24 Years of Changing Fortunes: The Sky in the Game

by wnqvck38 on 2012-02-10 08:10:30

In most games, the administrative licensing and non-licensing approval are not prominent, often just playing a background role. Players may even rarely pay attention to the scenarios above. In fact, the more detailed places can reflect the true quality of the game. Looking back at the development history of games over the past few decades, the evolution of the sky is quite interesting. Next, we will go back to 1984 and take a look at how the digital skies have changed over these 24 years.

1984 "Amazon": Pitch black during volcanic eruption

1985 "Fantastic Four": Similar to sweater-like stripes

1986 "The Black Cauldron": This time there are different colors

1987 "Super Hang On": All blue, regressed

1988 "California Games": Still sky blue, but at least with clouds

1989 "After Burner": Cyan-green looks pretty good

1989 "F-15 Strike Eagle": Although the transition is unnatural, at least there are color changes

1990 "Days of Thunder": A lonely white cloud floating on a blue sky

1990 "Loom": Stars appear in the night view

1990 "Monkey Island": Still nighttime, but the starry sky is more natural

1990 "Stunts": The cyan-green with clouds is still cyan-green

1991 "Monkey Island 2": Sequel returns to daytime, the representation of the sky and clouds is already very realistic

1992 "Indiana Jones IV": Basically the same as above

1993 "Indycar Racing": Regressed to solid color again

1993 "Tornado": Much smoother color transition

1994 "Nascar Racing": Do racing games really need a sky?

1995 "Strike Commander": There's a transition but it's not smooth

1996 "Road Rash": Although the clouds look strange, at least racing games have less monotonous skies

1997 "Comanche": Not pursuing reality but atmosphere

1997 "Outlaws": Also dyed 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": Cool

2000 "Colin McRae Rally 2.0": Still important to watch the road in racing games

2000 "Grand Prix Legends": Same as above

2000 "Vampire: The Masquerade Redemption": Night in Prague

2001 "Black and White": Overcast

2001 "Half Life": Compared to the ground, the sky is quite close to nature

2001 "Heavy Metal: F.A.K.K.2": Characters' silhouettes might be more attractive

2001 "Operation Flashpoint": Quite harmonious between sky and ground

2001 "Seriouse Sam": Clouds here and there, the lens flare effect of the sun is also pretty good

2002 "Mafia": Beautiful scenery at dusk

2002 "Neverwinter Nights": Average characters, average sky

2002 "The Elder Scrolls III Morrorwind": Very beautiful for its time, somewhat like HDR

2003 "Chrome": Chrome engine well represents sunrise scenes

2003 "Unreal 2": The sky isn't unreal

2004 "Colin McRae Rally 4": Can admire the sky while watching the road

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 name

2004 "PainKiller": Here there's only hell

2005 "Boiling Point: Road to Hell": Echoes of "Crysis"

2005 "Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood": Let the sky return to WWII

2005 "Call of Duty 2": Retro cyan-green

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 effect is actually average

2005 "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas": Day and night cycle appears

2006 "Microsoft Flight Simulator X": Highly realistic flight simulation game, naturally cannot miss the sky

2006 "Gothic Dynasty 3": Honest, no special features

2006 "Just Cause": Picturesque scenery

2006 "The Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion": Takes it up a notch compared to the previous generation

2006 "S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl": Carves a terrifying atmosphere to the bone

2007 "BioShock": Sky doesn't get many chances to show up, occasionally showing night sky but not sketched lightly

2007 "Dark Zone": Ubiquitous dark clouds are naturally most suitable

2007 "Call of Duty 4": Nearly perfect in all aspects, sky included

2007 "Crysis": Use of volumetric clouds, day and night real-time cycle effects under DX10 makes it a reference standard for games in the near future

2007 "Hellgate: London": Typical London night sky, gloomy 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 and night cycles, clouds change in real time

2007 "The Witcher": Nothing much to say

2007 "Unreal Tournament 3": World's end feeling is very accurate

2007 "World in Conflict": Various high-altitude effects are extremely accurate, blue filter, overall also very excellent

2008 "Assassin's Creed": Main character frequently flies around, but the sky is just so-so

2008 "S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky": Sky under DX10 is not clear, but the effect is great

2008 "Far Cry 2": Don't even feel comfortable greeting people without DX10

2008 "Alan Wake": Will the final effect be as good as "Crysis"?

2009 "Mafia II"

PS: Finally finished posting, maybe due to too many pictures, I've sent them in batches, still causing my browser to crash several times. I had to re-post some agricultural product brand marketing strategies, electric control butterfly valve, it took me an hour to finish this post, exhausted me... please give it a few more clicks after reading. Source: Drive Home