Game World

Game world is the virtual version of the place it is set within, either an imaginary place or a real life

place. There can be many different game world within one game as it may have different places the player could go to for example, Borderlands 2 have many different planets that the player could travel to so it will have a certain game world for each planet. Designers have to make sure they get the game world right as the game world allows the player to adapt to the time it is set in thus making the player feel more attached and immersed to the game. Also if the designer gets the game world wrong then the whole game will not make sense for example, if Assassin Creed game world was set in the future, this will confuse the player as the characters will be dressed in the 1800’s while the surrounding will be all futuristic. As you can see from the images below, you can clearly see the difference in the quality of the game world and the graphics used have increased dramatically as the recent one has a much more lifelike look to it, making it more appealing to the gamer and allows them to be more immersed to it, rather than having simple and boring graphics like before.   

Terrain

Terrain is the surface in which the game world is played on so it is the ground the player is on. The terrain can change from grass to water to sand and many more. Usually the terrain does not affect the game play so will not play a part in the game as it is just a surface in which the characters walk upon. But not all games have terrain that change so will be the same throughout the whole game. Grand Theft Auto 5 is an example of a game that has a terrain that changes as there are many different locations that will need a different surface so one minute you could be walking on concrete and the next minute you could be on the beach walking on sand. This links to most adventure games as they are usually always moving to new places to explore and are normally open world games. An example of a terrain that stays the same is NBA 2K15, which has a surface of a pitch that is made out of wood, so there will be no need to change the terrain. This links to most sport games as they usually place on the same surface. 

Architecture 

Architecture is the buildings, structure and any monuments that are surrounding the game world. Architecture is based upon where and when the game is set so different games will have different types of architecture designs. For example Madden NFL 15 has a simple amount of architecture as the designers will only need to create the stadiums because it is set in the modern time in a rugby pitch. On the other hand, Grand Theft Auto 5 has a much more advanced types of architecture as it is an open world game that is mostly based in a city which requires a vast majority of buildings. designers have to have a precise and detailed architecture as it allows the game to look realistic which also allows the player to feel like they are actually in the game. Also it will allow players to appreciate the amount of work put into the game which will increase the popularity of the game and thus increase sales. Architecture has changed dramatically overtime. This is because pc's and consoles have improved as well allowing them to run games in very high quality. Here is an image of the same game but with a 14 year gap between them and you can clearly see how different they look because of the buildings, even though it is the same game.

  

Objects

Objects are things in the game which make enhances the game world so that it would look more realistic and lifelike. Objects can be used by the players within the game to help assist the players for example on Minecraft, there are beds which allow the player to sleep so that they could pass through the day and go back to morning faster. Other objects can be put into the game world to make the world look more realistic such as chairs and tables. Designers have the task to make high quality objects as it will make the game look more lifelike, making the game more popular for players. Also a high quality object can make the player feel more into the game and may think they are in the game and actually moving around in the game world. In the past few years, objects have improved greatly. Before objects looked fake and sometimes hard to identify what the object actually wad meant to be but because of better graphics and designers, objects now look more lifelike which improves the experience of the players. Also, only a few object could be used by players but over the past few years, there are many objects that can be used for many different purposes for example in Dead rising three, you can pick up random objects and combine them together to make a weapon to defeat the zombies.