Let's Talk: Favorite places?

[pg1314]

G'day, how are you today? *tilts hat*

So, I got a pretty good one today. A multilevel question! Such magic! Such mystery!
Today my dear sirs and madams, I discuss the lands of mystery! The concept of time! Even the forces of nature itself!
...no I'm not crazy, but this is one question I'm excited to ask.

Okay, so today I ask.
A. What is a few of your favorite video game location? (whether it is from a specific game or just in general)
B. In said locations, what time of day do you prefer? (Day, night, morning, evening)
C. Finally, what weather do you prefer in that location? (Rain, cloudy, sunny, snow, molten rain, volcanic ash, and so on)


My favorite location from any game ever, hands down is Volcano from Monster Hunter Tri Ultimate. (To non-Monster Hunter players, you may need to do some research f you want to understand what I'm about to say. I would try to explain Monster Hunter, but that would be like trying to explain rocket surgery or "Bubsy 3D: a James Turell Retrospective") Anyway, so the Volcano. Literally, base camp drops you looking at the fiery mountain you're about to ascend. As ash covers the sky, creating a perpetual night, you can see volcanic debris falling from the sky like meteors. At the foothills of the Volcano is a primordial forest followed by a small, burnt wasteland that leads to the ocean where lava just is being cooled, thus making steam. From there, you enter a few caverns, some of which is made mostly from ash (or whatever the floor is in the area where the Rathalos sleeps at.) coming out of the caverns, your in a large stone field with a massive view of the nearby summit from which lava waterfalls are just oozing magma. Ascending further, you walk on several arches made from hardened lava that extends over the crater. The final area is a side passage near the crater.
Since the ash in the sky is so thick, it's basically always nighttime, which is my favorite time of day, and molten rock is falling from the sky, a valid weather scenario in my opinion.
*ahem* So that's it from me for tonight. I can't wait to see what you guys have for as responses.

[LaJanter]

I immediately thought of MonHun scenery and would have said Misty Peaks... But since Demon's Souls I've been drawn to admire its environments. So, about 2 weeks ago, I was inspecting Aldia's Keep in DS2... Just before the fog to Dragon Guardian... I literally dropped the controller. I stood there watching the trees and the sky for like 5 minutes or so.

I can't go without naming Nier, one of my favorite games. Up to this day I still admire all the work done in that title. Incredible. In such environments I'd prefer the cloudy weather, you know? That time just after the rain? Never fails to amaze me. Huge plains waiting to be explored, winds welcoming your adventure and colors so vibrant, just revived by the recent rain. I just remembered one of my all time favorite scenes, from another favorite game; Vagrant Story.

[solarphantom]

My favorite location would have to be the Great Forest at night and raining in Monster Hunter Frontier & Freedom Unite.
It is just awesome and that map always puts me at ease no matter what monster shows its face.

[dysiode]

This one is kind of hard for me to answer. I don't tend to remember "places" so much as feelings. I think the game that comes to mind most readily for me is Mirror's Edge. There's something about the sense of scale the movement gives you.

I think anything that manages to capture a sense of grand scale is my favorite place. Large mountain ranges in Minecraft; actual grand scale in Freespace (none of this pansy arena space combat shiznit that's popular these days), Homeworld did a great job of this as well; even Aquaria makes you feel small in a giant world. It's hard for me to be more descriptive since a lot of times that scale comes from game mechanics (skating in Perfect Stride, or more recently, grappling in A Story About My Uncle).

All in all, even though I can't think of a specific moment from a game, I love the sky, mountains, and relics. I also love late afternoon/evening. The golden hour really is special, even in video games (Uncharted really makes great use of lighting).

[James Closs]

The Cetra Shrine in Final Fantasy VII

It's probably the only location that I've found really interesting, beautiful, mysterious, and emotionally significant all at the same time.  I mean, what kind of people lived down there?  How does it stay as it is with that crystal stairway attached?  Is it floating in the Lifestream?  And it's amazing to look at, very high fantasy in a game then trended towards realism in its locations.  Plus, y'know, Aerith...  Ahh, my heart.

Beyond that, there are a lot of places that I've liked over the years:  Myst Island, the stark-white-and-primary-colour city in Mirror's Edge like dysiode mentioned, the solar powered port town of Fisherman's Horizon in Final Fantasy VIII, the wonderfully dystopian city Midgar in Final Fantasy VII, the Epic Nordic landscape of Banner Saga, the golden sands at sunset in Journey, the over-saturated music-scape of Amplitude, and the sweeping slopes of SSX 3 are all up there.  I could probably pull any game out of my game collection and cite a place I really liked in it.

[Hairball]

at the top of throat of the world in skyrim overlooking everything

Hack Hack ugh
Hairball

[James Closs]

at the top of throat of the world in skyrim overlooking everything

Hack Hack ugh
Hairball

Would that make you a hairball in the throat of the world 

[rpgfan87]

It's not as good-looking as Skyrim, but I really love the town of Balmora in Morrowind. It's a great hub, connecting to most of the other major cities, and it's the starting point for a lot of quests. I love it when it rains, because it takes me back to when I first played Morrowind and I was blown away by the weather effects and the details that went into setting the environment.

[Alonso Martin]

Back when I was younger, I remember spending a lot of time idling in Clock Town in Majora's Mask. I don't know if it's my favourite place in a video game (that's a hard call), but I guess it was the first time I'd experienced a "living" town with people having their own routines and schedules. I enjoyed following them around, figuring out what sidequests there were, etc. This town also felt very organically designed, contrary to most towns I'd seen before, like many old european hamlets.

I suppose Clock town also felt very interior-ish, because it was designed with walls/bounds so that the player can only leave through certain hotspots, so it gave off a very comfortable vibe of safety/being in the inside. I also loved Windfall Island in Zelda WW, but that place is completely opposite to Clock Town in this regard: it's very open, so it never feels quite like being at home.

(Couldn't find good pictures )

 

[bobjones1980]

i like places with lots of snow and ice

[Hairball]

i like places with lots of snow and ice

so the planet in lost planet then

[bobjones1980]

so the planet in lost planet then

that works but, i wouldn't mind someone being more creative like why not a game that has a forest of trees and stuff that is made of living ice