...Beyond the Abyss a whispering hiss.
Again i was drowning in the vortex divine,
again my torch ceased to shine.
So dark her temple started to crumble,
barely i survived the second tunnel.
I knocked at her door and i was opened inside,
my precious Goddess of Suicide.
Never will pain leave me and end,
once i'll be able to comprehend."


MAPS AND EPISODES COMMENTARY

EPISODE 1: METEM-PSYCHOSIS
Snail is in Limbo, where Djinn ended. Someone, or something, is reclaiming his soul.

Metempsychosis is the post-mortem trip, once i had a band named Metempsychosis. 
After the death of our friend (by suicide) we decided to dedicate our music to his voyage, 
so that we could in a way help him to find his inner peace. Snail is not connected to this person, 
but Snail is the representation of Doubt, of dualism and. thus, of psychosis and schizofrenia. 
When he left the world in Djinn he couldn't erase his double personality, left hand and right hand were still 
lurking into his mind. Now, and just now, he starts to realize the importance of being one with himself.

Map 1: Where Dead Demons Lied
Difficulty: easy
Length: short
Plane of existence: Astral, Limbo (last layer)

The journey starts when Pain (elemental) ends.

Map 2: You'll never see the Sun again!!!
Difficulty: easy
Length: short
Plane of existence: Astral, limbo (last layer)

Map 3: Limbus Puerorum
Difficulty: easy/Medium
Length: short
Plane of existence: Connection between Astral plane (limbo, first layer) and the Abyss

Limbus Puerorum is the place where unbaptized dead children go, before committing any sins 
(cause they still can't understand sin). Representing Snail's new state of newborn, 
his mandatory resurrection and the first encounter with his split half.

Map 4: Thy Black Light
Difficulty: Hard / easy
Length: medium
Plane of Existence: Abyss

Snail Fell deep down, but it's all part of the plan, we need to dig and eat our bowels if we want to know ourselves.

Map 5: The Defilers
Difficulty: Rough
Length: boss map, very short.
Plane of Existence: Abyss

EPISODE 2: DAATH
When Snail had to choose if to climb up or jump down, he decided to jump down.
Death stole his eyes and hid them in the bowels of the world.


The Snail is pale.
An empty shell longing for doubts.
His dreams were his damnation:
worms, fleas, whispering trees,
flooded tunnels and hidden masks,
wrinkled hands
caressing, scratching.
Brightened Shields, Blackened Swords
drowning in the bowels of the underground lake.

Daath means Knowledge in ancient hebrew and it is the eleventh, invisible, Sephirah in the Tree of Life, 
i won't start my ramblings about Jewish mysticism now, i'll limit myself by saying that it feel down after 
the Original Sin, and the Abyss, known as Masak Mavdil, took its place. Episode number 2 is the exploration 
of said Abyss, thus the exploration of our fears shrouded in darkness.

Map 6: To Die once more
Difficulty: Easy / medium
Length: short
Plane of Existence: Abyss

Map 7: I Am One
Difficulty: medium
Length: medium
Plane of Existence: Abyss

Map 8: To Be Reborn
Difficulty: Easy
Length: medium
Plane of Existence: Abyss

Map 9: City of Solitude
Difficulty: Hard
Length: Long
Plane of Existence: Abyss

Map 10: Death Pierce Me
Difficulty: medium
Length: medium
Plane of Existence: Abyss

(Secret spoiler alert): Yes you can't go out.

Map 11: Crypt of Insomnia
Difficulty: Hard
Length: medium / long
Plane of Existence: Abyss

Map 12: Ad Astra
Difficulty: VERY HARD (only if you don't turn the automap on)
Length: INSANELY LONG (only if you don't turn the automap on)
Plane of existence: It's all inside your mind.

EPISODE 3: SLUMBER
After closing the three eyes Snail fell uncounscious for six days. Time to reminisce a past long forgotten.

In silence we can finally hear:
the only sound
was that of a heartbeat.
"So slow, so quiet.
Why can't we fall and fly
at the same time?
We are damned to forever reflect our inner lights.
The Tears are near, the Tears end here.
Them: mothers of confinement,
We: the children in ruins.

Episode 3 is my attempt to split the very first map I’ve ever made, Close to Dog (map 07 of Djinn) in 6 parts, 
remaking and reimagining. Snail is sleeping and trying to unleash his inner nightmares in order to make them real.

Map 13: Close to Close to Dog
Difficulty: medium
Length: medium
Plane of existence: Astral

Map 14: Aimaphobia
Difficulty: medium/hard
Length: medium
Plane of exitence: Astral

Fear of Blood, i tried to play with english pronunciation and wanted to say that we are our own phobias 
(i am a phobia), but it didn't go that well i guess! Timothy brown suggested Phobia of Aiming, 
i think it fits better.
Map15: Craken
Difficulty: medium/hard
length: medium/long
Plane of existence: Astral

Map 31: Lost Sheep
Difficulty: Medium
Length: medium
Plane of Existence: Hell

The intermission texts here and from 31 to 32 were taken from “The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus”
by Marlowe.

Map 32: I am Dead Fuck You! (Crucify Yourself!!!)
Difficulty: Hard
Length: Very Short
Plane of Existence: Hell

Map 16: Suicide Craving
Difficulty: Easy/medium
Length: short/medium
Plane of Existence: Astral

Map 17: Aria
Difficulty: hard (in the beginning phase) then medium
Length: long
Plane of Existence: Astral

Map 18: Close to God
Difficulty: Rough
Length: very short (boss map)
Plane of existence: Astral

EPISODE 4: TOHU WA-BOHU
With a new found self-awareness Snail decided to face the Necromancer.

You are all but slaves.
The floating eye
tore the veil apart
The Poison of God can only kill once.
Don't be scared of dying,
Death is your friend, she is desire
and We are the Ones
who chase after Death,
the Crows of Despair.
We wait for the unliving,
we wait for our prey.
We eat all their eyes,
we fly and fall, fall and fly.
We hate those who live,
but teach how to die
Twice.

Tohu Wa-Bohu is Chaos and Void, the primordial state which was lost in the act of creation. 
The Black Worm represents the anticosmic light, an uncreative force. It’s in his nature to regress.
Lichdom is nothing more than a lie.

Map 19: Stasis Lost
Difficulty: Easy/Medium
Length: Short
Plane of existence: Limbo (first layer)

Map 20: Prison of Mirrors
Difficulty: Medium
Length: short
Plane of existence: Limbo (first layer)

Map 21: Nexus
Difficulty: Medium
Length: long
Plane of existence: Limbo (connection between first and last layer)

Map 22: Inhale Disaster
Difficulty: Hard
Length: Long
Plane of existence: Limbo (last layer)

Map 23: The Black Worm
Difficulty: Medium
Length: very short (boss map)
Plane of existence: Limbo (last layer, portal to the Moon)

EPISODE 5: THE MOON, THE TREE
May his soul finally R.I.P.

It was no more, black stars aside.
No support, no structure.
Naked in front of the rupture.
I was lost in the Ocean.
What is knowledge without notion?
I was drowning in front of the Ocean.
There's no way out, no more motion.
All that is concealed still persists,
and the present ceases to exist.
Standing tall, the ebony monument,
lies beyond the bounds of reason.
To weave is to cut...
To weave is to cut...
To weave is to cut…

The Moon, where our souls learn how to walk. A slow motion in an endless ocean.
The Tree, ascension after the final descent. What is a tree if not the representation of our double?

Map 24: Death of the Waves
Difficulty: Medium
Length: Short
Plane of Existence: Moon

Map 25: Moonchildren
Difficulty: Hard (Very Hard if UV Max)
Length: medium
Plane of existence: Moon

Map 26: Colors made of Tears
Difficulty: Hard
Length: Medium
Plane of Existence: Moon

 
Colourful ocean
Drawn on the wall
Mournful peace
I am feeling your call
Happiness:
It takes a moment
to swim in the echoes
Death:
it takes a moment
to get lost in the current

Map 27: the 108th Fruit
Difficulty: Very Hard
Length: Medium
Plane of Existence: the Tree

Map 28: Pierced Heart
Diffulty: Very Hard
Length:Medium
Plane of Existence: the Tree

Map 29: Love
Difficulty: Hard
Length: Long
Plane of Existence: The Tree

 
Fun fact (not fun at actually): I created a boss for this map which was a 
Purple giant spider which spawned black holes (some strange stuff that attracted the player to the boss itself) 
every time he went into pain state. It was so fucking annoying that I decided to delete it. 
Hours and hours spent for no reason… sad.

Map 30:
Difficulty: ?
Length: ?
Plane of existence: The Garden


CREDITS:

I want to thank my brother Snail from the bottom of my heart, he helped me so much with this, playtesting evry map multiple
times, giving me advices and also the courage and motivation to keep going. Then there is Maddam, a talented artist and 
a close friend who believed in this project right from the very beginning, i love your creativity Dam! 
Lastly i want to thank the Doomworld community, where i have met so many great doomers who were by my side 
during this months of developing,  i really appreciated your advices and your constructive criticism. 
So thanks El_Inferno, Clippy, Lucky_Edie, Hak3180, Austinado and many many others.

I hope that my first release will be a decent one, i really do.


Additional Credits:

Magic_Sofa for some of the weapon sprites.
Jag Taggart9﻿﻿3 (youtube) for his preview and for being an awesome youtuber!
Icytux for the Crackodemon!!!
Realm667 submitters in general for textures, sprites and sounds.
The authors of Shades of Doom.
Ukiro for the incredible Otex.




 SOUNDTRACK

Intro - Suikoden II - Silent Room
Between Maps: King Crimson - Fracture
Intermission Text: The Smashing Pumpkins - Love

EPISODE 1
1 - Alundra - Ra's Underground Hideout
2 - Forgotten Tomb - Alone
3 - Beherit - Salomon's Gate
4 - TNT - Horizon
5 - Enslaved - the Dead Stare

EPISODE 2

6 - Silent Hill - Not Tomorrow
7 - Enslaved - the Voices
8 - Dissection - The Somberlaine
9 - Cradle of Filth - Dusk and Her Embrace
10 - Summoni﻿ng - Long Lost to Where no Pathway Goes
11 - Katatonia - Tomb of Insomnia
12 - Katatonia - Elohim Meth

EPISODE 3

13 - Silent Hill: the Room - Room of Angel
14 - Behemoth - The Reign of Shemsu Hor
15 - Blood - Shipwrecked

31 - Suikoden II - Demon Lord
INTERMISSION text in secret maps: Cradle of Filth - Creatures of the Night
32 - Suikoden II - Fight with Neclord

16 - Dimmu Borgir - Raabjorn Speiler Draugheims Skodde
17 - Cradle of Filth - From the Cradle to Enslave
18 - Stonekeep - Gate of the Ancients

EPISODE 4

19 - The Smashing Pumpkins - Quiet
20 - Sonic Youth - White Cross
21 - Alundra - The House of Taran
22 - Meshuggah - Stengah
23 - The Legend of Dragoon - Zieg's Theme

EPISODE 5

24 - Camel - Spirit of the Water
25 - The Legend of Dragoon - Dead City
26 - Final Fantasy IV - Another Moon
27 - Streets of Rage 2 - Alien Power
28 - Gubble - Native
29 - Unkle - Rabbit in your Headlights
30 - Suikoden II - Reminiscence

Outro - Silencer - Sterile Nails and Thunderbowels 


