Tomorrow, in Another World

The game’s sky had been switched off for the night, replaced by flat light that made defects easier to find. The facades looked as though they had come from a model-making studio: gray stucco, ocher brick, signs without halos, black windows. From the control station, Amaya Serrano slid the city beneath her with the mouse wheel, moving between neighborhoods at a speed no player could have endured.

Their video game recreates a city they have never visited. Millions of players recognize it.