In most games, the sky doesn't play a prominent role; it mostly serves as background scenery, and players may rarely pay attention to what's happening up there. In fact, the more detailed aspects can often reflect the true quality of a game. Looking back at the history of game development over the past few decades, the evolution of skies has been quite interesting.
Let's go back to 1984 and take a look at how these digital skies have changed over the span of 24 years.
1984 "Amazon": pitch black during a volcanic eruption
1985 "Fantastic Four": similar to a sweater pattern with stripes
1986 "The Black Cauldron": this time with different colors
1987 "Super Hang On": just blue, regressed
1988 "California Games": still sky blue, but at least now with clouds
1989 "After Burner": greenish-blue looks pretty good
1989 "F-15 Strike Eagle": although the transition isn't natural, there are at least color changes
1990 "Days of Thunder": a lonely white cloud floating on a blue background
1990 "Loom": stars appear in the night scene
1990 "Monkey Island": still nighttime, but the starry sky is more natural
1990 "Stunts": green with clouds remains green
1991 "Monkey Island 2": sequel returns to daytime, the representation of the sky and clouds already feels very realistic
1992 "Indiana Jones IV": basically the same as above
1993 "Indycar Racing": regressed to solid color again
1993 "Tornado": much smoother color transitions
1994 "Nascar Racing": do racing games really not need skies?
1995 "Strike Commander": also has transitions but not smooth
1996 "Road Rash": although the clouds look strange, at least racing games now have less monotonous skies
1997 "Comanche": not pursuing realism but atmosphere
1997 "Outlaws": also colored to match the overall atmosphere
1997 "Star Wars Jedi Knight": based on the powerful id Tech 3 engine
1997 "Tomb Raider 2": Venice
1998 "Incoming": very appropriate form of expression
1998 "Populous": the sky is not the focus
1999 "MDK": very cool
2000 "Colin McRae Rally 2.0": racing games still prioritize looking at the road
2000 "Grand Prix Legends": same as above
2000 "Vampire: The Masquerade Redemption": Prague nights
2001 "Black and White": full of dark clouds
2001 "Half Life": compared to the ground, the sky is quite close to nature
2001 "Heavy Metal: F.A.K.K.2": character silhouettes might be more attractive
2001 "Operation Flashpoint": both sky and ground are quite harmonious
2001 "Seriouse Sam": white clouds, the lens flare effect of sunlight is also very good
2002 "Mafia": the sunset scenery is very beautiful
2002 "Neverwinter Nights": characters are average, the sky is also average
2002 "The Elder Scrolls III Morrorwind": was very beautiful for its time, somewhat resembling HDR
2003 "Chrome": Chrome engine well represents sunrise scenes
2003 "Unreal 2": the sky is not unreal
2004 "Colin McRae Rally 4": while watching the road, you can also enjoy the sky
2004 "Doom 3": actually this is the red Martian sky
2004 "DTM Race Driver 2": overall atmosphere is very nice
2004 "Half Life 2": Source engine lives up to its reputation
2004 "PainKiller": here there is only hell
2005 "Boiling Point: Road to Hell": hints of "Crysis"
2005 "Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood": let the sky return to WWII
2005 "Call of Duty 2": retro greenish-blue
2005 "Need for Speed: Most Wanted": one of the typical games with HDR effects
2005 "Quake 4": id Tech 4 engine
2005 "World of Warcraft": sky effects are actually average
2005 "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas": day-night cycle appears
2006 "Microsoft Flight Simulator X": highly realistic flight simulator, the sky cannot be overlooked
2006 "Gothic 3": honest effort without many unique features
2006 "Just Cause": picturesque scenery
2006 "The Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion": compared to the previous generation, it's taken a step further
2006 "S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl": horror atmosphere vividly portrayed
2007 "BioShock": the sky doesn't make many appearances, occasionally showing up as a night sky, but not lightly described
2007 "Dark Sector": dark clouds spread naturally fit perfectly
2007 "Call of Duty 4": all aspects, including the sky, are nearly perfect
2007 "Crysis": the use of volumetric clouds, real-time day-night cycles under DX10 makes it a benchmark for future games
2007 "Hellgate: London": typical London night sky, gray and rainy
2007 "Medal of Honor: Airborne": parachuting under such a sky is still exciting
2007 "MotoGP07": poetic and picturesque
2007 "Tabula Rasa": another world, another atmosphere layer
2007 "Test Drive Unlimited": day-night cycle, zzfhhxy369_Baidu Space, clouds change in real time
2007 "The Witcher": nothing particularly noteworthy
2007 "Unreal Tournament 3": apocalyptic feeling very well done
2007 "World in Conflict": various high-altitude effects are all very well executed, overall extremely outstanding
2008 "Assassin's Creed": main character frequently flying around, but the sky is just so-so
2008 "S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky": the sky under DX10 isn't clear, but the effects are excellent
2008 "Far Cry 2": almost embarrassing not to mention DX10 anymore when talking about graphics
2008 "Alan Wake": will the final effect also be as impressive as "Crysis"?
2009 "Mafia II"
PS: Finally finished posting. Maybe because there were too many pictures, I had to post them in batches, which caused my browser to freeze several times, forcing me to re-post. It took me an hour to finish this post, and I'm exhausted... give it some love after reading!
Source: Drive Home