Video Game Cities are Actual Magic

Ever want to go exploring? Duh, of course you do. Exploring is fun. But what do people in this world want to explore most often? Volcanoes? Canyons? Other planets? Let's close in on something that's likely in everyone's Top 10 - cities. Cities, the great synthetic creations of mankind litter the planet, for better or worse. They instill beauty and the daunting reality behind the modern human world. From the towering skyscrapers of New York City, to the ancient temples and markets of Bangkok, cities have mesmerized people from all across the planet with their charm. But this ain't no travel website, am I right? Let's assume that most of us don't have the resources to go exploring the cities of Earth at the drop of a hat. Let's also assume that we're all gamers. Want to find a happy middle ground with me?

Video games set up manmade realities for audiences by building physics from the ground up, quite literally from scratch. Forests, deserts or alien moonscapes are all within a game developer's reach, with the simple (not simple at all) marriage of art and a little computer code. Cities are most certainly one of these constructible realities. As you may have noticed, a lot of video games take place in cities. Some are reconstructed models of real cities, such as Tom Clancy's The Division's New York City, while some are completely imagined metropolis's, such as Mass Effect's Citadel. Games can show us some pretty amazing things, and I think cities have got to be one of the most impressive.

Game environments of any kind are almost guaranteed to excite me - I'm the player that will direct my character's eyes towards the distant mountains or seemingly endless fields during the middle of a fire fight or dramatic plot twist. I get distracted, but in the best way. I mean just look at all this! However, I'm most entranced by great video game cities. Over the years, we've seen a variety of cities presented to us in a variety of ways. In terms of gameplay and accessibility, the open world of The Witcher's Novigrad directly opposes Halo: Reach's linearly progressed New Alexandria. Yet, in both of these, I find myself exploring every living inch of these very different simulated living environments. I peruse the medieval markets and half-timbered houses of Novigrad, completely free of any quests or missions. Meanwhile, during the Covenant invasion of Reach, I balance my fight with alien monsters with embracing the vistas of the futuristic mega city of New Alexandria. Two different games, two different cities and two very different approaches to bringing players through those cities - I'm still standing around loving the view of both.

So, how do games do this? How do games make their cities so incredible to look at, and so exciting to explore? I think the answer is simple, and very broad - humans enjoy looking at the visualized artifacts of our collective imaginations. In simpler terms, we like seeing imaginary (or semi-imaginary) things play out it ways that we can actual see. My Minecraft world is chock full of my own attempts to fulfill this hunger to see and experience cities that may or may not even exist. Small alley ways respond to the larger structures in a symphony of stone and wood. Explorable surroundings with very few limits in terms of where you can go or what you can do there. My Minecraft cites are pretty, but they're empty. Does that matter if they're pretty enough? Multiplayer maps will often feature a social area without any occupants like Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood's map in their construction of 1190s Jerusalem. The details and the surroundings are beautiful, even without any real living purpose.

Video game cities are simulated social hubs, some of then just have civil structures and public areas, while some are as detailed to have actual occupants. Let's talk about that for a moment. Some video games in recent years, especially open world ones, have examined the fundamental thing that makes cities what they are - citizens! Can't have a social and economic center without people, of course. Developers have populated their maps with artificial people for decades, but not every populace is the same. Fallout 4's Diamond City has people in it, but so does James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing's incantation of New Orleans. What's the difference? A modern open world game like Fallout programs its indigenous citizens to function as actual people. They simulate daily life in the eyes of players - they eat, sleep and work. However, the proud citizens of New Orleans in the older and less detailed Everything of Nothing are simply decorative. They're mannequins with simulated pulses, walking around to cultivate a sense of a living city. They are simpler (but charming) computer codes, while Fallout's wasteland population are more meticulous artificial intelligences. While they are not always the most realistic components of video game cities, video game citizens play a part in the whimsy of social centers. Frankly, they make them feel real.

So what's up with the whimsical title to my piece, "actual magic?" I just honestly believe that they're magical. I am less impressed with a game that tries to accurately mimic life from the point of view of one person (the player's character), and more with a huge collection of characters. Realistic or not, a virtual city can show me just what these amazing feats of logistics, construction and human effort can yield. Even a game that I'm not a fan of such as Killzone: Shadow Fall can raise my eyebrows. The futuristic mega city called Vekta City was the first video game city to be presented with current generation consoles, and it seriously fell short on expectations as a city. Even though it's not detailed enough, it's vast and shiny enough to enchant me. I'm like a seagull.

This seagull is happy to stroll around an alien village in Ratchet and Clank, or walk the streets of L.A. Noire's 1940s Los Angeles. I love to get into the action, but I am perfectly content with sitting back and letting these outstanding magical worlds take me in. Even if you're a hight octane fast paced addict, you'd be surprised at how some of the structured surroundings of your favorite games can make you wonder. Do yourself a favor, gamers - stop to smell the roses.

---

Ben Stembridge, Editor-in-chief

Ben leads the reviews and news coverage for Game Chop. He also offers opinions on games and the industry, covering a wide range of genres and platforms. Ben especially enjoys discussions on game narratives, design styles, and independent titles.

#BenStembridge