Editing Easter egg

An '''Easter egg''' is a message that is hidden or otherwise not immediately evident and is meant to amuse players and often used by the designers to refer to influences, development jokes, pet characters, previous works, or preferences.

==Doom==
===Swastika===
[[Image:E1M4 Swastika.png|thumb|Swastika in [[E1M4: Command Control (Doom)|E1M4]]]]
In released versions of Doom prior to [[Versions of Doom and Doom II#v1.4|v1.4]], [[E1M4: Command Control (Doom)|E1M4: Command Control]] contained a swastika design on the floor of one room, meant as an homage to [[Wolfenstein 3D]]. Alpha versions of this level, dated April 2 and May 22, 1993, included the same room, but did not have the swastika design. [http://www.teaser.fr/~amajorel/yadex/historic.html] The swastika was removed in v1.4 of Doom. While the presence of a swastika would have caused Doom to be banned in Germany (where the display of Nazi iconography in video games {{wp|Strafgesetzbuch_section_86a|is illegal}}, regardless of context), and not just restricted to adults due to the game's graphic violence, according to developer [[John Romero]], the symbol was removed after an objection to its presence was sent to him by a veteran of {{wp|World War II}}.{{cite web|author=IGN|title=We Play Doom With John Romero|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUU7_BthBWM&t=43m47s|publication=YouTube|publishdate=10 December 2013|accessdate=18 September 2015}}

===Cheats===
Most of the [[Doom cheat codes|cheat codes]] in Doom contain or otherwise trigger easter eggs as part of their name or function:
* '''idchoppers''' references a game ''Choppers'', created by a friend of Dave Taylor's for a state programming contest. The message "Doesn't suck - GM" is a reference to his friend's defensiveness over the game being "not quite finished" at the time of its release.
* '''iddt''', besides consisting of [[Dave Taylor]]'s initials, also causes those initials to appear as part of the player arrow on the [[automap]].
* '''iddqd''' forms a reference to DQD, a supposed college fraternity called Delta-Q-Delta, for programmers which could only be joined by having at least one "Q", a common grade assigned for dropped courses, on one's transcript.
* '''idspispopd''' is a reference to the [[SPISPOPD]] phenomenon which arose on [[Usenet groups|Usenet]] before Doom's release.

===NIN Reference===
[[Image:E4M1_NIN_easter_egg.png|thumb|NIN reference in ''[[Ultimate Doom]]'']]
[[E4M1: Hell Beneath (Doom)#Walkthrough|E4M1: Hell Beneath]] includes the letters "NIИ" in a secret area of the level, a reference to [[Wikipedia:Nine Inch Nails|Nine Inch Nails]], the American industrial rock band.<ref>http://www.gamers.org/games/quake/quaketalk.txt</ref> This was included by designer [[American McGee]], who was a fan of the band. id Software's next game, [[Quake]], would feature sound and music by the band's frontman, [[Trent Reznor]]. Additionally, ammunition for the nail-gun and super nail-gun (a crate of nails) would be inscribed with "NIИ" on each of its faces. The easter egg is notably absent from the version of the level used by the [[Sony PlayStation]] and [[Sega Saturn]] ports.

==Doom II==

[[Image:Romero head.PNG|thumb|John Romero's head on a stick]]

===Romero's head===
In [[MAP30: Icon of Sin (Doom II)|MAP30: Icon of Sin]], after the player teleports into the huge room with the head of the [[final boss]], a strange, unintelligible noise is played. This is stored in the Doom2 wad file as DSBOSSIT, and if reversed it becomes a voice saying "To win the game, you must kill me, [[John Romero]]". The voice is shifted down in pitch and is that of John Romero himself.

In the same level, [[Romero's head|John Romero's severed head on a stick]] features as the main boss creature, although the head is hidden behind the face of the final boss, and can only be approached with the [[Doom cheat codes|noclip]] cheat. The player must indeed kill it in order to win the game.

===Secret levels===
The secret maps, [[MAP31: Wolfenstein (Doom II)|MAP31: Wolfenstein]] and [[MAP32: Grosse (Doom II)|MAP32: Grosse]], resemble E1M1 and E1M9 from [[Wolfenstein 3D]]. 
Both levels include Wolfenstein textures and [[SS Nazi]]s that attack the player. 
In MAP31, SS Nazis take the place of soldiers and [[Demon]]s are found in place of the dogs.

A [[Cyberdemon]] is in the place of Hans Grosse in MAP32; the name of this map also comes from Hans Grosse's name.

In the last room in MAP32 there are four [[Commander Keen]]s hanging on ropes. They must be killed in order to exit the level.

At the beginning of MAP32, the message "You'd better blaze through this one!" is displayed; Billy Blaze is [[Wikipedia:Commander Keen|Commander Keen]]'s real name.

===No Rest for the Living===
In the Doom II expansion [[No Rest for the Living]], first released as part of the [[XBLA]] version in {{timeline|2010}}, the first map contains a secret message "THE CASTLE WAS HERE" which is almost impossible to find under normal circumstances, as it becomes invisible 30 seconds after the beginning of the level. Directions on how to find it can be found [[MAP01: The Earth Base (No Rest for the Living)#Other_points_of_interest|here]]. It is a reference to the map's author, [[Russell Meakim (TheCastle)]].

==Final Doom==

Two of the wall textures in [[Team TNT]]'s ''[[TNT: Evilution]]'', CR64HBRM and METAL-RM, have large blood stains which spell the name "Romero", a reference to [[John Romero]].

There is a hidden room in [[MAP17: Processing Area (TNT: Evilution)|MAP17: Processing Area]] next to the room containing the blue [[key]] that can only be accessed by using the [[Doom cheat codes|noclip cheat]]. Several [[Demon]]s are inside and will [[teleport]] out once the key is collected. In this room the player can see "[[Tom Mustaine|Tom]]" and "[[Nine Inch Nails|NIИ]]" in large, glowing blue letters on the north and south walls respectively.

==Console games==
===Super NES===
[[File:SNES Easter egg.png|thumb|right|Secret message visible on the sky texture.]]
In the [[Super NES]] port of the game, at the bottom of the [[Knee-Deep in the Dead]] sky texture is a message reading, "Randy Linden ♥ Jodi Harvey."  This can only be seen if the player looks inside the ROM's graphical resources, or uses a [[Wikipedia:Action Replay|Pro Action Replay]] code that allows walking through walls in areas where the sky is visible.

Within the ROM itself, a hidden message can be found which reads, "Rage/Reality Engine written by Randy Linden. Special thanks to my loving wife, Jodi Harvey."  It can only be found if the ROM file is opened in a hex editor, and is found at position 10E (270 in decimal).

===Sony PlayStation===
Several oddities in the [[Sony PlayStation]] port of Doom are actually easter eggs, left by the Williams designers:
* In {{maplinkgen|MAP57|The Marshes|PlayStation Doom}}, a deadly trap area with an inescapable crusher is formed out of the letters "re", which are the initials of the map's designer [[Randy Estrella]].
* The song "Breath Of Horror," first occurring on MAP09, contains what sounds like demons chanting or singing in low-pitched voices. If sped up 300%, the song seems to have the lyrics "Danny won. Danny won, hey." This may be a reference by [[Aubrey Hodges]] to coworker [[Danny Lewis (Technoman)]], and seems to be accompanied by the sounds of an ongoing {{wp|ping pong}} game.
* On the secret level {{maplinkgen|MAP59|Club Doom|PlayStation Doom}}, sectors forming the letters WDT and JRS are found far to the south-east (bottom right) of the playable area of the map. These are the initials of the play testers for the game, which included Will Shen, Danny Lewis, [[Tim Heydelaar]], John Stookey, Randy Estrella, and Steve Kramer.

===Doom 64===

In [[Doom 64]], if a player dies and waits several seconds, messages will start to appear at the top of the screen every once in a while, usually taunting the player (e.g. "HAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!", "LOOK AT THOSE DEMON FEET!", etc.).

==Doom RPG==
: ''See [[Entrance (Doom RPG)#Secrets]] and [[Geek culture references in Doom RPG]].''

==Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders==

Attempting to use some of the [[Doom cheat codes|cheat codes]] from Doom and Doom II in Heretic has negative effects on the player:

* <tt sab="861">iddqd</tt> results in instant death with the message "trying to cheat, eh? Now you DIE!"
* <tt sab="863">idkfa</tt> takes away all the player's weapons, except the staff with the message "Cheater - you don't deserve weapons!"

==Hexen: Beyond Heretic==
* Like the ''Heretic'' Easter egg, in the demo version of ''Hexen'' the [[Heretic cheat codes|cheat codes]] from ''Heretic'' in ''Hexen'' has negative effects on the player:
:*<tt>quicken</tt> results in instant death.

:*<tt>rambo</tt> takes away all the player's weapons.

* The first hub's secret level [[Hub 1: Bright Crucible|Bright Crucible]] features a [[Item#Puzzle_items|puzzle]] involving the ''Heart of D'Sparil''. [[D'Sparil]] was the final boss in ''[[Heretic]]''.

==Hexen: Deathkings of the Dark Citadel==

* In the Locus Requiescat level, the larger tombstones which have the game developers' names written on them will give funny messages from the developers if "used" by the player.

* The sky lights in the start room of the [[Hub 2: Market Place‎|market place]] are vaguely in the shape of the starship {{wp|USS Enterprise (NCC-1701)|USS Enterprise}} from the {{wp|Star Trek: The Original Series|Star Trek TV series}}.

==Strife: Quest for the Sigil==

There is a sound wave in VOICES.WAD named SUR4A1 that sounds like a bunch of people yelling "surprise!!".

==Chex Quest==
[[Chex Quest]] contains many levels leftover from the original 3-episode Doom albeit trimming to 5 levels.

The texture CEMPOIS has a blackboard and in the bottom right-hand corner of said board, is the equation: √2 = chuck. Charles Jacobi was the Art Director/Lead Artist for ''Chex Quest''.

A secret room in E1M2 contains pictures of all the people that worked on ''Chex Quest''.

In ''Chex Quest 2'', E1M1 is titled HHH International Spaceport. This is a reference to the [[Wikipedia:Hubert_H._Humphrey_Metrodome|HHH (Hubert H. Humphrey) Metrodome]] in [[Wikipedia:Minneapolis|Minneapolis]], [[Wikipedia:Minnesota|Minnesota]] where the [[Wikipedia:Minnesota_Vikings|Vikings]] formerly played until December 29, 2013 (it has since been demolished).

==Doom 3==

From a nonfunctional computer in the [[Delta Complex]] the player may download an email, apparently sent to [[Hellspawn|demons]], giving tips for successful sacrificial rituals.

[[Primary Excavation: Artifact Dig|The last level]] contains the id [[PDA]] which contains special messages from the developers of the game. Immediately before entering the room with the [[Cyberdemon (Doom 3)|Cyberdemon]], there is a button marked with the [[id Software]] logo. Pressing this opens a door to a secret room containing the PDA.

===BFG Edition===
[[File:Lost Mission Rage Egg.jpg|thumb|right|300px|The ''Rage'' button.]]
In [[Doom 3: BFG Edition]]'s expansion ''[[The Lost Mission]]'', the final area of the [[Hell Outpost]] level just before the boss arena contains an Easter egg which refers to ''{{wp|Rage (video game)|Rage}}'', id Software's previously released title. It consists of a button with the game's logo emblazoned on it which can be pressed in order to reveal a secret cache of weapons, health, and armor.

==Microsoft Excel 95==
[[File:Hall of Tortured Souls.png|thumb|right|Hall of Tortured Souls]]
In [[Wikipedia:Microsoft|Microsoft]]'s [[Wikipedia:Microsoft Excel|Excel 95]] spreadsheet program (included in the [[Wikipedia:Microsoft Office|Microsoft Office 95]] [[Wikipedia:Office suite|office suite]]), there is an Easter egg known as the ''Hall of Tortured Souls'', a three dimensional raycasting game engine created as an homage to ''Doom''. [http://www.eeggs.com/items/719.html] The existence of this Easter egg is one of the results of the "religion" said to have arisen on the Microsoft campus in the wake of Doom's release. <ref name="mastersofdoom">Kushner, David. [[Masters of Doom|Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture]]. Random House Publishing Group, 2003. ISBN 0-375-50524-5</ref>

==Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure==

In Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure, typing <tt sab="917">iddqd</tt> or <tt sab="918">idkfa</tt> shows a picture of the Pitfall staff.

==See also==
* [[Secrets]]
* [[SPISPOPD]]
* [[Cheat codes]]
* [[References to Classic Doom in Doom 3]]
* [[References to the Doom series in Doom 2016|Doom-related references in Doom 2016]]
* [[Doom references in other games]]
* [[Crossovers]]

==References==
<references/>

== External links ==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130610040905/http://rome.ro/lee_killough/memorabilia/swastika.shtml The E1M4 swastika], from Lee Killough's site (archived)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20140217002342/http://rome.ro/lee_killough/history/doom2boss.shtml History behind the Romero's head Easter egg] (archived)
* {{dwforums|27933|<nowiki>What if? [noclip cheat]</nowiki>}}, thread at the [[Doomworld forums]]
* [[Wikipedia:Easter egg (media)|Wikipedia article on Easter eggs in computer programs and other media]]
[[Category:Easter eggs]]