Overworld

An overworld or hub world is an area within a video game which connects its other levels or locations. They are common in adventure games, role-playing games (RPGs), platformers, and dungeon crawlers. Multiplayer games have hub worlds which serve as a centre for interaction with other players and non-player characters (NPCs). Hub worlds in single-player games are often used for worldbuilding, while hubs in multiplayer games are more purposed for storage for weapons and equipment, as well as restocking supplies. They serve as safe areas in between dangerous areas and quests where players can take on more passive actions. Wired and Kotaku described overworlds as a sort of "home" for the player in-game. They have also been considered an essential element of RPGs. ==History==

The 1981 arcade games Route-16 and 005 were among the earliest examples of a hub world. 005 was then described as a "RasterScan Convert-a-Game" according to The Encyclopedia of Arcade Games. ==Audio design==

In terms of video game music, overworld themes are often orchestral in nature, and of greater length and complexity than other pieces in the same game, due to the amount of time spent travelling the overworld map. Because players will usually visit a single level or area a few times in a given play session, the music for any such section of the game will typically be shorter and/or less complex, and thus less time-consuming for the designers to produce. The overworld theme frequently functions as the main theme of a game, often used as a motif for other tracks (e.g., a "romance" theme features the main melody of the overworld theme, orchestrated in a different key). ==See also==