Articles
Betaville lets New Yorkers play real-world Sim City
Looking like the Statue of Liberty's crown, five piers jut out of lower Manhattan's Battery Park. Filled with swirling waterways and trees, steps lead from the base of the crown to the top of its spiky, outstretched arms.
Designer Levis Reyes hasn't faced problems with planning permission for his flamboyant Liberty Piers, expanding out of Manhattan's Southern tip. The development is made up of pixels placed onto a map of New York on his computer.
Betaville is a multi-person open source platform which allows participants to build on empty spaces in New York City, like a real-life version of the popular game Sim City.
Players can walk around New York's streets - or fly over them - and stop at empty spaces which are shown by inverted yellow pyramids hovering over the vacant spot.
Users can also see the energy usage of some of the buildings in lower Manhattan and Brooklyn, as well as whether there is the capability of heating these using alternative fuels.
Read 's full article as published on BBC World News