Defining an issue...
current digital design and computational design is too focused on form-finding or optimization of performance, reducing architects to programmers or material scientists
Creating a condition in which...
architecture of the digital age starts converging into one style based on optimization of form through material science, parametric design, computational design. Architect is relieved of decision-making role (essentially, design)... so... digital design lacks human intelligence, intuition, and play.
... this issue is addressed in Jose Sanchez' Gamescapes article (2013), and he believes that game mechanics (through open source/crowd sourcing) can change computational design thinking, resulting in an infinite amount of design possibilities: focus is no longer on optimization, but on play and search - play as design, exemplified in his Bloom project for London 2012 Olympics...
BUT question becomes: where does the architect come in? if we design rules for play, and then let open source/crowd source create design possibilities, where does architectural design come in? this seems like we are relying on participant engagement as design... or is that ok... ?
an emergent cultural form made possible by advances and development in digital hardware, software and the Internet. Rising popularity and commercial success of videogames is creating a shift in focus on the importance of game theory, game mechanics, and gamification in all industries. Game designers Zimmerman and Chaplin's manifesto in 2013 (http://kotaku.com/manifesto-the-21st-century-will-be-defined-by-games-1275355204) starts to advocate that our century will be defined by games... also, videogaming industry is growing exponentially (multi-billion $ industry)... also, more and more people spending more and more time playing games... so, game theory / game mechanics will be playing a larger role in various different industries ... how does architecture respond? how is architecture affected? how can architecture play a role in videogames?
... so, game mechanics and design heuristic as a strategy?
taking on a different approach... addressing place/space-making instead of design process...
Stemming from ideas from these two books...
Looking at contexts of play (spaces for videogames)
arcade - first commercially available gaming devices
internet cafes - when home computers were not yet affordable by public
home - rise in home TVs and PCs
public spaces - rise in mobile devices, ubiquitous gaming (technology)
... virtual and real spaces are starting to converge, we need to develop new typologies of spaces
the authors suggest a discourse of play and games as human practices in space, defined and explored architecturally - playspaces and gamespaces are architecturally significant - game mechanics is a dynamic, innovative, and challenging outlet which can produce design results or be components of design process (Walz, 2010)
Alternative approach...
video games are a cultural medium, representational of our current digital culture; and if architecture is an expression of culture, how are videogames represented through/in architecture OR how does architecture benefit from videogames?
The two issues seem separate yet linked at the same time... so I'm kinda stuck... and I'll just end it like this.
R
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