2007-07-14

virtual architecture

While reading the The Phaidon Atlas of Contemporary World Architecture. Comprehensive Edition (with a weight of 8kg the heaviest book I own ;-) ) I thought it would be a real shame if all our virtual architecture, i.e. computer game levels, especially 3D maps and buildings, will be lost forever once the corresponding games cease to work on new hardware. Alas, this being the internet, someone has thought of this before (for example SamSahrani). I for one would like to see a museum of computer game architecture. Think of the floating in space jump pad levels of Quake3, the organic "in an alien body" maps of System Shock 2 or the rotating maps of Unreal Tournament. Or the more realistic maps of the various World War 2 games or Halflife. Not to mention the online worlds in World of Warcraft, Second Life or the Sims. There are tons of very creative examples like this. Would be a shame to lose all that creativity. Architecture is architecture after all. The virtual kind may have different constraints and trade-offs than the real world one, but just like the real thing it's a mix of art and craft. Either that or I'm just nostalgic for countless lost hours sank into self made levels for DooM 2, Duke Nuke'em and Quake 3.