know it was intended. - I hate secrets in secrets. Why don't you make it one secret, why do you have to find a secret to be able to find another one?!) My message would be "make better secrets", telegraph them and don't make them OP/required. The infamous MAP31 did it really well. Also, decino was not at all too frustrated in my opinion. (I watched it since the drama and was expecting some huge rant. There was none.) But that's just my two cents. Make maps you enjoy, I follow the "no secrets, but easter eggs" philosophy, as balancing secrets are really hard :D

Over the years I've realized I like having the most powerful weapon over some arbitrary favorit :/ So the SSG in Doom, the sniper rifle in CoD, and the Flakker+Ahab in BL2.