Liminal Spaces thread

Hey there!!! I would like to start this thread with the intention of having everyone drop whatever pictures they have of Liminal Spaces here. Pictures shared here can be taken by yourself [favorably...] or you can share ones you like that you have found on the internet. Places found in real life, videogames, simulators, composites and anything that evokes the liminal nature. Please be kind to attach text to the image of where you got it from or where the place is that it was shot at.
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Taikou/134/122/1001


https://secondlife.com/destination/rieri-town-in-tokyo


https://www.google.com/maps/place/Caribbean+Cinemas+Plaza+del+Sol/@18.4075629,-66.1631147,15z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x777798faa7658366?sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjgmv-YkqTxAhVJJt8KHernAiAQ_BIwFHoECEEQBQ

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Plaza+Las+Américas/@18.4220951,-66.0745043,18.9z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x8c0368c1b85905c3:0x3bd8e1e67ad404d7!8m2!3d18.4215524!4d-66.0738383
 
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I realize that malls look surreal when empty because they are by definition liminal. Their purpose is to meet people & shop. Without stores & friends, it's just a weird empty building. Like trade_plaza without players.

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vaporwavemaster1

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アメリカとソビエトの空間がどのように違うかについて、あるビデオで聞いたのを覚えています。ロシア人にとって、これらのスペースは通常、放棄されたソビエトの施設や会議場です。
 
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cynthiune

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Idk why this first pic reminds me of the food court of my local K-Mart when I was a kid. It's actually one of my first memories at maybe 3-4 years old. Does anybody remember what K-Mart PIZZA tasted like? It is still so clear in my memory it was a special cardboard-like flavor. I don't know why this has stuck with me so much, but man I can taste that pizza like it was yesterday.

Also, I feel like the tv show "The Langoliers" is the epitome of liminality: trapped in a hollow, lifeless limbo between the past & the present--only you're waiting to be devoured by flying overcooked meatballs.

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Jade

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Bakaneko33

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i took these in an abandoned mall in cyprus. the entire island is like 70% abandoned buildings so i have pictures from other places too but i feel like the mall pics turned out the most liminal
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NW_Cryptid

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As a big fan of liminal spaces this thread interests me greatly, I noticed most people are posting screenshots of games where we would normally assume there to be a lot of players and when it's lacking that playerbase the map becomes a liminal space. It makes me think a lot about what really makes liminal spaces what they are, I understand there's a ton of definitions out there but I am also a firm believer in the concept that definitions can change with a better understanding of something. In this case, I feel my definition of what a liminal space is has changed to reflect more heavily the aesthetics it encompasses. Liminal spaces by definition cannot be single rooms as they must be places connecting a point A to point B for the purpose of travel, however I think that doesn't necessarily hold water when we look at liminal spaces in a lot of images where even single rooms or parts of houses feel "liminal"

Regardless, here's my contribution to the thread. I won't be providing too much explanation as to where exactly this is because I do not wish to give away too much information regarding my location and as requested, this one is self shot.

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I personally don't know if the image alone conveys the aura this place had. The gentle hum of the ventilation and the soft music playing overhead tied this experience together perfectly. A small bathroom in the back of an old store. The building itself was huge, far larger than most others of it's kind. However there were maybe... 3 people working there? As for customers, aside from myself there was almost no one, I saw a total of 2 other people. The room was oddly spacious much like the building itself, it was clear this restroom used to have several stalls and was later remodeled with this lay out making it feel off. There was just a lot going on with this place. There was only one toilet despite the two sinks, only 1 trash can on the far end of the room (where I'm standing to take this image) but the paper towels were on the opposite side. This whole room felt like it just didn't belong, but then the whole store felt like I had walked right into the backrooms so I wasn't too surprised to find a room like this.
 
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brentw

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This whole area on mushroom city on mkdd always felt a bit... off...to me. You can't go very far into it in game, but it's modelled pretty far back. You can check it out on noclip.

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I feel like this is a related but entirely other thing deserving of it's own term (maybe someone already coined one) and attention.
Those out of bounds spaces in videogames you can see but can't get to during normal gameplay, particularly those that seem to have gotten way more detail than you'd expect.

Those spaces have always had a magic feeling to me. A mysterious place, just out of reach, that suggests this world is bigger than I know it is.

Sometimes they're "cut" content, places players would have been able to go that didn't make it in the final game.
Other times they're just a sign of devs who put a lot of love into the details.

Sadly in most cases when you get break out of the game's normal boundaries to explore these places you'll find no collision implemented and the to save resources there's no back to any of the models, only the polys visible from the intended gameplay area are rendered.
 
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