#Shadow of the colossus pc settings series#

Experiences like Cloud Gardens or Viva Pinata extend this by using play to put us in charge of tending to the natural world. From getting lost in Shadow of the Colossus to finding our way in Journey, games underline the importance of the spaces in which we play. Other games let us experience our connection to the environment by adventuring in it. Then there are games of dire warning that let us step into a future where humanity is all but disconnected from the wider environment and hangs on just by a thread. One family told us about Final Fantasy 7 Remake's commentary on corporations and ecology. Other games, like The Wandering Village underline how our location in the world impacts on us and others. Or it can be how a game like Eco establishes the connection between your actions and the other aspects of the environment.

This might be how a game like Terra Nil makes the land itself a character in the experience. As she quotes, “games of environmental responsibility animate our capacity to respond, to affect and be affected, to engage with others: other species, other people, and the otherness of our own planet.” They offer a chance to consider play from an ecological perspective. The games in this list take inspiration from Alenda Chang’s Playing Nature book. These games encourage players to consider the impact of their actions on the environment, as well as their interconnectedness to the world in which they live. There are, however, many games that offer quite the reverse. It’s easy to assume that video games are all about building big cities or running successful economies. They are fun, but they are also important because the design of the spaces we spend time in have profound effects on how we feel, think and move. The video games in this list create space to notice, reflect and try your hand at architecture.

#Shadow of the colossus pc settings series#

Whether it's the atmospheric lighting of Control, the climbable buildings of the Uncharted series or Shadow of the Colossus vast cathedral-like structures, video games often create original spaces that stop you in your tracks. From the Escher-like Manifold Garden to the scale-confounding Superliminal, these games can play with perspective and movement to not only confuse the player but open new possibilities in perceiving buildings.įinally, there are games with breathtaking architecture. Then there are games that build spaces that would be impossible in real life. Then there are games like Animal Crossing, that offer a social context in which to apply your architectural and landscaping skills. Games like Townscaper allow you to easily create series of buildings and consider how one structure relates to those around it - like a street-scene generator.

Then there are games like The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild, Biomutant, Enslaved or The Last Of Us that drop you in a once-great but now ruined architecture.Īlong with these pre-built spaces, there are also games that invite you to affect and rebuilt the architecture of a world.

Others, like The Witcher, Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess and Eastshade, create their own cities and buildings. Some, like Assassin's Creed, Grand Theft Auto and Forza Horizon recreate virtual versions of familiar places. Video games mirror and magnify this built environment in different ways. Our homes, offices, shopping malls, cathedrals, stations, bridges and even public toilets have all been designed. We spend our lives in buildings every day.