Ludotopia – a living simulation of reality
Dr Krzysztof M. Maj studies the so-called "open" worlds of computer games and demonstrates that they often turn out to be – paradoxically – closed. He connects this phenomenon with the concept of ludotopia, i.e. a living simulation of reality. This term was coined in computer game research to describe the relationship between game and space – a place where every experience of spatiality is rooted in a location or in an activity related to transforming the environment.
Invisible walls – digital boundaries
There are invisible walls even in the most complex games – they are barriers resulting from the technological limitations the player encounters. Can such a world still be considered open if it has boundaries? Is it possible to create a limited world naturally so that the player doesn't feel constrained?
To prove his point, Dr Maj spent four hours exploring the world's Cyber Punk boundaries, attempting to escape Night City. It turned out that despite destroying the city's security and clearing a path out, the game had killed Dr Maj's character. This confirmed that this supposedly limitless world does have boundaries after all.
Two Strategies for Designing Spaces in Games
In his lecture, the author distinguishes two strategies for designing game worlds. The first is pre-planned navigation, or the so-called "golden path" – a method of anticipating player’s actions and arranging points of interest on the map so that the user sees as much of the "inhabited" world as possible. This can be compared to planning a journey – with a pre-determined route and points of interest.
The second strategy is wayfaring or wandering around. This involves replaying the travel journal during the journey itself, directing the player to places that naturally pique their interest. These are details that emerge during gameplay – sometimes unnoticed the first time – but that, for whatever reason, demand investigation. Like landmarks visible in the distance, or a mysterious wind that encourages the player to follow the same direction as the wind. This opens up new avenues, sustaining their attention and engagement.
The world of games is like a living organism
For years, game developers have been using various strategies to create immersive, engaging worlds that keep players glued to the screen. Dr Maj presents and explains how these mechanisms work and how they impact game play.
According to the speaker, the wayfaring strategy is closest to our human nature and the most primal way of "inhabiting the Earth." To quote Tim Ingold:
The inhabitant is rather one who participates from within in the very process of the world's continual coming into being and who, in laying a trail of life, contributes to its weave and texture.
Dr Krzysztof M. Maj is a video game researcher, an accredited academic tutor and works as an Assistant Professor at the Department of Information Technology and Media at the Faculty of Humanities at the AGH University of Science & Technology. He is the author of two books on the theory of worldbuilding narratives: "Allotopie. Topografia światów fikcjonalnych" [Allotopies: Topography of Fictional Worlds] (2015) and "Światotwórstwo w fantastyce. Od przedstawienia do zamieszkiwania" [Worldbuilding in Fantasy: From Representation to Inhabitation] (2019). His research interests focus on the intersection of research on world-building in video games and studies of fantasy and science fiction narratives using cognitive and transmedial narrative theory. He is a strong advocate of individualised education and non-facade education reform.
Edit: Michał Gruda and Anastazja Solomiana (Centre for External Relations and Social Responsibility of the University, University of Lodz)