Spectrum of Architecture and 'Man-Made Mountains' in Gaming

Architecture, like any visual medium, has the ability to invoke a wide range of emotional reactions from how it’s formed and the aesthetic direction that is used.  The traditional cottage can invoke feelings like nostalgia, warmth or community whereas modern flats may present more of a cold, functional vibe with individualism.  In a previous post, I mentioned a phrase called ‘The Nest and the Pillar of Fire’ and today I want to expand on that idea.

The phrase in question gives a rough spectrum of architecture in which we design our environment.  The ‘Nest’ describes the basic requirements of self; in that shelter gives us protection against the elements and others as well as being a representation of settlement.  Another way to describe it is using the term ‘function’ (in regards to form vs. function) where design is purely out of necessity for its inhabitants.  Examples of these can be such things as Neolithic huts, cairns, longhouses and other early civilization settlements where survival was the highest of priorities.  This is not to say that the concept of ‘Nest’ doesn't exist in today’s world just that these examples are generally given when describing the concept. 

The ‘Pillar’ is the complete opposite where its use is most likely itself; where the object may provide no substantial use for us other than aesthetics or prestige.  Also known as ‘High-Art’ or ‘Form’ (see above) these pieces of architecture can represent expressions of emotion, ritual, ideology and anyway in which the designer is tasked to create art in the built environment.  Monuments, obelisks and similar sculptured structures share this view, but it can be expanded into pieces like towers and skyscrapers like the recent ‘Shard of Light’ in London, England.  Looking at these examples of the ‘Pillar’ you may get the feeling of height being a defining characteristic that connects them.  Although it is true that not all objects that fit into the ‘Pillar’ demand sky-piercing attributes, it does bring us onto the idea of the ‘man-made mountain’ to which one may argue that the ‘Pillar’ originates from. 

The concept of the ‘man-made mountain’ generally comes from early civilizations and the rituals that come with them.  To keep the gods pleased (in which I mean polytheistic religion) temples were built and offerings made to keep the crops bountiful and danger at bay.  Temples generally wanted a sense of prestige about them, as it would show the gods that they were important to the worshipers, meaning that the way they were constructed had to reflect that; with lavish materials and size that could dwarf all other nearby structures.  As god could make great natural structures like mountains, valleys, etc their followers wanted to replicate that, hence the term ‘man-made mountain’.  Examples of this are places like Chichen Itza in Mexico, Borobudur in Java and the Pyramids of Giza, Egypt where ancient civilizations have made objects with specific geometry and vast manpower so that its prestige is unprecedented. 

In today’s world, we do continue to see this, but whereas these early examples are based in ritual, modern interpretations have a more human prestige or organisation achievement (arguably).  Skyscrapers that litter are larger cities of world are grand towers that look go higher than ever thought accomplished to show what we can do as a race (on a more general idea) or the presence of a particular organisation / business in its ability to produce such a structure.  These structures can bring on a number of different emotions like awe, fortitude, impression, suppression, etc but they still follow this original concept of the ‘man-made mountain’. 

If you've played games anywhere over the past 20 or so years, it’s easy to assume you've probably experienced this in some fashion.  Antagonists being at the end of some large settlement or structure like Mario, Castlevania or similar title are often used to show the strength that said character has and what the protagonist needs to overcome to accomplish their objective.  One title that I feel does this well is the Half Life 2 series (including episode 1+2) with the combine tower at the heart of city 17.  For a long period of the game, it features in one way or another to keep the player informed about a goal on the horizon and an ever present threat (in particular moving into episode 1 post-endgame half-life 2).  Somewhat similar to this concept, Dear Ester does this with a tower which has a flashing red light as a means to guide the player towards an ever present goal.  This idea can potentially be seen in how present particular mechanics, for example how a skill tree in an RPG works upwards as you gain levels to portray an advancement in power or survival game where players tend to start thinking about aesthetics once they get past the challenge of surviving in the designated environment (of which those of you who've played Minecraft will understand). 

Bringing all these concepts together one can naturally see the design concept of the ‘tower’ within Ubisoft which has kind of become a parody of itself.  For those of you unaware, Ubisoft’s titles of 2014 (Watch_Dogs, Far Cry 4, Assassin’s Creed: Unity and The Crew) all feature towers in some fashion designed to progress the game and unlock more content.  Although some of these titles do make sense in world, they do seem rather odd as a player for example, The Crew is a racing game where you don’t leave your vehicle but you go around unlocking radio towers.  I’m quite indifferent to the towers (probably because I don’t play many AAA titles and don’t experience this repeat as often) but looking back on these concept of the monument and ‘man-made mountains’ I feel its shifted a bit towards the ‘Nest’ or ‘Function’ ideology; as its presence can be describe as somewhat mundane being a means to continue play rather than holding a sense of accomplishment or prestige. 

The spectrum of architecture is a simple one, but it does allow us to consider a wide range of concepts and emotions in our built environment.  Game present this spectrum in a pretty cool way and I hope to see the idea explored further in future as we are currently doing with the idea of ‘what is a game?’.  As a player, consider how things like the progression of the characters, story, aesthetics or mechanics come along and see if you can find links into the concept of ‘man-made mountains’.  I hope you found this interesting and if you have any questions feel free to ask.