Daily insights for city builders, delivered every morning at 6 AM ET. I’m Brandon Donnelly — a Toronto-based real estate developer and founder of Globizen. I’ve been writing here since 2013.

Tag: gemini

  • SimCity 2000 comes to Toronto

    I just discovered this great isometric map of Toronto by John Fewell.

    He started with Google Maps using one fixed isometric view (30° down, aligned with the diagonal of the street grid), and then used Gemini to redraw each frame as an illustration. The overall map is intended to be a nod to SimCity 2000. (I loved that game in the 90s.)

    If you zoom in, you can even see cars driving around.

    At the time of writing this post, he had spent roughly $57 on Gemini and $21 on GPU rentals to produce it. Here’s more on his creative process. Imagine how much time and effort this would have taken before AI.

    Here’s a downtown screenshot:

    Here’s Junction House:

    And here’s me waiting for One Delisle to be rendered: