2020/07/03 by Phoebe O. Toups Dugas, Nicolas LaLone, Katta Spiel +1 · 1 voice
Social Sciences · Computer Science · #Geographic Information Systems Studies #Innovative Human-Technology Interaction #Data Visualization and Analytics
paper · doi:10.1145/3357236.3395502
openalex publication_date 2020/07/03 · openalex created_date 2020/07/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
Game map interfaces provide an alternative perspective on the worlds players inhabit.compared to navigation applications popular in day-to-day life, game maps have different affordances to match players' situated goals. To contextualize and understand these differences and how they developed, we present a historical chronicle of game map interfaces. Starting from how games came to involve maps, we trace how maps are first separate from the game, becoming more and more integrated into play until converging in smartphone-style interfaces. We synthesize several game history texts with critical engagement with 123 key games to develop this map-focused chronicle, from which we highlight trends and opportunities for future map designs. Our work contributes a record of trends in game map interfaces that can serve as a source of reference and inspiration to game designers, digital physical-world map designers, and game scholars.