Automation in Construction 20 (2011) 446–458

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Automation in Construction
j o u r n a l h o m e p a g e : w w w. e l s ev i e r. c o m / l o c a t e / a u t c o n

Integrating BIM and gaming for real-time interactive architectural visualization

Wei Yan ⁎, Charles Culp, Robert Graf
Texas A&M University, USA

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: This paper presents our findings of current applications of computer games in design visualization and
Accepted 4 November 2010 education, and our solution to address interoperability between games and building models to enhance
Available online 9 December 2010 architectural visualization and education. We demonstrate our BIM-Game prototype that integrates Building
Information Modelling (BIM) and gaming into architectural visualization. Our system supports an innovative
Keywords: Design-Play process that allows designers to play in their own designed environments with the capability for
Gaming
simulations of physical dynamics and user activities. The implementation of this BIM-Game provides a variety
Building Information Modelling
BIM
of connections among several fields including architecture, engineering, computer science, visualization, and
Visualization game development. These connections bridge diverse areas such as building modelling, equipment simulation
Interoperability and visualization, character modelling and animation, collision detection, navigation, path planning, materials
and lighting, and interaction through game controllers and user interfaces. The paper presents a framework
for integrating BIM and games, and a sample experiment of real-time, interactive, and photorealistic
walkthrough with a virtual user model to demonstrate the use and the potentials of the framework. We
expect this research to extend the study and adaptability of computer games in design education.
© 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Game technologies can be used in the simulation and training that
are required by different disciplines, including architecture, in which
building and user simulations can benefit from the improved graphics,
level modelling, and character modelling. As video game technology
advances, graphics become more realistic, levels of play get more
sophisticated, and intelligence is embedded in game characters.
Games capture user attention and prompt a desire to win. In serious
games, winning requires learning how to achieve points. Games
reward correct actions in virtual situations with points, extra life, or
other positive feedback measures. This motivates game players to
learn if the games are designed to require and facilitate learning. Both
design education and building operation may benefit from the
educational potential of games.
Building Information Modelling (BIM) is an emerging technology
for building modelling, collaborative design, and integrated project
delivery [1]. BIM's potential to change the building industry and
architectural education is being explored through practice, teaching,
and research by the Architecture/Engineering/Construction (AEC)
community. The integration of BIM and games provides the
underlying technology that enables the building representation to
be communicated to a gaming environment.
⁎ Corresponding author. Department of Architecture, Texas A&M University, 3137
TAMU, College Station, Texas 77845, USA. Tel.: + 1 979 8450584.
E-mail address: wyan@tamu.edu (W. Yan).
Current adoption of BIM [1] in design and education facilitates the
application of games in the design process. The reasons are as follows:
• BIM's 3D geometric data aids the generation of levels and maps in
games.
• BIM's comprehensive database, including semantic data and its use
in the building life cycle, enables various game plays: walk-through
to complex building operation testing.
• Object-oriented modelling of BIM facilitates the access of compre-
hensive model data, including objects and their properties, which
can be used in games.
• Object-oriented programming (OOP) in game and BIM tool
development makes it feasible to integrate them.
• Parametric modelling approach of BIM makes it easier to change
models and to update game levels or maps for new game play as
compared to non-parametric modelling where changes are nor-
mally difficult to make.
The objective of this research is to develop a new design process
with its supporting BIM-Game tool to enhance architectural design
and visualization, which is our intent of the project. The significance of
the research lies in that it will provide tools for enhancing
architectural visualization, evaluating the effectiveness of using
computer games in architectural design education, and exploring
the integration of BIM and games into effective teaching and learning
processes in the next phase of the research. In this paper, we describe
the integrated design process and present a prototype of our
approach.

0926-5805/$ – see front matter © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.autcon.2010.11.013
 W. Yan et al. / Automation in Construction 20 (2011) 446–458
2. Related work
In this section, we examine related work of serious games in
education in general, and in architectural design and education,
followed by BIM's application in design visualization.
2.1. Serious games in education
Serious games have attracted serious research and currently are
entering into new educational arenas. Prensky [2] discussed how
learners have changed, how games teach, and why games work, while
others, including: 1) Gee [3] argued that an immersive, interactive,
digital environment provides opportunities for education; and 2) Squire
[4] presented that contemporary developments in gaming, particularly
interactive stories, digital authoring tools, and collaborative worlds, can
contribute powerful new opportunities for educational media.
Michael and Chen [5] presented a thorough review of the history
and research of games in classrooms and homes through various
examples of the use of games to teach history, math and program-
ming, reading and writing, business, politics, and music, starting from
the 1960's. They showed that serious games can provide the new
generation of students with a familiar learning environment that they
relate to and understand. By examining various studies about the
learning results of games, they stated that some, not all, educational
games were effective teaching tools. They suggested that the
effectiveness of educational games may be attributed to the following:
they motivate students more than traditional teaching methods, their
learning environments are adapted to learners, they reinforce the
mastery of skills and concepts by dramatizing the relationship or
interaction of issues studied, the simulation and information
presented by the games are accurate, and others. However, they
also stated that research in the relationships of games and education is
still in the early stages due to lack of solid and irrefutable research.
Recent scientific studies proved that video games can modify human
visual selective attention [6] and eliminate gender difference in spatial
attention [7], which can have a direct impact on the use of serious
games for architectural education, where visual and spatial cognitions
are part of the design thinking process.
2.2. Games in design process and design education
Research has emerged in the study of games in design process and
design education, where the major focuses were on the use of virtual
reality technologies and game engines in form generation, collabora-
tive design, and architectural visualization.
Woodbury [8] and Woodbury, Wyeld et al. [9] discussed why games
are used for architectural design. Their qualitative evaluation study on
the effectiveness of their games showed tentative support for a positive
role for play in early design education. Chien [10] argued that the
process of designing is very similar to playing games: exploring
possibilities under certain constraints.
Though more research is required for a quantitative analysis of
games in design education, experimental projects have been conducted.
The research efforts fall into two categories: (1) games that are created
by the research teams using Computer-Aided Design (CAD) tools from
scratch, and (2) games that are created using game engines. While it was
flexible to create different types of games using CAD tools from scratch
(e.g. [11–13]), it was difficult to provide a realistic visual effect with
good architectural details and high performance for visualization
without substantial effort. Therefore we chose not to use this approach
in our project.
The other approach of using game engines relates more closely to
our work. The following two subsections review games using game
engines, discuss the disadvantages of this approach, and conclude that
a new, open game platform is needed, which is the motivation for our
project.
447
2.2.1. Educational games using game engines
Game engines provide real-time, interactive visualization, and can
use first or third person perspectives. Various game engines have been
used to create human architectural interaction. For example, Moloney
[14] created collaborative virtual environments based on the Torque
Game Engine. Lehtinen [15] taught students to use the Max Payne™
game engine to construct a surrealistic, interactive model of the
Kamppi metro station in Helsinki. Sallkachat & Choutgrajank [16],
Bunyavipakul et al. [17], and Cubukcu & Nasar [18] used the Quake™
engine to construct their virtual environments for offline and online
interactive presentations. O' Coill and Doughty [19] used Virtools® to
create real-time, interactive visualization for participatory design.
Petzold and Frohburg [20] used Quest3D™ for the analysis and
reconstruction of architecture, using Mies van der Rohe's unrealized
project for a brick country house as a case study. Reynes and Yerli [21]
presented architectural visualization using CryENGINE®, capable of
modelling not only buildings, but also realistic vegetation with heavy
foliage. More recently, Indraprastha [22] presented the development
of virtual urban environment using Unity® 3D game engine
technology, and Moorapun [23] used the Counter-Strike™ engine to
create virtual environments for environmental behaviour research.
2.2.2. Difficulties of using game engines
In 2002, Lehtinen stated that all game creation tools lacked an easy
way to import and export geometry from and to common CAD
software [15]. We found that this is still true for major 3D games that
we have studied, though indirect exporting or importing is possible
through game modification editors. For example, Max Payne games
need the MaxED level creation tool, Unreal® games need UnrealED,
Quake games utilize GtkRadiant for modelling, and Crysis games use
Sandbox2. In order to create the levels, students have to learn one of
these modelling tools that can do game modification, which is
separated from their design workflow involving CAD or BIM tools
where most of the digital work takes place.
Researchers have suggested how to overcome this problem.
Sallkachat and Choutgrajank [16] suggested developing tools for
importing files from CAD software into the games. An effort to create a
workflow for importing CAD models into a game engine was
conducted by Uddin and Yoon [24], whose procedure had multiple
steps and was complex. Petzold and Frohburg [20] suggested that
research must focus on ways of simplifying the available software and
adapting it to the needs of architects.
Based on what was learned from previous studies, we suggest a
new, open, and modular game platform that allows different engines,
including physics engines, graphic engines, and sound engines, to be
plugged in and function. The game platform is design-data-driven,
meaning that the design geometry and properties can be easily
transferred to the games and be easily accessed for simulation, game
play, and interoperability.
In this research, we consider game play as an interactive user
experience with building designs through dynamic physical and
behavioural simulations, which range from manipulating an avatar in
a rendered 3D environment to autonomous, virtual users' behaviour
simulation, and building operation games.
Having these considerations in mind, we built our prototype on top
of a general, open game platform using the XNA game development
environment.
2.3. BIM in design visualization
While it is possible to import CAD models into games through
complicated procedures [24], CAD formats, by nature, lack building
information that can be visualized and played in design games. The
architectural design community and design curriculums have started
to migrate from CAD, which is focused on geometric modelling, to
BIM. BIM technology represents both geometric and non-geometric
448 W. Yan et al. / Automation in Construction 20 (2011) 446–458
information (e.g. usability, materials, and the building process) and
facilitates interoperability of information for the complete building
lifecycle from design, through construction, and to operation. Being a
complete information model, BIM facilitates complex simulations and
analyses that can be realized in games.
Research has been conducted on the interoperability of BIM and
visualization. Several studies show that IFC (Industry Foundation
Classes) as a BIM tool and VRML (Virtual Reality Modelling Language)
as a graphics visualization tool are used for visualizing BIM's geometric
data. For example, in [25], BIM models (made in ArchiCAD®) are
converted into common formats (VRML, 3DS, COLLADA™, and IFC)
before the visualization is implemented in OpenSceneGraph — an open
source 3D rendering tool. In [26], the implementation for BIM
visualization is achieved through the conversion of IFC to VRML,
which is rendered in Java3D. Sometimes multiple steps are used to
visualize BIM for additional benefits, such as enhanced reality. For
example, in [27], an Autodesk Revit BIM model is exported to DWG
format, which is imported into Autodesk 3ds Max® to add textures and
lighting, and then the model is exported to VRML for interactive
visualization. In [28] and [29], National Institute of Standards and
Technology (NIST)'s SteelVis – CIS/2 to VRML Translator is developed to
map between CIS/2 entities to application-specific VRML nodes with an
extensible prototype mechanism for model checking, design review,
and model sharing. Reported by the authors of CIS/2, interoperability
does not always work as planned, and issues include that the translator-
generated curved parts, bent plates, and decking may be incompatible
with some IFC applications, and most IFC applications cannot handle
bolts and analysis models generated by the translator ([28,29]).
XML (Extensible Markup Language) data is also used in BIM
visualization, for example, in [30], 3D data is stored in a VRML file and
attached to construction information stored in XML files, which are
displayed using Augmented Reality technologies. In [31] and [32], the
authors developed methods to map BIM data onto CityGML (in XML
format) through the mapping from IFC to XML by identifying and
matching building objects and features in the two formats, before the
city model is visualized with existing 3D geo-data visualization
technologies. The limitations include: not all IFC elements have a
canonical representation in CityGML, CityGML does not support some
shape representation of IFC, and some IFC building details cannot be
directly mapped.
For illustrating building construction processes, BIM and 4D (3D
space and time) visualization have been studied. For example, an
approach is presented in [33] for the preparation of 4D construction
process simulations by using both 3D models and BIM database
accessed through Standard Query Language (SQL). Reduced time and
effort to prepare a 4D simulation are reported in the study. The
authors stated that further development is necessary with regard to
visualization, such as adding support for scaling and moving
construction elements or equipment, and including visualization of
processes inside a building. For 4D visualization, Autodesk Navis-
works® is used widely. In [34], Revit models are converted to
Jetstream from Navisworks® (Jetstream supports a wide range of CAD
formats). Other tools can be used together with Navisworks for
integrated 4D scheduling and visualization that include Microsoft
Project and Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) programming [35].
Different from these studies, in which interoperability is addressed
by conversion of BIM data to graphics data, our approach allows the
access of the BIM information, both geometric (graphics) and non-
geometric (non-graphics) information, in real-time during the
visualization (game play). While both BIM and game are running at
the same time, we can access BIM information, such as room data,
door information, and wall materials, in real-time and feed the data to
game play. In addition, compared to VRML and Navisworks®, the
game platform enables the inclusion of enhanced photorealistic
graphics, increased intuitive human–computer interaction, and new
simulation components.
A recent, related work-in-progress is reported in [36], where a BIM-
interface is being developed to integrate NIST's Fire Dynamics Simulator
with Autodesk Revit as an external tool for immersive display.
Compared to this study, our prototype integrating a general game
platform enables a more broad range of event simulation and
visualization, which can include physical dynamics and user behaviours,
in a systematic and educational way. In addition, we separate BIM and
game modules, and link them through a crossover module. We transfer
the BIM geometry into the graphics engine of the game platform, but
keep the non-geometric information in BIM. This modular approach
enables fast prototyping, better data organization, and flexible,
separable update of BIM and game modules.
Early development of integrated BIM and game systems has been
done [37,38,39,40]. This paper presents our completed, working
prototype, including its methods and applications, which demon-
strates a complete research project for proof of concept. We also
describe our initial evaluation and identify plans for further
evaluation.
3. Methodology
The methodology of this research consists of integrating design and
play for a new design process, and prototyping a computer software
application: BIM-Game for execution and evaluation of the new process.
The BIM-Game prototype supports a new design process: Design-
Play (Fig. 1). The process starts with the Design phase. Designers
develop an architectural design according to design specifications,
including site information, desired usage of spaces, building codes, and
sustainable requirements. With BIM used during the design process, 3D
models are constructed for the designed buildings and non-geometric
information such as materials of building elements are added.
In the Play phase, designers then play games with the BIM models
of their own design. The games use the BIM models to generate the
game environment. Virtual building users or characters, and other
game components such as graphics (surfaces, lights, shaders and
camera views), audio, physics, artificial intelligence, and game
strategies (sustainable design strategies) can be integrated into the
games. The games can produce simulations of physical building
dynamics and behaviours of virtual building users. Once the results
are satisfactory, the Design-Play process ends; otherwise, the process
can be iterated until satisfactory performance is achieved. While this
iterative Design-Play process will be tested and evaluated in our
future work, the focus of this paper is to present a solution for
interoperability between game engines and building models as a BIM-
Game prototype that will enable the process.
Unique from previous architectural game research, our method
takes advantage of BIM to facilitate the creation of architectural
games. Also, our method utilizes an open game platform that breaks
limitations of existing game engines for architectural design and
visualization, which should help architects, engineers, and educators
create their own games—from walk-through to more complex
interactions including accessibility testing, fire egress, and building
operations. Architects can use the BIM modelling software to create or
load existing buildings and start the BIM-Game software, upon which
the Design-Play process starts.
The implementation of the method involves diverse areas such as
building modelling, character modelling and animation, collision
detection, navigation, path planning, materials and lighting, and
interaction through game controllers and user interfaces.
4. Implementation
4.1. Overview
The overall implementation framework revolves primarily around
the iterative Design-Play approach where a user of the system creates
 W. Yan et al. / Automation in Construction 20 (2011) 446–458 449

Start

Design
Specifications

Design
Architectural Design

Building Information Model

Retrieve Building Information

through API

Environment Content
Characters As Virtual
Building Users
Game
Graphics

Audio
Game-play
Play Physics

Artificial Intelligence
Physical Life
Simulation Simulation

Are results
No
satisfactory?

Yes

End

Starter/
Terminator Process Components Decision Data Data transfer

Fig. 1. (Architectural) Design – (Game) Play process.

or loads an existing architectural model into the BIM modelling
software, enters into a real-time game environment containing the
model and its associated information, and evaluates the design.
Design modifications can be made by escaping from the game
environment and modifying the model in the BIM software, upon which
the Design-Play process can repeat. The framework also allows system
extensibility for support of new or unanticipated BIM modelling and
Design-Play requirements.
The system consists of three major components as shown in Fig. 2:
BIM, Crossover, and Game. The BIM module supports geometric and
non-geometric building information such as wall and door locations,
and their material properties. The BIM module sends and receives BIM
information to and from the Crossover module, which processes
intermediate information and facilitates communication between the
BIM and game environments. The Game module connects to the
Crossover and allows individuals to interact with the BIM model in real-
time to evaluate the model's design during Design-Play. These three
modules work together by bridging their unique purposes and
functionalities into a unified system for architectural design and
visualization.

Crossover
BIM Data Data Game

Emerging technology in Architecture/ Software module facilitating data Educational games for
Engineering/Construction; access and interoperability design can be developed
Existing software package is used. between BIM and games. by using our framework.

Fig. 2. The BIM-Game modules and communication links.

450 W. Yan et al. / Automation in Construction 20 (2011) 446–458
4.2. BIM module
Games are designed with specific storylines to follow while enabling
interaction in activities, which usually reward desired behaviour.
Sustainable buildings need to be designed and built using specific
requirements. BIM provides information beneath the surface of
structures that can be used to tell stories and to help evaluate the
lifecycle performance of buildings. For instance, designers may want to
know a building's energy performance over time or may want to
evaluate the accessibility of a building containing a large crowd of
people. This extra information provides a means for simulating and
observing building performance from multiple perspectives, which
directly applies to real-time gaming environments.
The BIM module serves the purpose of providing geometric and
non-geometric information for Design-Play. The architectural soft-
ware package uses BIM technology to enable information exchange
with other applications or plug-ins. Such information may include the
size, type, material, location, and fire rating of floors, doors, walls, and
ceilings, for example.
The prototype described here uses Autodesk® Revit® Architecture
as the tool for constructing the BIM module, although other similar
software packages could be used as well. Fig. 3 shows a screenshot of a
sample building developed in Revit Architecture.
Fig. 4 shows a full floor plan view of this building. Designers can
change the model and its associated information easily, and transition
Fig. 3. Autodesk Revit Architecture combines geometric modelling with information regarding the element properties such as materials and fire rating. The sample here shows that a
door “knows” which two rooms it connects.
back into the game environment. The flexibility and ease of BIM, with
its readily accessible database, encourages this type of workflow. For
instance, users may reposition walls, update door-room connectivity
properties and generate automated walk-through paths based on the
up-to-date information contained in the model. Walk-through paths
are used as an example in this project to demonstrate that gaming
technologies, such as path finding and planning, can be embedded
into the BIM-Game system, which can inform simulations of building
circulation and fire egress. The Revit Application Programming
Interface (API) provides access to all of this information for use in
other modules or plug-ins, making the integration of Design-Play in a
gaming context possible.
4.3. Crossover module
The data structures and types, the ways that information is stored,
are different between BIM modelling software and games. Information
from the BIM module needs to be processed and translated before it can
be used in the Game module. For example, the geometric representation
of a BIM model as a software-based list of triangular faces needs to be
restructured into special, hardware-based vertex and index buffers. The
Crossover module takes care of the translation between high-level and
low-level representations, so using a game with other BIM software is a
simple matter of changing the Crossover module, leaving the other two
system modules unaffected.
 W. Yan et al. / Automation in Construction 20 (2011) 446–458
Fig. 4. Full floor plan of the BIM model containing the usual architectural modelling elements such as doors, walls, and windows. It also includes information about the logical room
connectivity and doorway accessibility clearances, among other numerous properties.
High-level information accessed by the Crossover module includes
room connectivity relationships via door properties, which can be
visualized in the form of undirected graphs. Fig. 5 shows such a graph
for the sample model presented earlier. The graph shows the logical
navigation paths from one room to another for the entire building. The
nodes represent rooms, and edges designate doors that connect the
rooms. One can see from the graph that it is possible to obtain
directions from one area of the building to another by following the
edges.
Viewing the room connectivity graph is optional to the players and
it may inform the designers, especially design students, the explicit
relations of the spaces in order for them to better plan building
functions, circulation, and fire egress. Path planning may include
moving from one room to another as directly as possible, or visiting
certain designated rooms along the way to a final destination. A
screenshot of the Crossover module user interface, shown in Fig. 6,
demonstrates how users can select specific paths to follow. The
implementation also acquires the length of edges between the
geometric centres of the rooms via BIM, so the ability to determine
the shortest path from one room to another becomes a reality, and
facilitates automatic path planning. To address vertical circulation,
building objects like stairs, ramps, or elevators will be inserted into
the connectivity graph as edges to enable path planning, which will be
implemented in the future work.
The Crossover module also incorporates translations of geometric
model information for the game environment. The information includes
the vertices, edges, and faces that comprise the 3D model. Revit stores
geometric elements in its API specific format, as well as in the
Autodesk® FBX® scene file format, and needs to be translated into a
451
form that most game environments understand. The Crossover
approach communicates directly with the API for immediate translation
of geometry for fast previews and makes use of an intermediate
processing step involving texture baking that results in high-quality,
real-time, interactive visualizations. Texture baking is a common
practice in game development that makes high-quality appearances
and effects in real-time environments feasible by processing computa-
tionally complex simulations offline, such as global illumination, and
baking the solutions into texture maps, which games can process
rapidly. In BIM-Game, texture baking is an optional step before game-
play to prepare the model to be rendered photorealistically in the game.
This functionality in the Crossover module bridges the gap between BIM
modellers and game environments.
In summary, the Crossover module utilizes the API technologies of
BIM, the 3D scene format, and the game platform to solve the
interoperability problem between building models and games. The
API technologies employ the OOP approach to allow direct access to
both geometric and non-geometric data of building objects to transfer
the data to the game environment in real time, and to allow direct
access to game states and game object data that are used to run the
game.
4.4. Game module
The system design uses the Microsoft® XNA™ Framework as the
game platform, which is based on the Microsoft® .NET Framework.
The Revit API also utilizes the .NET Framework, forming a consistent
interoperability between the two. This enables the use of both
geometric and non-geometric information in the Crossover module.
452 W. Yan et al. / Automation in Construction 20 (2011) 446–458
Fig. 5. Room connectivity graph, with rooms as nodes, and doors and openings as edges.
The Crossover module generates connectivity information automatically, based on the
BIM, and allows the graph to be displayed graphically using Microsoft® GLEE, a graph
drawing library. The graph enables path finding algorithms to be used for automatic
path planning.
Animation allows the simulation of time passage in the model.
Materials and lighting information also play an important role in
games because they can make the geometry appear believable, giving
players the feeling like they are immersed in a virtual world. This level
of immersion can inform players about materials and lighting design
that were not apparent in CAD drawings or BIM models. Audio
support is included in the system to enable interactive play of music,
voiceovers, and other sounds during the game. The sound playing
function is used for an application of the BIM-Game system in a
project modelling a historic building [41]. Collision detection and
physics simulation allow for real-time interactivity in games. The
Game module uses axis-aligned bounding boxes for collision
detection that support moving bodies via forces such as gravity and
physical obstructions. For example, the calculation of the intersection
between bounding boxes of a fixed wall and a moving avatar is used to
determine whether there is a collision between the two objects. BIM-
Game utilizes the familiar Microsoft® Xbox 360™ game controller
Fig. 6. Crossover user interface. Users may select which rooms to walk through when
following a path from one location of a building to another. The Show Graph button
draws a logically connected graph for the rooms as seen in Fig. 5. The Follow Path
button allows users to follow a path from one room to another as indicated in the path
room list. In this case, a path from the living room to the master bedroom will be
generated.
whose buttons, triggers, and thumb sticks control the game. All of
these components fit together into the Game module, completing the
framework for the BIM-Game system.
4.5. Integration of modules for Design-Play
The three system modules (BIM, Crossover, and Game) are
integrated to form a complete Design-Play solution. The implemen-
tation is developed using an OOP language, C#, the Microsoft® .NET
Framework, the Revit API, and the XNA Framwork. The integration of
these tools enables communication among the BIM, Crossover, and
Game modules.
The implementation modularizes the complete BIM-Game system
into separable components that communicate with each other, leading
to a versatile design that can work with a number of BIM modelling
applications and game frameworks while satisfying requirements of
building designers for architectural design and visualization.
Each of the three modules contains structures or units that serve
unique purposes that facilitate the operation of the containing
 W. Yan et al. / Automation in Construction 20 (2011) 446–458
module. The structures promote modularity so that the system can be
extended or changed more easily than a system with tightly
interleaved functionality. The modular approach also assists in the
software verification process and in code debugging because unit tests
can be performed on each structure. A result of this decomposition is
that the system design has a close correspondence with software
source code when using the OOP approach. For instance, the name of a
structure and its associated knowledge and functionality are encap-
sulated into a C# class. Each structure has its own class and defines an
interface by which message passing can be achieved among multiple
instances of various classes. Message passing enables the instances, or
objects, to communicate with each other. These characteristics help to
develop and maintain a modular system with interconnected parts.
Fig. 7 shows a schematic of the system design that identifies
significant structures for each module.
The BIM module is provided by the BIM software application. In our
prototype, Revit Architecture serves this purpose. The Revit application
and Revit API are separate components of a Revit installation. A portion
of the Revit application uses the Revit API for its own purposes, but the
Revit API is used primarily for creating External Commands and External
Fig. 7. Schematic of the BIM-Game system implementation.
453
Applications from a developer's perspective. The API provides access to
the active Revit document that contains the BIM database. Information
can be retrieved from the database, and the database can be modified by
any External Commands that use the Revit API. This information can be
used with other modules, such as the Crossover module.
The Crossover module is invoked from the Add-ins tab in the Revit
user interface. The module includes the BIM-Game user interface
component and several structures that involve information flow
between the BIM module and Game module endpoints. This module is
implemented as a Revit External Command that is available as a plug-in
to the Revit application interface. Configuration settings from the user
interface are sent to the Game module's Game State component. Settings
include the game's viewport aspect ratio, a toggle to enable or disable
gravity, the spawning location, audio files to play, and a path to follow.
These settings control how the game behaves and what actions are
available—for instance, playing audio files if they were specified or
causing the player to fall if gravity was activated. The other pieces of the
Crossover module include the Geometry Processor, Material Translator,
Audio Converter, and BIM Database Mediator. The Geometry Processor and
Material Translator structures convert BIM database information into
454 W. Yan et al. / Automation in Construction 20 (2011) 446–458
Fig. 8. First-person point of view. Users can walk freely in the model using the game controller and may collide with objects. Left: A view near the southeast corner of the living room
looking toward the atrium. Right: A view near the southwest corner of the kitchen looking toward the dining room.
binary XNA game assets. The Audio Converter creates assets for each
audio file processed so that the audio can be played in the game. These
geometry, material, and audio assets are loaded into the game as content
when the game starts. BIM information that does not need to be
translated into XNA assets is handled with the BIM Database Mediator.
Information that passes through this structure can travel bi-directionally
to and from the active Revit document, whereas game assets travel in
one direction from the Crossover module to the Game module. The
Crossover module provides all of the information that is needed for the
BIM-Game to operate.
The Game module is responsible for executing the game and is
organized into three primary areas: 1) XNA Game, 2) Components,
and 3) Services. The XNA Game section includes a singleton instance
of the BIM-Game. The BIM-Game is initialized with the Initialize
function when the game starts. The game updates its state
information and draws each video frame automatically when the
game is running. This is achieved when the XNA base class Game,
which the BIM-Game inherits from, calls the Initialize, Draw, and
Update functions. The BIM-Game has Components and Services
properties that can be modified to include multiple, custom-designed
components and services into the game. A component is a class that is
derived from an XNA GameComponent or DrawableGameComponent
class to introduce new features to a game. A service is an interface
class that defines how a group of similar components interface with
other types of components. A component may have a service
associated with it so that it can be interfaced with other components.
This allows components to communicate with each other in a loosely
coupled manner. The connections between components are omitted
in Fig. 7 for visual clarity. A sample of connections includes the
following: 1) Game State and Player, 2) Xbox 360 Controller and Player,
3) Collision Detection, Building Model, and Player, and 4) Particle
Systems and Player. The use of components and services creates a
modular system design that can be extended and maintained easily
compared to non-modular systems. BIM-Game inserts all game
components and services into the game (see Fig. 7). The game
components' Initialize functions are called automatically when the
Game base class invokes its Initialize function. Drawable game
components have their LoadContent functions called so that content
Fig. 9. Interactive building design for accessibility testing with easy navigation. Left: Third-person viewpoint of the avatar located in the dining room area. Right: Third-person
viewpoint of the avatar in the living room looking from a different angle.
is available to be drawn after the game starts. When the main game
needs to update and draw, it calls the Update and Draw functions of
each component, in turn, so that all components have an opportunity
to contribute to the game. Components that are disabled are not
updated or drawn, whereas enabled components are. Enabling and
disabling components is an effective way to use components
selectively without requiring a source code recompile or exiting the
game. The use of components and services assists in organizing the
game system so that it can be extended and maintained with relative
ease compared to a non-modular system design.
5. Applications
The outcome of this project includes the complete, working
software prototype and an interactive navigation application. The
application is shown in Section 5.1, which demonstrates interactive
and intelligent navigation in a sample building. This application
enables further simulation and testing of accessibility, circulation, fire
egress, and other practical uses. Potential applications, such as
building operation games, are also discussed in Section 5.2.
5.1. Interactive and intelligent navigation
The software prototype presents the user with several starting
options such as choosing a path to follow, spawning a location for free
walk-through, and different video aspect ratios (see Fig. 6). Combined
together, the free walk-through and the guided tour (following
automatically planned paths based on an A* pathfinding algorithm)
enable an interactive and intelligent navigation in the designed space.
Players can examine the building design from different perspectives
along easily planned paths. Also, players can choose to switch to full
screen mode at any time during the game.
Beginning the game in walk-through mode spawns the avatar in
the selected room as specified in the Crossover user interface. Play
starts from a first-person viewpoint with the avatar's movement
directed with the game controller. Navigational capabilities include
moving forward, backward, turning left or right, and jumping. The
 W. Yan et al. / Automation in Construction 20 (2011) 446–458 455

Fig. 10. Top view showing the entire building from an omniscient point of view in photorealistic mode. The path planning walk-through begins in the living room and ends in the
master bedroom. The ceiling disappears when the third-person camera reaches a level near the ceiling and reappears when the camera moves below that threshold.

avatar interacts with the environment via collision detection to avoid
penetrating walls or other solid objects (see Fig. 8).
Players can also switch into third-person mode, which moves the
camera away from the avatar. Moving the camera close to the avatar
while crossing a threshold switches the viewpoint mode back to first-
person mode. This transition between first-person and third-person
modes enables evaluation of the Design-Play situations from different
perspectives of building users and designers. The third-person mode
permits the player to orbit the camera around and dolly in or away
from the avatar using up, down, left, and right movements. Left and
right motions pan or rotate the camera horizontally, while up and
down motions tilt the camera along a vertical plane in the camera's
viewing direction. A triggering action in third-person mode causes the
camera's viewpoint to smoothly transition toward a direction looking
at the centre of the avatar. Fig. 9 shows two viewpoints in third-
person mode from different angles.
Starting the game in path follow mode positions the avatar in the
first room along the automatically planned path and allows the user to
move forward or backward along the path. The path appears as a
series of arrows above the floor and can be toggled on and off. Fig. 10
illustrates a third-person viewpoint looking down from above the
building. Moving the camera above a height threshold causes the
ceiling to become invisible, and positioning the camera below this
threshold returns the ceiling's visibility. Fig. 11 demonstrates further

Fig. 11. Visualization of path planning showing the BIM model in photorealistic mode with a path represented as a smooth, black, arrow curve. Path control points exist at the centres
of rooms, midpoints between room centres, door centres, and around door clearances. This path begins in the living room and ends in the master bedroom. The user can control the
avatar's position along the path, and may also orbit and dolly the third-person camera for alternative views.
456 W. Yan et al. / Automation in Construction 20 (2011) 446–458

application of the third-person camera rig in path follow mode,
revealing more path detail. The player may also deviate or break away
from the path and navigate around the building freely (Fig. 12).
Compared to the walk-through capability in existing BIM tools, such
as Autodesk Revit Architecture's walk-through function, our prototype
application has the advantages of being a real-time, interactive,
photorealistic visualization with physical simulation of gravity and
collision detection, as well as behaviour simulation through the
modelling of the virtual user. Also, the prototype is extensible so that
additional graphical or physical simulation components can be added.
The game play screenshots provided in this paper are all real-time
screen captures taken during the actual running of the game. Video
demonstrations of the BIM-Game can be found at: http://selab.arch.
tamu.edu/.
5.2. Building operation games
Another application for BIM-Game includes a hypothetical scenario
of a building operation game, which is currently under development.
Buildings consume approximately 39.4% of the energy used in the
U.S. [42]. The Alliance to Save Energy notes that savings from 10% to
30% can be obtained from a variety of measures [43]. Much of this
energy waste is due to inadequate operation and maintenance within
buildings. One way to address the ability of maintenance personnel in
buildings is to combine gaming technology with BIM in a personalized
game. The core concept is to improve skill levels by having the
building operation and maintenance staffs play the game within their
own building.
A building-focused serious game will challenge facility management
staff at all levels to detect, find, and fix improper or inefficient operation.
For example, if the building has three of the four chillers operating on a
partial load day at 32% capacity, these operate less efficiently than two
chillers operating at 64% capacity. Predefined rules that utilize best
practices in building operation will be embedded into the game. Game
levels and scenarios of operation will be created for the training, and
problems will be presented. Improper or inefficient operation will be
detected automatically during game play. Related messages will be
prompted to the players that instruct them to find solutions for the
problems. The game will award points when inefficiencies are found and

Fig. 12. Users may follow paths forward or backward, and may deviate from them for free walk-through. The game also makes smooth transitions from free walk-through back onto
the path. The following images display a possible run through the sample building: a) Path starting point in the living room. b) Moving forward along the path. c) Continuing forward
on the path into the atrium. d) Initiating free walk-through mode. e) Deviating from the path. f) Continuing to deviate by turning around. g) Smooth transitioning back to the path.
h) Entering path follow mode. i–k) Moving forward along the path. l) Reaching the end of the path in the master bedroom.
 W. Yan et al. / Automation in Construction 20 (2011) 446–458
corrected. Operating the game in a staff's building environment should
improve the probability that they would then apply higher efficiency
measures learned in their virtual building to their real building. The
virtual environment can also graphically illustrate visuals of improper or
inefficient operation so that operators better understand the impact of
their solutions.
6. Conclusions and future work
In this paper, we presented the first phase of developing an
integrated BIM-Game system for architectural design and visualiza-
tion. This first phase includes creating the technology for interacting
with the environment in a customized building, creating avatars with
first and third-person views, baking surfaces and lighting to create a
realistic environment, and using the data in BIM to create navigation
options. The pedagogical merit of the BIM-Game approach is that it
can assist in the study of the effectiveness of using interactive games
in architectural education by providing a platform that allows
different buildings to be evaluated within a game. We found that
the integrated BIM-Game approach provides a flexible, yet powerful,
tool that enables a new process of Design-Play to be explored. From
our informal lab testing, we found that our system is easy to use with
its direct BIM-to-game workflow and its intuitive human–computer
interface. In the navigation application, we could easily examine the
architectural space from different perspectives by transitioning
smoothly between first and third-person views, take guided tours
with the ability to deviate at any time from a first-person view, and
examine navigation and accessibility of a virtual wheelchair user from
a third-person view. Navigational controls using game controllers
made the walk-through and fly-around the building intuitive and very
controllable. At the same time we achieved a realistic graphic quality
with typical gaming frame rates around 55 to 60 frames per second on
a Dell© XPS M1530 laptop.
We expect our system to be useful in design and visualization
because BIM models can be brought into the system easily, which allows
designers to start game play with various functionalities. We also expect
this research will assist in the study of computer games' applications in
design education for the video game generations of students. Future
studies will include visual and spatial cognitions in a design-think
process targeted for interaction and learning in customizable spaces to
address a wide variety of areas. The system has the potential to
contribute to existing pedagogical approaches for teaching and learning
because the integration of BIM allows creation of games that motivate
architectural students to pursue a better understanding of sustainable
building performance and its forms.
The system allows the integration of new components such as the
modelling, simulation, and collision detection of Mechanical, Electri-
cal, and Plumbing (MEP), for example, through Autodesk Revit MEP,
Autodesk Navisworks, and Microsoft XNA game components. We
have created a test case of visualizing airflows in an air-handler, as a
MEP component in the game, using Revit MEP and an XNA particle
simulation component. In future work, we plan to research and to
create a building system and operation game that will implement the
function of equipment simulation, visualization, and collision detec-
tion comprehensively.
Our current project completes the development of a major
component of a more extensive system, which will combine develop-
ment and evaluation of the new design process through teaching
integration. We plan to conduct a formal evaluation by teaching
integration. Our BIM-Game prototype has generated interest from both
inside and outside of our university, and we are integrating the system
into design courses at our university and another university. From the
teaching integration, we will be able to obtain user data that enables
statistical analysis of the effectiveness of our system as a teaching tool
for design education. This teaching integration will enable a critical
457
review of the current results of the system, which will be used to
contrast the related work described in Section 2.
We also plan to implement more gaming features that are important
to a building's game, including animation of opening and closing doors
and windows. Building information will be retrieved from the BIM
models to determine the object behaviours, for example, the opening
direction of a door. More sophisticated shaders will be programmed to
allow advanced rendering of reflection and refraction light transport
effects, which will enable transparent building materials to be
visualized.
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