You're Not Supposed To Be Here - Level Lore - "Nakano Nightmare" (level 9/BRL9.map) news

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Duke Nukem takes on Tokyo, Japan in level 9 of Blast Radius: "Nakano Nightmare", set in the eponymous district and around a boiling hot Sunplaza where zeal is in order for the local Pig Cop forces. New foes await, but also further findings regarding the current, now confirmed planetary distress and so our hero shall not hesitate, and play his opponents like Pachinko balls of steel.

History: Chronologically, "Nakano Nightmare" was the third out of fourteen maps constructed for Duke Nukem 3D: Blast Radius (right after level 3: "Big Apple Smoke Toke" and level 7: "Lights, Camera, Revolution" and preceding the making of level 1: "Sunset Suicide").

It was made June 17th - October 29th, 2020.

During its design phase, "Nakano Nightmare" essentially consisted in an experimental piece for playing with the trademark sector-over-sector possibilities of the Build engine on a larger scale than usual and, in that sense, undoubtedly was key to cementing a layout style Blast Radius would constantly gravitate around for most of its levels crafted onwards.

It is the level after which the whole of the project firmly confirmed establishing its direction and groove - being as 'micromanaged' as its two predecessors detail-wise in contrast with some of the later, larger, more over-the-top maps made for the episode, thereby helping with equilibrium, pacing and, in a way, in itself concluding a certain inner corpus and trilogy of more balanced urban stages.

"Nakano Nightmare" very much - and quite literally - is an explosive map, but one brimming with secret places, references and Easter eggs just waiting for the most observant of players.

The general tone is one constant callback to some of Japanese societal and cultural idiosyncracies: the buildings, apartments and businesses appear to be fighting each other for their respective spatial capabilities (allowing for, again, tons of interconnections and various sector-over-sector shenanigans), the convenience stores (konbinis) are copy-pasted from one another with only superficial, cosmetic and brand name changes (the level features a 7-Eleven and a Lawson), the police uses neon accessories and glowsticks, vending machines are omnipresent (mostly proposing Boss coffee and Kirin beer), capsule hotels are a thing, the arcades go insane with sudden flashing lights (and explicit game content censorship), and entire buildings tremble, then crumble under the weight and wrath of kaiju-inspired massive monsters.

Even back when still a mere concept, "Nakano Nightmare" was set to be the last stop in, and culmination of Duke Nukem's complete revolution around the wrecked planet and thus, where our hero's trip would terminate prior to the episode expediting and exiling him onto even more distant destinations.

Having always been intended as the final line of Blast Radius' unspoken act two out of three, and the conclusion to its Earthly chapter altogether, it only makes sense that following the making of "Nakano Nightmare", the construction of "Sunset Suicide" - Blast Radius' introductory, Los Angeles-based level - would be initiated immediately just next, for optimal framing purposes.

As explicited earlier, constructing "Nakano Nightmare" really consisted in one somewhat serious sector-over-sector study and exercise; a process the resulting design logically, consequentially bears deep marks from, all the while playing like a relatively traditional Duke Nukem 3D city level; just on a wider scale between the various landmarks and disconnected locations, and of course also action-wise to match.

For more info on the non-Euclidian features of the design, please refer to the Particularities section, below!

Walkthrough:

"I'm going to ninja this" - instinctually on point in spite of being unaware of his surroundings for now, Duke cocks his gun as he knows he still can't fancy a clean breather after escaping Norilsk's notorious pollution. And about that, too, he would be right since just around the corner, alien scum is awaiting already.

Past the first line of Assault Trooper affiliates, a new foe breaks onto Duke's set: the Porkisu, a Japanese Pig Cop armed with deadly neon lasers our hero can in fact visualize and dodge, contrarily to the classic Pig Cop shotgun hitscan, but may be more lethal if Duke decides to toughen up and tank it out of curiosity or boredom.

Thankfully, their uniforms aren't any more bulletproof than those of their Western counterparts.

From the start, Duke has multiple ways he can choose to go, with some security camera screens disseminated around which shall help him plan his imminent approach of the streets, outside.

Visiting the surroundings of his entrance point: the Nakano train station shall reveal three exits into the city: two via the station itself where downstairs holds a full Shrinker, and upstairs the chaingun - both floors can be visited in any order and offer different gateways out on the main street.

Or Duke can also keep treking up the train tracks, fetch a RPG on the platform right outside the station, and then leap off and down the grassy hill - at the certain risk of catching some alien animosity for his trespassing.

Deciding to dodge the main gates will not just result in coarse judgement of Duke's sense of responsibility from the surrounding populace, but also pay off with the possibility of stocking up on explosive weaponry early into the level (most especially if Duke chooses to be observant of his surroundings).

Surely that may come in handy when it comes to talking back to the immediate, vocal crowd of Assault Taxi Drivers, Assault Assaulters and Porkisus that appear to have flooded the streets of Nakano. It goes without saying, though, that by keeping and using those found items for himself, Duke might upset the residents' morale even further.

When Duke decides it is time, he shall go and wipe the entire block clean from all the alien bastards.

Their placement around the streets that encircle the central Sunplaza coincides with the locations of their respective vehicles, with the Porkisus regrouped around the police cars (and their loud sirens) and, as per usual now, the Assault Taxi Drivers protecting their cherished cabs at all costs, always remaining in their immediate reach and so relying on lobbed mortar throws to try and trip Duke.

The exploded sections of the city, south and east of the map respectively, also are occupied by the usual suspects: members of the Pig Cop Bomb Squad, still armed with rockets and mortars and, in this context, particularly prepared for Duke's arrival, since two different teams plan on ambushing him from blind spots the minute he tries leaving the train station.

Of course, their universally recognizable grunts shall contradict their pathetically pretentious plans, as even a nearby explosion, or twelve, shouldn't suffice for tainting Duke's extraordinary sensory perception with any trace of tinnitus.

Before even infilitrating the side alleys, Duke's full loop around Sunplaza will prove to persist as one furious freakshow, introducing more and more serious enemy guard, including Scorpion Tanks patrolling the northernmost road, and one particular Sunburnt Battlelord Sentry whose dedicated sniper spot, upon further investigation, shall reveal the blue keypad.

As far as the red keypad is concerned, it's very likely Duke automatically will spot it as, even through his shades, the man's vision is triumphant; and the keypad itself also fortunately happens to be adorning imagery that is bound to deeply resonate with and within our hero's cognitive landmarks.

The Sunplaza itself is home to one more RPG, extra rockets and goodies, but it's also rather well-guarded and getting anywhere near just the plaza per se shall cause flying Assault Troops to start homing in on Duke from the buildings around different corners of the block.

And even once those naturally are vainquished, Duke stepping onto the art installation itself shall result in immediate, rocket-fueled reaction from Fat Commanders revealing their presence from the hotel windows above, well determined and dying to defend their supplies. Of course, it is up to Duke's absolute kindness whether to grant that latter wish of theirs but, preferably, in his trademark literal manner.

A brief glance at the security camera screen on the green-lit central machine shall confirm the coordinates of the blue keypad if Duke chose to miss it or to TL;DR, but also show the situation of the corresponding blue key, which appears to be really high up and somewhere around the complete opposite corner of the map in relation to the lock.

With the block mostly cleaned up now, it clearly is time for Duke to go infilitrate and investigate further up and into the side and back alleys that occupy that easternmost part of the level.

If he thinks he's been too generous with ammunition thus far, though, before he goes, Duke can snag a Devastator, RPG and health refill around that red-lit, northeastern corner of the block, shown below.

Of course, being so daring in public will piss someone off and it is the rampant jealousy of no other than one more new foe which will be triggered in this case: the Permafried Overlord, a full-sized version of the Sunburnt Overlord Sentry Duke can already bet will first manifest itself from the roof of the Sunplaza building before hopping down, then yelling mortars at our hero all the while shamelessly trying to crush him.

Of course, Duke ain't having none of that stereotype and it already is written on the wall who will crush who: all the more now that he has restocked on explosives and is pissed to potentially have to waste some of them already, the 'red-headed stepchild' shall perish.

Another spot Duke can choose to explore now or, really, whenever he so desires is the Dukai Sushi joint that is just across the street from the Nakano train station.

It is infested with Sunburnt Fat Commander clients Duke shall disrupt the explosive digestion of, and hires Assault workers seemingly specialized in sending plates and gamma ray bursts with comparable consistency through the conveyor belt, but that's no fish an overpowered, muscular, best-seller writer and Oprah enthusiast can't chew on raw if he's all out of gum.

Exploring the sushi joint shall provide Duke with some extra goodies as well as the sight of a for now mysteriously locked door in the kitchen, and access to a security camera screen which provides hints.

One more extra spot Duke can consider checking out is the Babe Land business that is always open on one of the side streets. For the time being, the 'massage' hotel on the top floor will only lead to a dead-end after said floor collapses, but a shotgun can be fetched there, and a handful of secrets are to be found, not to mention scum to wipe out.

And right around the next corner from Babe Land is one more shop: Nakano's legendary FATBROS, duly guarded by a polarized duo of Ice Cold and Sunburnt Fat Commanders. After he's schooled them, Duke can try and retrieve a secret Devastator inside and perhaps keep exploring further; albeit, for now, doing so shall only lead to another dead-end.

Eventually, Duke's thirst for keycards shall bring him to the source that is the Nakano Sun Mall, which can be entered either from the street right across the train station, around the corner of the Dukai Sushi joint, or via just about any side alley that is stemming from the main street.

Choosing the front gate will allow for sorting out some pretty heavy Scorpion and Riot Tank surveillance that is watching it from a nearby corner until Duke intervenes. That momentary break from his, thus far, relatively relaxing walk might lead our hero to spot the yellow key pad (if he has scorned the security camera angles before), which seems to regulate access into a building just left of the front entrance of the mall.

The Sun Mall security won't especially appreciate Duke Nukem's unsollicited visit; Porkisus and Sentry Drones will emerge out of a dedicated room as soon as his first step through the front entrance, but it should be no problem for Mr. Nukem to justify the validity of his presence with stronger arguments.

Duke can enter the now conveniently open security room in order to raid all the furniture and, once more, find extra comfort (and possible strategizing) under the form of a screen that is linked to every security camera inside and around the mall.

One recurrent, prominent focus of those camera angles seems to be the nearby arcade; but, for now, it is blocked by a forcefield which Duke really shall find a way to deactivate, as a red keycard appears to be lodged inside.

The security cameras also seem concentrated on one particular, outdoor section of the mall that is evidenced by strong red lighting, just across the hallway from the arcade.

Duke shall inspect that zone and expect to find, eventually, the entrance into an adult film store where, amongst some other surprises, a control switch can be found - complete with a window view out on the arcade as well as the evident power of deactivating its leftmost forcefields, and unlocking its leftmost door.

Flicking the switch will anger one particularly mean Sunburnt Battlelord Sentry, however; the presence of which will be notified to Duke from the top floor of the mall, via rocket, Expander ray and roar spam. The Sentry's and Duke's explosives are very likely to collapse part of said top floor altogether, which would then allow the Sentry to roam free on the same floor as Duke and the arcade; and so the quicker the Sentries goes down, the less annoying it shall turn out to be, unless Duke is feeling empathetic, or playful.

Playfulness actually shall be forced onto the menu anyway as entering the arcade will expose Duke to its own unique lot of original games, and various leisury activities such as the exploding of Sentry Drones emerging from panels in the wall as flashing lights turn on, or Mario Kart 128.

If no Sentry Drone piñata ever happens to cause that by chance, Duke himself can blow up a wall that is just above the arcade booths, themselves situated just around the corner with the Toilet Simulator 6000 and the Pachinko Zone.

Penetrating said hole in the wall shall take Duke to the glory of the red keycard, finally, but not after he's traversed Hicobar which is nested inside the central part of the building and could already be seen from outside Babe Land, but not entered yet.

Assault Troopers have no manners however - and some will break in the moment Duke dips inside, which is practical as the doors they open will form new entry and exit points into and outside the building from this point on.

What is slightly less practical and, honestly, nearly inconvenient is how Duke getting his mighty hands on the red keycard is bound to disrupt, and attract two more Battlelord Sentries: one Sunburnt and one Ice Cold, on their respective ways towards the mall from opposite directions and well determined to turn our hero into some room temperature sandwich - that is if he lets them, which he shall not.

A quick walk back up to the main street will reveal it's now brimming with enemy opposition ranging from Assault Troopers coherently guiding Duke back to the red keypad just in case he's been trying to ignore it, to vicious Scorpion Tanks coming from around different corners of the block, and even one mean Ice Cold Battlelord Sentry shamelessly, desperately trying to hide on top of the Sunplaza entrance and freeze Duke into place from the moderate distance and pathetic safety of that improvised, angular sniper spot.

As it's just across the street from the red keypad, our hero would be wise to dispose of that nuisance the very first second he deems appropriate.

Triggering the red keypad, on the machine right next to the Duke Burger, will open the door into the corresponding building and, from there, unleash a whole group of Sentry Drones into the open, the buzz of which Duke would be better off forever silencing (for instance, thanks to the Expander) before they get the chance to spread and make more of a mess.

Venturing inside the building then shall take Duke up a hallway which terminates with the suspicious set-up that is a locked elevator with a strangely convenient Atomic Health placed right in front of it, and a closed Duke Burger door on the immediate right.

Not so easily tricked by cheap bluff, Duke probably should leap back as soon as he fetches the tempting Atomic Health, unless he feels like enduring the booby trap of an Assault Assaulter that is just about to blow up the next door and attack Duke precisely at that moment.

Exploded door mostly means Duke can now enter the Duke Burger without breaking a sweat.

Further exploration of the joint shall reveal a handful of secret places and hidden weaponry (including another Devastator and a Freezethrower), one intriguing ventilation shaft that is apparently stuffed with vermin, and one mean Scorpion and Riot Pig Cop Tank ambush after Duke has been curious about the storage room for one too many moments and they open the delivery door.

Obviously, a gentleman's response there should be to take the beef outside, via the many possible exits out of the room, and see who's the small fry there - as opposed to whilst still entrapped within the confined Duke Burger, where explosions might result in some salty feedback Duke's renowned natural sweet nature should not allow.

Once the place sanitized, it is time to investigate the mysterious ventilation shaft, which (as automap would reveal) leads to a spot just underneath the locked elevator Duke got to see prior to entering the Duke Burger.

An 'emergency' switch can be found there, but the elevator is right over Duke's head and so, in order not to get crushed, he should shoot it from a distance with his pistol. Successfully doing so will indeed bring the elevator down and so, after he's ducked and rolled away from the resulting explosion, Duke can now go back to the first hallway and finally enter the lift.

Riding the elevator up will take Duke to the immediate next, second floor where the local Funny Boner Comedy Club is located. Inside can be fetched a potentially precious shotgun and, on the central table, the yellow keycard.

One glimpse out of the window may reveal the existence of secret items aplenty, on the ledge and lights right across the alley, if Duke ever feels like exercising and leaping over to those.

Beyond the yellow keypad is what turns out to be an alternative entrance into the building that also comprises the Dukai Sushi joint Duke might have recognized earlier - just across the street from the Nakano train station.

Following his intrusion and upon progressing further into the lobby, Duke shall catch vibes from one more indelicate handful of Sentry Drones, reach the room which always was behind the back door of the Dukai Sushi kitchen - that is now unlocked - and, last but not least, find an elevator he can and should ride all the way up to the ninth floor, where he will reach an under construction demolition office ran by Bomb Squad Pig Cops.

Once up on that floor, a non-secret Devastator can be found just resting there, lodged inside the window.

A quick, omnidirectional peek out of the window shall reveal the existence of a ledge running alongside the building, exactly just below Duke. Our hero should drop down there, glide along the wall (and Atomic Healths) and retrieve the long sought after blue keycard, finally, eventually.

Now that Duke is able to use the blue keypad he's seen before if he's bothered to explore the parking lot on the western side of the Sunplaza building, he very well might as to lower the fence around a manhole he shall then be able to jump down, in order to infiltrate the basement.

Duke's landing spot then will turn out to be an underground control room that is parasitized by Protozoid eggs and also comprises one more security screen, this time bound to every camera inside the Sunplaza building and thus hinting at what's to come on the several navigable floors Duke shall visit.

Keeping progressing ahead through the doors and hallways shall lead Duke into what might seem like a dead-end at first, inside a storage room, but promptly will unveil itself as one more ambush with the ventilation shafts opening up to unleash Sentry Drones that will emerge into the basement from inside the ducts.

After he's exhausted their batteries the best way he knows how (and so the best way altogether), Duke is ready to sneak into said ventilation ducts and, eventually, reach the floor above that comprises the 'service quarters' featuring a vestiary, a ticket office, a small lounge and then finally an elevator to the lobby.

Stepping anywhere close to said elevator, however, immediately shall have Duke realize some kind of Battlelord already is in the process of utilizing it and so, just about to intervene from the desired top floor to check in on the basement. A precautious couple of steps back should suffice at satisfying Duke's spontaneous curiosity regarding the exact enemy type, promptly unveiled to be just a common Battlelord Sentry.

Possibly after treating his existential disappointment with personal retribution, at last Duke is able to ride the elevator up to the lobby, which itself turns out to branch out in several possible directions.

The floor Duke directly exits on comprises a door to the Sunplaza Hall which for now is locked, replenishments around the back of the lobby entrance, and stairs leading up another floor only to then split again; there, our hero can choose whether to progress ahead and into the hotel section itself, or veer left and visit the building's gallery space.

Both options eventually shall yield the same satisfactory results, just approachable from two possible, opposite angles. Whatever Duke decides, further exploration of the hotel section undoubtedly will stump him with one more red keypad and corresponding locked elevator which mark our hero's ultimate destination.

One possibility for retreiving the required red keycard would be to use the Shrinker against the nearby mirror so that small Duke can enter the ventilation shaft that is in the hallway there.

Following the ventilation shaft shall lead Duke into one more storage room, but the way up is out of jumping reach.

After he's taken care of the surrounding enemy surveillance consisting in a Davy and Linda duo, Duke can activate a crane by standing inside the lit up sector. The crane (signaled by its shadow) which will drop down on Duke to pick him up, and then automatically carry his muscular up physique up a floor.

After Duke has granted the crane the privilege of such intimate contact, the red key can be salvaged from a crate, but since he's officially big again, now, there is no way our hero can penetrate the ventilation duct again and retrace the way he first came and so, an alternative route out shall have to be found.

If the door into and out of the Sunplaza Hall was left unlocked, then Duke probably can find a ventilation shaft somewhere he can use to drop down a few floors and get back to the basement. Otherwise, he can follow the second possible route he could have taken, just in reverse.

Indeed, instead of exploring the hotel altogether, Duke can also wander into the building's art gallery space first - whether by choice, accident or out of subconscious interest not factually mattering there.

The gallery entrance immediately provides its visitors with the Night Vision Goggles and that is in fact very appropriate in Duke's present case as the moment he steps in, two Battlelord Sentries (one regular, one Ice Cold on the Come Get Some difficulty setting) will turn the power off as an attempt to try and blind, then raise projectile hell against him.

Unfortunately for them, here, we are talking some severe, pretentious underestimation of a character who's been rocking shades since 1996 with insistence so hard it eventually corrupted the timeline and thus, thanks to this unique skill he's developed and also the Night Vision Goggles, such petty plans have absolutely no way of ever working on the Duke.

Once the gallery wiped out of all that lousy scum, Duke shall finally get to concentrate on a switch that exists on location and will open the door to the Sunplaza Hall he got to spot, before, in the lobby, downstairs. Also present in the gallery is a security screen which provides with a reminder about that door, and a manner for Duke to attest that flicking the switch personally provoked a handful of Fat Commanders now set on waiting around the lobby to (try and) scold him about his mannerisms.

Duke's newfound possibility of a romp through the Sunplaza Hall, once exploited, shall take him inside a two-story cinema where two crucial concerns currently coexist.

One is a Cycoid Emperor, on the stage front and center, waiting for Duke's arrival to bombard him with qi energy balls and gamma ray bursts that may especially be deadly given the enemy's enclosed environment.

The other concern and arguably a more exciting one would be, in the back, an elevator up to the aforementioned storage room with the red key Duke can then go back to use in the hotel once - but regardless of how - he's fetched it.

Behind the red key door is a lift Duke can ride far up to the eleventh floor.

There, a bowling alley exists that is peppered with colored Fat Commander variants throughout, but Duke shouldn't break a sweat traversing before he finds the next unlocked door.

Behind said unlocked door is one final elevator which, once ridden, shall lead Duke into an attic.

And after he's suppressed some ultimate, desperate Davy & Linda opposition in and around the attic and also dodged some tripmine lasers, the last door shall bring our hero back outside, finally and onto the Nakano Sunplaza rooftop which dominates the entire level.

Duke going to snag the non-secret jetpack on the rooftop in addition to the rockets and Atomic Healths just scattered about there inevitably will make a mess of the Heavy Sick Zero tower just across the street and around the corner of the block, as a new, full-sized boss enemy: the Madlad Overlord comes crashing down and crushing it.

The Madlad Overlord is a devout fan of the Cycoid Emperor and, as such, has learned how to mimic all the latter's qi energy and gamma ray-based attacks, but is all the more dangerous that it did so in addition to a bigger, faster, stronger nature it keeps failing to realize due to a personality complex - until Duke comes close enough for the boss to suddenly remember its innate brute force can be utilized to stomp and squish him.

It unquestionably is the deadliest Overlord variant Duke will cross paths with in all of Blast Radius due to its devastating offensive power; its defense game however is on par with the typical full-sized Overlord and so, especially in such open streets, no particular threat for Duke to throat.

After he's taught the Madlad Overlord a retrospective lesson on existential aspirations (and also schooled the rest of its annoying followers and minions), Duke himself shall realize the consequences of the boss' intrusion were such that he can now venture inside the Heavy Sick Zero building, or whatever is now left of it.

That can be achieved by using the jetpack to fly up there and over the rubble, or by manually climbing the scaffolding which always was juxtaposed to the building.

The inside of the building will reveal particularly strong traces of alien corruption, in addition to a bunch of Sentries that are best promptly done with, and one last Cycoid Emperor guarding the level exit.

If Duke ever deems the party in there is boring and fancies leaving the place for a focused, lone stroll, then he has various ways out of the building now that the surrounding walls have collapsed, including passageways back to Babe Land if our hero has visited the place before, or to FATBROS, via an open ventilation shaft.

Once the enemy presence wiped out, Duke shall be ready to, finally, accept the local situation as irredeemable and consequentially punch the "Nakano Nightmare" Nuke Button, thereby exiting the level...

Hopefully for the best.

"HIDDEN CHAMPION" - secret challenge:

In "Nakano Nightmare" is a particular secret place Duke can access at any given time, his navigation to which shouldn't even require a jetpack but shall in fact provide him with the luxurious reward of one, eventually, as soon as he can find it and then survives the echo enemy encounter.

The location of the secret place is intrinsically tied to the two konbinis, and may or may not involve the prominent scaffolding that is right next to the Heavy Sick Zero building depending on Duke's current equipment.

It contains a particularly remarkable cache of supplies, Atomic Healths, some enemy turrets to watch out for and its discovery shall provoke a secret, spectacular double boss fight against two full-sized Overlords: one normal, one Permafried sharing not just facial features but also a defavorable opinion on Duke's newfound equipment equilibrium that they very much intend to instantly disturb.

Rummaging through the secret place's supplies, and then defeating the duo shall count as completing the optional "HIDDEN CHAMPION" challenge in "Nakano Nightmare".

Par time route: Absolutely everything already pertaining to "Norilsk No-Reward" in that department also is applicable to "Nakano Nightmare": Duke's jetpack essentially allows him to skip all of the level's keys by flying straight to the exit point reveal trigger - in this case, the rooftop of the central Nakano Sunplaza building, as to spawn the Madlad Overlord and collapse the Heavy Sick Zero building as early as possible.

Again just like in the previous level, there are many secret jetpacks scattered throughout the level Duke may or may not find depending on the relative improbability of the events he shall subject himself to.

"Nakano Nightmare" only 'officially' introduces the jetpack after Duke has infiltrated the Nakano Sunplaza building and thus inserted the third key out of four the map comprises, but word on the ward is many might be found way earlier than that, perhaps even prior to finding the second key.

The recorded par times were achieved, as per usual, off Come Get Some pistol start and did in fact not rely on resorting to any of the earliest jetpacks, which means they should be easily beatable.

Particularities: As evoked in the History section of this article (way above), "Nakano Nightmare" is, scale concerns aside, a rather traditional Duke Nukem 3D city level in its essential design (just blown out of proportion) and, in that sense, completely embraces the non-Euclidian logic the famous sector-over-sector possibilities of Ken Silverman's Build engine allow for.

Sector-over-sector is not to be confused with the different, modern feature that is "true room-over-room" a.k.a. TROR, which Blast Radius never uses, instead choosing to solely rely on Build's most classic ways (also including the extensive use of flat sprite collages in order to simulate certain specific three-dimensional attributes.)

Fundamentally an experiment and exercise in the matter, however, the application of such possibilities here is a bit different from how most other Blast Radius maps typically go about it, in that while those levels mostly rely on superimposed dimensions and distinct but layered, stacked spaces for map-wide traversal and connection from location to location, in "Nakano Nightmare", the sector-over-sector always is confined within the same separate constructions, but then developed therein to uncommon degrees.

The Nakano Sunplaza building being the central and main, but not lone representation of that: its totality is the sum of several, intermittently intertwined spaces including one layer for the exteriors and rooftop, then all the multiple overlapping floors - that is, from bottom to top, entry to exit: the first basement, the 'service quarters' floor, the lobby (and its cinema, itself intrinsically split into different floors), the art gallery which singlehandedly extends around then protrudes into the lobby (with an elaborate flat sprite collage there that is shaped and aligned to match the gallery's actual areal coordinates in a way Duke can go and stand on top of it), the storage room with the crane which overlaps the cinema, then the bowling alley floor and, finally, the last attic which connects back to the first, exterior dimension of the map.

Another smaller scale, but similar set-up can be observed within the confines of the Duke Burger/Funny Boner building, with some extra multi-story interactivity thrown in under the form of the elevator puzzle that is an elementary example of simulating the lowering of one floor logically invading the space of the one below, despite being technically disconnected. (That one essentially is an alternate, inverted take on a more common, classic Build level design trope that is altering and fluctuating the respective heights of different, submergible and submerged water sectors to match.)

One guideline in the crafting of "Nakano Nightmare" was each distinct area and room had to have as many passageways in and out as possible; ideally, never less than at least three and, in practice, sometimes many more than that.

One set guideline for the crafting of "Nakano Nightmare" was each distinct area and room had to have as many passageways in and out as possible; ideally, never less than at least three and, in practice, sometimes many more than that (the Duke Burger has seven), also including vertical routes involving grates and holes in most overlapping floors/ceilings combined with sets of silent teleporters (from layer to layer) to really convey a sense of three-dimensional depth and freedom as far as in the rudimentary navigation despite the limitations of 2.5D.

Due to such focus on interconnection on not just the typical, horizontal Build plane but also on the vertical axis via a plethora of recurring design quirks and tricks, "Nakano Nightmare" is intended to function especially well as a Dukematch map.

Literally every successive floor of the Nakano Sunplaza building (which might as well qualify as its own inner map inside the map) is tied to at least one, when not several of the next by small pits Duke can drop down or fly up most anytime in addition to all the usual hallway-based layouts, thereby multiplying the possibilities for exploration and traversal as soon as he gets familiar with them.

Fundamental ideal was that were one to flip the whole of the building ninety degrees sideways, they would still find themselves within a completely navigable map.

The practical verticality of the entire map with all of its layered dimensions means it in fact contains a lot more space than ever gets to meet the eye, but the general concept also is signified and pushed visually by the means of omnipresent 2D (solid) sprite collages simulating 3D structures, platforms and bridges in and around most every observable frame.

Usually those are coherently intertwined with fitting architecture and sector work to match, resulting in constant blends that might make it difficult even to a trained Build enthusiast's eye to exactly tell which techniques are used and where, in an effort at credibilizing the coherence of the level as one entire ensemble and, ideally, better simulate seemingly seamless 3D depth.

Soundtrack: "Jealous" by Dir En Grey / "Jealous" / Free-Will Co., Ltd., 1998 (MIDI version)

This soundtrack pick is another one of those that took some effort and research in order to finally materialize. Due to the extreme rarity of Japan-themed Duke Nukem 3D maps (the only instances I am aware of being those user levels from 1997 by a Japanese author), the use of authentic, locally composed and produced music felt especially crucial here.

Except, interestingly enough, such .mid files can prove to be relatively challenging to find from a Western, non-Japanese speaker perspective; let alone specific ones that would work not just as credible Duke Nukem 3D music, but also by matching the vibes, pacing and length of "Nakano Nightmare" as its own particular adventure.

First finding out about the existence and works of Dir En Grey altogether in itself turned out to be the perfect lifesaver upon the realization that most of their songs involved mostly upbeat tempo, gritty textures, interesting composition choices, and narrative progression patterns the effect of which oftentimes relied on contrasted build-ups and break-ups that promised to align with the highs and the lows in tension perfectly whilst playing the level.

Out of several possible track choices, the one of "Jealous" was justified, eventually, by its general tone (including the frequent polarized shifts), its progressive qualities (which matched the level's pacing as soon as their synchronized intro, successfully engulfing the first minute into mystery before finally breaking loose once on the streets), its variety and length (as to minimize the redundancy of the repetition during longer playthroughs) and, last but not least, its title, which directly echoes the nature of Duke's true struggle - his ego - throughout this entire episode of his.

Automap:

Map stats (as of v. 1.0.16): 2209/4096 sectors, 16382/16384 walls, 13508/16384 sprites.

Download Duke Nukem 3D: Blast Radius (last update: 03/04/2024; v. 5.0.2)