Blind Alley Y., "Dissolution" (BNDALYY.WAD)

BLIND ALLEY Y.

DISSOLUTION

by Gene Bird

BNDALYY is the fifteenth and currently final release of Gene Bird's Blind Alley series, published in early April of 2004. One could argue that Community Chest 2's "Desecration" is an honorary member, but from what I can glean it was built expressly for CCHEST2. The author has a few more BNDALY entries knocking around on his hard drive, perhaps not to see the light of day. So, for now, there is this MAP01 replacement for Doom II. Earlier entries in the series had a fixed space in the running of a grander mapset but Gene does not appear to have had a particular place for this or the previous release, Forlorn (BNDALYX). If it had followed the same scheme, then this would have been MAP34.

Blind Alley X., "Forlorn" (BNDALYX.WAD)

BLIND ALLEY X.

FORLORN

by Gene Bird

Gene's main claim to fame is his Blind Alley series, slightly more than half of which showed up in the first Community Chest and CCHEST2. I'm not much of a forum historian but the man himself informed me that his presence in both megaWADs is largely due to the same reason that Adam Windsor has so many "filler" maps in Requiem. That is, people dropped out of both projects toward the end and the kindly authors helped to make them whole. Forlorn, aka BDNALYX, was born too late to make the first CCHEST and I assume that Bird did not think highly enough of it for it to offer it up for the second when his services were required. We are now past the point of there being any correlation between alpha-numeric characters and level slots in the original slot; if there were, then this would have been MAP33. As it stands, Forlorn is a MAP01 replacement for Doom II that was released in December of 2003 - the last of the year, in fact.

Blind Alley 8., "Retribution" (BNDALY8.WAD)

BLIND ALLY 8.

RETRIBUTION

by Gene Bird

The Community Chest series might be sleeping, supplanted as it has been by institutions like MAYhem, but it was a pretty big stepping stone in marshalling the Doomworld community. A bunch of authors who were making PWADs from 2000-2003 contributed with a fair number going on to fame if not fortune. CCHEST is notorious if for nothing else than a high number of previously-released contributions from Gene Bird, Sphagne, and Daniel "Bad Bob" Trim. GB's levels all came from his Blind Alley series, a rainy-day mapset that he had developed since 1997, then taking the time in 2002 to finalize and publish maps as individual releases. Retribution, aka BNDALY8, is one of his older works, as the author takes care to point out. It was originally slated for MAP08, hence the 8 as an alpha-numeric designator, but as presented here is a MAP01 replacement for Doom II, published nearly four months after Redemption in October of 2003.

Blind Alley W., "Redemption" (BNDALYW.WAD)

BLIND ALLEY W.

REDEMPTION

by Gene Bird

If we take the Blind Alley letter scheme to its logical conclusion then BNDALYW ought to have been developed as the series' MAP32, a super secret level. The .TXT, however, informs us that it was originally slated as a MAP20 replacement, which would make it brought to you by the letter K (BNDALYO being built for MAP24). I am guessing that Gene just felt like keeping on the same roll that he had been on since publishing Waste Processing, Deja Vu, and Necrophobia. BNDALYW's other name is Redemption and it is a MAP01 replacement for Doom II, originally released almost two years after the prior BNDALYV.

Blind Alley V., "Necrophobia" (BNDALYV.WAD)

BLIND ALLEY V.

NECROPHOBIA

by Gene Bird

The Blind Alley series was released from 2002-2004 and eventually accrued some fifteen levels, all of which were built for a mapset that Bird had been making since ~1997. Necrophobia was the eleventh to see publication, released about a month after Deja Vu in May of 2003. Like the rest of these levels it's a MAP01 replacement for Doom II. Gene intimates through the .TXT that the V in the naming scheme indicates that it's a MAP31 replacement (1-9, A-W) though folks who have peeked ahead know that this falls apart for X and Y. BNDALYV is extra special as it's the last level that GB uploaded prior to the release of the first Community Chest. Perhaps not coincidentally, it's also the last of his published works to find its way into CCHEST!

Blind Alley U., "Deja Vu" (BNDALYU.WAD)

BLIND ALLEY U.

DEJA VU

by Gene Bird

The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines déjà vu as "the illusion of remembering scenes and events when experienced for the first time"; "a feeling that one has seen or heard something before"; or, "something overly or unpleasantly familiar". It is also the title of the tenth level in Gene Bird's Blind Alley series. BNDALYU is a MAP01 replacement for Doom II, released in April of 2003. The character U places it in the MAP30 slot of the theoretical compiled mapset that each of these levels were published from, though this scheme became less definitive as GB continued to upload stuff. Unlike the previous level, Waste Processing, Deja Vu also saw release as MAP04 of Community Chest 2. Slightly more than half of Gene's output was either part of CCHEST or CCHEST2, making him a foundational feature of this Doomworld institution.

Blind Alley T., "Waste Processing" (BNDALYT.WAD)

BLIND ALLEY T.

WASTE PROCESSING

by Gene Bird

I'm continuing my whirlwind tour of Gene Bird levels here with BNDALYT. His Blind Alley series was released piecemeal from 2002-2004 from a set that had been in development since roughly 1997. I call it a "rainy day megaWAD" because of how many releases ultimately accrued but GB's original intention was for something the size of a Doom II episode. Each entry debuted once the author was comfortable with its given level of polish. The alpha-numeric designator T signifies that this was originally designed for the MAP29 slot, I suppose arriving after Spirit World - Headquarters. As it was published in 2003, however, Waste Processing is a MAP01 replacement for Doom II.

Blind Alley B., "Octagon of Fear" (BNDALYB.WAD)

BLIND ALLEY B.

OCTAGON OF FEAR

by Gene Bird

Gene Bird had been a Doom hobbyist for some time before releasing the pieces of his Blind Alley series. It was basically a rainy-day megaWAD, developed since 1997, that he started polishing to publish in 2002. Eight of the fifteen maps made their way into Community Chest and CCHEST2, back when the folks involved were more enamored of the idea of pooling their levels together to make a megaWAD. (As opposed to, say, the level of quality control imposed on - most recently - CCHEST4.) It's sad to think that Bird is unfavorably remembered as a provider of filler levels, though I suppose that it's better than his peer and correspondent Kevin Reay's divisive legacy. Almost every entry in the Blind Alley series has an alpha-numeric designator and Octagon of Fear is "B". This references its slot in the to-be-finished megaWAD's running order, in this case MAP11. As it is presented here, however, it is a MAP01 replacement for Doom II, released in March of 2003.

Blind Alley S., "Spirit World - Headquarters" (BNDALYS.WAD)

BLIND ALLEY S.

SPIRIT WORLD - HEADQUARTERS

by Gene Bird

Spirit World - Headquarters marks a bit of a turning point in Bird's published level design. I would characterize all of Gene's maps released thus far as stringy and linear with occasional hubs and spokes. BLNDALYS is not overwhelmingly different in its execution but there is one big change in how he executes this trope, somewhat heralded by his previous release, Monster Mansion. The "S" designator denotes the level's position in the overall running of what could have been a late-occupying episode for Doom II. BNDALYR would have been MAP27 and this would have been MAP28. Things change, though, as the letter "Y" was ascribed to MAP15. Spirit World - HQ is a MAP01 replacement for Doom II and was released in early 2003.

Blind Alley R., "Monster Mansion" (BNDALYR.WAD)

BLIND ALLEY R.

MONSTER MANSION

by Gene Bird

It's been something of a comfort playing the levels of the Blind Alley series. To phrase something 40oz once said (concerning ...And the Bloodshed Began), sometimes you forget what sort of a demon murder machine Doomguy is. The current trend of encounter design involves escalating difficulty by exerting pressure on the player in new and exciting ways. Gene Bird is from an older school of thought, though. Monster Mansion has the alpha-numeric designator "R" which, if "E" is to be believed, pegs it as MAP27 of an episode that continued to grow in spite of the author's humble intentions. Many of its levels were individually polished and released over 2002-2003 as well as featuring as significant minorities of Community Chest I & II (and a few yet remain...). This one straddled both years, being finished / uploaded in 2002 and officially interred in 2003. Like the previous instances, it's a MAP01 replacement.

Blind Alley E., "The Pit" (BNDALYE.WAD)

BLIND ALLEY E

THE PIT

by Gene Bird

Gene was one of the major contributors to the original Community Chest and its sequel. All but one of his inclusions were previously released as part of his unfinished Blind Alley series, though. Bird had been producing it as a prospective megaWAD but releasing the polished portions in a piecemeal fashion, much like Bob Evans and his Odessa / LORDDOOM works. Every bit of BNDALY has an alpha-numeric designator that indicated its original spot in the card. This one, The Pit, has an E for what would have been MAP14. For convenience's sake, though, the 2002 release is a Doom II MAP01 replacement.

Blind Alley Q., "The Warf" (BNDALYQ.WAD)

BLIND ALLEY Q.

THE WARF

by Gene Bird

Gene's 2002-2003 run was fairly productive and made up a sizable minority of both Community Chest and CCHEST2. Part of the reason he was cranking them out so fast was because he had been working on a rainy-day megaWAD since 1998. He originally estimated a run of 7-10 levels though the final talley was a whopping 15. The Warf is situated as part Q of the Blind Alley series and originally occupied the MAP26 slot in the level order. The 2002 single release is a MAP01 replacement, though. Bird recommends running it in a source port - he was particularly fond of Legacy - but it's vanilla compatible.

Blind Alley M., The Citadel (BNDALYM.WAD)

BLIND ALLEY M.

THE CITADEL

by Gene Bird

G.B. had been mapping since 1998 but he was one of those authors who kept his works to himself. Until 2002, that is, where he started to publish them as he finalized each entry. Most people who are familiar with Gene know his entries in the original Community Chest and CCHEST2. He still hangs out on the forums as Searcher, though, and appears to be primarily interested in watching the speed demos of other players. All of Birds's works are part of a series called Blind Alley, each one having a letter designator to signify where it would have appeared in the running order of the finished megaWAD. The Citadel is situated before the previously released Nukage (O) and The Boardwalk (P), probably occupying MAP22. As an individual release in 2002, though, it's a MAP01 replacement for Doom II.

Blind Alley P., The Boardwalk (BNDALYP.WAD)

BLIND ALLEY P.

THE BOARDWALK

by Gene Bird

The original CCHEST - and, to a lesser extent, its sequel - gets a bad rap nowadays. Part of this is due to Gene's involvement, or rather looking back without its original context and holding the project to an unrealistic standard. Community Chest didn't have a lot of motivation beyond "Did you ever want to see a level of yours as part of a megaWAD?" Some folks made new ones. Others like Bird and Sphagne did not and opted to submit from their own, singles-heavy back catalogue. G.B.'s series was called Blind Alley and eight of its fifteen levels can be found in the first as well as CCHEST2. These maps began as part of a larger, more ambitious megaWAD and were released piecemeal as Gene finalized them. The Boardwalk originally occupied the MAP25 slot is MAP01 here mostly for ease of play, I imagine (the author suggests idmus25 or 22 for music). It ought to work in any port, including vanilla, though Bird recommends the use of something more advanced.

Blind Alley, Nukage (BNDALYO.WAD)

BLIND ALLEY

NUKAGE

by Gene Bird

Gene Bird was a fairly big contributor to both the original Community Chest as well as CCHEST2. All of his submissions to each were previously released as part of his Blind Alley series, however, much like fellow participant Sphagne. BNDALY is all over the place in the archives because GB had made some if not most of the material during the previous five years and finally started polishing it to a comfortable level in late 2002. He also says that the finished episode would contain somewhere between seven and ten levels. SPOILER: The Blind Alley catalogue spans fifteen entries, more than half of the alphabet. I say that because all of these levels were given a corresponding alpha(-numeric) character. Nukage, for instance, is "O" (judging by the filename) and would have occupied MAP24. Because one can never get enough D_RUNNIN, though, it is a MAP01 replacement.