History Main / TerrainSculpting

* ''Wetrix'' (a UsefulNotes/Nintendo64 puzzle game) has the premise of you creating hills and valleys from an initially flat piece of land in order to create ponds and lakes.

* In ''WebOriginal/OrionsArm'' there is [[https://www.orionsarm.com/eg-article/47576e5b40551 Von Neumann sculpting]]: the use of self-replicating machines to reshape the landscape of a planet. This can be as simple as laying down trails or as complex as sculpting entire mountain ranges into portraits.

* ''Series/{{Caprica}}'': Virtual Zoe and Virtual Tamara use their godlike powers in V-world to turn [[WretchedHive New Cap City]] into a mountain kingdom.

-->-- '''Slartibartfast''', ''Film/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy''

The uses are manifold. First and foremost is tactics. Controlling the existence of [[GeoEffects passages, obstacles, and high ground]] for allies and enemies alike yields a supreme advantage in battle. It can also be helpful to prevent natural disasters, improve land arability, or facilitate transportation (by extending a river, say). It can be done to separate peoples or forces that shouldn't be so close together, or simply as a sign of one's power, to lord it over, literally, those less mighty.

But it can also be done in a more mundane way, with dynamite, earthmovers, and patience. This method is less evocative, but the end results are just as impressive. When thinking about an earthworks project (canals, dams, field-tilling, etc) for this trope, consider the magnificence of the creation or the end result.

** Wiki/ThatOtherWiki has a list of artificial islands [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_artificial_islands here]].

[[folder: Tabletop RPG ]]

* Lord Mazdamundi of the Lizardmen is known for his use of this in the fluff to ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}} Fantasy Battle'', once having erected a mountain in front of advancing Dark Elf army.

* In ''VideoGame/DeBlob'', as part of a WorldHealingWave, the most powerful Transformation Engines can severely alter the nearby terrain to get Blob to the next area or just celebrate the completion of the level.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Fracture}}'', the player uses weapons that can either raise or lower the ground. Enabling him to access areas that are hidden or seemingly unreachable and to create and destroy cover depending on the current tactical situation.
* Pretty much the whole point of ''VideoGame/FromDust''. The player carries around large amounts of dirt, lava or water in order to gradually create bridges or barriers against environmental hazards.
* A major gameplay mechanic of ''VideoGame/LastLegacy'' is the protagonist's ability to create and remove ground.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'', you can pretty much change everything you can immediately see, from creating a mountain, destroying it, then building it again.
** [=WorldEdit=], [=VoxelSniper=], and the external tool World Painter take this a step further. Rather than altering the terrain one block at a time, you can edit hundreds or thousands of blocks at once, making TerrainSculpting even easier.
* This was one of Creator/PeterMolyneux's favorite aspects of the game that would become ''VideoGame/{{Populous}}'' and as such is an important part of all the games. In ''VideoGame/PopulousTheBeginning'', there are no less than four spells based around the manipulation of terrain.