Virtual Cities: An Atlas & Exploration of Video Game Cities

Virtual Cities: An Atlas & Exploration of Video Game Cities PDF

Author: Konstantinos Dimopoulos

Publisher: The Countryman Press

Published: 2020-11-10

Total Pages: 399

ISBN-13: 1682686108

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Immerse yourself in 45 spectacularly imagined virtual cities, from Arkham City to Whiterun, in this beautifully illustrated unofficial guide. Spanning decades of digital history, this is the ultimate travel guide and atlas of the gamer imagination. Dimopoulos invites readers to share his vision of dozens of different gaming franchises like never before: discover Dimopoulos’s Half-Life 2’s City 17, Yakuza 0’s Kamurocho, Fallout’s New Vegas, Super Mario Odyssey’s New Donk City, and many more. Each chapter of this virtual travel guide consists of deep dives into the history and lore of these cities from an in-universe perspective. Illustrated with original color ink drawings and—of course—gorgeous and detailed maps, readers can explore the nostalgic games of their youth as well as modern hits. Sidebars based on the author’s research tell behind-the-scenes anecdotes and reveal the real-world stories that inspired these iconic virtual settings. With a combination of stylish original maps, illustrations, and insightful commentary and analysis, this is a must-have for video game devotees, world-building fans, and game design experts.

Virtual Cities

Virtual Cities PDF

Author: Konstantinos Dimopoulos

Publisher: Unbound Publishing

Published: 2020-11-12

Total Pages: 257

ISBN-13: 1783528508

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Virtual cities are places of often-fractured geographies, impossible physics, outrageous assumptions and almost untamed imaginations given digital structure. This book, the first atlas of its kind, aims to explore, map, study and celebrate them. To imagine what they would be like in reality. To paint a lasting picture of their domes, arches and walls. From metropolitan sci-fi open worlds and medieval fantasy towns to contemporary cities and glimpses of gothic horror, author and urban planner Konstantinos Dimopoulos and visual artist Maria Kallikaki have brought to life over forty game cities. Together, they document the deep and exhilarating history of iconic gaming landscapes through richly illustrated commentary and analysis. Virtual Cities transports us into these imaginary worlds, through cities that span over four decades of digital history across literary and gaming genres. Travel to fantasy cities like World of Warcraft’s Orgrimmar and Grim Fandango’s Rubacava; envision what could be in the familiar cities of Assassin’s Creed’s London and Gabriel Knight’s New Orleans; and steal a glimpse of cities of the future, in Final Fantasy VII’s Midgar and Half-Life 2’s City 17. Within, there are many more worlds to discover – each formed in the deepest corners of the imagination, their immense beauty and complexity astounding for artists, game designers, world builders and, above all, anyone who plays and cares about video games.

Collaborative Worldbuilding for Video Games

Collaborative Worldbuilding for Video Games PDF

Author: Kaitlin Tremblay

Publisher: CRC Press

Published: 2023-03-08

Total Pages: 165

ISBN-13: 1000846369

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This book is a theoretical and practical deep dive into the craft of worldbuilding for video games, with an explicit focus on how different job disciplines contribute to worldbuilding. In addition to providing lenses for recognizing the various components in creating fictional and digital worlds, the author positions worldbuilding as a reciprocal and dynamic process, a process which acknowledges that worldbuilding is both created by and instrumental in the design of narrative, gameplay, art, audio, and more. Collaborative Worldbuilding for Video Games encourages mutual respect and collaboration among teams and provides game writers and narrative designers tools for effectively incorporating other job roles into their own worldbuilding practice and vice versa. Features: Provides in-depth exploration of worldbuilding via respective job disciplines Deep dives and case studies into a variety of games, both AAA and indie Includes boxed articles for deeper interrogation and exploration of key ideas Contains templates and checklists for practical tips on worldbuilding

AI Enabled Business

AI Enabled Business PDF

Author: Melodena Stephens

Publisher: IAP

Published: 2023-07-01

Total Pages: 367

ISBN-13:

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As the use of AI becomes more and more ubiquitous in companies around the world, managers charged with taking key decisions require resources to enable them to evaluate new projects effectively. The business case for AI projects is not necessarily clear cut and part of the reason for this is the lack of understanding on key decision criteria. AI touches on many ethical concepts - data privacy, validity and more importantly, its potential misuse. AI is often being used to replace human decision-making and there is often no real understanding of the implications of this. This book provides a detailed primer for practitioners without a deep technological background. It guides the reader through the basic issues and offers advice on ‘how to take decisions’. There is a dearth of such books currently available and this book aspires to fill a growing niche. ENDORSEMENTS: "This book is sure to offer value to business users, students and the general public." — K. Ananth Krishnan, Tata Consultancy Services "I highly recommend this book for the leader seeking an up-to-date review of AI to make strategic investments." — Kes Sampanthar, Innovation, BCG Brighthouse "The specificity of application in case studies and easy to understand definitions and recommendations make this a must read in the ever-growing field of literature around AI." — John C. Havens "The AI Enabled Organization is the perfect tool to embark on a thorough assessment of what AI means for your business." — Arno Fehler, Schmidt Kranz Group, Germany

Videogame Atlas

Videogame Atlas PDF

Author: Luke Caspar Pearson

Publisher: National Geographic Books

Published: 2022-11-22

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 0500024235

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A dazzling look at modern videogame worlds seen through an architectural lens, utilizing maps, diagrams, and graphic illustrations to take readers inside the art of virtual world building. A dazzling look at modern videogame worlds seen through an architectural lens, utilizing maps, diagrams, and graphic illustrations to offer new perspectives on the art of virtual world building. Videogame Atlas presents a journey through twelve well-known videogame worlds via panoramic maps, intricate exploded diagrams, and detailed illustrations. The book offers a playful new way of seeing these beloved virtual worlds using the practices and academic rigor that underpins real-world architectural theory. Titles such as Minecraft, Assassin's Creed Unity, and Final Fantasy VII are explored in exhaustive detail through over 200 detailed illustrations of the micro and macro, each with supporting commentary and architectural theory. Taking influence from high-end architectural monographs, the book is carefully designed to the smallest of details and its production is intricately executed. This book, printed in five colors, with neon ink throughout, is a culmination of Luke and Sandra’s work, which includes founding the Videogame Urbanism studio at the Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL that promotes the use of game technologies in architectural education.

Games and Play in the Creative, Smart and Ecological City

Games and Play in the Creative, Smart and Ecological City PDF

Author: Dale Leorke

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2020-12-30

Total Pages: 242

ISBN-13: 1000217787

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This book explores what games and play can tell us about contemporary processes of urbanization and examines how the dynamics of gaming can help us understand the interurban competition that underpins the entrepreneurialism of the smart and creative city. Games and Play in the Creative, Smart and Ecological City is a collection of chapters written by an interdisciplinary group of scholars from game studies, media studies, play studies, architecture, landscape architecture and urban planning. It situates the historical evolution of play and games in the urban landscape and outlines the scope of the various ways games and play contribute to the city’s economy, cultural life and environmental concerns. In connecting games and play more concretely to urban discourses and design strategies, this book urges scholars to consider their growing contribution to three overarching sets of discourses that dominate urban planning and policy today: the creative and cultural economies of cities; the smart and playable city; and ecological cities. This interdisciplinary work will be of great interest to students and scholars of game studies, play studies, landscape architecture (and allied design fields), urban geography, and art history. Chapter 3 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9781003007760