Henry Jenkins & Kurt Squire:
The Art of Contested Spaces

"Most often, critics discuss games as a narrative art, as interactive cinema or participatory storytelling. Perhaps, we should consider another starting point, viewing games as a spatial art with its roots in architecture, landscape painting, sculpture, gardening, or amusement park design."
Jenkins & Squire

They are talking about the digital gameboard, spatial exploration, realistic space, the legacy of romanticism, surreal spaces, athmospheric design, and social spaces. They are right on the track towards a poetics of virtual worlds. Still, not quite there yet!