nels
I’m not sure if an explicitly dystopian city is quite the right answer to this, but one that has always stuck with me is Syndicate and its layers of walkways, gantries and rooftops. The idea of having so much stuff happening above street level seemed like an incredibly futuristic idea when I played this in about 1995.
I had no idea at the time that real places were sometimes built like this as well. Many years later I went to Tokyo for the first time and the centre of Tachikawa gave me very similar vibes.
I always find places with this kind of verticality appealing. Places that are layered like this, or places that grow up a hill or down a valley have lots of interesting overlooks and unexpected sights. There’s probably a level design lesson there!
