Games for Cities
Betaville (2011)
New York [US]
Developed by:
Digital 3D modeling city game equipped with interactive discussion forums best suited for stakeholders seeking to accelerate informed decision-making for early-stage ideas.
Stakeholder participation is quickly becoming the new normal for urban design and planning practices. To achieve this, the Betaville team took its inspiration from open-source software development in which broad participation is not just an ideal, but serves as an inherent element of the design process. What if we could design cities the same way, no longer seeing it as an exclusive field of expertise but as a democratically accessible practice informed by the collective intelligence and creativity of a whole range of engaged stakeholders?
Betaville is a 3D multiplayer environment for real cities, offering stakeholders a new collaboration tool for realizing urban re/development projects. Open-source technology enables players — ranging from individuals and groups to professional design firms and planning offices — to upload projects in the form of 3D models. User-friendly, GIS-compatible technology then turns the models into editable virtual representations of the local context that is interfaced with a discussion forum. Project proposals can be made with tools as simple as Google Sketchup or intricate as professional CAD programs and animation suites.
Betaville is most effective for early project ideas and developments. It empowers stakeholders to float ideas and find common ground, proactively and cost-effectively gathering information for informed decision-making. The game-based platform consequently has the capacity to filter more favorable ideas and catalyze cooperative action, while avoiding costly early-stage investments of time and money required by more traditional methods.
