Learning how backgrounds make us feel

Backgrounds often go unnoticed, at least to our conscious self. But backgrounds tend to have a powerful effect on the way we feel while playing a game. They are not the only tool to make us feel different things but they are a crucial part of it.

I want to take a look at a few examples and see how we see them..

First lets take a look at Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze:

Here we have three different parts of the game, the first one is near the start of the game, deep inside the jungle, the second one is at the middle and the last one is near the end... 

In the first image we are starting the game, we are entering a new world, learning the controls, as you can see on that image we have clear skies and bright colors. This creates a happier mood. 

The second image is a bit darker, in a more crowded place, with little lines of light left. This creates a mysterious mood.

The last one you can feel the tension, the darkness, the redness, this setting makes us feel uncomfortable. It looks dangerous. This definitely creates an unsettling mood.

Now let's look at the Disney movie Frozen:

I picked three different screenshots of the song "Let it Go". Let's look at the screenshots first and then at the video.

The song is about the main character overcoming her fears and learning to be happy with them. The first part of the song she is sad, upset, this is why we have an almost completely dark background, with snow falling. It seems cold, sad and lonely.

The next part of  the song is when she is starting to realize she can be happy, all of a sudden there is no snow, you can now notice more things in the background, lighter tones. this is gradually letting us know things are getting better. 

Near the end of the song, after she is now free from her pain, amazingly enough the darkness is gone, the sun is out and a bright pink sky is out.

now lets look at the video:

My Thoughts:

-It is important to start with bright colors and happy mood to give the player a good welcome.

-When difficulty increases, colors should get darker and elements like snow, rain, or something else should be falling. 

-After completing the game, the backgrounds should change again to brighter tones and happier moods.

If I want happy tone: 

1. Bright colors, light blue, light green.
2. Open Spaces
3. Large world in the back.

Mysterious tone:

1. Crowded Background
2. Dark colors
3. Things falling

Tense Tone:

1. Sharper edges
2. Red Colors
3. Items falling

What other tones can we create? 

any suggestions on new things I could add to create the different moods?

let me know what you think.

Thanks