I'm making a mobile game that uses GPS to interact with the real world.
The game should be able to "see" what terrain/land use/land cover the user is currently in.
Ideally, the game would send the user's current coordinates and receive something like "forest", "city", "lake", "beach", "meadow", etc. and have data available globally.
Best Answer
I would recommend using the National Land Cover Database (NLCD). As you can see from the NLCD2011 legend, the classes are fairly broad but may suit your needs.
Another option is to use the GAP National Land Cover Data.