IncGamers Column: The Great Escape

In this week's column, Andy Alderson discusses cliches in game world design.

From the article:

"Yes, this week it's gaming clichés or, more specifically, environmental clichés. No, I'm not talking about Sting but rather the way in which game developers use the same hackneyed tools when creating their game worlds. The excepts above are great examples of how we're still mining away at the same coalface over ten years on from Resident Evil and Silent Hill."

[Leord]

Love the scenery. No seriously, an interesting column :)

[Fyzzu]

Good stuff. I agree, in large part, although I have to say that most of the time I don't mind the grey, bleak landscapes. Colour is nice, and underused, but there are plenty of games that manage interesting things with rote settings.

[Leord]

I think the somewhat related Diablo art controversy is an interesting addition to this discussion. :)

http://www.diablowiki.net/A...

[thetamer]

This is something I've wondered for a long time.

[Maticus]

Some very good points which I hadn't really noticed before.

[AndyA]

I remember being blown away the first time I played Far Cry. Beautiful game.

[Fyzzu]

Slightly less impressive now, sadly, but some of the vistas are still staggering :)

[Dorjan]

the trouble with settings that "normal" is just as weird as "weird" now, since everything has been used over and over...

if you get what I mean :S

[Malfurion]

Some games are incredibly creative with things like this, others are less so :P

[Redrudy]

It's the wastelands that get me the most. They are look the same, all grey or muted brown. I know that's what wastelands look like it real life, scrub. I mean the clue's in the name but still. It can be the predominent setting for a lot of games.