Overworld

This article is about a video game concept. For the Machinae Supremacy album, see Overworld (album).

File:Pokemon gb ashandpikachu.png

In-game screenshot of Pokémon Yellow, showing the protagonist and his Pokémon traveling in the game's overworld

In video games, an overworld (sometimes called a world map or map) refers to a view from above, or often from a third-person perspective, of the fictional world within the game. The world map often contains a collection of towns and other locations (often called dungeons or levels) such as caves, mountains, and forests. When the player enters one of these locations, the world map display is replaced by the local geography of the selected element. In many games, the player is able to travel on the world map; in other games, the player uses the world map to select their next location. Typically, a dungeon may have monsters, while a town usually is safe. Most role-playing games (RPGs) have world maps, as well as some platform games. In some games, there are a series of world maps. Typically, the player can only view a portion of the world map at the beginning of the game, and new locations appear on the map as the game progresses.

The term "overworld" has also been used to refer to the opposite of the "underworld"—that is, the overworld is the world above ground, while the underworld is that underneath the ground; however, this definition will not be discussed herein.

Types

The Legend of Zelda series

While previous games have featured overworlds, one of the earliest console games to feature an overworld is the NES game The Legend of Zelda. Gameplay in Zelda's overworld was virtually identical to that of its nine underground dungeon levels, offering a top-down perspective and including access to caves, bridges, mazes, shops, and waterfalls as well as lurking with dangers that range from enemies to tumbling rocks. Much of the immediate gameplay takes place in the overworld, and the diversity of terrain (as well as the sheer size of the overworld itself) ensures that the player will spend as much time exploring and searching above ground as they will below (or in any of the areas listed above). The concept of an overworld also offered a nonlinear gameplay experience; some believed this would cause the player to become confused and not know where to go, a sentiment which has endured as overworlds have become larger and more complex.

The Zelda series is well known for these large overworld areas, such as Hyrule Field. Many enemies inhabit the various overworlds. The player can see most of these without any special tools, and most are easily defeated or avoided. These enemies generally do not yield anything significant.

There are special items available in most of the overworld areas in the series, but these are often non-essential to completing the overall objective; the main purpose served by an overworld is to connect more important places.

Console role-playing games

File:GoldenSunOverworld.png

Isaac travels to Mercury Lighthouse in Golden Sun's overworld.

Many games have emulated Zelda's overworlds, especially fantasy-based RPGs. Perhaps one of the most complete examples in this category is the Final Fantasy series. In each of this type of overworld game, most of the action (or at least most of the plot-advancing action) takes place in towns, forests, dungeons, caves, castles (and the surrounding area), camps, fortresses, mass transportation systems, and celestial bodies (e.g. the moon). In the Final Fantasy series, the overworld is used as a "travel map", and changes to a closer perspective for direct gameplay or confrontation. The overworlds featured in most of the 2D adventures of this genre commonly depict the character(s) as being larger compared to the surrounding world than they actually are, lending necessary visibility to the player. The characters' animation in this type of overworld is often simpler than that found in the game's menus and other areas, while more complicated movement such as combat, climbing or visibly handling objects may happen at closer perspectives, sometimes in the form of a cut scene.

Many RPGs, such as Pokémon and Golden Sun, have random battles, which commence when characters encounter an enemy (usually on the overworld, but often found in dungeons or the underworld) not visible to the player before the battle starts. In other games, the player can see the enemies and can often choose which ones to fight, such as in Final Fantasy Mystic Quest and Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars.

Whatever the type of battle, in most of these games, the characters will enter a battle screen on which the action will take place. These usually appear similar to the area on the overworld where they take place (e.g. if the characters are wandering around a desert, the battle screen will have the backdrop of a desert). If the player's party wins the battle, the characters will occasionally level up by earning experience points. Battles that end in victory for the party often yield currency and/or items.

Platform games

Though overworlds on a large scale were first introduced with The Legend of Zelda in 1986, the genre of platform games did not have overworlds (in the main sense) until 3D platformers appeared in the mid-1990s. Prior to this time, the concept of an overworld in platform gaming was limited to those of the "level select" type, which featured in games such as Bionic Commando and Super Mario Bros. 3. It is likely that the overworlds developed for 3D games, such as some of those listed above, evolved from the world maps featured in prior 2D platform games, such as those seen in Super Mario Bros. 3 and Donkey Kong Country. This was in contrast to the previous system of gameplay, like Super Mario Bros. and Castlevania which involved the player simply going through levels in a linear order, but with no option to return to completed levels. Since Super Mario Bros. 3, nearly every Mario platformer has included an overworld area, or at least an area of the game that serves to connect the major sites of action therein (e.g. Peach's Castle in Super Mario 64 and Isle Delfino). The overworld idea also spilled over into other platformers, from Kirby's Adventure to the Donkey Kong Country series, and has continued and evolved as a major feature, and a staple of the genre.

Home level

A home level is an area found within a roguelike computer game. It is most often a haven for the hero characters, where enemy hostility is minimal to nil. In most cases, the home level features shops in which the player can purchase items, and is often be the initial site of the story or game, although in some games it is a location that is discovered later. In some games, such as Destiny of an Emperor, as the story progresses, the location of the home level may change, or there may be other such places that serve a similar purpose. Larn, an 80s roguelike game, was among the earliest to feature a home level.

Some games feature a home level that contains many different points of interest. The home level in Angband, for instance, consists of seven shops, the player's home (where characters may store unneeded items), and a staircase to the first dungeon level. Some variants of the home level add specialty shops, quest locations, or a wilderness through which additional towns can be discovered.

Navigation

Throughout most of the aforementioned games, varied world map terrain such as mountains, rivers, and deserts may prevent the character(s) from visiting an area until they have completed a certain task or acquired a special skill, vehicle, or other key item. Many CRPGs eventually allow the player rapid movement around the overworld, using such methods as flying, sailing, or teleporting to various locations. The map icon is often represented as a rectangle. Usually, flying or sailing across one edge of the map will bring the character(s) to the edge of the opposite side.

In some games, certain areas of the overworld map are hidden from the player, or at least difficult to reach; these "secret" areas often contain difficult-to-obtain items, or they might simply hold "Easter Egg"-style novelties or other such diversions. In some games, especially those that have a "level select" style of overworld (e.g. a lot of old-school 2D platform games), portions of the overworld become available for play as certain tasks are completed (e.g. beating a particular level or discovering a secret hidden within a level).

Music

In terms of game music, overworld themes are often orchestral in nature, and of greater length and complexity than other pieces in the same game, due to the amount of time spent traveling the overworld map. Because players will usually visit a single level or area a few times in a given play session, the music for any such section of the game will typically be shorter and/or less complex, and thus less time-consuming for the designers to produce. The overworld theme frequently functions as a main theme of a game, often being arranged for specific scenes or situations (e.g, a 'romantic' setting will feature a remixed overworld theme).

See also

• Boss (video games)