Fission is my latest 3D design game prototype under development. The design game is inspired by two classic toys: playdough and building blocks. When we were little, we all had a great time playing them to create 3D forms. Then we learned parallel projection and measured drawings in the architectural school. It was about that moment when the simple, joyous, and intuitive 3D form-finding experience gave way to complicated mental gymnastics. We left our concrete 3D experiences behind, struggling to understand abstract 2D geometries as mediating, constitutive elements of 3D objects in the isometric universe. The design experience seems to be framed by the 2D-3D conversion all the time, whether we work with a T-square or Autodesk. Students produce 2D drawings and professors mark upon them. The abundant, intriguing 3D information contained in a design scheme may exist in an ingenious student’s mind, but it is never sufficiently communicated and engaged.

It is my ambition to challenge the reliance of 2D-3D conversion in the design process, which underpins all current CAD programs and manifests itself through the user interface and workflows. The demo video below showcases Fission‘s basic 3D modeling and design study capabilities. The game expects users to operate with malleable and divisible solids for 3D prototyping. The 3D design environment in Fission has no parallel projection or 2D geometries (such as curves or surfaces) at all. Users see and play with the 3D compositions of “design modules” directly in perspective views. What is enshrined by Fission is the natural, straightforward human experiences with 3D forms: the fundamental, existential way that we human beings see and navigate the 3D environment.