Virtual Cities

Virtual Cities

Author: Konstantinos Dimopoulos

Publisher: Unbound Publishing

Published: 2020-11-12

Total Pages: 257

ISBN-13: 1783528508

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Virtual cities are places of often-fractured geographies, impossible physics, outrageous assumptions and almost untamed imaginations given digital structure. This book, the first atlas of its kind, aims to explore, map, study and celebrate them. To imagine what they would be like in reality. To paint a lasting picture of their domes, arches and walls. From metropolitan sci-fi open worlds and medieval fantasy towns to contemporary cities and glimpses of gothic horror, author and urban planner Konstantinos Dimopoulos and visual artist Maria Kallikaki have brought to life over forty game cities. Together, they document the deep and exhilarating history of iconic gaming landscapes through richly illustrated commentary and analysis. Virtual Cities transports us into these imaginary worlds, through cities that span over four decades of digital history across literary and gaming genres. Travel to fantasy cities like World of Warcraft’s Orgrimmar and Grim Fandango’s Rubacava; envision what could be in the familiar cities of Assassin’s Creed’s London and Gabriel Knight’s New Orleans; and steal a glimpse of cities of the future, in Final Fantasy VII’s Midgar and Half-Life 2’s City 17. Within, there are many more worlds to discover – each formed in the deepest corners of the imagination, their immense beauty and complexity astounding for artists, game designers, world builders and, above all, anyone who plays and cares about video games.


Real Cities Virtual Cities

Real Cities Virtual Cities

Author: Edoardo Chiesa

Publisher: Youcanprint

Published: 2012-04-10

Total Pages: 126

ISBN-13: 8866188077

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The book " REAL CITIES- VIRTUAL CITIES - How to build the real world environmentally and financially sustainable based on the New Telematic City - NTC" shows how, using tools currently known and popular, you can set that world ecologically and financially sustainable, which many hope. Expression of this new mode is the NTC - New Telematic City, not just an acronym, but a business, technological, social opportunity to detail and to achieve. The book first discusses the so-called "pillars" upon which the NTC is based: 1. 1. The first one is the ICT, namely information and communication technologies. 2. 2. The second one is the set of rules and regulations of the European Union, to ensure security and development within Europe. 3. 3. The third one consists of the oriental arts like yoga and martial arts, secular heritage of the East, capable of ensuring the personal development of each individual. It is then shown how, using the pillars with the help of innovative concepts never before assumed, it is possible to redesign the organization of society in the manner proposed by the author.


Metropolis

Metropolis

Author: Ben Wilson

Publisher: Anchor

Published: 2020-11-10

Total Pages: 472

ISBN-13: 0385543476

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In a captivating tour of cities famous and forgotten, acclaimed historian Ben Wilson tells the glorious, millennia-spanning story how urban living sparked humankind's greatest innovations. “A towering achievement.... Reading this book is like visiting an exhilarating city for the first time—dazzling.” —The Wall Street Journal During the two hundred millennia of humanity’s existence, nothing has shaped us more profoundly than the city. From their very beginnings, cities created such a flourishing of human endeavor—new professions, new forms of art, worship and trade—that they kick-started civilization. Guiding us through the centuries, Wilson reveals the innovations nurtured by the inimitable energy of human beings together: civics in the agora of Athens, global trade in ninth-century Baghdad, finance in the coffeehouses of London, domestic comforts in the heart of Amsterdam, peacocking in Belle Époque Paris. In the modern age, the skyscrapers of New York City inspired utopian visions of community design, while the trees of twenty-first-century Seattle and Shanghai point to a sustainable future in the age of climate change. Page-turning, irresistible, and rich with engrossing detail, Metropolis is a brilliant demonstration that the story of human civilization is the story of cities.


Ideology and the Virtual City

Ideology and the Virtual City

Author: Jon Bailes

Publisher: John Hunt Publishing

Published: 2019-09-27

Total Pages: 106

ISBN-13: 1789041651

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'insanely readable...an instant classic for everyone who wants to understand not just games but our reality itself.' Slavoj Zizek Ideology and the Virtual City is an exploration of modern society and the critical value of popular culture. It combines a prescient social theory that describes how ‘neoliberal’ ideology in today’s societies dominates our economic, political and cultural ideals, with an entertaining exploration of narratives, characters and play structures in some of today’s most interesting videogames. The book takes readers into a range of simulated urban environments that symbolise the hidden antagonisms of social life and create outlandish resolutions through their power fantasies. Interactive entertainment can help us understand the ways in which people relate to a modern ‘common sense’ neoliberal background, in terms of absorbing assumptions, and questioning them.


Technologies for Urban and Spatial Planning: Virtual Cities and Territories

Technologies for Urban and Spatial Planning: Virtual Cities and Territories

Author: Pinto, Nuno Norte

Publisher: IGI Global

Published: 2013-07-31

Total Pages: 349

ISBN-13: 1466643501

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"This book covers a multitude of newly developed hardware and software technology advancements in urban and spatial planning and architecture, drawing on the most current research and studies of field practitioners who offer solutions and recommendations for further growth, specifically in urban and spatial developments"--


Virtual Cities: An Atlas & Exploration of Video Game Cities

Virtual Cities: An Atlas & Exploration of Video Game Cities

Author: Konstantinos Dimopoulos

Publisher: The Countryman Press

Published: 2020-11-10

Total Pages: 399

ISBN-13: 1682686108

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Immerse yourself in 45 spectacularly imagined virtual cities, from Arkham City to Whiterun, in this beautifully illustrated unofficial guide. Spanning decades of digital history, this is the ultimate travel guide and atlas of the gamer imagination. Dimopoulos invites readers to share his vision of dozens of different gaming franchises like never before: discover Dimopoulos’s Half-Life 2’s City 17, Yakuza 0’s Kamurocho, Fallout’s New Vegas, Super Mario Odyssey’s New Donk City, and many more. Each chapter of this virtual travel guide consists of deep dives into the history and lore of these cities from an in-universe perspective. Illustrated with original color ink drawings and—of course—gorgeous and detailed maps, readers can explore the nostalgic games of their youth as well as modern hits. Sidebars based on the author’s research tell behind-the-scenes anecdotes and reveal the real-world stories that inspired these iconic virtual settings. With a combination of stylish original maps, illustrations, and insightful commentary and analysis, this is a must-have for video game devotees, world-building fans, and game design experts.


Dickens and the Virtual City

Dickens and the Virtual City

Author: Estelle Murail

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2017-10-14

Total Pages: 302

ISBN-13: 3319350862

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This book explores the aesthetic practices used by Dickens to make the space which we have come to know as the Dickensian City. It concentrates on three very precise techniques for the production of social space (counter-mapping, overlaying and troping). The chapters show the scapes and writings which influenced him and the way he transformed them, packaged them and passed them on for future use. The city is shown to be an imagined or virtual world but with a serious aim for a serious game: Dickens sets up a workshop for the simulation of real societies and cities. This urban building with is transferable to other literatures and medial forms. The book offers vital understanding of how writing and image work in particular ways to recreate and re-enchant society and the built environment. It will be of interest to scholars of literature, media, film, urban studies, politics and economics.


Digital Cities III. Information Technologies for Social Capital: Cross-cultural Perspectives

Digital Cities III. Information Technologies for Social Capital: Cross-cultural Perspectives

Author: Peter van den Besselaar

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2005-04-25

Total Pages: 447

ISBN-13: 3540259716

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Digital cities constitutes a multidisciplinary field of research and development, where researchers, designers and developers of communityware interact and collaborate with social scientists studying the use and effects of these kinds of infrastructures and systems in their local application context. The field is rather young. After the diffusion of ICT in the world of organizations and companies, ICT entered everyday life. And this also influenced ICT research and development. The 1998 Workshop on Communityware and Social Interaction in Kyoto was an early meeting in which this emerging field was discussed. After that, two subsequent Digital Cities workshops were organized in Kyoto, and a third one in Amsterdam. This book is the result of the 3rd Workshop on Digital Cities, which took place September 18–19, 2003 in Amsterdam, in conjunction with the 1st Communities and Technologies Conference. Most of the papers were presented at this workshop, and were revised thoroughly afterwards. Also the case studies of digital cities in Asia, the US, and Europe, included in Part I, were direct offsprings of the Digital Cities Workshops. Together the papers in this volume give an interesting state-of-the-art overview of the field. In total 54 authors from the Americas, from Asia, and from Europe were contributed to this volume. The authors come from Brazil (two), the USA (eleven), China (three), Japan (fourteen), Finland (two), Germany (two), Italy (three), Portugal (two), the Netherlands (eight), and the UK (seven), indicating the international nature of the research field.


The Cybercities Reader

The Cybercities Reader

Author: Stephen Graham

Publisher: Psychology Press

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 472

ISBN-13: 9780415279567

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Bringing together a vast range of debates and examples of city changes based on Information and Communications Technology (ICT), this book illustrates how new media in cities shapes societies, economies and cultures.


Cities And Urban Cultures

Cities And Urban Cultures

Author: Stevenson, Deborah

Publisher: McGraw-Hill Education (UK)

Published: 2003-04-01

Total Pages: 180

ISBN-13: 0335208444

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Explores cities and urban life from the perspectives of both sociology and cultural theory. Through an interdisciplinary approach, the book demonstrates that the "real" city of physicality and struggle and the "imagined" city of representations are entwined in the construction of urban cultures.