The following annotated bibliography are peer-reviewed papers discussing some aspect of the overlap and convergence of GIS and video game engines.

The Virtual Reality of GIScience
Peek, A., Martin, M., & Kolston, S. (2021). The Virtual Reality of GIScience. UC Santa Barbara:

Center for Spatial Studies. http://dx.doi.org/10.25436/E2J015 Retrieved from https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3wz9104b

In this recent paper, the authors believe the future of Geographical Information Science will
significantly evolve with the addition of virtual reality technology. The case is made with a
brief overview of historic debates within GIScience and virtual reality in the 1990s. First
with Couclelis on the vector-raster debate: how these data formats should be used; and
Faust on criteria – realism and free movement of the user – for a “truly interactive three-
dimensional virtual reality GIS.” The increased availability of devices that have remote
sensing capabilities such as LiDAR and techniques like structure-from-motion (SFM)
provide a toolkit to create 3d models that Couclelis and Faust could only imagine. This
paper also introduces a new virtual reality program called Locative Reality, which the
authors believe is a demonstration of the interdisciplinary thinking that will propel the
technology forward.

INTERACTIVE GEO-INFORMATION IN VIRTUAL REALITY –
OBSERVATIONS AND FUTURE CHALLENGES
Virtanen, J.-P., Julin, A., Handolin, H., Rantanen, T., Maksimainen, M., Hyyppä, J.,

and Hyyppä, H.: INTERACTIVE GEO-INFORMATION IN VIRTUAL REALITY – OBSERVATIONS

AND FUTURE CHALLENGES, Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci., XLIV-4/

W1-2020, 159–165, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLIV-4-W1-2020-159-2020, 2020.

This paper describes a workflow that utilizes geo-information for creating 3D assets and
models that are visualized on consumer-grade virtual reality head-mounted displays
(HMD). Photogrammetry and laser scanning are the primary data acquisition methods for
geo-information to create 3D assets. However, those assets commonly contain large
polygon counts, which require significant work to reduce data size for proper rendering on
computers and HMDs. The authors experiment with creating indoor and outdoor urban
area 3D models; tools and techniques for reducing data size of mesh files and testing the
curated product on multiple personal computers and HMD arrangements.

GeoGame analytics — A cyber-enabled petri dish for geographic
modeling and simulation

Ola Ahlqvist, Nayan Khodke, Rajiv Ramnath, GeoGame analytics – A cyber-enabled petri

dish for geographic modeling and simulation, Computers, Environment and Urban Systems,
Volume 67, 2018, Pages 1-8, ISSN 0198-9715, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compenvurbsys.2017.08.013.

This paper presents an approach to complex system modeling that combines web-
GIS and multiplayer game technology to create real-world scenarios.
Such modeling typically depends on agent-based models (ABM) or multi-agent
systems (MAS) to simulate individuals and institutions. The authors propose the use
of GeoGames to model the interaction between environmental systems and human
actions. Playing these games can provide researchers with data on the decisions and
behavior of human actors in a realistic, controlled situation. The authors present a
prototype farming scenario in which 419 student players participated during 3
separate iterations, with a goal of identifying geographical patterns from the player
data.

Think Spatially With Game Engine
Carbonell-Carrera, C.; Gunalp, P.; Saorin, J.L.; Hess-Medler, S. Think Spatially With

Game Engine. ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2020, 9, 159. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi9030159

This paper analyzes the game engine Unity for its effectiveness in training students
in spatial thinking and spatial orientation skills. These skills are used for processing
and decision-making of geospatial information, analysis, awareness, and problem-solving.

The author’s hypothesis is that video game engines, such as Unity3D, can
improve spatial thinking and spatial orientation skills when confronted with
landforms in virtual environments. To test this hypothesis, a workshop of 27
students took the Spatial Thinking Ability Test (STAT) and the Perspective Taking-
Spatial Orientation Test (PTSOT). The students who participated in the workshop
had significant gains in their spatial thinking and spatial orientation skills.

Maps in Video Games — Range of Applications
Chadzynska, Dominika, and Dariusz Gotlib. “Maps in Video Games — Range of Applications.”

Polish Cartographical Review, vol. 47, no. 3, 2016, pp. 137-45, doi:10.1515/pcr-2015-0011.

This paper discusses the use of maps in various games, such as board games and
video games, which is often a crucial element of the game experience. While the
genres of games are many, it remains true that most games are a simulation of
reality: fictitious or real. The strong connection between video games and computer
technology was decades in the making. “Series Games” – games not just for entertainment,

but to teach, train, and inform, are of particular interest to cartographers. Notably that these games

often require precise geospatial data. Although, at this time, advanced geo-visualization is a component

of many video games. As geographical visualizations and data sets are already critical to present
games, it reasons that the continuing advancement of computer
technology and cartographic methodology will strengthen and enrich
the connection between the two.

First Steps in the Use of a Game Engine for Historical Roads and
Paths Research
Vletter, W., 2019. First Steps in the Use of a Game Engine for Historical Roads and Paths

Research. Journal of Computer Applications in Archaeology, 2(1), pp.3–11. DOI: http://doi.org/10.5334/jcaa.18

In this case study, Willem Vletter tests and compares ArcGIS software and Unity3D
game engine in conducting Least Cost Path (LCP) analysis to model historical routes
and identify potential unknown routes within the Leitha Hills, 40km southeast from
Vienna. An LCP is an analysis that calculates a path between two points. Variables
such as slope, bodies of water, or any obstruction can be posited as not traversable
or requiring extra time to traverse. The result is a model of the best routes based on
the variable inputs.

From urban planning and emergency training to Pokémon Go:
application of virtual reality GIS (VRGIS) and augmented reality
GIS (ARGIS) in personal, public, and environmental health.
Kamel Boulos MN, Lu Z, Guerrero P, Jennett C, Steed A. From urban planning and

emergency training to Pokémon Go: applications of virtual reality GIS (VRGIS) and

augmented reality GIS (ARGIS) in personal, public and environmental health. Int

J Health Geogr. 2017 Feb 20;16(1):7. doi: 10.1186/s12942-017-0081-0. PMID: 28219378; PMCID: PMC5319160.

At the time of publication (2017), a new generation of virtual reality and mixed
reality hardware and software had recently made its way to market. The Pokémon
Go craze was fading. The latter provided insight into the potential for virtual reality
GIS (VRGIS) games, while the former expanded the opportunities for the future in
the development of GIS-based games. The authors discuss the potential of Virtual reality
GIS (VRGIS) and augmented reality GIS (ARGIS) on personal and public health. As
one of the main strengths of VRGIS and ARGIS is the interactivity with data that is
detailed. Data that increasingly originate in GIS software, and are increasingly detailed
and complex. Requiring ever-increasing resources to construct. However, such
developments can lead to healthier and safer lives for the users of current and
future technologies.

3D Modelling And Visualization Based on The Unity Game
Engine — Advantages and Challenges
Byuksalih, Ismail, et al. “3D Modelling And Visualization Based on The Unity Game Engine

— Advantages and Challenges.” Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, vol. IV,

no. W4, 2017, pp. 161-66.

This paper details two projects in Istanbul, Turkey that utilizes the Unity3D game engine
to model and provides novel information to inform urban development potential and
decisions. The first project is estimating potential solar energy harvesting from

rooftop solar panels. The second project is a 3D underground utility map of natural gas
pipelines. The latter is a work in process, while the former provided outcomes for
solar energy received for multiple durations of time with solar panel distribution in
the urban area. The solar panel project utilized building models extracted from
aerial images and LiDAR. LiDAR data was also utilized for digital surface models
(DSM) and digital elevation models (DEM). However, the authors used the 3DCityGML
and CityGML level-of-detail (LOD) standards for the project. In conclusion, they
recommend a transformation from CityGML to GIS-based layers that spatial analysis
may be conducted on the project layers.

Spatial data processing for the purpose of video games
Chadzynska, Dominika, and Dariusz Gotlib. “Spatial data processing for the purpose

of video games.” Polish Cartographical Review, vol. 48, no. 1, 2016, pp. 41-50, doi:10.1515/pcr-2016-0001.

Contemporary video games frequently rely on 2D, 2.5D, and 3D maps and terrain
models for their worlds, and to assist the player in the navigation of those worlds.
This has necessitated those game developers and cartographers recognize the
overlap of skills, knowledge, software utilization in that theory and practice in both
professions may benefit. The authors acknowledge five ways that spatial datasets
are used in video games. Three are discussed in this paper: using existing
geo-informational components in games, data preparation in an external, but open
GIS environment and data preparation in an external but closed environment. The
game “Condor Soaring Simulator” is discussed to examine the toolkit, methods; GIS
skills, and deliverables (digital terrain models, textures, models of objects) required
for this game.

Automatic Geodata Processing Methods for Real-World City
Visualizations in Cities: Skylines
Pinos, J.; Vozenilek, V.; Pavlis, O. Automatic Geodata Processing Methods for

Real-World City Visualizations in Cities: Skylines. ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2020, 9, 17. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi9010017

In this paper, the popular city-building simulation game Cities: Skylines is
investigated for the potential to increase its capacity to enhance the

game’s simulation with player-created modifications (mods). Specifically, mods that allow
for the transfer of geodata to and from the game. Although game and scholarly
simulations are very similar, typically game simulations limit modifications to the
look and behavior of a game. Limiting a game simulation in its potential for more
“series” or scholarly testing an analysis. However, Cities: Skylines offers an
extensive set of tools that allow players to create a wide range of changes to the
base game. The authors take advantage of this to create their own mod, GeoSkylines,
to enable the use of geodata and geodata formating. Additionally, they illustrate the
workflow to use the mod; providing two example builds Svit, Slovakia; and
Olomouc, Czech Republic.