Computer and video game settings
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The following is a list of settings and levels traditionally found in video games.
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[edit] Lava worlds
Many games feature levels that either consist mainly of lava (or, technically, magma) or have lava as a major obstacle. Lava in computer and video games seldom flows as it does in real life, instead opting to pool in several major depressions, bubbling ominously. A character falling into lava usually suffers instant death (in fact, lava pools have become shorthand for instant death, like bottomless pits and beds of spikes), or at the very least serious injury. The pooled lava seldom burns through walls, even if it is contained inside metal or stone. Lava sometimes seems subject to tidal forces, rather like water, complete with a discernible current and the occasional wave. Sometimes a wave of lava will patiently wait for a character to step in front of it before it moves. Sometimes lava erupts into geysers of flame or ejects glowing globules of fire. Enemies found within lava levels are often immune to the extreme temperatures, and sometimes "swim" through the lava, surfacing to do battle. Lava only hurts characters if it contacts them directly - a character can usually be within inches of the lava flow but will not be harmed by the intense heat. In the Nintendo DS game Super Princess Peach, Peach can stand on the crack of a lava fountain without being directly harmed by the bits of lava dispersing from it, but she will take damage if the fountain completely erupts. Likewise, characters have no apparent difficulty breathing in lava areas, and clothing, weapons and other items never are melted, scorched, or otherwise damaged. When lava cools, it can be safely walked upon within seconds. Some games will have items that protect characters from extreme heat and allow them to swim in the lava.
In the Metroid series, Samus Aran is vulnerable to the effects of magma's high heat (taking the form of both super heated areas and magma) until she acquires the Varia Suit, an upgrade to her armor that resists the high temperatures. Similarly, in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Link will die if he spends too much time in the area around the Fire Temple unless he wears the heat-resistant Goron Tunic. In Super Mario 64, the only way to walk on lava is to become metal.
[edit] Ice worlds
Many video games feature ice worlds, either in caves, mountains, or other such rugged terrains. Despite the intense cold, characters suffer no hypothermia, snow blindness, or other such ill effects from the cold other than shivering if they stand still, even though they seldom bother dressing appropriately for the weather. A major exception to the rule would be Ultima VII Part Two: Serpent Isle, where the characters reacted to the extreme heat and cold, and needed protective clothing. Also in Tombraider III, Lara Croft wears special clothing, and can not stay underwater for a very long time. Ice worlds usually have slippery surfaces, but while this usually causes the characters to skid around uncontrollably, it seldom makes them actually fall down. A rare break from this tradition would be Sierra's Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura, where characters occasionally lose their balance and fall on their backs if they try to run on icy terrain. A common feature of these levels is a series of perfectly-square ice cubes of unknown origin. These are occasionally used similar to the crates mentioned at the top of this article. Another trait is that paths may be blocked by ice, or the aforementioned ice cubes; this obstacle can be eliminated using any fire-based weapon or magic, which results in the vaporazation (sublimation) of the ice, as opposed to melting into water. Common obstacles in the ice worlds are giant, rolling snowballs, falling stalactites/icicles (when venturing in Ice caves), as well the infamous avalanche. Players may encounter rogue penguins, walruses, seals, polar bears, yeti-like creatures, and even strange ice varieties of previously encountered enemies that did not reside in the ice world. When there are both ice world and lava world themes in the game, then ice world usually comes after lava world.
In Banjo-Tooie for the Nintendo 64, the Lava and Ice Worlds are combined into one level, Hailfire Peaks. Star Fox Adventures also does this, in the form of the DarkIce Mines area. Metroid Fusion included frozen areas in addition to heated areas (see above).
[edit] Desert worlds
At the other environmental extreme is the desert world, consisting mainly of sand dunes, rocks, cacti and dead trees. The intense heat and lack of water is generally not a problem for the characters (an exception in Golden Sun for the Game Boy Advance which had a small "heat" bar which dropped as the characters moved and caused damage if it dropped to 0; also, in the game EarthBound, the characters could suffer heat stroke if left out in the sun, and had to be healed with a wet towel), but they do have to be wary of natural enemies such as scorpions and giant sand-worms rising up to attack them. Quicksand is also an occasional problem. Desert worlds are surprisingly often chosen as 4th world/theme. Desert worlds in games vary in type. The most common type is the Egyptian-esque desert, complete with the exploration of pyramids, Nile-like pools of water, as well as dangers such as the aforementioned quicksand and sandstorms. Another variety is the southwestern U.S desert, reminiscent of the deserts of Mexico and Arizona.
[edit] Underwater worlds
Characters often have to venture underwater, often discovering Atlantis-esque ruins. Some characters can breathe underwater indefinitely, but others need to retreat to the surface for periodic breaths of air or seek out air bubbles (which, miraculously, never contain carbon dioxide). Characters can dive as deep as they wish without being adversely affected by the water pressure, and can surface quickly without suffering the bends. Venturing underwater often results in attacks from (sometimes robotic) aquatic enemies, some nondescript fish, but mostly sharks, octopuses, eels, manta rays, whales, urchins, puffer fish, jellyfish, piranhas, squids, sea serpents, mer people, mollusks and crabs. Most of these creatures attack without provocation and curiously few bother to devour their victims (or each other). Dolphins are almost never villainous. Most weapons still function underwater, even those that are associated with Fire or Thunder. A counterexample to this is that in Sonic 3 & Knuckles, the Fire Shield and Lightning Shield are lost if the player goes underwater. The screen even flashes if the Lightning Shield is lost, as if the electricity spread throughout the water.
Most underwater areas in games are plagued with difficult swimming controls and, much of the time, cause the gamer to grow impatient with the game.
[edit] Grassland worlds
In most games, characters would have to venture through a long, wispy grassland world. The simple terrain contains green shrubbery, flowers, small clusters of trees, as well as a few scattered hill areas. The grassland world usually comes first before all the others and offers the easiest stages with less tough and more basic enemies. There are very few natural dangers residing in these types of levels, save for the "bottomless pits" common in many games. To add a little spice and variety, some grassland stages include small rivers and waterfalls to test the skills of the player for the tougher stages. A notable example of this is in Sonic the Hedgehog, where a large number of the games have started off with a "green" level, often with the word "Hill" in the title of the level (Green Hill Zone, Emerald Hill Zone, Mushroom Hill Zone).
[edit] Forest worlds
Many games also include some sort of forest world. Forest worlds consist of what a real forest would look like and share some characteristics with the previously mentioned grassland worlds. Like the grasslands, some forests in games include waterfalls and rivers. Spiders, snakes, birds, rodents, insects and a few inexplicably animated plant enemies are among the common foes characters face in the forest worlds. Some are quite similar to jungle worlds, mentioned below. It is not uncommon for a level to be given a forest theme despite having an unlikely amount of open space. For example, Fungi Forest in Donkey Kong 64 is only recognisable as a forest level by its name and the backdrop which is applied.
[edit] Cave and underground worlds
Caves, caverns, labyrinths, abandoned mines, sewers and other underground settings are commonly seen in video games, particularly RPGs and some platformers, despite being a rare occurrence in real life. Like real caves, cave worlds are dark, often wet, and filled with stalactites. Some caves even have elements from the above ice and lava worlds, creating "ice cave" and "lava cave" levels. Cave world enemies include spiders, snakes, bats, various bugs, and other creatures; sometimes even "dark" varieties of previous enemies. Some caves are mines, and commonly feature the use or avoidance of explosives, riding mine carts(often as a minigame), and drills as weapons, items, or enemies. Falling rocks and/or stalactites are common dangers. Characters venturing through caves appear to have no trouble dealing with lack of eyesight because of the dark. However, this trend is reversed in a couple games for the sake of realism, namely in Pokemon games. There are some caves where everything is pitch black and one has to use the "Flash" HM move in order to see. Sewer levels also often have the added dangers of toxic waste or poisonous gas hazards.
[edit] Sky worlds
Many video games have a level far above the clouds, with nothing to land on if a character loses his or her footing. The clouds are impossibly dense, and often a character can stand on them safely for at least a moment. They may oftentimes be a Heaven-like place. The Sonic the Hedgehog series is famous for its over-the-top sky levels.
[edit] Jungle worlds
A somewhat common level archetype is the jungle. The jungle world is somewhat similar to the aforementioned forest world, although with a much more tropical setting, and, of course, much more foliage, particularly vines to climb or swing from. The selection of enemies for the jungle world is similar to that of the forest world, with spiders and bugs, snakes, birds, various wild animals, and plant enemies. Hostile natives are also occasional enemies, although the natives are also sometimes friendly. Mesoamerican-style ruins are also common, as well as temple ruins similar to those of India and Southeast Asia. Probably the most popular example of these worlds is the jungle levels of the Donkey Kong series.
[edit] 'Haunted' worlds
An often-seen world archetype is that which has a "spooky" or "scary" theme, mainly Halloween-esque. These worlds often take place in areas such as graveyards, haunted houses (particularly enormous mansions) and the popular "ghost ship", which is basically either a beached or strangely floating abandoned wreckage of a once well-commissioned vessel, particularly ones used by sea pirates. Of course, many of the enemies are undead, not limited to but including ghosts, zombies, skeletons, vampires, and ghouls. Other enemies include many Halloween-associated creatures, such as bats, spiders, werewolves, Jack-o'-lantern-like pumpkin enemies, and witches. These worlds are intended to be scary, but certainly not to the extent of survival-horror games, such as Resident Evil and Silent Hill. Completing haunted worlds in most games require the player to solve tricky puzzles and use their brains instead of brawn to solve the dangerous traps that lie before them. Other haunted world setting varieties include caves, swamps, dark forests, and castles. (Ex.: Kingdom Hearts series (Halloween Town), Luigi's Mansion, Conker's Bad Fur Day ("Spooky"))
[edit] Castles
Castles are common level types in video games, especially if they are used as the strongholds of villains. These castles are chock-full of booby traps and deadly hazards at almost every turn, and are filled to the brim with the game's most powerful enemies. Of course, these are nothing like the real castles of the Middle Ages. One very popular example of these levels are the numerous Bowser's castle levels, in the Super Mario series. Another example is Hollow Bastion from the Kingdom Hearts series. Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow takes place almost entirely inside a castle (as do many games in the Castlevania series; in fact, the loss of his castle is what finally leads to Dracula's demise in Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow).
[edit] Cities
Cities in video games are seldom as large as real cities, some sporting fewer than 20 buildings. When a city is built on the same scale as a real one, most of the city is inaccessible, as the streets loop around on themselves, leaving the rest of the area blocked by a solid wall of skyies. Traffic often follows an automated course; cars seldom stop anywhere. Most city buildings have permanently locked and barred doors (if they have doors at all) and opaque windows. An exception to this rule would be the Baldur's Gate series, in which every building is accessible, even though the doors may be locked. Buildings can be tall, but on the outside their horizontal dimensions seldom exceed that of a standard living room. Houses, when inside them, are often quite large, sporting much empty space, and many rooms (though often, the house is not divided into rooms at all, containing one large area with tables, a bed, etc). However, when viewed from the outside, the houses are often tiny.
[edit] Towns
Like cities, towns in video games (especially role-playing games) are often ludicrously small, with inadequate living space for the number of people seen walking about. Since there are so few buildings, each one can usually be entered, but there usually are only one or two sites of interest in each town. Traffic, and indeed roads, are exceedingly rare in small towns.
[edit] Shops
In many games, most notably RPGs, the main set of characters are on a quest to save the world. NPCs in the game often are aware of the hero's quest and assist the player in achieving his or her goals. However, in many RPGs, such as Diablo and the Final Fantasy series, shop owners continue to charge the main characters for items necessary for the player to save the world. The heroes' quest to save the world, it seems, is not in the interest of the shopkeepers, who are still determined to make a profit despite the imminence of Armageddon. The hero's journey seems to convienently take him along a path that has shops with proggressively better goods. In Final Fantasy X this is parodied when, right before a boss battle, Wakka responds with "What? We got to pay? If we lose, you die too, you know!" when a merchant sells his items. The merchant responds with "I have faith in your victory."
[edit] Ruins
Characters often venture into ruins, usually of an Incan, Mayan, Aztec, Celtic or Egyptian nature. These ruins are often rigged with a series of deadly traps that oddly have not deteriorated or broken in the centuries since they were installed. These ruins are also curiously free of rubble. Enemies found in ruins are sometimes ghosts and other undead creatures, but in most cases the ruins are simply populated by the same enemies found elsewhere in the game, begging the question of how long they've been there and how they got there in the first place, and why they haven't set off any of the traps. Sometimes the ruins are the remains of a long-lost civilization which had highly advanced technology in an otherwise medieval world. In these cases also much of the machinery is in working condition and the enemies usually consist of still-working robots (though in this case it could be argued that the robots have maintained everything).
[edit] Area 51-like facilities
A number of video games, particularly those that do not take themselves as seriously, will feature a level or area based on the Area 51 facility. Most often this in-game facility will contain extraterrestrial technology and specimens. One of the most famous examples of this is Black Mesa Research Facility from Half-Life. Some fictional bases are sometimes referred to with parody names such as Area 69 which can be seen in Redneck Rampage Rides Again.
[edit] The Dream World
Many video games have a sequence that takes place in a character's dream or subconcious. Typically, this is signified by warped physics, mismatched buildings and props, a loopy music track, lots of haze and camera distortions, and often with previous events significant to the character played out. Some examples of this are seen in the Max Payne series, several Final Fantasy games, and Grandia II. Some games such as Psychonauts are based entirely around such levels.
[edit] References
http://project-apollo.net/text/rpg.html - Item number 42 has particular relevance.
