Long-time readers of The Average Gamer may have noticed a certain tendency on my part. Every once in a while I come over all excitable about some aspect of gaming. I’ll write an entire series of posts about it. Then the series stops. Abruptly.

I do apologise. Here is part 4 of How To Write an RPG Journal - Maps. Turns out maps are quite big enough to warrant their own section. For those of you who missed the series back in January, have a look at RPG Journal Part I - The Basics, RPG Journal Part II - The Categories, and RPG Journal Part III - Information.

Maps

Maps are important. Incredibly important. Even when your game isn’t the size of World of Warcraft. I know, it’s not the sort of thing that gets mentioned in reviews. Trust me, the map feature is sorely missed if it’s not there.

Prince of Persia: Sands of Time. If I recall, it didn’t have a map. If it did have a map, it was next-to-useless. Remember that giant bird cage in the menagerie? I climbed all the way to the top of that. Then I went on holiday. When I came back a month later I had no idea where I’d been or where I was going. I spent a few days running around in large but unproductive circles before moving on to a more rewarding game. Seamlessly-blended levels are pretty and immersive but make everything look very samey.
Continue Reading

Popularity: 9% [?]