Project Name: Game City

Location: Venice, Italy

Scope: Game/simulation developed at the MIT Design and Computation Group, and demonstrated at the Venice Biennale, 2008

The idea of this game was to simulate a non-deterministic urban environment shaped by dynamic player input and individual agent preferences. Agents were of three different colours to ally their preferences to those of the player who could choose a role in advocating housing, industry, or commerce. Given the idea of market conditions and active speculation, buildings would rise and fall so that at any cycle an outcome may be found that favours one type of zoning over another. Each agent however works in tandem with others who happen to be adjacent, determining a build-not build decision independent of the player input; In this way the game – like a city - would never yield the same outcome twice.

credits:

Kaustuv De Biswas
Tom Plewe
John Plewe
John Snavely