Throughout the evolution of games roof space may not be an environment space you think about straight away, however,  the roof in games is used quite often for many purposes therefore it is a design process that really needs to be considered.

Reasons to use a roof space and game examples:

  • Saints Row IV: Helicopter Pads.

In Saints Row Helipads are essential at the beginning of the game as throughout the game you gain super powers which allow you to almost fly but you get those powers later on so flying vehicles become very useful. As well as being very helpful in transport and battle the helipads are not just there to provide vehicles but they are there as a luxury and a matter of appearance. The Saints Row series is all about your reputation and how people see you, having a helipad shows that you have a lot of money.

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  • Dead Island: Hiding from Zombies.

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I don’t know if it is just me that does this but I use rooftops to hide from zombies. In Dead Island Zombies cannot, to my knowledge, climb ladders so using rooftops towards my advantage is very useful. You can use a range of weapons to attack them from far away and find useful resources in high up places.

  • Dying Light: Main Story.

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Dying Light is a free-running/park-our which you fight and run from zombies. Throughout the game you climb up buildings and run across rooftops as well as fighting on the ground as well so most of the main story is set on the rooftops of an apocalyptic city.

  • Batman: Arkham Knight: Environment Atmosphere.

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Throughout the Batman games series you spend a lot of time in a large variety of environment spaces. Medical Facilities, Botanical Gardens, The Batcave and many more, however, a lot of the time you spend travelling to these locations and you do this by gliding over the city. Although the Arkham Knight game introduced the Bat Mobile we still find side quests the require us to glide rather than drive. It’s one of my favourite rooftop environments as the cityscapes usually look all gloomy and dull but yet they still look beautiful and you feel the urge to explore the whole city.

  • The Amazing Spider man Game: Appearence.

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Whilst playing The Amazing Spiderman game missions are separate from the free-roam world. Once you start a mission you have to either quit out of it or finish it to go back to the open world. If you’re a huge collectible fan then you will probably know that you see a lot of roof space whilst travelling and collecting items. The rooftops don’t really need to be detailed and most of them look a like but you don’t use the roof space much, you just see the roof space a lot.

  • Fallout 4: DIY, build your own roof space.

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Unlike the other games I have mentioned, Fallout 4 gives the player the chance to design their own space. As long as you have all of the resources that you need you can create whatever you like. Building can be quite complex especially as you don’t just build, you also trade resources with other settlements, wire electrics, supply water and defend. When creating a roof space you can use it for anything you want such as a chilled area in which enemies cannot attack, a defense post including turrets and gunners etc.

  • The Last of Us: Design, Atmosphere and Immersion.

In The Last of Us the environment is incredible. It is unlike any other game as other apocalyptic games show damage but The Last of Us shows more than human and zombie destruction; it also shows nature destruction. Plants are everywhere in The Last of Us environments and because other games don’t use environments like this we become so immersed in our surroundings.

Overall game environments are very important as we have a reason to be in that environment at that current time, whether it be saving the game, hiding from enemies or just exploring.