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4[[quoteright:350:[[VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBrosWii https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/new_super_mario_bros_wii_world_map.png]]]]
5[-[[caption-width-right:500:Counterclockwise, from bottom: GreenHillZone, ShiftingSandLand, SlippySlideyIceWorld, PalmtreePanic, JungleJapes, DeathMountain, LevelInTheClouds, and LethalLavaLand. SpaceZone is the star world floating above the other eight.]]-]
6
7->''"The first board would be the jungle board, and maybe the second board is ice world, and then there's probably a desert world in there and a fire world..."''
8-->-- '''Strong Bad''', ''WebAnimation/HomestarRunner''
9
10Video games take place in a wide variety of different environments. As time has gone by, some of these environments have evolved into their own tropes. Some are more common to one genre than others, while others are almost universal, taking different forms depending on the genre. These almost always have their own style of music to match the level theme.
11
12See also LawOfCartographicalElegance, SortingAlgorithmOfThreateningGeography and VideoGameGeography. Not to be confused with the kind of settings which alter some aspects of the game, RolePlayingGameVerse and RPGMechanicsVerse which are settings that run on video game logic.
13
14[[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant If you're looking for]] "settings" as in "options", look in GameMechanics or VideoGameDifficultyTropes.
15
16----
17!!Always Video Game Levels
18These settings are specifically focused on describing types of video game settings, and aren't generally applicable to other media outside of the context of discussing or portraying games.
19----
20[[index]]
21* AbsurdlyShortLevel: An incredibly short level that takes a tiny amount of time to complete.
22* AllTheWorldsAreAStage: When the game's levels come BackForTheFinale.
23* AlternateWorldMap: More than one map, more than one world.
24* AmazingTechnicolorBattlefield: Lookit all the pretty stars and streams and blinky things!
25* ArtCourse: An art-themed level. "Art" here usually meaning paintings and drawings and statues and all that fancy stuff.
26* AthleticArenaLevel: A sports-themed level. Expect to see [[GretzkyHasTheBall hockey players kicking baseballs at you in the middle of a basketball stadium.]]
27* AutomaticLevel: A level that plays itself.
28* AutoScrollingLevel: A level in a PlatformGame where the screen keeps moving and you must keep up with it. Getting squished by the side of the screen could be fatal.
29* BandLand: A music-themed area. Groovy!
30* BigBoosHaunt: The video game equivalent of a HalloweenEpisode; A haunted level filled with ghosts, undead and other creepy or macabre elements. It's spooooooky!
31* BlackoutBasement: A level where the lighting is inconsistent or flashes on and off. [[EpilepticFlashingLights Seizury!]]
32* BleakLevel: A level where everything's scarier or more depressing.
33* BonusDungeon: An optional level where the enemies and challenges are typically harder than TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon.
34* BonusLevelOfHeaven: A level where you get to beat up angels and possibly {{God}}.
35* BonusStage: An optional, often hidden level with lots of {{Power Up}}s or treasure, sometimes involving a MiniGame.
36* BossCorridor: A usually empty corridor that precedes a boss battle.
37* BossOnlyLevel: A level that consists entirely of a BossBattle.
38* BreatherLevel: An easy level between two hard ones.
39* BrutalBonusLevel: An incredibly difficult "extra" level not required to beat the game proper.
40* BubblegloopSwamp: The swamp level. Soggy.
41* CasinoPark: A casino-themed area. 99% of the time Las Vegas-themed. Try not to get too addicted with the slot machines or card games if you value your money.
42* ChokepointGeography: A dungeon that must be passed through in order to continue on to other areas.
43* DeadEndRoom: Once you enter, you can never leave.
44* DeathMountain: A stage that takes place on a high, rocky mountain. Watch for falling rocks.
45* DiscOneFinalDungeon: A dungeon that pretends to be the last one in the game, but is nowhere near it.
46* DisconnectedSideArea: A side area that looks like it's part of the current level, but actually can't be reached except via a long way around.
47* DownTheDrain: Amazing how little poop you see in these large, airy underground spaces.
48* DroughtLevelOfDoom: A level that's devoid of powerups or equipment, making you ration your loot.
49* DungeonShop: An item shop subsisting somewhere in the dungeon.
50* DungeonTown: For when the monsters bring the fight to your front door instead of conveniently waiting for you to enter the world map.
51* EternalEngine: A vast factory complex or machine that can fill up a building, a city or even a whole planet.
52* FinalBossNewDimension: You have to enter a different "dimension" to fight the final boss.
53* FinalDungeonPreview: The player pays an early visit to what will be the game's final level.
54* FirstTown: The city you start out in, a fairly large and central area.
55* ForestOfPerpetualAutumn: An autumn forest in an otherwise non-autumn game world.
56* FourSeasonsLevel: A level that has multiple versions of itself, each one themed after a different season. Like [[Music/AntonioVivaldi Vivaldi]] intended!
57* FunnelCloudJourney: A level inside a tornado. It's a miracle you don't get dizzy here.
58* GameLevel: Hopefully when you finish one, [[YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle your princess is not in another castle]].
59* GangplankGalleon: A {{pirate}}-themed area. [[TalkLikeAPirate ARR ME MATEYS]]!
60* GatelessGhetto: Only a specific portion of a city is explorable.
61* GimmickLevel: A level where some aspect of the game is radically changed, but the overall gameplay/genre stays the same.
62* GraffitiTown: An urban area with chain-link fences and lots of colorful graffiti.
63* GreenHillZone: A calm, colorful (usually green), vibrant grassland or woodland, that may have tropical elements; often the first level.
64* GustyGlade: A level with high winds that blow you around to make things more difficult.
65* HailfirePeaks: A level that has two heavily-contrasting settings in one, e.g. half of the level is full of ice, the other half is full of fire.
66* HomeStage: A level associated with a specific character.
67* HornetHole: A level filled that takes place inside of a beehive like setting. [[BeeAfraid OH GOD THE BEES!]]
68* HubCity: The biggest city in the game, the center of everything.
69* HubLevel: The space between the levels, sometimes as elaborate as a level itself.
70* HubUnderAttack: The HubLevel is attacked during the storyline.
71* ItsAllUpstairsFromHere: At some point in your quest, you will have to climb a tower.
72* JokeLevel: A level that feels out of place from the entire rest of the game, and is usually silly. Often a bonus/secret level.
73* JungleJapes: Tropical jungles. Flora and fauna are most probably [[EverythingTryingToKillYou dangerous]].
74* LevelAte: A food-themed area. Yum!
75* LethalLavaLand: A stage taking place in a volcano or factory with red-hot metal involved. Convection? [[ConvectionSchmonvection What's that?]]
76* LevelInReverse: It's like that one level from before, just the other way around.
77* LevelInTheClouds: A level which takes place in the sky. Didn't you know clouds are solid, beanstalks can reach the stratosphere, and all sorts of big objects can float around? Anyone can walk on them as well!
78* LevelsTakeFlight: A level taking place in the air on a flying vehicle, animal, etc.
79* LocomotiveLevel: A level inside a train. Toot-toot!
80* TheLostWoods: A level in the depths of the forest.
81* MacroZone: An area where either everything else is giant or you are tiny.
82* MarathonLevel: An incredibly long level that takes a huge amount of time to complete.
83* MetropolisLevel: A level taking place inside a huge bustling city. Expect to run across streets filled with [[EverythingTryingToKillYou crazy traffic]], scale tall skyscrapers, and [[RoofHopping jump from building-to-building]].
84* MiniDungeon: A dungeon or stage whose scope and content is smaller than those of a full-fledged one.
85* MinecartMadness: You ride a minecart and have to avoid obstacles.
86* MinigameZone: An area in a video game that is host to a number of minigames where the player can win items or cash.
87* MinusWorld: Areas of the map a player can reach only by [[GoodBadBug glitching]] or [[VideoGame/GameShark hacking]].
88* MirrorWorld: A level in a video game which is an alternate version of an area you were in earlier.
89* MonsterArena: An arena, often in the first or second big city visitable, where the party can fight slightly more advanced monsters at their leisure.
90* MookThemedLevel: {{Mooks}} are the main attraction of this level.
91* MuseumLevel: A level in a video game which features things like enemies, concept art, and prototypes in a museum or lab set.
92* NoobCave: The first place where players actually begin DungeonCrawling.
93* NoSidepathsNoExplorationNoFreedom: Level architecture that forces the player down a linear path.
94* NostalgiaLevel: A level or area is designed in such a way as to evoke memories of a previous game in the series.
95* OneTimeDungeon: A location that can't be revisited.
96* TheOverworld: A location of varying complexity used in nonlinear games as a go between for other points of interest.
97* PalmtreePanic: A level on the beach. Sit back and relax, as long as you don't get killed by the [[CoconutMeetsCranium falling coconuts]].
98* PeninsulaOfPowerLeveling: A location with powerful enemies which lets you speed through LevelGrinding.
99* PinballZone: A level that revolves around pinball, with all the bumpers, and flippers, and tilts and whatever.
100* PlanetHeck: A level filled with fire, brimstone and creepy bad men with pitchforks.
101* PlayerHeadquarters: A location in a video game that serves as a base of operations.
102* PostFinalLevel: A BossOnlyLevel after TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon that only contains the FinalBoss and maybe a few other things like healing items.
103* {{Prehistoria}}: Oogah! This place with cavemen! And dinosaurs!
104* PrisonLevel: A level where you must break out of or spring someone from a prison. Expect it to be a StealthBasedMission or a NoGearLevel.
105* RandomlyGeneratedLevels: When the computer generates a random map, dungeon, or level.
106* RemilitarizedZone: A level that suddenly is full of artillery, bombs, and fighter planes.
107* RemixedLevel: A level you've already been to, but which has changed in some way.
108* RiseToTheChallenge: A vertical AdvancingWallOfDoom.
109* RoaringRapids: A watery level where you get dragged along fast.
110* ScenicTourLevel: Any form of scene setting in a game that allows you to explore a very limited area of the setting while getting a tour of the level.
111* SchoolSettingSimulation: Levels taking place in schools. Learning stuff may or may not be required to ace these tests.
112* SecretLevel: An optional level that isn't required to finish the game, and often has some gimmick involved with its design.
113* ShiftingSandLand: The desert stage, [[{{WesternAnimation/Aladdin}} where it's flat and immense and the heat is intense…]]
114* ShipLevel: Sneak or blow your way through the narrow corridors and tight spaces of a ship, which may or may not still be floating by the time you're done with it.
115* SlideLevel: A level where you slide down a slope and avoid obstacles while trying to get to the end.
116* SlippySlideyIceWorld: The ice level. [[VideoGame/StrongBadsCoolGameForAttractivePeople Less friction, more penguins.]]
117* SpaceCompression: The solution to dealing with limited rendering tech and potential player boredom with extremely large game worlds.
118* SpaceZone: The space level. Needless to say, [[ArtisticLicenseSpace does not follow actual laws of physics.]]
119* {{Studiopolis}}: Lights, camera, action! A level that takes place in a Hollywood-like setting.
120* TideLevel: The environment rises and falls throughout the level.
121* ToyTime: A toy themed level with colorful architecture evocative of childishness.
122* TreeTrunkTour: Explore the insides and outsides of that gigantic, majestic, likely-deadly tree over there.
123* UndergroundLevel: Lots of rocks and stalactites and stalagmites and critters with glowy eyes.
124* UnderTheSea: And of course [[SuperNotDrowningSkills we never run out of air]], because that would [[RuleOfFun ruin the fun]].
125* TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon: OK, given how far you're into the game, and the vibe you're getting from that [[VideoGame/MegaManClassic skull-shaped fortress]]… yep, this is the final dungeon.
126* WombLevel: You're inside a big monster. Watch out for the spleen--it spits acid.
127[[/index]]
128
129!!Sometimes Video Game Levels
130These are more general settings that can and do appear in multiple kinds of media, but which are also popular choices as video game areas.
131----
132[[index]]
133* AbandonedLaboratory: The deeper you go into the lab, the more likely you will find the horrors of unethical science.
134* AbandonedMine: Nothing but old, yet still-functioning mining equipment here. Maybe they shouldn't have DugTooDeep…
135* AmusementPark: A carnival-themed level featuring typical attractions such as the roller coaster, the ferris wheel, and the HallOfMirrors.
136* AmusementParkOfDoom: The aforementioned level, but since the villain has booby-trapped it or built it for nefarious purposes, [[EverythingTryingToKillYou everything is trying to kill you the moment you try them out]].
137* AsteroidThicket: The typical asteroid field that requires shooting your way through to survive.
138* BeanstalkParody: A level that takes place on a giant beanstalk. This may often involve fighting [[BigCreepyCrawlies giant insects]] and [[LevelInTheClouds walking across clouds]], and you might even have to fight a giant at the end of the stage.
139* BewareTheSkullBase: A dungeon level that takes place in a skull themed base or fortress.
140* BigFancyCastle: A level that takes place inside a castle. Hopefully [[YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle the princess is actually in this one]].
141* BuildLikeAnEgyptian: A big, old, sandy pyramid, commonly found in the ShiftingSandLand. If the devs are feeling particularly creative, you might get a big, old, sandy sphinx instead, complete with a puzzle or [[RiddleOfTheSphinx riddle]] that you have to solve in order to get the treasure inside.
142* CaveBehindTheFalls: Where are the secrets hiding? Look behind the waterfall. Can be a small feature in another level type or a level in and of itself.
143* CircusOfFear: [[CreepyCircusMusic Scary music]], [[TheFreakshow freaky performers]], [[MonsterClown killer clowns]]… the circus has come to town indeed. Expect gratuitous platforming sequences of TightropeWalking and trapeze swinging.
144* ClockworksArea: An industrial area filled with moving gears and wheels.
145* ConstructionZoneCalamity: A level that takes place in a construction site. What is being built here exactly, and is it safe at all? [[NoOSHACompliance It's not their concern.]] Just watch for reckless wrecking balls, falling bricks and rivets, swinging girder platforms, pounding hydraulic weights, and gratuitous pits of wet cement.
146* ContainerMaze: A labyrinth of crates or containers in a warehouse, storeroom or dock.
147* CrystalLandscape: A setting filled with or completely composed of crystals, gemstones and jewels.
148* {{Cyberspace}}: The internet as a physical level.
149* DecadeDissonance: Two cities side-by-side which are complete opposites.
150* DerelictGraveyard: A place with a lot of burned-out, ruined, rusty, or generally abandoned ships or trains.
151* DoomedHometown: The hero's home town is most probably going to be destroyed in a fiery blaze, generally by the BigBad.
152* DownInTheDumps: A level that's based on a landfill or a scrapyard.
153* ElaborateUndergroundBase: Underground is the best place for villains to hide.
154* ElevatorActionSequence: When you find yourself on a big, spacious elevator, rest assured you're going to have an extended multi-combatant smackdown.
155* FloatingContinent: An otherwise-normal place that's floating in the sky, often for no adequately-explored reason.
156* HauntedCastle: When the BigBoosHaunt is a BigFancyCastle.
157* TheHedgeOfThorns: The pricklier relative of TheLostWoods and JungleJapes, where the player must keep from getting stabbed by the massive spikes in the maze of pokey plants.
158* IcePalace: A big, shiny palace made out of ice. Look out for ice spikes.
159* IslandOfMystery: An island containing much strangeness.
160* LandOfTulipsAndWindmills: A setting based on the stereotypical rural Netherlands. Lots of hills and WindmillScenery.
161* LighthousePoint: Spooky haunted lighthouse.
162* LumberMillMayhem: Any place that contains gratuitous buzzsaws is dangerous enough to be level worthy.
163* TheMaze: You will get lost here.
164* MedievalEuropeanFantasy: Fantasy stories inevitably take place in a pastiche of medieval Europe.
165* TheMiddleAges: An inexplicable level or world based on medieval Europe in an otherwise modern setting. Knights, Princesses, and Dragons, oh my!
166* MonsterTown: Baby monsters have to grow up somewhere, after all.
167* NiceDayDeadlyNight: A level gets more dangerous at night.
168* NightmarishFactory: The only thing this factory produces is fear and horrors beyond your imagination.
169* NorthIsColdSouthIsHot: When the north of the world map has all the cold regions, and the south has all the warm regions.
170* ObstacleSkiCourse: There is no such thing as a leisurely trip down the slopes.
171* OminousFloatingCastle: A villainous base floating in the middle of absolutely nowhere.
172* TheOutsideWorld: Typically the vast explorable world beyond the tutorial, starting town or setting; narratively can be outside a place of confinement or seclusion.
173* PatchworkMap: When the game world is [[SpaceCompression considerably smaller than it would be in real life]], you have to pack in a bunch of different biomes in a very small area.
174* PipeMaze: Not only do you have to get to the end… you'll probably be soaked by the time you're done.
175* PollutedWasteland: An extremely polluted area filled with deadly waste and poisonous gas, courtesy of your friendly neighborhood ToxicInc
176* PortalEndpointResemblance: The area around a portal will often look like the target destination, typically to give players a subtle "preview" of an upcoming level.
177* PortTown: It's a city that's got [[GetOnTheBoat boats to get on]].
178* RecurringLocation: A place which is not the main hub or boss area in a series, but which appears over and over again within the same series.
179* RibcageRidge: A level that takes place in the skeletal remains of a large creature.
180* RuinsForRuinsSake: Okay, they're ruins… but why are they there? What are they ruins ''of''?
181* SharkTunnel: A transparent underwater tunnel. Common in {{Racing Game}}s.
182* SinisterSubway: It's a subway, but haunted and spooky and dripping with stale water and monster-infested.
183* SkateHeavenIsAPlaceOnEarth: You can skate anywhere, everywhere, and in fact ''must'' do so.
184* SpaceStation: A level that takes place in a space station. May involve fighting aliens and/or robots, as well as a GravityScrew.
185* TechnoWreckage: A dilapidated high tech zone.
186* TempleOfDoom: An ancient temple or city, complete with ancient traps designed to anciently behead or disembowel you.
187* {{Tomorrowland}}: An inexplicably technologically-advanced area in a place where it obviously doesn't belong.
188* TreeTopTown: A level set in the tree tops of a forest, featuring treehouses, vine-swinging and, of course, BottomlessPits.
189* TripToTheMoonPlot: The mysterious setting of the moon, combined with low gravity opens up many possibilities for level design. Taking you to the moon, or even within the moon itself.
190* TropicalIslandAdventure: A tropical island. Usually an assortment of jungle, beach and temple levels, with an obligatory volcano in the middle.
191* UltimateForge: The only place to make the Sword of Ultimate Plot Advancement, invariably somewhere very difficult to reach.
192* UrbanRuins: A city fallen into ruin.
193* UnderwaterBase: A base of operations kept on the sea floor. Climate-controlled, so there is no need to worry about drowning or decompression, but very likely the villain and his minions are stationed here, which brings its own set of problems.
194* UnderwaterRuins: Majestic, decrepit ruins of something or other surviving under the sea for millenia. Probably with fully-functioning treasure chests.
195* {{Wackyland}}: An especially whimsical, surreal, or nonsensical area in a video game.
196* WhereItAllBegan: The location where the game ends and the location where the game begins are one and the same.
197* TheWildWest: In the good ol' frontier, alongside the {{Wutai}} of {{Ninja}}s and GangplankGalleon of {{Pirates}}
198* WindmillScenery: When the GreenHillZone features windmills as part of its geography.
199* {{Wutai}}: Obligatory East Asian pagoda-filled analogue. Expect to see {{ninja}}s, {{samurai}}, [[EverybodyWasKungFuFighting kung fu masters]], {{geisha}}, and/or shishi-odoshi.
200* YodelLand: A peaceful and pristine Bavarian-esque setting with some hilly grasslands, lakes and plenty of mountains. When the GreenHillZone gets a little ''too'' same-y but you still want a friendly game level, this is the next best thing. Make sure you pack your Lederhosen.
201[[/index]]

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