THESIS BOOKLET 2019
worlds of systems EMMELINA GATEMAN
SUPERVISORS ulrika knagenhielm-karlsson pablo miranda carranza
INTRODUCTION THESIS QUESTION(S) THESIS CONCEPT CONCEPTUAL PLAYGROUNDS METHOD
contents STRUCTURE SCHEDULING GAME DRAWINGS ARCHITECTURAL SYSTEMS REFERENCES
Image 1. Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. My childhood second home.
introduction Games have been an important part of my life – as inspiration, source of unforgetable experiences and in many ways a playground. As a small child, I played The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for the Nintendo 64 console system. I did not quite comprehend the story (the dialogs were in English), so instead I just played around within the world of the game. Even though it was revolutionairy during the time of its release, for today’s standards the game is quite limited, especially in relation to its contemporary successor Breath of the Wild, which offers a gigantic open world and a mobility ruleset that makes it possible to go literally anywhere. Ocarina of Time had a lot of spatial constraints. For example; access to some areas were dependant on the progression of narrative events, and Link, the main protagonist and the player character, can only run, roll and fight. He can climb, but only in very specific places, for example vines that have been placed very strategically by the developers to fit the narrative. In Breath of the Wild, he can climb almost anything at anytime, with only a few exceptions.
Image 2. Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. A fresh successor, with one of the most immersive virtual words created so far.
All in all, the world of Ocarina of Time is a world that resembles our real one, but is gravely simplified. It is obvious how its objects are placed and designed for the intended activites, while more modern and complex games provides more freedum and uses mechanics that simulates randomness and unpredictability found in the world we know. The systems and rules that Ocarina of Time consists of, can be listed and mapped without too much effort. Still, Ocarina of Time is ranked as one of the best games ever made. It has been called a masterpiece, and that is where my personal opinion lies as well. I have spent countless hours in this relatively boxy world, exploring, running and riding, back and forth across the fields. It stimulated my imagination to make the world bigger than it spatially was. I was fascinated by the simple rythms of night and day, the different areas with their different peoples and architectures and musical themes. All great games have their very own, unique recipe to thank for their success, and the extraordinarity of the themes, story composition and puzzles of Ocarina of Time has been discussed over and over again. But somewhere, I believe, that the success of a game is a core system that is easy enough to understand but exotic and inventive enough to completely immerse us in its world, and in learning its language. I will in this thesis focus on the way inherent systems, mechanics and rule-sets shape space, both virtual and physical, how they build worlds and generates the actions within them. The aim of my project will be to bring game design and architecture together as worldbuilding practices, in order to pursue a way of incorporating game specific mechanics and representational techniques into architectural design.
Image 3. Ruins of the future. Guerilla Games’ Horizon: Zero Dawn.
thesis question(s) Can the relationship between gamespaces and game mechanics provide input for the general correlation between system, space and actions, and for how to create interesting, stimulating, meaningful and playful architecture? Can the virtual game be a useful medium for representing architecture? What game design methods are there for working playfully, fictionally and virtually with architectural design?
Image 4. Jose Sanchez’s urban development simulation Block’hood. A virtual, urban playground constrained by a system.
thesis concept I am going to study both games and physical architecture as form in relation to systems and mechanics, through representational experimentation. The aim is to distinguish the intersections and differences of their inherent systems and how that affect space and behaviours. I am using the term worldbuilding knowing that rule-sets, mechanics and systems might be its spine, but that many other aspects such as symbolism, visual styles, narrative, atmosphere, etc. make up the complete creation of fictional worlds. Since they all tie together, I will consider them when necessary, but keep my focus on the relationship between system, form and actions. Systems and mechanics in a game can be spatial, behavioural, or both. Spatial constraints and rules can be related to physics and architectural styles, while behavioural mechanics can involve player reward-systems as well as player movement and condition specifications. Of course spatial configuration affect player behaviour as well, and this relationship is what I will investigate in this thesis, by searching for a method to represent it architecturally.
Image 5. Mendocino Spreading Forest by Fletcher Studio. Landscape architect David Fletcher was inspired to use Unity 3D in his projects.
thesis concept I argue that physical buildings contain systems and mechanics much in the same manner as games, only with different intentions in mind. Architects also uses objects such as walls, floors, apertures, stairs, etc. in order to establish a certain innate system that indicates behaviours according to the intended program. I will look into these systems by describing them and display them as if they were games. Through these two analytical exercises, I hope to deepen my understanding for the relationship between games and physical architecture, and move forward with a set of design tools and representational techniques. The studies will be part of the end result, hopefully accompanied by one or more design examples. The goal is not to produce a holistic proposal to be evaluated as a final architectural product, but to engage in an experiment and analyze the findings. Therefore, site and program for an eventual design proposal will be specified if needed later on during the semester.
”Digital discourse in architecture is increasingly focused on the ’utility’ of computation in fabrication, machine learning, or blockchain technologies, but games re-energize conversations on play and leisure in society. As such, to see games as ’follies’ or simply entertainment is not neccessarily a deficit of the medium. In their playful utopic nature, videogames are echoes of historical architecture projects that moved beyond buildings into conceptual fields, redefining what we could consider to be architecture.”
Pearson in From Superstudio to Super Mario. (2019)
conceptual playgrounds As Luke Caspar Pearson writes about in his article Becoming Digital: From Superstudio to Super Mario (e-flux, 2019); fictional and conceptional architecture has been historically important for our field (he is referencing architects/studios such as Superstudio, Archizoom, Cedric Price and Bernard Tschumi). He argues that the virtual spaces, mainly game spaces, are a type of fictional design tools not fully utilized by architects today. He also meantions game analyst Ian Bogost’s view on video games as “a ‘caricature’ of real systems”, and presents in his conclusion that while not all games can be considered “a work of conceptional architecture... their formal properties lend themselves towards exploratory architectural practice.” This is why I believe this subject to be relevant in the architectural discourse today concerning digitalism and design methodology. Architecture is such a fundamental aspect of our reality, often a very permanent one with slow processes, high costs and big impacts, why I claim that it is important for us to develop, or rather update, our speculative tools. To play is to make sense of the world. Additionally, there is the importance of meaningful and exciting spaces, and the joy of using fun and unconventional design techniques and approaches as an architect.
Image 6. Learning from Los Santos, where You+Pea analyzes the game Grand Theft Auto V, with a method inspired by Learning from Las Vegas.
method The main method I intend to use in this project is exploring both architectural and game design related representation techniques to analyze and represent systems and their consequences. I take inspiration from Luke Caspar Pearson (architect, game designer and professor at Bartlett School of Architecture) and Christopher W. Totten (author of �An Architectural Approach to Level Design� educated architect, game designer and game design professor at Kent University). Pearson uses architectural drawing techniques to describe spatial qualities and systems in games, and Totten has a very refined way of using clear and simple hand sketches/diagrams to communicate aspects of both architecture and game design. Pearson also makes games as a part of his research, which lies in the intersection between games and architecture/urban design. He concerns himself mainly with an urban scale, while I will keep to a smaller one; single building or building segment, for convenience.
Image 7. London Developers Toolkit. Project by Luke Caspar Pearson, dealing with serious city development matters through game design representation.
method Other references I will look into and maybe use for the methodology of this project is game theorist and developer Ian Bogost, and more specifically his book Unit Operations, as well as architect Bernard Tschumi and his concept Event Architecture, as shown in his book The Manhattan Transcripts. A note on software: I intend on using 3D-software I am comfortable with to model, and Unity 3D for attempts on creating game elements. I’m not an expert on programming and using Unity, but on a basic level I can create a playable character in a 3D environment and apply physical attributes (socalled colliders) to objects in a scene. Another goal with this project is to learn more about how to use the program for spatial design or representation.
The project will consist of different phases. I will work by giving myself tasks, or labs, to perform during the semester. They will build upon each other, and the general aim is to produce and analyze/evaluate material consistently. Phase One - Architectural qualities in games This phase will consist of collecting a handful of games/segments of games and make an inventory of their spatial features, core mechanics, how the mechanics affect the form, how form and system affect behaviour within the frames, and also representations of these findings. Experiments will be made using representation techniques such as images, drawings and models in order to convey the system at work in the game and how it correlates to its spatial configuration and the actions they create.
Lab 1: Inventory of interesting situation in games Lab 2: Drawing the system
structure Phase Two - Games as a form of representation This phase is a mirror version of the first, but here the focus is architecture and game related representation techniques. The labs will basically consist of a workflow of developing the representational game, including concept, modeling and programming. As a plan B, to ensure the project doesn’t get stuck on eventual technical problems, screenshots and diagrams can be used to communicate the idea for the game. Plan A is naturally for the game to represent itself (and the architecture it is built upon). The last part of phase two is evaluation. To analyze the material thus far, and decide how to move forward.
Lab 1: Inventation of relevant physical spaces Lab 2: Core concept Lab 3: 3D assets Lab 4: Scene in Unity Lab 5: Programming the system Lab 6: Representation Lab 7: Evaluation
Image 8. Game mechanics might consist of lines of code, but the result can be insanely fun. Music level in Ubisoft’s Rayman Legends.
structure Phase Three - More case studies and/or design phase This phase is determined based on the findings of the first two. Depending on the results of phase two, focus might be on making more game representations, or enter a design phase based on a methodology found during phases 1 and 2. Phase Four - Curation of material and final material fine tuning This phase is about curating material from the semester and finalize representation and layout for presentation.
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January 16: START PHASE 1 Lab 1 PHASE 1 Lab 1 and 2 PHASE 1 Lab 2 PHASE 2 Lab 1 and 2 PHASE 2 Lab 3 PHASE 2 Lab 4 and 5 PHASE 2 Lab 6 PHASE 2 Lab 7 and prep for mid-seminar March 14-15: MID-SEMINAR
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PHASE 3 PHASE 3 PHASE 3 PHASE 3 PHASE 3 PHASE 3 PHASE 4 PHASE 4 May 11-13: FINAL SEMINAR Complete material for Diploma Days May 25-29: DIPLOMA DAYS
Image 9. Plan sketch of an area in Ocarina of Time. The goal is the sacred area to the right, and the way there is full of obstacles.
game drawings These simple drawing sketches of a couple of video game situations are an initial test at the studies that are to be conducted during this project. They were created with the objective of being as architectural as possible. In the gaming world, maps are very common, and they range from beautiful world maps to diagrammatical descriptions of levels and what happens within them. I tried to stay away from a diagrammatical representation, but it proved challenging to describe the objects and system at play with the technique I used. It made me realize that I need to test and develop more innovative drawing methods to illustrate the aspects I want to highlight. This small exercise alone taught me a lot about game spaces. One thing is the shape of edges, for example in the Ocarina of Time drawing, that clearly indicates the level of graphics at the time of the game’s development. It is also interesting to notice how an area that is supposed to be at least mostly natural, look so designed and structural in the drawings.
Image 10. Section sketch of a section of a level in Super Mario World. It is clear how gamespaces doesn’t have to make structural sense.
game drawings Another big difference is circulation and intention; the plan sketch shows a progression towards a goal destination (to the right), and the spatial design is aimed towards making the journey challenging and difficult, with labyrinthian structures and obstacles in the way. In architecture, we strive for conveniance and effectivity, why in a building that progression would have been as straight as possible. The section of the Super Mario World level reveal the liberties game designers can take when creating virtual spaces, such as entries and exits (in this case the tubes leading to and from the underground section) not being logically connected. This is also a result of game developers always having to be economic with the amount of information present at the same time, which often leads to areas that are actually modeled and loaded completely separate from each other, and why their structural and locational relationships don’t make sense in an overlooking map or drawing, but can feel natural during gameplay due to restrictions of the view. Going forward, I want to repeat and evolve the experiment with other types of games, such as more realistic titles.
Image 11. Diagram of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP’s Bells and Whistles, by Rita McBride.
architectural systems THOUGHT EXPERIMENT What if we imagined a building as a game? Can the inherent systems in architecture be mapped and described as game mechanics? Is the program the system of a building? Program is usually something defined before the design of the building, and there is no guarantee that the actions performed in said building will follow those indications once it is built and inhabited. To define the system, the actions themselves and their causes has to be described. The intention is not synonymous with the system, it doesn’t have to translate into the actual events. Events happen within the matrix of the system, but it can never determine the exact actions made by its inhabitants. Much in same way as many games have a certain intention behind their mechanics and spatial configuration, but can be interacted with in a variety of creative or accidental ways within that framework. In other words, to describe how the system actually works, we have to list its objective processes as well as the behaviours it generates rather than the intended program.
Let’s use the Architectural School at KTH in Stockholm as an example. The access card mechanic of the school is a clear example of a system. It is a technology based system that isn’t neccessarily related to the spatial form itself, but influences the experience of it from the perspective of the user. It causes certain places (some times the whole school itself) to only be possible to reach at certain times, and as long as you possess a card with the correct authorization. This system could easily be compared to a game where areas are closed off until the player has fulfilled a specific condition.. The behaviour of getting lost is an example of how the perhaps less positive events in a building is just as (if not more) important to analyze. This behaviour is directly related to the spatial form of the school, a problem iterated countless times among students and staff. But maybe the system of rounded walls that make people get lost also generates other interesting behaviours? Maybe we pay more attention to the work that our fellow students display at their workplaces, since we might use them as wayfinders? Maybe we encounter people and places that we wouldn’t have if we always new the right and shortest way between our destinations?
architectural systems It is also interesting to see how these systems can be manipulated and, if not overridden (as with cheat codes or hacking in video games), then at least circumvented. In the example with the access card system, we can imagine that someone who lacks the proper authorization to enter a certain room could persuade someone either to let them in from the inside, or borrow them a card that will work. We could even assume that cards can be stolen and used for gaining access, which would spur a myriad of other behaviours such as stealing possessions or items that would otherwhise be protected by the core system, such as it was intended. The system can be tested and pushed, but only within its framework. You can steal a card, but without any card at all you can’t open the door. You could break the door or somehow turn off the system, but within the working system it is impossible. Just as you can’t make Link fly freely in Ocarina of Time by only playing the game, you would have to break into the code and destroy or change the system. Glitches and bugs are related to this and a very interesting subject, but I will not discuss it in this booklet.
Image 12. Spatial configuration, axonometric map of a dungeon in Ocarina of Time.
architectural systems In the end, I believe that translating the mechanics of a building such as the Architecture School into a game would generate a quite boring result. To play it would be like, well, being in the school. But as a representational method it could possibly be exciting and even groundbreaking. It could say something about how games take mundane systems and make them entertaining, and how we as architects might learn something from that.
Image 13. Sketches of “reward spaces” in games, by Christopher W. Totten.
references ARTICLES e-flux. Pearson, Luke Caspar. (2019). Becoming Digital: From Superstudio to Super Mario. (online) Available at: https://www.e-flux.com/architecture/ becoming-digital/248078/from-superstudio-to-super-mario/ (Accessed 2019.12.16) Total Landscape Care. Odom, Jill. (2017) Landscape architect repurposes video game engine for design projects. (online). Available at: https://www. totallandscapecare.com/landscaping/landscape-architect-video-gamedesign-engine/ (Accessed 2019.11.28) LITERATURE Totten, Christopher; W. (2018). An Architectural Approach to Level Design. pp. 245. Florida: CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group. Kleine, Holger. (2018). Drama of Space: Spatial Sequences and Compositions in Architecture. Basel: Birkhäuser Verlag GmbH.
IMAGES 1) Vice. Diver, Mike. (2015). Video Game Critics Admit Which Classic Titles They’ve Never Played. (online). Available at: https://www.vice.com/en_us/ article/4wb7k3/critic-confession-time-these-are-the-classic-games-thatweve-never-played-510 (Accessed 2019.12.20) 2) Aftonbladet Nöjesbladet. Englin, Jesper. (2017). “Zelda: Breath of the Wild” gör att jag vill döpa mitt barn till Link. (online). Available at: https:// spela.aftonbladet.se/2017/03/zelda-breath-of-the-wild-gor-att-jag-villdopa-mitt-barn-till-link/ (Accessed 2019.12.20) 3) Archaeogaming. Kingsland, Kaitlyn. (2019). An Introduction to the Archaology of Horizon Zero Dawn. (online). Available at: https:// archaeogaming.com/2019/06/28/an-introduction-to-archaeology-inhorizon-zero-dawn/ (Accessed 2019.11.30) 4) Plethora-Project. (2017). Block’hood. Available at: https://www.plethoraproject.com/blockhood (Accessed 2019.11.28) 5) Total Landscape Care. Odom, Jill. (2017) Landscape architect repurposes video game engine for design projects. (online). Available at: https://www. totallandscapecare.com/landscaping/landscape-architect-video-gamedesign-engine/ (Accessed 2019.11.28) 6) You+Pea. Learning From Los Santos. Available at: https://www. youandpea.com/learning-from-los-santos-1 (Accessed 2019.12.19) 7) Pearson, Luke Caspar. London Developers Toolkit. Available at: https:// www.alephograph.com/london-developers-toolkit (Accessed 2019.12.19) 8) PS4 Home. Non-specified author. Music and Gameplay in Rayman Legends. Available at: https://www.ps4home.com/music-and-gameplay-inrayman-legends/ (Accessed 2019.11.30) 9) Own sketch of Sacred Forest Meadow, Ocarina of Time. 10) Own sketch of 3rd level of Super Mario World. 11) CODA Worx Collaboration of Design + Art. Skidmore, Owings & Merril LLP and McBride, Rita. Bells and Whistles. Available at: https://www.codaworx. com/project/bells-and-whistles-the-new-school-5387511ae440a (Accessed 2019.12.20) 12) Image source: https://www.vgmaps.com/Atlas/N64/LegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime-Future-ForestTemple(Side).jpg (Accessed 2019.11.30) 13) Totten, Christopher; W. (2018). An Architectural Approach to Level Design. pp. 245. Florida: CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group. 14) That Game Company. (2012). Journey. Available at: https:// thatgamecompany.com/journey/ (Accessed 2019.11.30)
LECTURES Talks at Google. Bogost, Ian. (2016). Play Anything: The Pleasure of Limits, the Uses of Boredom, and the Secrets of Games. PROJECTS (ARCHITECTURAL AND OTHERS) Skidmore, Owings & Merril LLP. (2014). Bells and Whistles. New York, USA. Fletcher Studio. Better Place Forests. Point Arena, California. You+Pea. Learning From Los Santos. Pearson, Luke Caspar. London Developers Toolkit. GAMES Nintendo. (1998). The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Nintendo. (2017). The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Nintendo. (1990). Super Mario World. Guerrilla Games. (2017). Horizon: Zero Dawn. Plethora Project. (2017). Block’hood. Ubisoft. (2013). Rayman Legends. Thatgamecompany. (2012). Journey.
Image 14. Journey is a critically appraised game, a great example of a simple but very effective premise - a beautiful experience, not only estetically.