Videogame Architecture
Building Virtual Spaces

How are the worlds of videogames designed, organized and navigated? What guides players through these environments, and what underlying principles shape those experiences? From the ancient towers of Elden Ring to the suburban housing of The Sims 4, real architectural theory is put into practice across twelve iconic games, with detailed sequences of plans, maps, sectional views, 3D renderings and exploded diagrams exposing the foundational structures that govern gameplay. This landmark study of digital space-making reveals how these worlds are built to be an integral part of the player's experience.

Videogame Architecture features in-depth, richly illustrated case studies on Baldur’s Gate 3, BioShock, Disco Elysium, Doom, Elden Ring, Genshin Impact, Gravity Rush 2, Grim Fandango Remastered, Half-Life 2, The Last of Us, The Sims 4, and Yakuza Kiwami and is introduced with a foreword from John Romero, co-founder of id Software and designer of Doom.

This 1000 copy limited edition, featuring a unique design, binding and Risograph print, is exclusive to Read-Only Memory and is published ahead of a general release edition from Thames & Hudson.

288 pages
340 × 240 mm
Exposed binding
Clamshell presentation box
Fluro ink and holofoil details
Doom E1M1 Risograph print
Custom heavy duty mailer carton

[Videogame Architecture] looks at games as constructed spaces with rules, material languages and spatial logic. It’s a reminder that videogame worlds are designed environments, and that the craft of building them deserves to be studied with the same care as any other form of architecture.

John Romero

This limited edition includes an exclusive 250 × 230mm Risograph print depicting Doom's iconic E1M1. Printing in 3 colours on 240g Munken Lynx, the illustrative study details the secret spaces in the level, indicating the architectural hints that are offered and the moves that players need to enact to reveal these areas.

In seeing ... videogame worlds as real worlds, we believe they should be treated as thoughtfully and thoroughly as we would analyse any place on Earth, ‘cementing’ videogame architecture as an ever-changing, transformative spatial typology as good as any other.

Luke Caspar Pearson and Sandra Youkhana