In addition to that, not everyone may feel comfortable sharing details of their conworlds, due to fear of plagiarism, etc.
In addition to that, not everyone may feel comfortable sharing details of their conworlds, due to fear of plagiarism, etc.
I completely understand the reasons for not adding that information for plagiarism and if it's part of a competition, the competition is the focus for the map and nothing else so i'm not interested in what makes that world tick. It's just I rarely see people add this missing dimension from their maps. If you looked at Terry Pratchett's Ankh Morpork map it doesn't really represent the people who live there very well... To know it's filled with all manner of fantasy races co-existing together to form a twisted version of London gives it a little life, i'm not talking essays, just a brief paragraph or two? Maybe it's the writer that's in me that would love to see this stuff, rather than the cartographer. Perhaps another section to the forums could be added that covers these things as they are vital things to consider when making a map, especially if it's a political map with borders as most modern medieval and modern countries borders are defined by war and strength of military mixed with natural borders like mountains. Religion can play a key part, why a land like Palestine that is of no use in natural resources can become a battle ground for a host of religions and eventually taken over by one of them. maps are so much more than natural features, good ones tell the stories of the people who live there. Battle sites, places of natural beauty, places of historical interest, major trade routes all help to contribute to telling that story.
It's only a request anyway, if some cartographers feel like obliging then I would be most grateful, if not I'll just have to use my imagination.
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