It has to be strange working on a video game, knowing that the work you put into background details and animation will be ignored by most gamers, who are too busy getting to the next teabagging opportunity to spot them. But that doesn't stop game makers from going to extreme lengths to cram their creations full of tiny, inconsequential details -- either because they're dedicated auteurs, or it's the only way for them to stop the demons screeching in their brains.
As we've mentioned before, this means that some of the coolest details in your favorite games probably went completely unnoticed:
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Batman: Arkham City Has a Whole Gotham You Can't Access
Rocksteady Studios
Batman: Arkham City is a game about Batman punching criminals in the face, because fuck yes it is. It takes place within the confines of the eponymous open-world prison, but while you explore it you can see skyscrapers and landmarks from nearby Gotham in the distance -- basically just background wallpaper, like the green hills in Super Mario Bros.
Rocksteady Studios
And we're pretty sure those clouds are just painted on.
Obviously, since the player can't go beyond the walls of the prison area, you'd assume the developers just threw up some pictures of the skyline and called it a day. But no, they went through the trouble of creating an entire ghost city out there that you can't even touch. The only way to access it -- which 99 percent of gamers won't be aware of, never mind bother with -- is to use an obscure glitch to send yourself flying up out of the game world, at which point you can soar through the air like some kind of small, airborne mammal. A flying squirrel, maybe?
Once you've slipped off the surly bonds of your PlayStation, you're free to explore Gotham to your heart's content. Despite this being a part of the game that you were never intended to see, the city is surprisingly detailed. You can even dive-bomb cars driving around the city.
Rocksteady Studios
Reminder: the regular game features zero cars driving around the city.
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