World Maps

[bacon]

World Maps

In many RPG games, a world map is a must. However, there are even cons with a world map itself. So as a player and a developer:

• As a player, do you like world maps?
  
• As a creator, do you enjoy making world maps ?
  
• What are your likes and dislikes about world maps?
  
• Does a world map make the world bigger or smaller?
  
• Do you know of any other alternatives for a world map that are better ideas?
  
• Explain.
  

[Guest]

As a player world maps are cool if they are designed right. There has to be a substantial amount of detail and landmarks so that you don't forget where you are going. It does give a feel of openness to the game because they are so big. I like world maps because it gives the player a feel that they can change direction and not have to go through a lot of screen transitions. And you don't have to really think to hard about which doors you went through to reach a certain area. Disadvantages of world maps are that they can easily be done wrong. You can easily get swallowed up in one. I played Dragonball Z legend of the supersayain and got pretty lost in that world map at first. Things like radar really help. The only alternative i know of to a world map is of course a chain of smaller maps. If you have a world map you must have a teleport system of some kind eventually. There has to be a way to transport yourself quickly once you are in the stage of revisiting places you have been before. As a player world maps can be fun. As a designer a world map can be very intimidating because you can mess them up pretty easily. You don't want to have too much blank spaces and you want to make sure there is substantial detail. It's hard enough making a will designed small map but the rewards of a large map can make it definitely worth your time. Well, that's all i have on the subject. Thanks for your time.

[Ace]

As player I like worldmaps. They give you a deeper feeling and I think it makes the whole world unique and bigger.
Right now I am making a worldmap for my game. It's really hard and takes much time, especially if you want it to be a FF like worldmap. It took me long to get the vehicle script working correctly, after 3 days of mapping I finished the Outline of the Isles and continents. Now I have to make the map details, I have to set up all the different encounter areas and I think this will take another 2 weeks of work. So it's fun, but also a pain ;D

[Wyatt]

I like them from a gameplay point of view but I also hate them when the transition between world map and city is strange and confusing. For example FFVII, try entering Midgar after Disc 1 but before Disc 3, I think; you enter in the middle of one same town, while the entrance could have been any side of a huge city and judging from the cutscenes the town is far away from the outskirts.

It's fine if it makes sense. But it confuses and often makes large cities look a lot smaller than they actually are.

[Scarred]

I generally like them. I don't see them as a necessity in all cases, but they're great for giving a good sense of scale for a game's setting.

As a designer? Well, it depends on the tileset. Some are fun to work with, while others are just as chore.

Actually, when making games I tend to favor a world map that's a literal map - such as the ones used in Final Fantasy Tactics or Breath of Fire IV. It eliminates the hassle of travel times and enemy encounters when all you want to do is get from Point A to Point B. Also, I just like the style for some reason. I don't know why, but it often suits the feel I'm going for.

[ALUCARDfromHELLSING]

# As a player, do you like world maps?
- Yes. Some of them are really Fantastic looking.

# As a creator, do you enjoy making world maps ?
- Not really. It's always hard to me make one. It's much easier for me to create towns and dungeons and etc.

# What are your likes and dislikes about world maps?
- I like it 'cause as I said well done maps looks really great. There are nothing i dislike about them. Only random encounters. I think it must be encounters-free.

# Does a world map make the world bigger or smaller?
- Makes it bigger for sure. A lot bigger. I'm sure.

# Do you know of any other alternatives for a world map that are better ideas?
- Not really...

[deValdr]

As a player, do you like world maps?
No.

As a creator, do you enjoy making world maps ?
No.

What are your likes and dislikes about world maps?
I dislike the fact that instead of traveling, exploring and so on you just skip to wherever you wanna go.

Does a world map make the world bigger or smaller?
A lot smaller. It might seem bigger, but that is an illusion.

Do you know of any other alternatives for a world map that are better ideas?
Explain.

Creating the maps each of them.

[JayRay]

let me start by saying... I LOVE WORLD MAPS!!!! The ability to spread the gap between your scenic vistas, makes a game that might have say 80-100 maps over all, look SO much bigger! Instead of five or six maps that show a desert, imagine a scrolling expanse of... DESERT, where the city you're trying to get to is so far away, but you can see it on your map.

To make world maps and the journey more awesome, here's three things I suggest.

A. Player zooming scripts OR smaller characters, to showcase the expanse of it all!

B. Make your characters move slower through the area. Imagine going at a speed of two... really makes it look like a journey.

C. Higher Troop Steps. Instead of every 30 steps for a random critter, how about 50 or 55. Remember that monsters should be experienced in the world map, the dungeons are concentrated packs of the monsters... However, if your game is the type where you want players to cling to civilization, add that fear factor by lowering the number of steps between monster battles.

D. (I know, I said three, but oh well) Variation... I expect to see stuff in world map I wouldn't see in any other map system. Tree systems should be smaller, towns should be the size of 2-3 tiles at the most. and a lot of different environments should be exibited (desert, ice, forest, plains, rocky)

[finalholylight]

As a player, do you like world maps?
not sure

As a creator, do you enjoy making world maps ?
yes

What are your likes and dislikes about world maps?
I don't dislike it. But I like how they make the whole world in Pokemon, they make route maps to connecting all cities and towns.

Does a world map make the world bigger or smaller?
I thinks, it will make the world seem like bigger, but not really. Example: from town A to town B
1) world map: just move from town A to town B, it's seem like you already skip something on your adventure
2) Pokemon style: from town A, player must go through route 1, route 2, a forest, a cave or more .... to go to town B , it will make your adventure more bigger, more interesting.

Do you know of any other alternatives for a world map that are better ideas?
Explain.
Creates all maps between two cities/towns.

[Ahzoh]

As a player, do you like world maps?
not sure

As a creator, do you enjoy making world maps ?
yes

What are your likes and dislikes about world maps?
I don't dislike it, but it like how they make the whole world in Pokemon, they make route maps to connecting all cities and towns.

Does a world map make the world bigger or smaller?
I thinks, it will make the world seem like bigger, but not really. Example: from town A to town B
1) world map: just move from town A to town B, it's seem like you already skip something on your adventure
2) Pokemon style: from town A, player must go through route 1, route 2, a forest, a cave or more .... to go to town B , it will make your adventure more bigger, more interesting.

Do you know of any other alternatives for a world map that are better ideas?
Explain.
Creates all maps between two cities/towns.

Well that is good, I plan for my game to be all about regions connecting cities as well as an overview map.