Odin's Eyes

                While 3D level design and ambiance may have be new territory for game design at the end of 1994,Heretic was a step ahead of the competition. The level design is  reminds me of the simple joys of game play. Interacting with a 3d space in a creative and tactical way, while wanting to explore and experience every odd trap, moving platform maze, hidden item room and beautiful vista the game has to offer. Paired with an industrial 90's take on fantasy trope music, a beautiful use of color and pixel art makes the game engrossing on a auditory, visual and even environmental level.  Falling in love with Heretic was easy.
                  Lets talk about how wild some of these levels where. The game does slog through a couple introductory levels getting the players feet wet. Once the game picks up though it rarely drops off. Not every level is cranked to 11 but I've not found pacing to be a problem the game having all but finished the first chapter of the game so far. Where as DOOM II was more worried about not getting in your way Heretic wants the level design, maze like structure , platforming and sense of exploration to be in your face every second of every moment. I honestly felt like a rat running down a maze for it. There is rarely a moment in Heretic where you don't have line of sight of the next door, platform, wall or power up you want to go seek out. It constantly keeps you engaged. I find this amazing for the time and here is where my nostalgia goggles are glued to my eye balls. Heretic does something I never felt with DOOM. It makes you really engage in this 3d space. It becomes a living area. This is the best window 1994 would give us to the power the medium would later gain in letting gamers experience and wander to places they never could on their own. Its one of the pillars of video game faith that makes it a special form art unlike anything else.

                   Heretic lays that foundation well. Ravensoft was very experimental in level design however the game somehow feels vaguely uniform in its design choices. It almost feels as if they had a more managed approach to level design as a studio than say Id. The way the secret rooms, power ups, weapon locations and colored keys are guarded sounds like DOOM on the outside. Its the complex yet intuitive lengths that Ravensoft went to make it work and fun that I find special. "The Gatehouse" for instance isn't best example of this but it is the level that made me fall in love with Ravensoft's thought process. "The Cathedral" really shows what the art side of Ravensoft could accomplish. Stained glass windows, rivers, stone walls and complex geometry are beautiful accomplishments for 1994 and still hold up. "The Crypts' with its multiple platforms raising in elevating with a flat strafing moat around and enemies on each horizontal plane made for a wild fucking ride. Yes I did just say three levels that take place in a row. I'm not even done with the first chapter "City of the Damned" and I'm in love with the world Heretic has
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                     Lets talk about the usable inventory. Heretic was the first fps game to have a unusable inventory. Ammo and health vials litter the level like DOOM or any other shooter of the era. What Heretic's inventory does is allow you to store things like invincibility rings, time bombs to drop on enemies or more mystical things like the Wings of Wrath or Tome Of Power. This inventory while not the most intuitive to use can be used at any time. It brings in a level of tactical play going through both the level and enemies engagements. Holding on to more rare items in case the emergency use or tough enemy encounter may need. Or having a Quartz flask ready when no health vials are left and enemies have you literally against the wall. It made me think how often we get stuff like this in games now.  It's extremely common FPS design to have some usable items or things to swap in and out of use in single player shooter campaigns these days but Heretic did it first and I can only imagine how such a simple but effective new feature set must have felt at the tell end of a DOOM clone heavy year.
                         I'm so happy this early in the blog and I'm already in love with a game I never played before. Heretic is a blast from the past and while far from perfect a must play if you love games of this era. It likely and by no means should dethrone DOOM II as the 1994's fps of the year but it should be on your list of timeless gems. The visuals, level design, mystical setting and magical "staffs" make it a fun ride. The inventory system was innovative and would go on to contribute in to the genre in a timeless and essential way.