Not long ago, Deanna Van Buren was offered the position of lead architect on an unusual project—a video game called "The Witness."
In The Witness, released this year by game designer Jonathan Blow, players embark on independent exploration to discover the world of the game in fragments. Solving puzzles unlocks new spaces, each built with a unique aesthetic: desert ruins, an industrial sector, and a small village, to name a few.
The game's intriguing and widely praised design can be attributed to the unusual collaboration behind it: a team of visual artists, architects, and landscape architects.
Lead architect Deanna Van Buren spoke to Archinect about creating a conceptual "built" environment.
Building the portfolio of niche spaces required a "massive file of design references," she said, including film, tree houses, Hobbit houses, and medieval joinery.
But more challenging than the diversity of structures was learning to speak the language of video games, which has a whole different set of "building codes" than the physical world:
The biggest challenge was that we didn't understand game play and what game play means, and the psychology of game play and how important it was … We had to really step back a lot and think about: does this architecture, do these spaces support the gameplay objectives of this particular puzzle or this particular environment?
Read the full story: Behind the scenes of 'The Witness', a video game designed by architects
USDOT is hiring thousands of gamers for air traffic control jobs
Sec. Duffy says the FAA has reached 94% of its staffing goal for air traffic controllers.
Children in 55 countries are redesigning their cities in Minecraft
A U.N.-backed program lets students and community members reimagine sites in their neighborhoods in the game — and translate them into real-life buildings.
10 urbanist video games that aren’t Sim City
Sim City may have inspired an entire generation of urban planners — but these games have perfected the art of city-building simulation.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Chicago breaks ground on $3 billion megadevelopment
The new neighborhood, titled Foundry Park, will one day host 3,700 residences.
California High-Speed Rail Authority CEO resigns after $600,000 scandal
Under Ian Choudri, the authority used taxpayer dollars to fund first class flights and trips to nightclubs.
Want to study the Missouri River? Soon, you may need unanimous approval from 10 states
Legislation would require 10 governors’ permission to study or build projects moving water outside the basin.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority