The Architecture of Gaming

I like video games.  No, I'm not referring to Candy Crush or The Sims.  My preferred games are more along the lines of first-person shooters (FPS), stealth games, survival horror games, and some racing games played on multiple platforms.  With these electronic games, virtual realities are created as backdrops for action and role playing amusement.

Although the quality of simulated environments in the games I play range from retro to contemporary, I've noticed that the pragmatism invested in each game setting also varies.  I first became aware of the importance of practical virtual Architectural designing during a scene in one of the retro Doom series.  As I poised myself to open one of the key-carded doors, it dawned on me that I was in a very inconvenient position should I be ambushed upon opening the door.  There I stood, on a narrow, 3 foot elevated platform with what seemed like a 2 foot square column on the left of the door preventing me from quickly adjusting my position should I be attacked.  I would be a sitting duck for a vivacious assault of epic proportions.

Now, these design flaws have been beneficial in some instances.  Awkwardly placed columns, unreasonable staircase slopes, lack of railings on cliff-like areas, and narrow passageways have helped to conceal my avatar, offer a quick escape, and funnel aggressors when launching an attack.  Although the storyline is set on Phobos, one of Mars' moons, on Earth these design shortcomings would not be acceptable.

My other preferred games like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, the Modern Combat series, Hitman: Absolution, and Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction, have all been created in a time when virtual modeling has advanced significantly.  With the development of graphics, so came the investment into the accuracy of the urban and architectural spacial layouts.  Environments are rendered with photo-realistic finishes, and traverse through the labyrinth of spaces has become easily maneuverable.

In other dystopian gaming environments like the Resident Evil series and the Mortal Kombat series, the Architecture of the environment plays an uncanny role.  In Racoon City, classical stately homes that once held an air of aristocracy are shown as dilapidated in an effort to display the degradation of society after a viral outbreak.


In Mortal Kombat, the conceptualization of a darker alternative realm is shown by the use of unfinished concrete-work and aggressively sculpted terrain.  This meticulous imagery helps shape the atmosphere and evokes the required anxiety for each game.

The design of surrealistic utopian environments like those in Mario Kart and Sonic the Hedgehog display vivid colours and predominantly curvilinear terrain to elicit warmer emotions and a more whimsical and sociable environment.

In the realm of gaming, advances in technology have allowed the development of virtual realities that are almost indistinguishable from our own.  Simultaneously, these alternate worlds give us an outlet to immerse ourselves, with little yearning to return to the mundane.

Image 1 - Screen capture of Dooms Knight,
Source: INFORMER TECHNOLOGIES INC. (2015) Dooms Knight Screenshots [Online] Available from: http://macdownload.informer.com/doomsknight/screenshot/57390/

Image 2 - Screen capture of Resident Evil mansion,
Source: MOD DB (2012) Resident Evil: Alternative Chronicles [Online] Available from: http://www.moddb.com/mods/resident-evil-alternative-chronicles/images/the-mansion-redux

Image 3 - Screen capture of Liu Kang Fight with Raiden in Mortal Kombat X,
Source: Accelerated Ideas (2015) Mortal Kombat X - Lui Kang Variations, Fatalities, and Brutalities [Online] Available from: http://www.accelerated-ideas.com/news/mortal-kombat-x--liu-kang-variations-fatalities-and-brutalities.aspx

Image 4 - Screen captures of Sonic Dash scene,
Source: Digital Spy (2013) Mobile Reviews: 'Sonic Dash', 'Liberation Maiden', 'Rotolla', more [Online] Available from: http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/gaming/levelup/a464984/mobile-reviews-sonic-dash-liberation-maiden-rotolla-more.html#~ph2PXtOeDRSqmT