We want a map!

[Greason Wolfe]

We want a map! Does anyone else here get sick of that request?

I'm feeling the urge to reflect and gripe a little here.

I'm guessing the majority of people here are story tellers of one type or another. Okay, I'm just a GM. That's sort of like being an author with only a handful of readers.

So I'm telling a story and describing a location. The players respond with, "We want a map!" Okay, fine. I've given them 7 maps so far for this adventure. I'll probably have to come up with a rough map of a rural setting, but that's not a problem.

I've got a final (I hope) location that is in an underground, urban and industrial setting. I was hoping I could catch a break and just find something on the Internet to borrow. So far the pickings look pretty slim.

I'm sure a bunch of us here have played computer games like Halo or Oblivion and thought how great looking some of the settings are. I've been trying to look for maps of these locations online. Of the ones that I've found so far, my reaction has been, "These stink."

Really, when you can look down and see the big picture on how things are put together, you realize that a lot of it just doesn't make sense. The computer environments are put together with the "gaming experience" in mind, and without much concern as to how practical the layout would be for mundane world use. If I can see these flaws, the players (who tend to be smarter than me) will likely take issue with them as well.

Well, if any of you have a suggestion for a source of material, I'd like to hear it. Otherwise, thanks for giving me a place to gripe.

Unfortunately, when taking on the responsibility of being a Game(Dungeon) Master, mapping things out is one of the burdens we must take on. While description certainly can go a long ways towards giving players/characters an idea of what their surroundings look like, sometimes visual aids are still needed.

Now, I'm not defending the players per-se. I've been at both ends of that spectrum, so I know what it's like to be in your shoes. I also know what it's like to be in the players' shoes and trying to figure out what the character might be seeing based solely upon description. One of the things you might consider (and I've done rather often in the past) is make some basic sketches if you don't feel like putting hours of effort into extremely detailed maps. It's amazing what a few pen or pencil strokes on a piece of paper can do for players trying to grasp the scene they are presented with. And, of course, it is as Gameprinter said, there are several around here that might be able to help you out.

So welcome, and I sincerely hope you find what you are looking for here. I've not been here long myself, and I've already found tons or stuff that has been of incredible help.

GW

[Redrobes]

I think the problem is that the standard keeps going up and players expect it now. In the old days the module maps and art was so much simpler and that was considered neat and good at the time. As a DM on many years ago my pencil sketches were worse than even the old school maps.

Fortunately we have better tools to make better maps now. Its probably faster to make an old school map at the old standard now than it is to make rough one with a pencil.

Even over the last year the challenge entry standard here is going up. You now have to have photo textures and lighting with shadows and maybe 3D with cutaway views and perspective etc etc.

With Halo and Oblivion the target is the gamer not the mapping nut. The worlds must be in 3D which is much harder than 2D. They are designed and balanced for a good shoot up or hack up not for telling a story. There's extra limitations for the game engine and the capabilities of the console too. Halo is a great example where the cliffs tend to be either about 10ft or 10miles high and nothing in between. But as a player knowing whether you will survive if you jump off one is more important than the realism of it. I thought most of the maps in Halo for the story, as opposed to the squad battle maps, were really good tho.

[Ascension]

I'd say draw up a very rough sketch of something along the lines of what you're aiming for. It doesn't have to look good, it just needs to show the basic layout and you can then use text to put in the detail...like...I need a valve here and a grating here, etc. With that part done, I'm sure one of our many fine cartographers here will do ya up something nice.