| abstract
| - The Ziggurat Vertigo is flying city left by the precursor civilization in several settings and home of the Elders. Its appearance is that of the typical depictions of the "Tower of Babel". The Ziggurat is flying or capable of flight, an element taken from Laputa. The ruined state and viciously-themed artwork found in the tower is propably an element taken from Devil May Cry 3's Temen-ni-gru. The New Tower of Babel in Earth VII appears similar to the Ziggurat, is however not quite ancient, incapable of flight and the artwork decorating it is mostly positively-themed (with the exception of the "corrupted" Angel of Peace statue on the roof later in the game). The Ziggurat Vertigo is the residence of the Elders in ARK3 and 5 (and presumably the entire series from ARK to ARK5). It is a building resembling classical depictions of the Tower of Babel, therefore accurately being called a "Ziggurat". Its image has partially been taken from the design of Laputa in Laputa – Castle in the Sky. And just like Laputa, the Ziggurat Vertigo floats in the sky - it is located half-way between Terra and Luna, where both astral bodies' gravity fields cancel each other out, generating a zone of zero gravity. This gives the second reference for naming: In Quake, there is a low-gravity level called Ziggurat Vertigo. The Ziggurat itself is fitted with several puzzles for the player to solve, as well as obligatory and optional sub-bosses. There are many precious items to obtain here, some of which cannot be found anywhere else in the game. Also, all ultimate weapons can be found once more inside Ziggurat Vertigo (in case you missed one before), but are guarded by puzzles and strong sub-bosses. Design-wise, the interior has "Totentanz" imagery and clockworks. There are also some areas that hint to the existance of dimensional or temporal distortions within the tower. Enemies encountered (apart from the bosses and sub-bosses) are Zone Keepers and Terracotta Warriors.
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