All throughout high school I worked at an interior design firm. I worked both in the showroom and in the back, sorting fabric samples, cleaning glass, restoring pieces, etc. My least favorite part of the job wasn’t the hours of cleaning and organizing though, it was talking to customers. Mainly because all the customers at this place were snooty and rude and frankly very spoiled. Excluding the art curation and collection that was stored in the back and in several warehouses around town, everything in that store was overpriced, way way overpriced. The worst offender was these ugly as hell pillows. They were sized the same as the 10 dirham square pillows at Ikea, but these babies cost 600 USD a pop. FOR A PILLOW. It still blows my mind today. The rationalization is that they came from some valley somewhere in the mountain ranges somewhere in the Middle East, hand woven by the male lineage of some tribe who’s slowly going extinct. I get the import fees, but it still strikes me as exorbitant. The weirder aspect of this story was that you couldn’t even just buy the pillow, you had to do your homework on it. That crazy price tag came with a reading requirement(one full book on the weaving practice), descriptions of the seller and background(the woman who heads it is actually very nice, I met her in her warehouse in Brooklyn because of course that’s where she’s based), and attendance at a consulting session with the designers. These ridiculous pillows were a massive hit too, they sold out multiple times as word got out how hard they were to acquire.

The designers at the firm wanted to be sure that every piece that they placed in someone’s home was fully understood by the buyer. The pillows were some of the items that came with the most research, but everything bought through them was explained in great detail. Records were kept of every artist or firm or designer who had anything in their books, we’re talking names, schooling, statements, EVERYTHING. They’d even insist on giving their customers overviews of current and historical trends in design. It was their belief that if someone knew more about the origin and significance of what they were filling their homes with they would 1) be more willing to spend the big bucks and more importantly 2) be more fulfilled by the items presence. Knowing that that’s not just a mirror in your closet but it’s a piece of metal work originating from Mexico featuring a flower specific to that region makes the mirror seem more like art and less like, well, an ordinary mirror. The lesson the designers wanted to impart on their customers seemed to be that a personal space should be personal, whoever inhabits it should know each detail, each choice, each piece so well they can tell you a story no matter where they look too. It creates a greater appreciation for pieces as well as a desire for hints of intent and ergonomics in everything you place in your home. One of the lessons I took from that job is that when you understand the purpose of placement of what surrounds you, even if it’s purely artistic, you have a greater appreciation for your environment.

I definitely still practice that lesson today. I can tell you where everything in my room came from and why it’s there. On my desk there’s an angel with a turquoise heart my grandmother bought me in a street fair from an elderly woman who repurposed reclaimed wood found in arroyo’s, a sticker bearing the name of my hometown designed by a co-worker at a magazine, a wooden bowl I bought freshman year with my roommates from Ikea made of bamboo wood, and intermittently scattered bottles of perfume, photos, and nail polish, all arranged to form a U-shape so that it offers a more open look and makes the desk appear larger than it actually is. Typing that all out, I totally feel like Marie Kondo, but I get super anal about any arrangement I make. To me, the ideal environment offers control and curation, digital or physical. I may not spend $600 on a pillow, but I do spend a lot of time thinking about what I want in my living space. I know the placement tricks that will make my tiny dorm room look bigger than it actually is. I know how to fill white space and when to let it sit. I personally like environments where you can tell that everything was curated, even if you don’t know the exact reasoning behind it. And when you are aware of the minutiae of every piece(whether it’s a painting, a bowl, or even a exuberantly priced pillow) you appreciate the environment even more.

At both the homes of our clients and my bosses, you could almost feel how much effort went into every choice. Or it may have just been the fact that I was the one who sorted the architectural blueprints, paint swatches, furniture catalogues, design drafts etc. so I knew firsthand how much effort it took. Each room had distinctive color palettes, statement pieces, lighting picked to illuminate specific areas, art(textiles, hand blown glass, weaponry, folk and fine, portraits, and any and all else you can think of), hundred of tiny details that all merged together you’d never even notice each individual choice. Even the shape of the lightbulbs was something they’d take into account. That attention to detail always made movie sets stand out to me. Everything placed into a shot is put there for a reason. The items that surround characters are meant to subconsciously give you a closer look into their psyche. If a show’s camera focuses on papers strewn everywhere, you might conclude that the character is a struggling academic. Bright colors might indicate a character’s happy disposition, while stacks of take out boxes and mildew might say they are sad and slobbish after a devastating break up.  What people choose to surround themselves with says a lot about them, whether we realize that or not.

I like seeing environments that people create for themselves. I don’t like when everything matches perfectly, think the furniture sets as freemium prizes for so many apps on your phone or the massive churn out of Pottery Barn and their ilk. I like going to someone’s home and feeling that they chose everything there for a reason. Dorm rooms here on campus often do the trick. You can really only bring a few things from home or lug a few things in from Ikea here, so what people have tells you a lot about them. It makes our rooms distinctive, it gives you a peak at what makes people feel comfortable when they excuse themselves from the general public. For me, an environment should tell you more about what lives there. The same rules apply in zoology after all. A crocodile has sharp teeth because it’s a predator, it’s eyes reston the top of it’s head so it can look out from the water, it’s coloring is to camouflage itself in its environment. Humans are still animals after all, and while our design choices aren’t so Darwinian as a crododiles, they can still tell you a lot about the corresponding curator of a space.

A massive gate opens and you take a step forward. Tall walls now surround you from all four sides, giving you a sense of security from what is out there. Still, the snow on the ground and the sound of the wind remind you that it is as cold as ever, but now there is life. Children are running around, their laughter chiming in your ears as you pass by, the blacksmith is hard at work, the sounds of the simmering fire and the hits of a hammer on an anvil echoing out. Somewhere far away you hear the sound of someone chopping wood, preparing more logs to keep the cozy fire of their home going. You feel like you’ve found a place where there is warmth; hearth in the middle of a frozen wasteland of Skyrim.

This is the feeling and memories I get when I remember the city of Whiterun from the Bethesda Softworks game titled The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Located in the center of the Kingdom of Skyrim, this is the city that players of game visit very early on in the game while following the main quest of the game and will revisit quite a bit throughout their experience in the game. The city itself is composed of three parts each marked by an increase in altitude. The Plains district resides at the bottom level and is home to most merchants of the city. The Wind district is the district located in the center level and is the location of most of the residential buildings of Whiterun. Finally, we find the Cloud district at the very top of the city, where the ruler of the Whiterun, Jahrl Balgruuf, resides in his grandiose Hold named the Dragonsreach.

The Plains district of Whiterun is the first part of the city which the player get to experience and is the location of a purchasable player home, making it an important landmark for the player. A marking feature of this location are the NPCs (non – playable characters) inside the district that are always moving, talking or performing the tasks of their daily routine. As mentioned in my introductory description, you will find kids playing, a blacksmith making a sword or armor, a man chopping wood for his fireplace. More than that, the NPCs will actually try to engage with you. When you walk close enough to the blacksmith, he might greet you or warn you about not getting too close to the fire . If you go to the town marketplace, you will get shouts from all the merchants there trying to sell you fish, fruits, vegetables or jewelry. You can also enter some specialty stores on the sides such as an alchemist where you can purchase a potion, or visit the Drunken Huntsman, a local pub, where you can listen in on the local rumors and conversations between the inhabitants. A kid might even stop you during your walk through the city and ask you to play hide and seek with him or her! This makes the environment of the city feel dynamic, interactive and, after getting to know the NPCs in the city, even personal. As a player, this makes me feel immersed in the world. I cannot help but want to know the events and dramas that are going on in the city and see if I can get involved in one way or another. The active NPC interactions not only give the city of Whiterun an appearance of a functioning society, but also one that you can influence with your own actions. This is a very precious feeling in a world where the player is given full freedom in what he or she is allowed to do.

Another part of Whiterun that has always appealed to me is the way it contrasts cold and warmth. The land of Skyrim is in the midst of a mountainous area and as a result is cold, windy and is, for the most part, covered in snow. Whiterun does not let you forget that. While walking outside, you are met with a cobblestone path, accompanied by patches colorless grass off to the sides with remnants of snow still present on top of it. The sound of a breezy wind is heard all around. This always gave me a chilly vibe, even when the sun was shining bright in the game world’s sky. However, this changes drastically when you enter any building of the city. Immediately, before you even see the source of it, you are met with the crackling noise of a fire burning somewhere. Then, as you look around, you see the light emanating from a fireplace. This fireplace, found in every home of Whiterun, gives the player a link between cold outside world of Skyrim and the warmth found inside allowing me to experience the environment of Skyrim without actually feeling anything physically. This simple idea to play with sounds and light as you switch between an indoor and outdoor space for contrast makes a huge difference in how much attention I would give the climate and weather conditions presented in the game and is one of the big reasons that makes me want to believe that the harsh weather conditions have an impact on how the people of Whiterun live their lives. This is one of the many things that make the world of Skyrim feel like it has causality and gives it beautiful appeal both in terms of visuals and sound, making the world feel more immersive and enjoyable to the player experiencing it.

The last part of the environment of Whiterun that I want to address is the way it changes during the day-night cycle of the game.  As I already talked about, while the sun is shining the citizens are out and about doing their daily routines, trying to get through the day. However, when the sun sets, the city becomes empty. The only people to be found outside patrolling guards. Although the streets of Whiterun are now dark and only lit by small lanterns on the side of the streets, the sky is bright and detailed. On some nights nebulas, other galaxies or even aurora borealis is visible. Some of the mountain peaks visible from the city now turn into dark silhouettes, reminding you that they are just mere physical objects in the face of the divine skies. Among the other objects present in your view you find the two orbiting moons of the night sky; on some days as crater filled full circles and, on others, as two sharp crescents. Seeing this view in the safe environment of Whiterun brings to attention the ancient and magical nature of the world of Skyrim while reminding you of the vast world that is still left to explore within the game, making you thirst for more adventure. This sets the tone perfectly for the moment you reopen the massive city gates and venture out again.

I believe the factors I have mentioned, along with many more minor details that the creators of the game have put their time and effort into, make Whiterun feel like a city a player can believe in and immerse him or herself in. The daily actions of the citizens make them seem like they have a life, know the environment that they live in and adapt to overcome it. The contrast that the game creates between warmth and cold makes the player really feel like they are able to feel that difference in temperature as well. Finally the night in the city tells of the peaceful nature of the city with its empty streets, while the night sky reminds you of the adventure that it still to come in the game. The atmosphere that Whiterun creates is one that makes the player believe it is a place that could really exist and allows the player to make it more than just an arbitrary checkpoint inside a game, but rather a personal place they are familiar with. This is what makes me like the environment that Whiterun creates, and is the reason why Whiterun is one of the few virtual places I have visited that I can remember with little effort.