So I finally made it to Venice where I undertook what can best be described as a walking tour heavily influenced by Assassin’s Creed II (with a smattering of Civilization VI). Did spending hours exploring a virtual simulacrum of a (historical version of a) real-world city have any bearing on a visit?
Frankly? Yes.
Look, I didn’t play near enough Assassin’s Creed II to know my way around the game’s virtual Vernice by sight (that’s what a minimap is for), but I’d be lying if I said that all that running around didn’t give me a working knowledge of the city’s layout. I knew where St. Mark’s Square was in relation to the Arsenal and Rialto Bridge, even if I was a bit hazy on the exact way to get there through the city’s labyrinthine streets.
Plus, Assassin’s Creed II was from a time when those games had a databank that offered up a short summation of the historical and cultural significance of various locations. That, combined with the Civilization VI Civilopedia’s entry on Venice and the Venetian Arsenal and what can only be described as a predilection for going on long journeys through Wikipedia, afforded me a cursory knowledge of the various sights I wanted to see. So I vaguely knew my way around, and I vaguely knew what was important about what I was looking at. A potent combination of known both a lot and also much too little. Couldn’t tell you jack about that church, but believe me I know a thing or two Frari.
It’s almost an inverse of playing Spider-Man. In that game I know New York because I know New York in real life. The virtual city is far from a perfect recreation, but it’s familiar enough that I can navigate the city in broad strokes because I know where things are in real life and so it translates to the game.
In Metal Gear Solid 2, Snake, under the guise of Pliskin, chides the main character Raiden for learning all he knows about combat from virtual reality. Within the context of the game it’s a jab at the player for thinking that because they (might have) played the first game, they might know what’s to expect. But maybe more of that VR training rubbed off on Raiden than Snake would care to admit.Combat training or whatnot might not be real, but the spatial experience of roaming through a world is. I know many of the maps in Star Wars Battlefront; was Rhen Var’s Citadel recreated in real life, I’d know it like the back of my hand.
I wrote this on the flight back Stateside. When I get home, I want to boot up Assassin’s Creed II and run around virtual Venice again; see how it compares in retrospect.
Essays, Not Rants! 