SimCity 4

From Euclidean Space to Albertian Gaze: Traditions of Visual Representation in Games Beyond the Surface

This paper argues that the visual analysis of video games has been dominated by perspective, the mathematical "simulation of the gaze" descended from Alberti, and that this emphasis obscures the wider repertoire of representational traditions games actually draw on.

• The visual analysis of games has been dominated by Albertian perspective, which obscures the wider repertoire of representational systems games actually use, including oblique, axonometric, and parallel projections.
• The paper argues that the choice among projection systems is governed by functional and gameplay demands rather than artistic lineage, illustrated by SimCity 4 (parallel projection) versus Red Dead Redemption (perspective) as genre-driven decisions.
• The 26.6-degree dimetric angle yields a clean 1:2 pixel ratio, which explains why isometric and dimetric projections persisted in pixel-art games.