Raumbezogene Visualisierung trifft auf Landschaftsforschung und „Pinballology“: Beispiele der Landschaftskonstruktion in Flipperspielen

Abstract

Maps and map-like visualizations in digital games have been repeatedly addressed in research of cartography and related disciplines. For example, visualization techniques and tools used in video and computer games, including navigation and locomotion tools in VR gaming, have been analyzed and adopted to VR-based 3D cartographic modeling in recent time. A successful and diversified game which has only hardly been considered in the literature so far is pinball. Modern pinball machines are equipped with sophisticated map-like playfields (and other related components) that allow pinball players to immerse into a rapidly changing spatial story which is directed by the pinball movement. The (endless) game of skill is cognitively challenging and it sometimes even 'plays with' overloading the cognitive capacity of players by activating a multitude of multisensory (spatial) events. An overloaded communication of spatial information is apparently part of the success story of the game. The successful story of pinball also includes several characteristic themes that seem to fascinate the worldwide community of players (and retro fans). These themes, including their map-like visualizations, invite players to be involved into the rapid spatial story, and they include many 'triggers' for the individual and social construction of landscapes. These landscapes can fulfill desires for escapism. This article presents characteristic examples of successful and established modern pinball themes and discusses their potentials for landscape construction, from a social constructivist perspective.

Scenic Railway Mapping: An Analysis of Spatial Patterns in France Based on Historical GIS

“…Using GIS, the relationship between railway accessibility and population changes in France was also examined [35]. Furthermore, more recent research also points to the value of bringing together individualized landscape perceptions and evaluations with methods of geo-information, such as in GIS analysis and thematic cartography [36,37]. However, in these studies, railway is simply considered as a social factor influencing the urban and economic development and not as an object of heritage to protect, and scenic railways were not mapped and analyzed in these projects.…”

Toward a Study of Pinball

“…In the realm of academia, there are essays and books that examine pinball in relation to the history of arcades (Guins, 2014; Huhtamo, 2005; Kocurek, 2012, 2015; Lendino, 2020; Montfort & Bogost, 2009; Newman, 2017), critical law essays that discuss whether pinball machines should be outlawed or regulated based on the argument that pinball is a form of gambling (Anonymous, 1950a; Bilek & Ganz 1965; King, 1964; 1966; Lester, 2002; McInturff, 1938), and empirical research on adolescents playing pinball (Manning & Campbell, 1973). Only recently has there been archival work on pinball (Collins, 2016; Litherland, 2021) and academic papers on landscapes and map-like visualizations in pinball games (Edler, 2020; Filiciak, 2020; Kühne, Jenal, & Edler, 2020). These articles on landscapes in pinball machines discuss how the themes of the pinball machines impact the setting and tone of pinball games.…”

“…Charlie Emery states that “Pinball games are basically a cross between a video game (rules & objectives to explore), movies (telling a story with a beginning, middle, and end)” (Emery, 2020, Interview by Banfi). Scholars also claim that the player must have seen the film/show that the pinball game is based on to understand the game’s narrative (Edler, 2020, pp. 62–63; Filiciak, 2020, p. 3; Kühne, Jenal, & Edler, 2020, p. 10; more on these claims in the Themes, Screens, and Artwork section).…”

Map Symbols in Video Games: the Example of “Valheim”

“…Video games constitute complex technological systems that combine numerous spatial, physical, and social issues. Geographers and cartographers are dealing with the topic of "cartography and games" (Garfield 2012;Coulton et al 2017;Edler and Dickmann 2017;Edler 2020) more and more often, describing the technical aspects of game and component production. The discussion about a constantly increasing impact of games on cartographic visualisations manifests itself through increasing popularity of virtual reality and augmented reality environment (Hruby et al 2019;Büyüksalih et al 2020;Keil et al 2020;Walmsley and Kersten 2020;Zagata et al 2021).…”