If you are a child at heart and interested in architecture, there are several video games you need to check out. Created to excite players through human curiosity, creativity, and puzzles, some even allow you to build monuments and towns, while others showcase how architecture can influence our emotions in ways we might not realize.
Here are the top 5 not-to-miss video games for architects and design nerds alike from Curbed National, an online publication that offers witty and insightful coverage of the real estate industry.
- The Sims and SimCity
These two popular video games allow the player to create their own neighborhood, city, and even humans. The goal here is to construct utopias. - Calvino Noir
In this video game, you wander through complex rooms and towers enveloped in shadows that become illuminated as you move through them. The stunning visuals in this game are inspired by the noir genre and the works of 18th-century architect and urban planner Charles de Wailly. - Monument Valley
Check out the C. Escher-inspired puzzles that are built into structures inside this video game. You’ll feel like you are traveling through Islamic Mosques and Scottish castles. Monument Valley is a good game for non-gamers, because there’s no time limits, so players can take their time. - Minecraft
Minecraft is a hugely popular, award-winning video game that allows players to freely interact with each other without restrictions. If there is one objective to the game, it is that the player must simply create. Get inspired by some of the massive structures built by gamers whose skills rival some of today’s most respected architects. - HomeMake
In this perceptual-based puzzle game, the protagonist is actually the city itself. With each step, the cyberpunk-inspired and vertigo-inducing environment delicately twists and turns for loads of fun.
Those of us inspired by architecture will love playing the 5 video games for design nerds listed above. If you want to make a game out of searching for a new home in Santa Barbara, Montecito or the surrounding communities, please call me at 805.886.9378 or email me at Cristal@montecito-estate.com. In gamer’s language, I go FTW! (for the win) for all my clients. Let me be your FPS (first person shooter) for all your real estate needs!