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Game Worlds
Project details
Programme
Research Cluster
RC12
We began the year by voyaging into the parallel world of videogames, on a series of virtual field trips. We visited a selection of seminal videogame worlds to understand their unique forms of architecture, geography, landscape, inhabitation, and politics. Each game was critiqued through both its narrative and its systems, alongside the social sphere of the game’s community and the interfaces upon which it is played. Through this comprehensive analysis we defined how designing for virtual environments is a future-facing practice that resonates with the concerns of the physical world.
We used various forms of analysis, from conventional mapping and architectural reconstruction through to data-mining, screenshot recording and hacking. All of these methods constitute critical ‘counterplay’ –reassessing the game through the transgressive and inquisitive exploration of their worlds.
These Game Worlds studies question the agency of virtual worlds, helping us develop a deep understanding of how games can be applied as new methodologies for urban design. By unpacking the logics of these game worlds, this detailed research acts as a framework for our subsequent design proposals.
01
Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Nintendo, 2020)
Movement pattern and world scale analysis.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Nintendo, 2020)
Environmental cycles study.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Nintendo, 2020)
Resources and geography mapping.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Nintendo, 2020)
In game ecology analysis.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Nintendo, 2020)
Diagram exploring user creativity in building design.
02
Death Stranding (Kojima Productions, 2019)
Exploring landscape scanning protocols.
Death Stranding (Kojima Productions, 2019)
Mapping the architecture of logistics.
Death Stranding (Kojima Productions, 2019)
A timeline of collaborative infrastructure construction.
Death Stranding (Kojima Productions, 2019)
Tracking player inhabitation in the world.
Death Stranding (Kojima Productions, 2019)
Mapping travel patterns in the game narrative.
03
Fortnite (Epic Games, 2017)
Mapping Fortnite as a transmedia Metaverse.
Fortnite (Epic Games, 2017)
Analysing different speeds of in-game mobility.
Fortnite (Epic Games, 2017)
The material economy of structures in the game world.
Fortnite (Epic Games, 2017)
Mapping weather and environmental effects.
Fortnite (Epic Games, 2017)
User interface and HUD analysis.
04
Grand Theft Auto V (Rockstar Games, 2013)
Worldbuilding Los Santos from Los Angeles.
Grand Theft Auto V (Rockstar Games, 2013)
Analysing transit times across the island.
Grand Theft Auto V (Rockstar Games, 2013)
Defining the edges of the game space.
Grand Theft Auto V (Rockstar Games, 2013)
World size comparisons in the GTA game series.
Grand Theft Auto V (Rockstar Games, 2013)
Screenshot studies of weather and day-night cycles.
05
Gravity Rush 2 (Japan Studio, 2017)
Mapping the layered universe of the game.
Gravity Rush 2 (Japan Studio, 2017)
Multi-dimensional map of facades in different gravity conditions.
Gravity Rush 2 (Japan Studio, 2017)
Categorising different physics and gravity styles.
Gravity Rush 2 (Japan Studio, 2017)
Analysis of gravitational shifts and falling speeds.
Gravity Rush 2 (Japan Studio, 2017)
Analysing different built forms and the movement they facilitate.
06
No Man’s Sky (Hello Games, 2016)
Mapping of interplanetary connections.
No Man’s Sky (Hello Games, 2016)
Analysis of planetary orbits.
No Man’s Sky (Hello Games, 2016)
Analysis of world composition through mining pathways.
No Man’s Sky (Hello Games, 2016)
Study of biomes and creature composition.
No Man’s Sky (Hello Games, 2016)
Analysis of different interactions with planetary environment.
The Bartlett
B-Pro Show 2021
30 October – November 13
B-Pro Show 2021
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