History Main / BeautifulVoid

* ''VideoGame/{{Homeworld}}'' gets extra points for being actually set entirely in space. You never see any planet up close, there are no named characters other than Karan S'jet and Captain Elson, and you never learn how any of the aliens look in person. And even though you can amass a fleet of significant size that ends up in numerous massive battles, individual starfighters are too small to take notice of, and the capital ships are too slow and heavy to do any fancy evasive actions. And since you usually need to have a good overview over the battlespace, all you see of the pitched and dramatic battles is some slight glitter of warships on fire and exploding starfighters, and the occasional flash of an exploding destroyer. The music aknowledges the start of a battle by [[SoundtrackDissonance slightly increasing the pacing]].

%%** This appears to be one of the core principles behind ''VideoGame/{{Journey}}''.

* ''VideoGame/Destiny'': Unknown Space, domain of the Nine, consists largely of a vast white desert under a dim blue sky, broken by chaotic, monolithic structures that only vaguely resemble buildings and kinetic sculpture-looking doodads. Aside from the lone Emissary of the Nine, it’s clear that the only living things in the whole place are whatever other players you’ve loaded into the map with. Even the enemies that spawn in some missions are nothing more than the Nine’s sock puppets, created on the spot without a will of their own.

* In ''Theatre/JasperInDeadland'', Elysium is implied to be this. It's peaceful enough that [[spoiler:Agnes wants to stay there instead of returning to her life in the Living World]], to Jasper's surprise.

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* ''VideoGame/ManifoldGarden'': Oh YES. The game's environments are not only massive, but loop upon themselves, and you can see each induvial loop echo into the distance to the maximum of your draw distance and beyond. There's no NPCS, no enemies, just you and this limitless expanse.

* ''VideoGame/ParadiseKiller'' takes place on an island in a PocketDimension created by psychic immortals, populated by a small army of slave labor, and looks like a bunch of {{Vaporwave}} album covers smooshed together. By the time you arrive on the island all the slaves are gone but you can still remnants of their lives, like decorated apartments, convenience stores, and full wheelbarrows just left out in the open.

* ''Manga/{{Blame}}'' uses this setting.

* ''Manga/KuroganeCommunication'' does this.
* ''Anime/AngelsEgg'' has this type of setting.

* ''Anime/PokemonGiratinaAndTheSkyWarrior'': Zero sees the Reverse World as this, and plans to bring Giratina to the real World so he can have it all to himself.

* The Canadian film ''Film/{{Nothing}}'' is entirely this trope, although we do know what happened.

* The pristine forest surrounding ''Film/TheVillage'' works this way, and is critical to TheReveal.

* The Wood Between the Worlds is one in ''Literature/TheMagiciansNephew''.

* Craig Harrison's ''Literature/TheQuietEarth''.

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* Dr. Maki's ultimate goal in ''Series/KamenRiderOOO'' is to [[OmnicidalManiac create]] [[WellIntentionedExtremist one]] [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt of]] [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans these]].
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* The island in ''VideoGame/DearEsther''.
* The Xbox Live Indie game ''The Deep Cave''.
* ''VideoGame/TheDig'' - actually a double example, with both Cocytus '''and''' [[spoiler:Spacetime Six]].

* ''VideoGame/FragileDreams'' takes place in one.

** ''VideoGame/{{Flower}}'', definitely the beautiful kind most of the time.
** This appears to be one of the core principles behind ''VideoGame/{{Journey}}''.

* ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime''. ''[[VideoGame/MetroidPrime2Echoes Echoes]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/MetroidPrime3Corruption Corruption]]'' less so, because of friendly [=NPCs=].
** ''VideoGame/SuperMetroid'', too - the opening sees you traverse an otherwise empty area, discover something, then backtrack through the same, now populated, area.

* ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'' played this straight until the introduction of villages with [=NPCs=], although there's still an option to remove structures at world generation so you can play in an uninhabited world. Prior to that, the only sign of other intelligent life was two of the enemies, zombies and skeletons, which are both types of monsters that traditionally used to be people. One could even argue that the point of ''Minecraft'' is to [[InvokedTrope invoke]] this.
* ''VideoGame/{{Myst}}'', with a quote from Creator/DouglasAdams about it as the TropeNamer. Every game in the franchise approaches the trope differently, usually employing some variation on LateToTheTragedy.

* [[VideoGame/SchizmMysteriousJourney Schizm]] emphasizes the "void" over the "beautiful," even more than ''The Crystal Key''. Civilization on the GhostPlanet you're exploring vanished quickly and mysteriously, as did the entire research team you were supposed to be delivering supplies to. The only remaining signs of life are the [[ApocalypticLog audio diaries]] left by the scientists.

* ''VideoGame/{{Smallworlds}}'' is also essentially this, and also very creepy, but in a more subtle manner.

* ''VideoGame/{{Turgor}}'' (in English-speaking countries, ''The Void'', appropriately enough).

* A world of the ''VideoGame/VagrantStory'' easily fits.

* ''Webcomic/BlankIt''. The title should give a clue.

* In ''Webcomic/LucidSpring'', the [[http://lucidspring.thecomicseries.com/comics/28 place]] Pacem enters when she dreams.

* [[http://vimeo.com/7809605 The Third and the Seventh]] by Alex Roman, one of the most beautiful videos to ever grace the internet.
* [[https://vimeo.com/108650530 Wanderers]], by Erik Wernquist is another contender for the title of most beautiful video on the internet, with the focus being on the possible future exploration and settlement of the rest of our solar system.

* The Universe, until proven otherwise. To be more precise, the night sky. Sure, it has thousands of stars, but mostly it's a black abyss, staring into our eyes. Then again, the Hubble Ultra Deep Field image has shown that even that "darkness" is ''full'' of light from distant galaxies - human eyes just aren't sensitive enough to see it unaided.
* The moon. "Magnificent Desolation" indeed. When you are on the light side, sunlight reflected from the ground is so bright that eyes and cameras adjusting to the ambient lighting can't see or capture the stars, making the sky perfectly black with only the sun and possibly the Earth visible. On the dark side, there is only starlight in the sky -- except the fourteen days in which the Sun is up, and perfect darkness on the ground.

* ''VideoGame/SpiritOfTheNorth'', aside from the player fox and its companion, is completely devoid of all other animal life, and all the humans are long dead. It's up to you to find out why and set things right.

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* In ''VideoGame/TheStanleyParable'', all of Stanley's co-workers have mysteriously vanished, and his boss is also absent. Interaction with the game world is mostly limited to pressing various kinds of buttons, a fact subjected to much LampshadeHanging in some of the routes.

* ZigZagged in ''Podcast/AliceIsntDead,''as the trucker {{Narrator}} vacillates in describing her surroundings with her shifts in mood. In "Omelet," the Narrator ambivalently [[FauxlosophicNarration meditates]] on the nature of the night sky, and whether its more apt to describe it as "beautiful," or "nothing." In context, she's musing wistfully and nihilistically in the aftermath of being traumatized by a HumanoidAbomination stalker. Subsequently, she articulates a mild fear of particularly [[NothingIsScarier empty]] vistas like flatlands, until in "Nothing to See," she's actually ''relieved'' by the pleasant way Kansas grasslands offer "[[TitleDrop nothing to see]]." Then she hears [[DangerTakesABackseat noises]] from her trailer, and her fear and isolation are underscored yet again.

* ''VideoGame/{{Valley}}'' has a valley full of wildlife and ruins, but no one to talk to.

%%This page's examples section is sorted alphabetically. It would be lovely if you'd maintain this, thanks.

[[quoteright:350:[[VideoGame/UruAgesBeyondMyst https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Uru_Dni_city_alley_2325.jpg]]]]

* ''{{VideoGame/Scratches}}'' is set in an painfully-detailed empty Victorian mansion with lots of art pieces.

* ''[[VideoGame/{{SpyroTheDragon1998}} Spyro The Dragon]]'' is made of this trope. There's a lot of enemies, but once you clear them there's nothing but beautiful void left.

* Smallworlds is also essentially this, and also very creepy, but in a more subtle manner.

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* Cittàgazze in ''[[Literature/HisDarkMaterials The Subtle Knife]]'' appears completely uninhabited to Lyra and Will when they first arrive there, but strangely still in operating order, with food not yet spoiled and the electricity still working. [[spoiler: Turns out the adults had recently fled en masse from an invasion of the [[EldritchAbomination Spectres]], for fear of being rendered {{Empty Shell}}s. The children of the adults do return, as they are ''temporarily'' [[TheImmune immune]] to the Spectres.

* Cittàgazze in ''[[Literature/HisDarkMaterials The Subtle Knife]]'' appears completely uninhabited to Lyra and Will when they first arrive there.[[spoiler: Turns out it's sparsely inhabited only by children, the [[EldritchAbomination Spectres]] having rendered the city's adults {{Empty Shell}}s.]]

* Dr. Maki's ultimate goal in ''Series/KamenRiderOOO'' is to create one of these.

*** Special mention to [[spoiler: the sunken Hyrule Castle which, after the MultiMookMelee, is completely empty but is very relaxing.]]

* ''VideoGame/{{Myst}}'', with a quote from Creator/DouglasAdams about it as the TropeNamer.

* Lordran of ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'', aside from all of the undead nasties, is all but devoid of actual life.

* The world of the ''VideoGame/{{Coil}}'' is this.

%%* The world of ''VideoGame/TheNeverhood''.
* The world of ''VideoGame/SecretsOfRaetikon'', at least in the sense that nature has been left to its own devices, allowing a multitude of plants and animals to thrive among the various dormant machines.

* A common theme with the ''Franchise/PrinceOfPersia'' games, featuring vast sprawling locales and a cast that rarely exceeds three:
** Aside from the sand monsters, very much present in ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersiaTheSandsOfTime'' with the vast castle grounds you explore and trek through with the Prince, Farah, and the Vizier at the end.
** Present in ''[[VideoGame/PrinceOfPersiaWarriorWithin Warrior Within]]'' with the Prince, Kaileena, and the Dahaka on the Island of Time.
** ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersia2008'', letting you explore the lands of Ormazd with just [[RuleOfThree the Prince]], Elika, and whatever boss is in the area.
* Laurentia from ''VideoGame/NexusClash'' is the remains of a ShiningCity dotted with hundreds if not thousands of findable clues both subtle and overt that shed light on what kind of place it was, what sort of civilization lived there, and many events both joyous and tragic that happened throughout its history. By the time the player characters arrive on the scene, its world has already ended and it has been plucked from history by the PowersThatBe to serve as a battlefield. Few if any of the people who lived in Laurentia were brought with it, and players can only explore its remains and wonder what it might have become if it hadn't come to an end. St. Germaine from the original ''Nexus War'' was handled in a similar way.
* In ''VideoGame/TheSpectrumRetreat'', apart from you, the only "people" at the entire, five floor high hotel are the six or seven robotic staff members, whom you don't see for most of the game. [[spoiler:As the manager reveals, that's because Alex rejected the simulation when it was filled with AI guests, so it's been restarted empty.]]
* ''VideoGame/IronHelix'': The entire game takes place onboard the starship ''Jeremiah Obrian''. The interior of the ship looks surprisingly comfy, featuring a lounge, a gym, and several opportunities for stargazing. You are the only living thing onboard since the entire crew was killed by the ship's automated defense drone.