Basic Gamespaces    ◾    153

Sword
room

Temple

FIGURE 4.9  Many games use contrasting spatial conditions to highlight the
approaches to gameplay-important spaces such as boss rooms or goals. This dia-
gram of the Temple of Time from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, where the
player receives a narrative-important sword, shows how contrasted spaces and a
Byzantine-esque basilica plan emphasize the importance of the sword chamber.

understands space. When a player looks through a doorway their ability

to plan their next steps has a lot to do with how well they can “read” the
space they’ve just arrived in. Controlling the information shown in a view
is very important and if done well, can make a more satisfying experience.
In classical architecture, the procession-like approach to the Parthenon in
Athens, Greece, shows how an occupant’s point of view is steered toward
dramatic reveals. Visitors climbing up the steps of the Acropolis would
first see the Parthenon from below. Then, passing through the Propylaea,
the portico-like entrance building of the Acropolis, they would be greeted
by a three-quarter view of the Parthenon from its northwestern corner
rather than a more two-dimensional view from straight on. The path then
forces visitors to walk around the building before they would wind back
to the entrance of the Parthenon itself. From this forced path, visitors
got a more theatrical approach to the Parthenon than if they had walked
straight up to its entrance (Figure 4.10).

Genius Loci
Our last architectural spatial concept is less of an arrangement and more
of another goal for designing your own spaces: genius loci, also known as
spirit of place. This term comes from a Roman belief that spirits would
protect towns or other populated areas, acting as the town’s genius. Late-
twentieth-century architects adopted the phrase to describe the identify-
ing qualities or emotional experience of a place. Some call designing to the