Gang Pan
Programme:
Architecture - PhD/MPhil/MSc by Research
Start date:
09/2023
Mode of study:
Full time
Research title:
Architecture of Interactive Moving Images: Videogame Spatial Cinematics
Biography
Gang Pan is a PhD researcher in architecture at the Edinburgh School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (ESALA). He earned his bachelor’s degree from Jiangnan University, China, in 2019, and his master’s degree from the Royal College of Art, UK, in 2021.
His research focuses on the interdisciplinary intersection of architecture and videogames and examines the multilayered, interlocking architectural experiences in contemporary videogame environments through the Videogame Spatial Cinematics (VSC) framework. The inherent architectonic quality of game spaces holds potential as an untapped resource in broader architectural discourse and spans theory, practice, and pedagogy.
Research interests
- Architectural Experience of the Videogame
- Architectural space of Videogame
- Videogame Spatial Cinematics
Lecture:
2024. ‘Architecture of Videogames’, University of Cambridge, Department of Architecture, Cambridge, UK.
Seminars:
07/NOV/2024. Seminar, ‘Videogame Spatial Cinematics’, Inscriptive Practices & Future Processes, Manchester School of Architecture (MSA), UK.
Workshops:
2024. Workshop, ‘Videogame Spatial Cinematics’- an introductory game engine workshop, Manchester School of Architecture (MSA), UK.
2024. Workshop, ‘Videogame Spatial Cinematics’- analytical and design system workshop, Manchester School of Architecture (MSA), UK.
2025. Workshop, ‘Videogame Architecture: Inscribing the Play’, Manchester School of Architecture (MSA), UK.
Research
Research
My research explores how the virtual camera in the architectural spaces of videogames functions as a digital “kino-eye” and the player’s pixelated visual organ to narrate spatial situations and to convey architectural qualities. This study positions the digital “kino-eye” in videogame spaces as an interdisciplinary nexus of architecture, videogame design, and film theory, and considers both shared characteristics and distinct differences in architectural representation across these fields.