Have you ever dreamed of walking the streets of New York? And go through them like Spider-Man from skyscraper to skyscraper using his cobwebs? Video games give us the opportunity to travel in a way that cannot be done any other way. If a foreigner wanted to visit Spain with a command in hand, he would have many opportunities. According to a report from a renowned specialized international portal, We are the thirteenth country in the world most represented in video games.

There are very patriotic representations that are already a few years old, like the Madrid of Torrent 3: the protector which leaves us the center of the capital to ‘patrol’ it at will. But if you are not one of those who like the nastiest policeman in our cinema, we can also tour the Madrid axis that usually has more traffic at more than 200 km per hour in Gran Turismo 6.

Now let’s stop at Barcelona. It is the third most represented European city in video games. For example, we have taken a digital Vin Diesel from the Plaza de Colón, to the Sagrada Familia in Wheelman. The professor in video game development, narrative and accessibility at U-Tad, Jaime Barahonarecognizes that “from a design point of view there is always that challenge of: what is reliable, as realistic as possible and then what type of game I am making, what freedom I give to my player and how I let him explore that environment.”

Pokémon and the Tomatina of Buñol

These environments can even be invented even if they are based on reality. If you add the towers of the Sagrada Familia to the roofs of the main square of Madrid, you will obtain one of the nerve centers of the Meseta City of Pokémon Scarlet and Purple. The latest game by Pikachu and company is set entirely in a territory that is strongly inspired by our country. Can you imagine a Pokémon shaped like an olive? Here you will find it.

We can travel to Alhambra of Granada of the Renaissance in Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhoodat villages of Cantabria to kill zombies in Resident Evil 4 and even give us some good blows in the Tomatina de Buñol in Tekken 6. In fact, one thing that often happens to gamers is that feeling of “I’ve already seen this” or “I’ve already been here” when traveling to a real place that is represented in video games.

“Playing my game is as if you had visited Spain.” This is what Jaime Barahona thinks about some video games located in our country. He believes there are many game developers who nail immersion and do a great job of representing the real-life places they’re based on.

Rebuilding the cathedral of France

What’s more, thanks to the localization of video games, Notre Dame Cathedral is going to recover all its splendor after burning in April 2019. The mapping used by the French developers Ubisoft to recreate the Paris of the French Revolution in Assassin’s Creed: Unity It has served to rebuild it from its ashes and, using the plans from the video game, leave it as it was before the flames.

A video game allows almost anything. Do you want to travel to 19th century Japan? They can. In Rise of the Ronin you will find a perfect recreation of the period Bakumatsu. You just have to take the control.