Fighting zombies in malls might be old news, but malls themselves are still pretty strange. I mean, think about it: They’re big, they’re self-contained, they’re essentially biodomes–commercial reflections of our larger worlds.
Which makes them cool, but creepy, like alternate universes. Besides, they beg the question: Given wacko circumstances, could I survive here alone? Plunder the food court for dinners, ransack Macy’s for winter clothes, take baths in the fountain. You know you’ve had that day dream.
September 14th, 2006 at 6:13 pm
I often see malls, and office buildings, construction sites and department stores as levels within which you could play a fps (paintball) or a stealth sneak-em up.
After too much Tony Hawk Skateboarding many years ago, I saw every rail very differently, looking for ways to link it to another trick surface. The level design of some shopping centres is awesome!
Even now, after a few days snowbaording in RL, I see slopes of roads and grassy hills in a different light, imagining my turns and jumps.
Appropriating spaces for alternative uses is fun - as a kid you did it all the time.
September 20th, 2006 at 8:37 am
It’s funny, big games designer Frantz Lantz–who uses real world space as game space all the time–made a similar comment about skate boarders, namely that they see the world differently, always as a place for potential play.