History ShownTheirWork / VideoGames

** The Mass Effect is created by running an electrical current through a substance called [[MinovskyParticle Element Zero]]. Since human nerves send signals through the body by small electric pulses, people whose bodies are contaminated by Element Zero particles are living Mass Effect generators. With the help of cybernetic implants, they can control these small electric pulses more precisely and use the Element Zero in their body to create Mass Effect fields, allowing them to levitate, deflect bullets, and throw objects with their mind. It's one of the very few cases where "magic" powers are actually consistently explained and plausible, requiring only a single substance with only one relatively simple property.

* ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'': Two of the games for the UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance, ''Drakken's Demise'' and especially ''Team Possible'', play almost as lost episodes of the series. It starts with the same type of zany plot the show is famous for (a plot to steal Kim's photo album to lead her into a trap set by Monkey Fist, then the album taken by the Senors to a night club in space) and it goes uphill from there.
* ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters XIII'': There's a stage set in London, England featuring police officers in the background. You'd expect the navy-suited officer you see in most other out-of-country works that feature England as a location, especially since it's a game, right? Wrong. The officers are in regiment gear, radio, 'Police' patch, and to top it off, hi-vis jacket. [[http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/snk/images/0/01/Kofxiiibritainbg.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20100720033152 See for yourself]].

* ''VideoGame/LegoBatman'' does a lot of it. The Batcomputer has a lot of information on it, showing facts about the RoguesGallery and even facts about villains you don't even ''know'' about, such as Penguin's father dying from pneumonia on a rainy day, and Penguin's mother forcing him to carry an umbrella.

* The Harebrained Schemes ''VideoGame/BattleTech'' game is surprisingly full of little nods towards how real-world physics would work in the ''Battletech'' universe.

* The events of ''VideoGame/BioShockInfinite'' -- a flying city, cybernetics, [[spoiler: alternate universes]] -- may be fanciful, but the game absolutely ''nails'' the attitudes and prejudices of late 19th/early 20th century America, from the religion to work to money. Despite the fact that it takes place in an AlternateUniverse, a lot of the information it gives is accurate to how people [[DeliberateValuesDissonance from that time]] would explain it.

* As far as remakes and remasters go, Vicarious Visions did an absolutely incredible job of this with ''VideoGame/CrashBandicootNSaneTrilogy''. Despite being built from the ground up, much of the game comes very close to what the originals were like, if not exactly capturing how the original game was. This goes doubly so for [[spoiler: Stormy Ascent, in which the team reportedly played the level over and over again in order to prepare for designing it for the remaster]] and [[spoiler: The High Road, where the GoodBadBug of being able to run on the ropes of the bridge and easily bypass 90% of what would otherwise be ThatOneLevel is replicated]]. Even with the new features added in, it still does the original justice. So much justice, in fact, the original creators of Crash Bandicoot, Creator/NaughtyDog, gave overwhelmingly positive feedback on it.

* ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'': The [[DemonicSpiders Sabre]] [[PantheraAwesome Cats]] encountered throughout [[GrimUpNorth Skyrim]] are designed with bodies more similar to bears than cats. However, this actually counts as a GeniusBonus on part of the developers; Fossil records show that the genus ''Smilodon'' had bear-like bodies far stockier than modern cats, with the most accepted theory being that this was an adaptation to take down larger prey like mammoths - [[FridgeBrilliance and mammoths]] ''[[FridgeBrilliance also]]'' [[FridgeBrilliance live in Skyrim]].

** Even in Europe, though, there are errors - Hungary is included in the "West Slavic" culture group, and a few things are changed for balance reasons.

*** Related to the above, while Diamond City (located in the real-world Fenway Park) [[BrandX has no references to the Boston Red Sox since Bethesda couldn't afford the rights]], many other details from the real-world park are still kept. For example, where the Nuka-Cola sign is located in Diamond City, there's a large Coca-Cola sign in approximately the same location and style in our Fenway Park. Also, the huge scoreboard that the residents of Diamond City revere as "the Wall/Green Guardian" is a real feature of Fenway Park's design, and its actual nickname is "the Green Monster." And if the player character looks up into the bleachers, they can find a single red seat - representing where Ted Williams hit the furthest ball in Fenway Park history, 502 feet from home plate. (As a side note, Bethesda snuck in a TakeThat against the Red Sox, since the banners depicting the teams' World Series victories end in 1918, implying that in the AlternateHistory of the Fallout universe, the Red Sox would not win any of their championships in the early 21st century.)

*** In the southeastern part of the Commonwealth, it's possible [[WackyWaysideTribe to find a wrecked Norwegian ship ruled by its now-ghoulified crew]], [[TragicMonster who have degenerated into Raiders in order to survive]]. While the Norwegian they speak isn't ''[[BlindIdiotTranslation quite]]'' perfect, it's surprisingly accurate for the most part. And on a related note, [[spoiler: the ghoulified Chinese [[TheAtoner Captain Zao]] found aboard the ''Yangtze'' in Boston Harbor]] ''does'' fall a bit into AsianSpeekeeEngrish at times -- although this is {{Justified|Trope}} by [[spoiler: [[SanitySlippage him having gone a bit loopy from being stuck in his submarine for ~210 years]] [[AndIMustScream while the rest of his crew degenerated into Feral Ghouls]]]] -- the Chinese he speaks is more or less accurate.
*** In a more subtle case, some weapons and gun mods are accurate to their real-world counterparts in ways not often pointed out in other media. For example, suppressors thoroughly {{avert|edTrope}} the HollywoodSilencer trope since [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome even on the quietest guns, they don't totally silence the sound of the bullet]]. However, suppressors also noticeably reduce a firearm's recoil, which is something not usually noted in other media. And on a related note, while {{Molotov Cocktail}}s still play ConvectionSchmonvection straight since the [[PlayerCharacter Sole Survivor]] doesn't badly burn their hands when holding one by the bottle, actual oil is required to make them effective instead of only using alcohol (like in real life). Molotovs in ''4'' also, unlike in ''New Vegas'', burn the ground/target for a short time after detonating - just like they do in reality.

** In 2008, one fan wrote a blog post to discuss Hermetic lore as used by ''Golden Sun'': the principles of the four elements, Alchemy and the Philosopher's Stone, the all-seeing eye (The Wise One)... and used additional Hermetic lore to predict with [[VideoGame/GoldenSunDarkDawn incredible accuracy]] that a potential sequel's plot could involve [[spoiler: powers outside of Alchemy and the four elements, likely derived from celestial objects, such as the sun and moon imagery presented in the first game]].

** Of particular note is ''Halo''[='s=] method of FasterThanLightTravel; the ''slipstream space''. Characters in the ExpandedUniverse -- read: Dr. Halsey - go into exhaustive detail as to how the slipstream functions, where it is in regards to our contemporary perspective, and [[HyperspaceIsAScaryPlace just how mind-bogglingly]] ''[[HyperspaceIsAScaryPlace weird]]'' [[HyperspaceIsAScaryPlace it is]] compared to normal space-time.

** The [[spoiler: supernatural elements in Nageki's, Anghel's, and Bad Boys' Love routes]] are also pretty well researched.
** The diseases the heroine worries about catching from Shuu are all [[NoBiochemicalBarriers specifically known to make the jump between birds and humans]]. A disease in "Bad Boys' Love" specifically has different effects on the different species, [[spoiler: being nigh harmless to birds and deadly within minutes to mammals]].

*** One of the game's {{Magitek}}/robotic Divine Beasts takes the form of a camel. In moving, it uses the correct pacing gait of camels - both left legs together, then both right legs together - rather than the walk, trot, canter or gallop so familiar in horses, dogs, etc.

** Sometimes, it gets to the point where a character's only purpose is to demonstrate the amount of research that went into making the game. Nastasha from ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' was pretty much there to spout off technical info on nuclear weapons and the equipment you picked up, as well as ranting about nuclear proliferation. Sigint got this role in the third game as well. Both characters have worked for intelligence agencies and are on hand as experts in their field, and [[spoiler: Sigint went on to become the head of DARPA]], so it makes sense that their role is pretty much to spout random facts.

** The world has a clear food chain, everything from herbivores and insects up to apex predators, and there are not MorePredatorsThanPrey. HerbivoresAreFriendly is averted, as even the softest meatbag might take a swipe at you before running, most have adapted to their harsh environment to have thick hides and natural weapons, and one of the most notoriously aggressive species in the game (the Diabolos) is a highly territorial plant-muncher. Monster species that are based on real animals take obvious cues from their behavior, and this has been known to evolve as real-world understanding does (such as the discovery of dromaeosaurids likely having feathers - a new species of Bird Wyvern was promptly introduced, sporting brightly-colored plumage). While there are plenty of fantastical elements, these are accounted for with FantasticScience, and creatures that completely defy classification are acknowledged as an enigma at the center of much study.

** Despite being a game about killing giant monsters and dragons with proportionally huge weapons, the game is surprisingly accurate in representing the hunting habits of humans, especially prior to the invention of the gun. Humans are persistent and opportunistic hunters, and the game rewards you for acting exactly like that: hunting in groups, placing traps, using other animals as hunting companions, attacking your prey while it's sleeping and whittle down their endurance untill they fall from exhaustion - this is how in real life, humans managed to hunt animals much bigger, stronger, and faster than them, to the point of being so effective we drove several animal species to extinction before we even concieved of guns. Last, but not least, the majority of hunting quests give you a time limit of ''fifty minutes'', as while some hunts may end quickly enough, others will keep your eyes on the timer due to the monsters' endurance, aggressiveness and the occasional habit of running away; this is because long-lasting hunts are TruthInTelevision as well, and many real life hunts have taken hours, or even ''days'', to be completed succesfully.

** [[spoiler: Sheldrake was, and is a real person, and is the creator of the pseudoscientific theory of Morphogenetic Fields.]]
** [[spoiler: Prosopagnosia is an actual neurological disability.]]
** [[spoiler: Ice-9 is a real substance (its in-game properties are made up, however) and indeed it was created in the 1963 Creator/KurtVonnegut novel ''Literature/CatsCradle'' before its actual discovery.]]
** [[spoiler: Not to mention the mystery of crystalized glycerite.]]

* The first game of the ''Outpost'' franchise had according to Website/TheOtherWiki as developer an ex-UsefulNotes/{{NASA}} scientist, and it shows. Among other things: no [[FasterThanLightTravel FTL]] to speak of, a realistic interstellar ship powered by a fusion drive, a nuclear weapon launched against the asteroid Vulcan's Hammer which sought to divert its path instead of breaking it apart[[note]]Most RealLife ideas to defend against asteroids revolve about changing their trajectories, not destroying them[[/note]], the stars where you can go being RealLife ones (the planetary systems are [[ScienceMarchesOn totally fictional]]), and the planets are basically RealLife Solar System bodies -- [[spoiler: all terrestrial planets (except Earth), the Moon, Ceres (the largest body in the asteroid belt, now a minor planet), Phobos (the largest moon of Mars), Pluto, and as uncolonizable ones Jupiter and Saturn]] -- with the SerialNumbersFiledOff.

*** This also goes over to the protagonists' and antagonists' Personas. The names either reflect the characters' backstory or sometimes even future events in the game, to the point of almost being spoilers if you know your mythology. ''VideoGame/Persona3'' has an excellent example of the latter: [[spoiler: Akihiko's initial persona is Polydeuces, better known as Pollux and the brother of Castor, Shinjiro's Persona, who together make up the constellation Gemini. Polydeuces was given immortality while Castor was fated for death, therefore foreshadowing Shinjiro's death.]] Also, the main Personas' models often also reflects the original myth (like every part of Orpheus's body being prosthetic except the head, since he was beheaded in the myth)

** ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor2'': The characters eventually notice that the [[AlienInvasion mysterious Septentrions]] are named after stars in the big dipper, leading them to conclude there'll be seven total. [[spoiler:Though this forgets to acount for Alcor, twin star to Mizir ([[ForcedPerspective who appear like a single point when seen from Earth]]). And of course, what is the big dipper used for? Pointing to the Pole Star - [[FinalBoss Polaris]], the Administrator of the Heavenly Throne.]]

* ''VideoGame/SilentHillHomecoming'' has an unusual one. The original series was developed in Japan, and usually has lots of forgivable errors regarding American culture. ''Homecoming'' was developed in the United States by American studio Creator/DoubleHelixGames, and the devs did their research regarding background details about the US Army. If you understand American military culture at all, and you remember that the devs were American, you have a good chance to guess TheReveal right about the time you finished the tutorial level. [[spoiler: There's ''no possible way'' Alex can be mistaken for anything except someone trying to impersonate an American soldier, even if it is because of a psychiatric disorder. He can fool civilians and people not familiar with the U.S. military, but he was never trained to fight in any way... but Alex believes ''he's an experienced veteran'' regardless. Accordingly, the game's combat is clumsy and awkward to reflect that he has actually no idea how to fight, and his attempts to pass himself off as a soldier are flagrantly obvious to anyone familiar with the U.S. military]].

** [[spoiler: Noct]]'s struggles with depression are less about feeling sad and more about a general sense of hopelessness, the physical symptoms such as difficulty sleeping and focusing in school, and his fears of being a burden on his already struggling family. He also implies [[spoiler: he gets into fights as a form of SelfHarm.]]
** [[spoiler: Carol]]'s social anxiety often leads to him locking himself in his room because of how difficult it is to deal with social situations. He also admits to being afraid of trying new things out of fear of failure, which really worries his mothers.

** Geralt and other characters employ some very authentic European swordplay. The "rest" animations between Geralt's attacks correspond with stances from German longsword manuals. Olgierd von Everic from the ''Hearts of Stone'' expansion uses a sabre, and he slashes from the wrist - that's a Polish technique.

* ''VideoGame/WorldInConflict'' does a frankly superb job of depicting downtown Seattle circa 1989. This would be expected if Massive Entertainment was one of the multiple developers based in the area, but they're ''Swedish''. They even play with it by having the invading Soviets [[spoiler: blow up the Kingdome, which was demolished in reality a few years before the game's release.]]

* The two ''VideoGame/{{Buffy|the Vampire Slayer}}'' [[VideoGame/BuffyTheVampireSlayerChaosBleeds games]] on UsefulNotes/{{Xbox}}, the first in particular, are very accurate in capturing the look, feel, and humor of the series. Numerous references, {{Call Back}}s, and {{Call Forward}}s are used, as are most of the voice actors.

* ''VideoGame/TokyoXanadu'': The extensive cultural differences between Japan and America are explored through the character of Asuka and her bonding events, with difference in social norms and values cropping up constantly, and [[AvertedTrope avoiding making her]] a PhenotypeStereotype or {{Eagleland}} caricature.

* Much like ''VideoGame/DwarfFortress'', the makers of ''VideoGame/{{Subnautica}}'' have taken the time to check their metallurgy -- to an understandably lesser extent -- silver ore is a component of lead, which reflects the possibility of using galena (a silver-bearing ore) as a source of lead, something that LetsPlay/JackSepticEye [[RealityIsUnrealistic finds odd]].

* ''VideoGame/Fallout1'', particularly, features this trope, as well as [[LampshadeHanging lampshading]] the setting's resident mutants; many are specifically assumed to be artificial. Sufficient (and rewarding) exploration reveals a detailed and clear description of how a mutagenic artificial virus designed to combat biological warfare interferes with the anaphase stage of cell division; this is, in many ways, the single most unrealistic and fantastic element of this plot point, but the game ''clearly'' takes its biology very seriously. Well, up to a point.
** This was also the game that began its manual with three pages on the precise effects, graded by the scale of the bomb, of a nuclear detonation. Biology wasn't the only thing ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'' took seriously.

* ''1893: A World's Fair Adventure'' contains a wealth of information on the 1893 Columbian Exposition. Not only is everything in the game described in detail, but most things have period photographs in the sidebar and you can look up additional info on some of the important things in the guidebook.

* ''1893: a World's Fair Adventure'' contains a wealth of information on the 1893 Columbian Exposition. Not only is everything in the game described in detail, but most things have period photographs in the sidebar and you can look up additional info on some of the important things in the guidebook.

* ''VisualNovel/KatawaShoujo'': The disabilities are all real-world conditions, with mounds of supporting info provided by several nurses and caregivers who frequent the developers' forum.

* At times, ''VideoGame/Mother3'' takes a little time out to justify some RealityIsUnrealistic moments (which, in a game that is very much a WidgetSeries, is saying something), such as explaining that there are types of [[SavePoint frog]] that ''can'' survive in desert climates, or that [[MoleMiner mole tunnels]] actually can be incredibly complex in real life (even [[AntiPoopSocking encouraging the player]] to go and do some mole-watching sometime).

* The ''VideoGame/TyTheTasmanianTiger'' series is a love letter to obscure Australian wildlife. The first game alone has a thylacine hero, a cassowary BigBad, a Tasmanian devil, dingo, lyrebird, leafy sea dragon and bilbies as allies, a tiger shark, thorny devil, ghost bat and goanna as antagonists, and frill-necked lizards, blue-tongued skinks and wombats as generic enemies.

* Several sword techniques in ''Videogame/ForHonor'' include, as cool as they are, actual ones ued by knights like [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Half-sword half-swording]] and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mordhau mordhau]].

* As noted in [[http://aeonfrodo.tumblr.com/post/66852652901/athena-cykes-and-sensitive-hearing-an-analysis this]] analysis, ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyDualDestinies'' did a pretty accurate portrayal of sensitive hearing, in regards to Athena Cykes. Most notable instances are, [[spoiler:the headphones that gave her headaches but actually were dampening her ability through specific frequencies]] and [[spoiler:how Athena covers her ears when suffering sensory overload]]. Even Athena's detection of discord in the human voice fits.

* In ''VideoGame/NeedyStreamerOverload'', aspects of online streaming culture, and social media in general, presented authentically, including the unpleasant sides of social media.

* ''VideoGame/NeedyStreamerOverload'' If you're familiar with online streaming culture (and many things that occur around it on social media) then everything that occurs online in-universe, down to the ImageBoard comments, will seem very authentic.

** One of the Magitek/robotic Divine Beasts takes the form of a camel. In moving, it uses the correct pacing gait of camels - both left legs together, then both right legs together - rather than the walk, trot, canter or gallop so familiar in horses, dogs, etc.

** One of the Magitek/robotic Divine Beasts takes the form of a camel. Walking, it uses the correct pacing gait of camels - both left legs, then both right legs - rather than the sort of quadruped gait so familiar from trotting horses, dogs, etc.

** [[spoiler: Carol]]'s social anxiety often leads to him locking himself in his room because of how difficult it is to deal with social situations. He also admits to being afraid of trying new things out of fear of failure, which really worries [[HasTwoMommies his mothers.]]

* The original ''VideoGame/{{Age of Empires|I}}'' allowed you to click on any unit, piece of rock, shrub etc -- then expand into an encyclopedic background history of said unit/rock/shrub. From a longboat to an elm tree, every item was meticulously mapped out in depth. The game's manual also had historical information on the civilizations themselves, including when they ruled, their rise and fall, their economy, religion and battle tactics. In addition to the expansion's manual doing this, the edges of the pages had factoids for anything ranging from Roman Shield Wall tactics to the earliest discovered human tools.
** The sequel, ''VideoGame/AgeOfEmpiresII'', dedicated a large portion of the manual to historical information on every single unit, building and technology available in the game, as well as an extensive in-game encyclopedia of the various civilizations, events, technologies and other historical information on the middle ages.
** Similarly, its successor ''VideoGame/AgeOfMythology'' has a massive in-game encyclopaedia with some pretty in-depth descriptions dedicated to the mythological creatures, as well as all soldiers, buildings, heroes, monsters, trees, animals, technologies and pretty much everything that can be selected. Right down to listing not just the names of the original Valkyries, but ''what each name meant''. Fictional characters (that is, those invented specifically for the game) and joke units have corresponding descriptions, but the rest are pretty accurate.

* Two of the ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'' games for the UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance; ''Drakken's Demise'' and especially ''Team Possible'', play almost as lost episodes of the series. It starts with the same type of zany plot the show is famous for (a plot to steal Kim's photo album to lead her into a trap set by Monkey Fist, then the album taken by the Senors to a night club in space) and it goes uphill from there.
* In ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters XIII'', there's a stage set in London, England featuring police officers in the background. You'd expect the navy-suited officer you see in most other out-of-country works that feature England as a location, especially since it's a game, right? Wrong. The officers are in regiment gear, radio, 'Police' patch, and to top it off, hi-vis jacket. [[http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/snk/images/0/01/Kofxiiibritainbg.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20100720033152 See for yourself]].
* For ''VideoGame/LANoire'', Team Bondi and Rockstar used over 180,000 photographs to map out and detail 1947 Los Angeles.
** In addition to the cars, fashions, mannerisms, etc. of the late 40's. The plot is even loosely based on a real world housing scam as well.

* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'', a game once widely derided for its supposed cartooniness, includes in its large ocean overworld effects that simulate the effect of the atmosphere on distant objects, including the gradual fade to blue of a distant object due to the increasing thickness of air between the observer and the object and the "sliding down" of an object below the horizon caused by the earth's curvature on an object that is far away and moving away from the observer.
* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'' has several things that shows how much the developers paid attention to the subjects:
** There's an enemy clan that consists of ninjas. While they do use the stereotypical flair that ninjas are known for, you'll encounter them while they are disguised as a generic NPC like a traveler or merchant, which can cause many players to be caught by surprise. This is a trait that real life ninjas actually used to assassinate their targets since no one would suspect a peddler or a peasant.
** Lightning strikes during storms can cause fires to nearby trees and grass if struck.
** The desert region is very hot, which will sap Link's health unless he has protection from the heat. There's a certain set of clothes Link can obtain, which looks like something a person living in a real life desert would wear to beat the heat, and the clothes in the game give a bonus of heat resistance when the whole set is worn. Not only that, but going to the desert at night causes Link to feel chilly, just like how real life deserts can get extremely cold.
** Death Mountain has a lot of lava everywhere, which makes the area very hot naturally. However, if Link gets too close to the lava without adequate protection (either from specific potions or a specific armor set), he'll actually catch on fire, which completely avoids the ConvectionSchmonvection trope that most video games employ. Not only that, but if Link sails in the air over the Death Mountain region, he'll actually burn up due to the air rising from the lava being dangerously hot.