TED2017
Karoliina Korppoo: How a video game might help us build better cities
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With more than half of the world population living in cities, one thing is undeniable: we are an urban species. Part game, part urban planning sketching tool, "Cities: Skylines" encourages people to use their creativity and self-expression to rethink the cities of tomorrow. Designer Karoliina Korppoo takes us on a tour through some extraordinary places users have created, from futuristic fantasy cities to remarkably realistic landscapes. What does your dream city look like?
Karoliina Korppoo - Game designer
Inspired by classic city simulation games, Finnish designer Karoliina Korppoo and her fellow game developers at Colossal Order are infusing a venerable gaming genre with fresh perspectives. Full bio
Inspired by classic city simulation games, Finnish designer Karoliina Korppoo and her fellow game developers at Colossal Order are infusing a venerable gaming genre with fresh perspectives. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
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We humans are becoming an urban species,
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so cities, they are our natural habitat.
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That is where we live.
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In 2014, over 54 percent
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of the world population
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was living in cities,
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and I can bet you
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that so many of these people have thought
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of how they would do things differently,
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like if I only had the tools
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to change things in my city,
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what would I do?
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What would my dream city be like?
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And these tools,
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this is just what we gave them.
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Two years ago, my team and I,
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we released a game,
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"Cities: Skylines."
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It is a game about building cities.
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So I have always been
interested in cities as systems.
interested in cities as systems.
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It's something that I find
immensely interesting.
immensely interesting.
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But what I didn't understand
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was that I am not alone in this.
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People love cities.
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They are interested. They have ideas.
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The game was an instant hit.
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So far, over three and a half
million people have played it.
million people have played it.
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And it's not just about playing.
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We also have really awesome
sharing systems.
sharing systems.
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So people play, they create cities
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and then they are sharing these creations,
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showing off what they have made.
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And what I will show you
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is some of these cities
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created by the players.
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So the game is about self-expression,
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creativity,
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not just overcoming the challenges
posed by the simulation.
posed by the simulation.
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It is about showing
what your cities look like.
what your cities look like.
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So I have a couple of videos.
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These are from YouTube.
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And these are some of the most
interesting city designs I have seen.
interesting city designs I have seen.
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So they are all different,
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and I hope you like all of these.
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This one is called The Netherlands.
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It's by Silvarret.
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And when you start the game,
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you have an empty piece of land.
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This land, it can be based
on the real world,
on the real world,
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it can be hand-crafted in the map editor,
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or you can, of course, download
a city made by someone else
a city made by someone else
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and play in that.
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But what Silvarret has done here
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is that what he wanted to make
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was not a real city.
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This is a fantasy city,
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even though it looks real.
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So what he wanted to do was a fantasy city
that could be in the Netherlands.
that could be in the Netherlands.
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So he kind of investigated
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what are the characteristics
of cities in the Netherlands
of cities in the Netherlands
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and combined a couple of those,
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and this is what he created.
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So it is a city,
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but it is not a real city,
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but it could be.
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It looks just like the Netherlands.
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So the places are really
densely populated.
densely populated.
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So what you need is highways, trains,
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anything connecting
these small town centers together.
these small town centers together.
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Lots of people, lots of moving,
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so transportation is the key here.
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But then let's go even more
on the fantasy side.
on the fantasy side.
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Let's go into the future.
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This is one of my personal favorites.
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These city designs
are what I love the most.
are what I love the most.
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So this is a tiered city by Conflictnerd,
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and the basic idea is
that you have concentric circle routes.
that you have concentric circle routes.
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So the city is a big circle
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with tinier circles inside.
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And the thing is that you put
all of the services in the center,
all of the services in the center,
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and then people actually live
on the outer ring,
on the outer ring,
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because there is less traffic,
less noise, less pollution,
less noise, less pollution,
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so that is where you want to live.
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But the services
are still really close by.
are still really close by.
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They are in the center.
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And this is the soul of the game.
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The player has to understand
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what are the wishes, what are the needs
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of the tiny people living in the cities.
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So you need to know
where you should put the things.
where you should put the things.
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Like, it's not enough to have a hospital.
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It needs to be accessible.
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Citizens need to reach the hospital.
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And this is one way to do it.
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So maybe this is something
that we might be seeing someday.
that we might be seeing someday.
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And then even more into the future.
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Astergea by Yuttho.
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So Yuttho does YouTube videos
and plays the game.
and plays the game.
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What he did here
was actually a 12-point series
was actually a 12-point series
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of creating this city.
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So what he does is he plays the game,
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he records it
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and he explains as he's going
what he's doing and why.
what he's doing and why.
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And as a part of this series,
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he actually did an interview
with an actual urban planner
with an actual urban planner
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called Jeff Speck.
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And Speck is an expert
on the concept of walkability.
on the concept of walkability.
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The basic idea is that
if you want your citizens to walk,
if you want your citizens to walk,
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which is kind of beneficial,
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you actually need to have walking
as a reasonable means of transportation.
as a reasonable means of transportation.
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It should be a good way to reach places.
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So what Yuttho did
was that he explained this concept,
was that he explained this concept,
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he had Speck explain it, too,
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and then he applied it
to the city that he was building.
to the city that he was building.
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So what we are seeing
is Yuttho's vision of the future:
is Yuttho's vision of the future:
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lots of public transportation,
walkways, plazas,
walkways, plazas,
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connecting high-rise buildings.
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Maybe this is what
the future might look like.
the future might look like.
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And the game system
works really well for this.
works really well for this.
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We are seeing some
real-world uses to this game.
real-world uses to this game.
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So we know that some urban planners
are using it as a sketching tool,
are using it as a sketching tool,
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so while the simulation
is not completely realistic,
is not completely realistic,
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it is realistic enough
that if something works in the game,
that if something works in the game,
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it is highly likely that it
will also work in the real world,
will also work in the real world,
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so that you can actually try out things,
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see if this intersection
might fit this kind of a situation.
might fit this kind of a situation.
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If we build a new road, would it help?
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And this is what you can do
with this game.
with this game.
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There was one really
interesting contest held
interesting contest held
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by the Finnish city of Hämeenlinna.
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So what they did
was that they had a new area
was that they had a new area
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that they wanted to develop in the city.
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They made a map with the existing city,
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they left empty the area
that they would want to develop
that they would want to develop
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and shared this map.
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So anyone could download the map,
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play the game, build the area
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and submit their creations
to the city council.
to the city council.
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So they have not yet built anything,
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but it might just be
that they use one of these plans
that they use one of these plans
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made with the game
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to actually build the real city.
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And these videos that I have shown you,
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these are the people who are
coming up with new kinds of solutions.
coming up with new kinds of solutions.
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We know that cities are growing.
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They're getting bigger as we go,
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and the percentage of population
living in cities is projected to rise.
living in cities is projected to rise.
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So we need the solutions
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and these people, playing the game,
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they are trying out
different kinds of solutions.
different kinds of solutions.
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They might have something
that is really important.
that is really important.
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So what we are seeing here is dream cities
that might be real one day.
that might be real one day.
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So it might be
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that this is not just a game.
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It might be a way
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to decide our own fate.
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Thank you.
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(Applause)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Karoliina Korppoo - Game designerInspired by classic city simulation games, Finnish designer Karoliina Korppoo and her fellow game developers at Colossal Order are infusing a venerable gaming genre with fresh perspectives.
Why you should listen
Developed by gaming upstarts Colossal Order and guided by Korppoo as lead designer, Cities: Skylines has become the gold standard for city simulation games -- an honor previously held by the genre-defining Sim City.
At the core of Colossal Order’s rejuvenated game designs is their dedication to creating an accessible experience for all users, whether through ease of use or by allowing users to suggest their own modifications. As a result, Colossal Order doesn’t shy away from game projects that touch on the problems of urbanization, gentrification or the possibilities of servicing a city with nothing but gravel roads.
Karoliina Korppoo | Speaker | TED.com