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Video game enthusiasts will instantly recognize the concept of "the graveyard level" found in arcade games from the early 1980s into home consoles and current-generation games, as well as nearly everything inbetween. IconoGrave catalogues the appearances of various burial grounds throughout video game history focusing on graveyards and cemeteries, but also includes crypts, catacombs, ossuaries, charnel houses, memorials, and makeshift graves. Many of the burial spaces were inspired by Western European funerary traditions based on real-life examples, while some resemble burials from various non-Western cultures, particularly Japan. Some burial spaces are entirely fantasy-oriented with little basis in reality. Indeed, many of them have all three elements simultaneously. Some examples are historically accurate, while others are anachronistic or totally devoid of realistic context. While many of these graveyards are intended to be scary, they can also be solemn, whimsical, and even humorous.
This website owes its existence to I-Mockery's list of The Greatest Video Game Graveyards. Even in 2016, I-Mockery was a forerunner in noting the appeal of graveyards in video games, as well as how varied their representations could be in the space of only seven examples. A plethora of gaming websites continue to create best-of lists focusing on graveyard levels, a practice which only increases every year around Halloween when horror themes gain a boost in cultural prominence. Hence, the contributors to IconoGrave are not alone in considering the graveyard to be a very special element of the gaming experience.
