unit-code
What will the architectural ‘style’ of the Metaverse be? Drawing inspiration from building mechanisms in popular ‘creative’ videogames such as Fortnite, Post-City explores how the component-based collage approach to building that these games promote could produce a resurgence of Postmodern architectural principles in the Metaverse. The building systems of Fortnite could be seen as an influential piece of design software, especially among its most populous player base, 18-22 year olds. Post-City seeks to engage these young people with architecture by using a game-based mechanism they will be familiar with, placing it in an architectural design context. By analysing visual techniques and details from notable Postmodern buildings, Post-City invites players to experiment with architectural design in a Fornite-inspired environment, with user constructions judged on how closely they align with postmodern design principles. With millions of young people already highly familiar with such building systems, Post-City questions how such interfaces might become more and more integrated into design tools and what this might mean for future architects of the Metaverse.
Post-City is framed around the composition of fragments from notable postmodern buildings that can be arranged, rescaled, rotated and have their materiality changed. The game offers a field of objects for the player to use in composing architecture.
Modules in the game are built on a 4m x 4m x 4m grid, the same scale used in the Fortnite building system. Fragments of postmodern architecture become modules that fit into this grid and can be arranged using a Fortnite-like interface.
Players can create structures within a 4 metre volumetric grid, inspired by Fortnite's building mechanisms. By connecting a design environment to building systems in commercial games, Post-City aims to engage gamers with new architectural principles.
Prototype studies for Post-City's building systems created in Unreal engine. Systems include 'scoring' criteria which judges the player's designs based on principles taken from postmodern architecture and rewarding players for applying them well.
Examples of Post-City constructions made by players. As they move through the game, players will go from designing buildings at the scale of a small house, up to large urban blocks - applying the Post-City design principles at multiple scales.
An in-game view of a player generated Post-City construction.
An in-game view showing how a player has built access points in order to keep constructing higher.
An in-game view of a player created Post-City showing many orientation and rotational changes.
An in-game view of a player created Post-City, showing the variations of scale, orientation and material used to design a successful structure.
Different player created outputs show the variation of Post-City architecture.
By combining game mechanisms from commercial games with architectural principles, Post-City uses the frame of Fortnite's building system to engage young people through a new type of architectural design tool.