Fantastically designed levels/locations/etc. in vidya

[Pike]

I dragged Huxley to Ulduar in WoW and that meant going to the Spark of Imagination (Mimiron's room,) which is basically the coolest place in all of that game.

What are some of your favorite videogame locations?

[Mirage]

New rule: Screenshots (or similar) required.

[krissy]

http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2010/148/8/5/Wipeout_HD_117_Fury_by_CGIII.jpg

http://www.computergame.com.au/images/prince-of-persia-ps31.jpg

http://thegardenstevie.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/02okami.jpg

http://www.longestjourney.com/assets/img/screenshots/normal/01.jpg

http://cache.g4tv.com/ImageDb3/291479_S/final-fantasy-13-2-brain-blast-guide-we-answers-all-the-grand-avenue-square-terminal-questions.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v54/antitype/shadow-colossus-7.jpg

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HrqvWNA-xN8/UGEsoqQEPTI/AAAAAAAACM8/J4ePzVkHwbs/s1600/DemonsSoulsNexus.jpg

[Slothy]

Portal. All of it.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qOpbeef5SCU/Tgh6qYICyRI/AAAAAAAABJI/huaUUzHCcRI/s1600/portal%2B2%2Bscreenshot%2B2.jpg

[Futan]

Portal. All of it.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qOpbeef5SCU/Tgh6qYICyRI/AAAAAAAABJI/huaUUzHCcRI/s1600/portal%2B2%2Bscreenshot%2B2.jpg

I'd say both Half-Life 1 or 2 too. Valve has some of best level designers in the industry.

In terms of purdiness, from XI, this was the most beautiful zone in the game in my opinion:

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Some would argue maybe this one instead:

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This was a purdy area from Skyrim:

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I can't really think of anything else. Don't pay much attention to areas unfortunately. :-/ Or I guess I just don't remember them would be more accurate. :x

[Shauna]

http://www.computergame.com.au/images/prince-of-persia-ps31.jpg

PoP 2008 has some gorgeous looking areas. One of the greatest things about this game.

[Balzac]

Alan Wake has some beautiful scenery.
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vZ1LEUFPfEQ/UHp6R2zJQBI/AAAAAAAACgk/KW-TvKli-D0/s1600/alan-wake-landscape.jpg

[Night Fury]

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This dungeon from TR Underworld. It has a kraken!

[Madame Adequate]

Yeah the Spark of Imagination is a pretty amazing looking room.

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Doesn't really capture the scale of it but yeah.

[Bolivar]

38079

Killzone 2 immediately came to mind for its multiplayer map design, which was maybe the best I've ever seen. If you don't know, each KZ2 multiplayer match rotates 5 different game modes throughout 7 rounds. So each map had to accommodate a different gametype. But the developers went beyond that, having individual areas of the map play distinctly different not only for each of the 5 modes, but each of the game's seven classes.

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But when it comes to multiplayer maps, it doesn't get much better than this ^

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That was a pretty magical moment in gaming.

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C&C fans might recognize this. It just stands out to me as the best map in the series.

[Araciel]

Irenicus' Dungeon in BG2

Bogmire in Rock N Roll Racing

Giant Land in SMB3

[Pete for President]

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Adam's apartment in Deus Ex: Human Revolution. There are a lot of unspoken pieces of a puzzle about his complex mind to discover.

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The Atrium in Vagrant Story. You just know you're in for a twist when you're on your way to reach the top of the cathedral. This is a topdown view of the atrium floor with the lit candles.

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MGS3, the white flower field. Though every MGS3 area is distinctively different (even the jungle ones) this once just fits the climax.

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The isle of Besaid is amazing in every single way. The music, atmosphere and the ruins really make it an amazing place. I'd also like to nominate Luca, the Via Purifico and of course the Zanarkand Ruins.

[Aulayna]

I always thought the Ruins of Zanarkand in FFX looked eerily pretty.

Also to throw a few others out there,

Dark Chronicle - Kazarov Stonehenge
Starfox Adventures - Krazoa Palace
Kingdom Hearts - Hollow Bastion

Oh and Ulduar in general. Best. Raid. Ever.

[Balzac]

I'm having a hard time agreeing with some of these posts, maybe that's just me though.

[Quindiana Jones]

While I could just say the whole game, entering Anor Londo for the first time is incredible. Hell, entering Lordran itself is amazing on its own! The Ash Forest is another one. You have to go through the manky dump that is Bligttown to get there, which makes it all the more impressive in comparison.

I'm glad that someone has already said Okami. I second that game having some of the most wonderfully designed levels of any game.

[Mirage]

I'm having a hard time agreeing with some of these posts, maybe that's just me though.
Which ones in particular?

[Pike]

Oh and Ulduar in general. Best. Raid. Ever.

Karazhan > Naxx > Ulduar imo.

I mean Ulduar is still very very good which is why I rated it third, but. xD

[Madame Adequate]

Are you high sweetie? :eyebrow: Naxx is never better than Ulduar.

[Pike]

Naxx boss fights at level > Ulduar boss fights at level.

Ulduar bosses were a snoozefest up until Mimiron. Naxx was consistently interesting. Also: The Safety Dance.

[Madame Adequate]

I suppose Patchwerk at level would certainly be... interesting, true.

What isn't true is that the vehicle section of Ulduar is a snoozefest :colbert:

[Pike]

What isn't true is that the vehicle section of Ulduar is a snoozefest :colbert:

Except it is!

Flame Leviathan: Hurr drive vehicles around with 24 other people
Razorscale: Kill adds
Ignis: Kill stuff
XT: Move away from the raid if you get the debuff. THERE'S ANOTHER DEBUFF! Which also involves moving away from the raid.
Iron Council: Okay hardmode was actually interesting. Otherwise kill stuff.
Kologarn: Run around like a chicken with your head cut off and kill stuff.
Crazy Cat Lady: Kill stuff
Freya: Kill stuff
Hodir: Kill stuff, shoot the iceblock things, stand on the circle
Thorim: Marginally interesting at the beginning, then just kill stuff.

MEANWHILE IN NAXX:

HOLY SHIT SAFETY DANCE
HOLY SHIT CRAZY MECHANICS INVOLVING POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE CHARGES
HOLY SHIT CRAZY MECHANICS INVOLVING MIND CONTROL
HOLY SHIT FOUR HORSEMEN

I dunno I just found that raid so much more fun tbh

Of course this is all just arguing for second place, Kara is and always will be the best raid.

[Aulayna]

*hipster glasses on*

Naxx at level 60 > Naxx at level 80

*hipster glasses off*

I guess for me as someone who did Naxx at level 60 when it was hard (and that's not meant to be condescending it's just that words cannot describe how infuriating that place was at times) I just found the level 80 version dull because it was so dumbed down and had a very much been there done that vibe owing to being an entry level raid.

(I guess it's also sort of why I cannot fathom how people found Karazhan hard - don't get me wrong though I agree that Karazhan had an amazing atmosphere and setting and the way the whole place had a story. Shade of Aran is still one of my favourite raid encounters followed by the Opera Event)

BUT

Whilst Ulduar wasn't *that* challenging either (on Normal at least) but the Hardmodes are some of the best they've ever done. That and the music was f'ing amazing - walking through the Antechamber with the haunting male choir singing in the background.

Shenanigans with Flame Lev and all 4 towers active. Yelling at people to shoot down the pyrite to keep the debuffs rolling. Trying not to get the fire spread smurfing everywhere whilst avoiding bombs and plants and fudging LAZOR BEEMS.

Admittedly Ignis, Razorscale and XT (outside of hardmode) were a bit dull but they were the entry bosses and are generally meant to be easy.

Iron Council on hard was great.

Kologarn wasn't that good but still quite a new mechanic.

Cat Lady was insane for the achievement.

Freya was also ridiculous on hard mode. Having the get the plants down in the right order whilst dealing with sprouts and kiting her so the whole raid stopped getting silenced, having to de-root people etc

Hodir was just pretty much a DPS race - was still quite entertaining coming up with whacky ways of buff stacking for *Crysis voice* MAXIMUM DEEPS.

Thorim. Sort of interesting.

Mimiron. Best. Hard Mode. Eveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeer. Push the button, trout got real.

Vezaxx was madness on Hard Mode. So much stuff flying around, having to have spot on interrupts to avoid unnecessary damage and healers having no regen whatsoever until all the essences had finally co-elesced. Then it turned into a manic DPS race of still having to keep tabs on the interrupting.

Yogg+0 - people still fail this at lv90 which is a testament to just how barebones oldschool hard this was. That fight was a true lesson in fear and insanity where one single mistake could send everything spiralling wildly out of control and with no watchers up you had no outs at all.

Then there was Algalon - the effort to get the keys, then you finally get into his room (which looks smurfing amazing as it is) then the encounter starts and the whole area warps away and suddenly you're fighting him on what essentially amounts to a floating platform in space.

The setting. The music. The Lore. Nearly all of the fights being interesting or humorous. Ulduar was amazing. No raid since has touched on it. At times certain aspects have challenged parts of it. But as a cohesive whole it was great.

The only memory that beats it for me is stepping into lv60 Naxx for the first time and getting our ass handed to us by the first pack of spiders.


TLDR: I respectfully disagree. I will however agree that Karazhan was an amazing raid too.

Edit: I think this is the first time in a long time that Hux and myself agree on something. :o Quick, batt'en down th' hatches!

Edit 2: inb4 someone goes lol WoW - neeeerds

[Pike]

Kara wasn't hard per se, but all of my memories of it are so good and I adore the lore and all the bosses :squee: Also that atmosphere and music and level design, going back to the actual thread topic (so I quit hijacking things) I think it's basically my favorite place in WoW overall :love:

(Truthfully I think I'm also biased because for Kara and Naxx I was really pushing through it with an entry level guild, but I joined a new guild for Ulduar and they had the place on farm already and they just dragged me through, so I have no real memories attached. xD)

[Pete for President]

While I could just say the whole game, entering Anor Londo for the first time is incredible. Hell, entering Lordran itself is amazing on its own! The Ash Forest is another one. You have to go through the manky dump that is Bligttown to get there, which makes it all the more impressive in comparison.

Of course I wanted to menton Dark Souls too, but I couldn't decide which of the locales I liked best :( The level design in terms of connectivity, diversity and recognition is obviously phenomenal. Ash Lake is epic with the music and the gloomy atmosphere, but I think the Parish is my favorite area. With the blacksmith and Altar of the Sun it really feels like home. But I think the greatest strength of the world of Lordran is that you never want to hang around in one area for too long. There's just too much to see, do and experience! Literally a case of "places to be, people to meet, things to take care of.". Who am I kidding, I love every square inch of Lordran.


I'm glad that someone has already said Okami. I second that game having some of the most wonderfully designed levels of any game.

This is true! Ryoshima Coast was my favorite. I used to have a ton of fun just running around out there.