The Digital Colosseum

ESPORTS WORLD

“eSports have joined the big leagues”, research from Goldman Sachs wrote in a recent report about the new subsection of the video game industry. 

They estimate that the monthly size of competitive eSports gamers, 167 million as of year-end 2018, will hit 276 million by 2022, basing their forecast on a NewZoo survey. Besides, this is just about the people who are playing it in a serious spirit - the actual population of leisure gaming communities is way larger than these numbers. Out of 7700 million world population estimated 2400 million people are playing some form of games in digital media as per a report by Statista. A survey by NewZoo(an organization dealing with games & eSports Analytics) reflects that platforms like youtube and twitch are defined web spaces for enthusiasts who wish to game.   

Fig: 2 - Cityscape of Cyberpunk 2077

SHIFT IN MEDIA

For decades before the 2000s, media consumption remained virtually unchanged. People got their news and entertainment from the TV, radio, newspapers, magazines, and other traditional forms of media. Rental stores were one of the few places you could go to get new music, CDs or a movie to watch -- apart from cinemas. 

20 years later after the ‘Dot-com boom’, screens are within reach to virtually almost every person in one form or another. The shift in media consumption has affected many allied industries, including the advent of this gaming industry which was restricted to local networks. 

This second order in digital entertainment will gain more and more prominence in the coming future, as the median age of this population is under 31 years, which is very young. As this median age gets older their major spending habits (time and money) will be a key factor driving the growth in this sector. 

Fig: 3 - Is esports the next big thing in marketing?

THE GAMING INDUSTRY

It’s no surprise that gaming will be a big spectacle when it comes to the forthcoming decades. It is becoming famous among all ages and is not restricted to being a pastime anymore. E-Sports/Gaming and its organized competitive events are conducted by several local and international organizations around the world, and it is rapidly growing in size. 

The ecosystem of electronic sports is similar to traditional sports, with professional leagues, teams, coaches, broadcasters and fans. However, what keeps this isolated from our real world is the limited nature of the screens that serve them. 

What happens when the game exits the screen and enters physical space? What happens when rendering technologies reach realism where it’s almost impossible to differentiate between the two? What happens when live sports and eSports reach almost an equal stature? How will architecture house the future of gaming in the near future?

Fig: 4 - Worlds largest Esport stadium in Arlington in Northern America

BRIEF OF THE COMPETITION

For most eSports events today traditional sports venues are retrofitted with means to view this entirely fresh form of digital entertainment. A few examples can be seen in the images in this document. But what happens when we have a chance to tailor-make this entire venue in 2050 dedicated to gaming? 

Envision the eSports arena of the future based on the trends of today in 2050. What kind of games will be played? How will it be spectated? 

Or what fresh mediums/combinations will be popular according to your vision? 

OBJECTIVES

Users: Who will be the visitors of this center? 
Evolution: How will the place evolve with more dynamic technologies?
Spaces? What will be the spaces like for these gaming functions?
Technologies? How will the arena evolve with evolving technologies?
These objectives can be a point of beginning to conceive this design. Participants can assume their context before beginning their design problem.

SCALE

Max Site Area: 12000 sqm. 

No specific development guidelines are to be followed. 

The site is envisioned in a futuristic setting of 2050 inside a dense urban environment connected with futuristic transport methods. The design can be conceived either in a speculative urban setting or conversely a real city of today interpreted in a futuristic context of 2050. 

The designing of urban context is not the subject of evaluation. Hence, participants are expected to focus more on the Arena and its form/spaces.