Not the most exciting of topics I know, but it's something I've been musing over this weekend.
Many of today's games provide a map to help the player if they get lost. On some games, you tend to use the map a lot, on others you don't. This could be because you don't need it, but sometimes, it's because the map is so useless, you prefer to muddle aalong without it.
So, which are the games consider to have good or bad maps respectively? If you can, please state what you like/dislike about them and how the bad maps could be improved.
I'll start with a few.
Good:
Super Metroid : Clean, functional and tells you exactly what you need to know (ie where you are and where you've been).
Any post-SOTN Castlevania (inclusive) : As above. The new PS2 game also tells you which way you're facing (useful as it's in 3D).
Gregory Horror Show : Again, clean, uncluttered and easy to follow.
Bad:
Boktai : I'm playing this now. I don't like the map. It's needlessly messy and fails to provide any useful information whatasoever. A zoom function would be nice too.
Jet Set Radio : The map on this game was terrible, imo. A lazy and utterly useless effort. The designers may as well have not even bothered.
Any Zelda game (dungeon maps) : Well come on, do you use them? There you go. Admittedly, they're far from terrible, but they are incredibly vague.
OK over to you. Discuss your good/bad game maps here.
Many of today's games provide a map to help the player if they get lost. On some games, you tend to use the map a lot, on others you don't. This could be because you don't need it, but sometimes, it's because the map is so useless, you prefer to muddle aalong without it.
So, which are the games consider to have good or bad maps respectively? If you can, please state what you like/dislike about them and how the bad maps could be improved.
I'll start with a few.
Good:
Super Metroid : Clean, functional and tells you exactly what you need to know (ie where you are and where you've been).
Any post-SOTN Castlevania (inclusive) : As above. The new PS2 game also tells you which way you're facing (useful as it's in 3D).
Gregory Horror Show : Again, clean, uncluttered and easy to follow.
Bad:
Boktai : I'm playing this now. I don't like the map. It's needlessly messy and fails to provide any useful information whatasoever. A zoom function would be nice too.
Jet Set Radio : The map on this game was terrible, imo. A lazy and utterly useless effort. The designers may as well have not even bothered.
Any Zelda game (dungeon maps) : Well come on, do you use them? There you go. Admittedly, they're far from terrible, but they are incredibly vague.
OK over to you. Discuss your good/bad game maps here.
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