Overworld
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In computer and video games, the overworld generally refers to an 'out-door' or 'world map' section of the game, as opposed to a 'dungeon' or 'level'. In typical computer RPGs, the player can usually save their game whenever they like, and will usually have a different appearance (to reflect the larger scale of the overworld map). Random battles are often a feature of overworld maps, though some games do away with this, using the overworld map purely as a travel feature or narrative device.
In terms of video-game music, 'Overworld' usually refers to the major musical piece of the game. The 'overworld' theme will often be used in several different ways in a given game, being 're-mixed' or altered for specific situations (e.g, a 'romantic' setting will often see the 'overworld' theme remixed to suit that setting).
After game designers started to include an 'overworld map' in their games, an 'overworld theme' became an almost unbreakable requirement for any console-based RPGs. Those games that did not include such an 'overworld' location often worked around this issue by providing a 'travel map', which is conceptually identical.
Overworld themes are often 'orchestral' in nature, and more lengthy than other pieces, due to the length of time spent traveling the 'overworld map'. Since players will often only visit a 'level' or 'area' once in a given playing period, the music for any such section of the game will, typically, be shorter, and thus, less time-consuming for the designers to produce.
In some cases, the 'overworld' refers to a specific area of a game. This area is often central, but not necessarily where most of the time is spent; however, it plays an important role in the story. Such an example is the Tallon Overworld from Metroid Prime, in which the player's ship lands, and also is the place where the game eventually ends; it does not connect all areas of the game however, and relatively little time is spent there.
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