Have you ever thought about getting an education and having fun all at the same time?
In this unusual for architects topic, I would like to talk about video games.
Video games, as a source of inspiration, or as a way of learning something new without
digging through textbooks.
Video games are considered a leisure activity, but their potential is so much more than a
way of killing a couple of lazy hours.
There are hundreds of video games dedicated to obtaining or improving certain skills.
As an example, there are titles for the Army, like Arma.
For pilots, there are games like Microsoft Fly Simulator 10.
There is a whole genre of games helping players get more knowledge for almost any type of
career.
Let it be doctors, babysitters, drivers, astronauts and many more.
Number 10 Construction simulator
The architects have their own shelf of useful video game titles.
Number ten is a German game series Construction Simulator.
Germans do have a soft spot for creating simulator games.
This particular title was released by Astragon Entertainment.
has plenty of mechanics linked to the profession.
A player is allowed to take a part in the project construction, to operate the construction
equipment and even to create the formwork.
The game helps to understand the ways of an actual construction site, how the project
starts, what the site looks like and what is the purpose of every construction machinery.
One of the most important game mechanics is the feature of time-consuming.
It gives a player a sense of how much time different stages of the work take.
There has been many sequels and similar titles, such as:
Construction Simulator is one of the best in this genre and it is absolutely compulsory
for any architect who has yet to see the real-life construction site.
Number 9.
Cities in Motion.
This is a game developed by Colossal Order and was released in 2011.
Cities in motion is an amazing way to understand how the city and transport function and how
they affect each other.
For example, it is a bad idea, building a skyscraper without thinking through the transport
access.
Accessibility is an important part of the architect's job and Cities in Motion can be
a tool for understanding the importance of it.
Number 8.
Caesar 3.
Its a veteran of the architecture useful games.
Released in 1977 and developed by Impressions Games, it has aged well.
Saying it gave a boost to the whole building simulators is not an exaggeration.
It is a title about planning.
How to build a city from scratch?
How to provide the citizens with all the necessary resources.
The game surely deserves a spot in the architect's toolbox.
Number 7 Tropico
The series is developed by the PopTop Software and started all the way back in 2001.
Tropico has unveiled the new subgenre, specifically, focusing on the life of every citizen.
Just like in the Caesar, a player is able to improve the quality of life of every NPC
there is.
The game involves city planning, finance managing and the general opinion of the population.
The planning has to include many different aspects, including nature and etc.
Number 6 Planet Coaster
Initially released in 2016 and created by the Frontier Development, this game switches
from planning the cities to the parks.
And why not?
Architecture is not only buildings and small architectural forms.
Parks are crucial parts of any city project.
So get on with it and build your own park.
Number 5 Sims
Who hasn't at least made an attempt of building a dream house in Sims?
The chances are, almost everybody tried to at least once.
For those few unfamiliar with Sims, it is a simulation game series developed by Maxis
and published by the well known Electronic Arts.
What does it simulate?
Practically everything that comes to mind.
The Sims is a sandbox with plenty of features useful for architects to expand their creativity.
The mechanics of the building creation is extensive and deserves to be used not only
for an occasional leisure time.
Sims is almost as BIM.
Number 4 House Flipper
A title from the polish developer Empyrean lets the player fix up a building.
How?
Using renovation and demolition.
Why?
To find the best use for the resources as time and money, and turning those resources
into the profit.
It can help the architects to understand how the renovation is done and to create the vision
of how the final result should look like.
Number 3 Sim City
The first game of this series was released in 1989 and its enormous success boosted the
creation of the Sim title, mentioned before.
In the SimCity player gets a piece of land and starts building the city from scratch.
Where to place the residential areas, the infrastructure, the landmarks, parks, schools
and many other elements necessary for the city to function.
Player has to keep in mind the taxes, budgets and other things.
The mechanics of this game is thought through.
It's not only fun to play every once in a while, it also helps to develop the sense
of balance that has to be present in every city there is.
Number 2 Minecraft
Who doesn't know Minecraft?
The famous sandbox by Mojang?
Surely everyone has either played it or at least heard of it.
Leaving Minecraft out of the list would be impossible as it is one of the most architectural
games there is.
It won't have you keeping up with complex infrastructure, or the budget, or anything
of sorts.
Instead, it gives you the world and the ability to do anything with it.
Build anything from it.
The sky is the limit for imagination.
Do you want to build a Death Star?
Go ahead.
What about Zaha Hadid’s projects?
Why not, replicate it in Minecraft.
Modern, gothic, art deco, hi-tech, Minecraft lets you experiment and maybe even develop
your own architecture style if you are up for the challenge.
Honorable mentions
Space Engineers Released in 2013 and created by the Czech
company Keen Software House.
Basically, it is a sandbox in space dedicated to, obviously, engineering, but not just.
It also has the exploration, survival, and construction.
Cities XL The game saw the light in 2009 with the effort
of Monte Cristo.
Initially, Cities XL is a sequel for the earlier game City Life.
It offers an impressive variety of building options to do what the title says it does,
to build a city.
Anno The game was developed by many developers
and published by Ubisoft, which already says a lot about it.
Anno is a real-time strategy with business simulation, resource management, and a city
creation mechanics.
Number 1 Cities: Skylines
Released in 2015 and developed by the Colossal Order, its what you may call a classic city
simulator.
It is a must play for every architect.
The beauty of the game is combined with the complicated city creation.
The best thing about the Cities: Skylines is a component of traffic and transport.
A player has to plan ahead to develop interchanges in order to keep the city clear of traffic
jams.
There are also many available mods to make the game personalized to your individual taste.
Create your city, control everything and keep it up and running.
Prison Architect This game is not on the list and has no number
to it.
But only because it is a certain must have, must play and must enjoy for every architect
there is.
Made by Introversion Software, it allows the player to build and maintain the Max Security
prison.
That is a description for a casual player, to an architect, this game is so much more.
It makes them do what every project starts with.
Planning.
Plan drawing, understanding the room management, the space management, it is certainly all
time best architect themed game there is.