Play the City

Abstract

Games are as old as society, yet when a spatial designer enters the world of games, a new world opens-bright with novelty and possibility, a relatively unexplored instrument for shaping spaces that are more meaningful to humans. How much can an architect or an urbanist learn from games? Can games teach them about trust and ownership, as platforms with transparent rules valid for everyone, and with common goals? Can games teach them about learning and engagement, having fun with strangers while constantly being challenged individually and collectively? Can games teach them about training and strategizing for the real world, as they fail but are allowed the chance to restart? Can games teach them about communication and avoiding jargon, with their effective visual environment and simple language? From IBM's CityOne (2010) to Will Wright's SimCity (1989), and from Richard Duke's Metropolis (1969) to Buckminster Fuller's World Game (1961), a long list of games are predicated on cities in their staging, or these games take place directly in real urban areas. Some, as single-player games, run on predefined algorithms and quantitative feedback loops; others provide a multiplayer environment. Rules for the organization and composition of cities emerge from negotiations among multiple actors; an open system where new rules can be invented or unused rules abandoned, rather than a closed game with a predefined algorithm, are particularly promising for spatial designers. Perhaps better than a city-themed game, an environment that can be modified by the players could be useful in the pursuit of spatial designers learning from video games-environments that can host a wide range of players and do not focus on winning or losing, but rather, on building ex

Digital common(s): the role of digital gamification in participatory design for the planning of high-density housing estates

“…Other researchers have discussed the application of games to community and urban development issues, for instance, Karabinus and Atherton (2019) designed social deception games across digital platforms to improve community access to planning discussions. Tan's (2019) "Play the city" led the field in game-based solutions for urban design discussions, employing analogue games such as board games and card games.…”