CM HASIB CH
Graduate Architect / Designer
CYBER REALM
by CM HASIB CH
Nowadays, the gaming industry is rising as one of the most popular entertainment in the world and Malaysia specifically. E-sport has been introduced worldwide as an official sport competition with among the highest price pool recorded. Esport (electronic sport) can be defined as a form of sports where the primary aspects of the sport are facilitated by electronic systems; the input of players and teams as well as the output of the eSports system are mediated by human-computer interfaces. This proved that how important is the games nowadays as one of the major entertainment in this era.
Gamers are often related to be anti-social, lazy or ignorant. Be it computer games or online games, these people spend half of their lives in front of the computer or gaming console. What people do not know is they are not anti-social, they DO interact with people; other gamers that is via virtual world without having to leave the house. This slowly increases the number of gamers to be physically and mentally unhealthy.
This is where the architecture kicks in providing a platform for gamers to come out and play under one roof with other gamers where they can have physical interaction and be physically healthy through ‘break space’.
The break space is intended to capture and maximise the liminal moment in gamer’s everyday lives, to provide opportunities for mental relief. The spaces of informal respite within the building will allow the occupants to be within this transitory phase everyday allowing their mind time and space to rest and refresh as no limits are set on psychological activity
Today, video and PC games are very different from the games made a decade ago. They are enriched with advanced graphic and sound effects, composed with fascinating game stories and more importantly, capable of being played by multi-players online. The fast development of games accelerates the advancement of hardware of game consoles and creates huge revenues in many developed countries. The newly appeared characteristics of modern games make today‘s games more enjoyable and change the way people play video and PC games.
Game as Society
In these games, the emphasis is on the communities that form within the game, and the relationships within and between them. Sometimes the social structures are entirely player directed (either deliberately or by default), sometimes they are pre-defined and the player organizations are molded to fit. Game as Society designers look to the “soft” sciences and humanities (psychology, sociology, anthropology).
Bartle Quotient
According to Bartle Quotient, gamer can be divided into four type which are the maker, achiever, explorer and socializer. Each of the gamer’s type have different aim when gaming. Therefore, their nature of playing couldn’t be disturbed. But, the injection of program before the start to play can be done to ensure and increase the gamer enthusiasm. Games are played to win but the important thing in gaming is what the gamer learn along the way through his ‘journey’ in order to win. hence, various type of program according to the gamer type are injected along their journey to play their game. the player is architecturally directed along the journey for them to be enthusiast.
