AdviceToolbox
how it actually functions. As offices empty out, for
example, streets will become deserted, whereas
sparsely populated red light districts will overflow
with life and crime at night. Similarly, we can
employ seasonal cycles with, say, tourism during
the summer, an annual carnival, and cycles of
workdays and weekends.
Then there are the periods of dramatic change
that fundamentally alter a city. A war will affect
every single aspect of
urban life; an industrial
revolution will deeply
influence local economies,
infrastructure, pollution,
and architectural styles,
whereas a political revolution could reclaim
and radically change the function of any building
or space.
TRACES OF HISTORY
A Mind Forever Voyaging, Infocom’s classic
dystopian text adventure, provided glimpses
of a city sinking into dystopia over successive
decades. Spaced ten years apart, every new
visit to the town of Rockvil brilliantly presented
players with a progressively grim urban reality. In
some cases, a few carefully changed adjectives
proved more than enough. Describing the
once-new town hall as barely standing conveyed
change, and made the game’s history palpable.
There are other ways you can make history’s
presence felt, too. Architectural remnants from
different eras, museums, and local legends are
just some of the elements that can provide a city
with a sense of its past. The effects of a great
fire or plague can be felt for decades or even
centuries. Then there are places like the Vatican
that seem untouched by history, even as they
fuel a modern tourist industry.
wfmag.cc \ 31“The shifting needs
of cities mean they
never stand still”For more inspiration, take a look at the
surviving rows of baroque façades in Saint
Petersburg and Paris; the medieval core of
Brussels and Venice, or the almost 100-year-
old Empire State Building. One of the finest
ways of physically experiencing the layers of
a city’s history, though, would have to be the
archaeological dig located beneath Geneva’s
Saint Peter’s Cathedral. Exploring it takes the
visitor back through the centuries, from the
medieval era, to early Christian times, to the
age of the Romans, to the third century BC.
Finally, remember that
in most cases, the physical
aspects of a city will need
time to adapt to any new
socio-economic reality. Cities
heal, but still wear the scars
of change. Simulating those scars in your own
city will only make it feel more real, and exciting
to explore.Interlocking
Patterns
A city’s history can also
be seen in the layouts
and patterns of its street
networks. Axial or radial plans
can co-exist with the older,
labyrinthine medieval roads,
and occasionally even give way
to contemporary versions of
the grid, just as easily as pre-
modern layouts can be broken
up by massive highways, and
wide ring-roads. In fact, the grid
has remained one of the most
common and flexible patterns
throughout the history of cities. The simple addition of a few
wandering NPCs gave vibrancy to
Shardlight’s post-apocalyptic towns. Futuristic additions and new buildings built
directly on top of older ones emphasise the
historical layers of Dreamfall’s Propast.