IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2013 - 47
by
Jen Renzi
If you grew up playing low-resolution firstgeneration Atari, the notion of gaming as a
dominant cultural force sounds like something
out of a sci-fi flick. But today, it is: Game-related
spending is expected to reach $112 billion by 2015,
Nielsen data estimates that 56 percent of American
households own a gaming console, and the field
is experiencing explosive growth in a sclerotic
economy. People from all over the globe convene in
cyberspace to play MMOs, or massively multiplayer
online role-playing games—virtual worlds that
let people interact in real time. And the medium has
solidified its artistic cred: A current MoMA exhibit
in New York includes 14 video games recently
acquired for its permanent collection, The Sims
and Pac-Man among them.
No wonder, then, that the discipline of game
development is increasingly drawing fugitives
from fields like interior design and architecture.
Bungie, Electronic Arts, and Valve are just a few
top gaming companies that employ designers
with 3-D backgrounds to give their virtual spaces
more nuance. Some are drawn by better wages,
while others are seduced by the freedom to make
environments where certain laws (of gravity,
for one) can be ignored, and any fantasia they
envision can become “real.”
Two academics
explain how virtual
reality is changing
the profession and
pedagogy of interior
design—and why
we need zombies.
Chris Totten is one such 3-D-to-2-D convert.
An assistant professor of mobile game design
at George Mason University, he holds a graduate
degree in architecture. “When I left school in
2009, no one was building; the job opportunities
weren’t there,” he explains. Totten’s thesis examined
how game-design methods can be applied to
the architectural process, so he pursued his sideline
interest further, teaching himself 3-D-animation
programs and poring over the emerging body
of critical writing on game theory and philosophy.
“Thinkers like NYU’s Eric Zimmerman were
writing about gaming as a field of design—seeing
it through a humanist lens—and discussing
architects like Christopher Alexander,” Totten says.
“That resonated with me.” Academia came calling.
In addition to managing his course load, he has
also written a number of books that tease out the
overlap between disciplines; his most recent,
An Architectural Approach to Level Design, slated
for spring release, is about spatial-design principals
as they apply to games.
Totten has brought that perspective to his classes,
too, treating gaming as a design discipline and
not just an entertainment vehicle. “My instruction
style mirrors how I was taught in architecture
school,” he says. “It’s a studio culture here: Students
work in groups, and public presentations are
becoming more integral to our curriculum.”
perspective
47
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2013
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2013
IIDA Post-It initiative
Contents
Contributors
From IIDA
Behind the Issue
IIDA News
Design Dialogue
The Showroom of the Future
Working It
Hire Resolution
Get Your Game On
Design Decoded
Behind the Design
Viewpoints
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2013 - IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2013
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2013 - Cover2
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2013 - IIDA Post-It initiative
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2013 - 2
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2013 - Contents
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2013 - 4
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2013 - 5
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2013 - Contributors
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2013 - 7
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2013 - From IIDA
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2013 - 9
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2013 - Behind the Issue
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2013 - 11
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2013 - IIDA News
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2013 - 13
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2013 - 14
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2013 - 15
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2013 - 16
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2013 - 17
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2013 - Design Dialogue
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2013 - 19
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2013 - 20
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2013 - 21
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2013 - 22
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2013 - 23
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2013 - The Showroom of the Future
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2013 - 25
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2013 - 26
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2013 - 27
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2013 - Working It
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2013 - 29
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2013 - 30
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2013 - 31
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2013 - 32
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2013 - 33
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2013 - 34
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2013 - 35
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2013 - 36
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2013 - 37
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2013 - 38
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2013 - 39
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2013 - Hire Resolution
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2013 - 41
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2013 - 42
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2013 - 43
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2013 - 44
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2013 - 45
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2013 - Get Your Game On
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2013 - 47
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2013 - 48
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2013 - 49
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2013 - 50
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2013 - 51
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2013 - Design Decoded
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2013 - 53
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2013 - 54
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2013 - Behind the Design
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2013 - Viewpoints
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2013 - Cover3
IIDA Perspective - Spring/Summer 2013 - Cover4
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