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Landscape in Computer Games—The Examples of GTA V and Watch Dogs 2

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Modern Approaches to the Visualization of Landscapes

Part of the book series: RaumFragen: Stadt – Region – Landschaft ((RFSRL))

Abstract

In view of the present and still ongoing virtual gaming boom, it seems appropriate to focus on the recent understanding of landscape. Based on observations of physical landscapes in ‘real’ life (in contrast to the virtual one), artificial landscapes are produced in order to make computer games as realistic as possible. Virtual effects in combination to a sophisticated storytelling (which is typical for the postmodern times) favor escapism and bring landscaping up to a new level. The chosen examples of GTA V and Watchdogs 2 are representative for computer games having an accent on the landscaping part. The simulations of Los Angeles and San Francisco show how urban landscape is perceived and in what way it can be manipulated in order to fulfill several actions in the game. From a scientific point of view, the active creation (and designing) of landscape goes back to the social constructivist approach pronating that landscape has to be understood as a dynamic sociocultural product. Social constructivism is rather a contemporary phenomenon rooted in the paradigm shift towards postmodernity.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The concept of discourse is based on the understanding of Laclau and Mouffe (2014, p. 175), according to which meaning is generated and terminated from several perspectives.

  2. 2.

    Online at: https://www.spiegel.de/netzwelt/games/grand-theft-auto-v-durchgespielt-a-923737.html (14.11.19).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Warndt-Gymnasium Völklingen, Völklingen, Germany

    Dominique Fontaine

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  1. Dominique Fontaine
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Correspondence to Dominique Fontaine .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Geographisches Institut, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Bochum, Germany

    Dennis Edler

  2. Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany

    Corinna Jenal

  3. Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany

    Olaf Kühne

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Fontaine, D. (2020). Landscape in Computer Games—The Examples of GTA V and Watch Dogs 2. In: Edler, D., Jenal, C., Kühne, O. (eds) Modern Approaches to the Visualization of Landscapes. RaumFragen: Stadt – Region – Landschaft. Springer VS, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-30956-5_16

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-30956-5_16

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