Player Perspective: Using Computer Game Engines for 3D Cartography

In 1987, the National Science Foundation–sponsored report on Visualization in Scientific Computing (ViSC) recognized the potential for computers to revolutionize the way that we visualize information (McCormick, DeFanti, and Brown 1987). Cartographers and geographers were quick to note the potential of ViSC for visualizing spatial data (DiBiase 1990; Monmonier 1990; Taylor 1991; MacEachren and Monmonier 1992). As this phenomenon has matured over recent years, the geographic application of ViSC for creating immersive virtual environments has become more commonplace in the fields of digital cartography and geovisualization. Recognition of this expanding field has created a need for the development of tools that can be used to explore and present spatial data. This need provides the basis for this technical note.