Map screens

[Hobbes]

Hey all,

I didn't know exactly where to put this, since it's adventure talk and also related to my own game, but I figured it fitted here the most.

I'm currently busy getting my map screen into the final format and there's still some stuff that's bothering me. The map shows an overhead portion of Amsterdam, and as such, it's quite cluttered. I'm not an avid fan of pixel hunting, so I'm thinking how best to approach this problem.

For reference:

Gabriel Knight 1 had a simple map. Just a vague blue/green background and icons on which you could click. These icons represented various locations you could visit. This made the map very easy, very quick and the need to pixel-hunt was very efficiently terminated. The game was divided into several days, so it was a big surprise which of these locations you had to visit in order to complete a day.

Gabriel Knight 2 solved this problem. Locations you had to visit could blink if you pressed the HINT button. Apart from the Neuschwanstein bug (it never stopped blinking) this worked very well too.

Monkey Island 1 had this large overhead view of the first island. If you moved your cursor over a location you could visit, its name would come up. This worked very well, since there weren't many locations you could visit.

The Fate of Atlantis used a similar method as well, e.g. when you traversed the outer ring of Atlantis. This maze-like structure had rooms you could visit, by simply clicking on them. The purpose of the room remained a mystery until you arrived.

Now... onto Buccaneer 2.



Below is the area map of Buccaneer 2. It uses a system very similar to FoA and MI. This is because I'm using Proskrito's fabulous GUI, so the MapRoom function came along with it.

However, on this map screen we're looking at about 12 locations you can visit. Not instantly, but near the end of the game, there will be 12 visitable locations. Now, some of these can be eliminated (e.g. on a certain day, not all 12 locations are neccessary, so they aren't there).

My main problem with this map is the pixelhunting that will be required to visit these locations. The labels appear only when you move your mouse over them. I don't think it's adventure-fun to try and find a carpenter's workshop by moving across the entire map one inch at a time.

I've been thinking about doing "a GK2" where you could press the HINT-button and have all the visible locations be highlighted. This would, IMHO, decrease the immersive factor somewhat... so I'm somewhat stumped.

And now, after several paragraphs, finally, my question. What system do you prefer? Or, do you perhaps have any suggestions for me?

[Rui 'Trovatore' Pires]

Try what Discworld Noir did - highlight the locations when they become available. Together with the system and layout you have it might be the best way to elliminate pixel-hunting.

[Haddas]

You could make the non-visitable locations grey

[Sam.]

Perhaps, when a new location is made available to the player, like they find out where something is, the map screen flashes up, and the location is highlited, then normal play returns, this allows the player to see where everything is.

[Mats Berglinn]

Maybe you could have a symbol over the particular place like in Sam and Max: Hit the Road so it's easier to remember what place have been found and not. The symbols of the locations of S&M only appeared after you knew about where to go next (except from Sam and Max's quaters, the carnival and the three Snuckey's places).

[Scummbuddy]

For the ones that are able to be visited, I would suggest a shining efftect, like a twinkling star, or just animate the whole area that can be visited. Lights, bugs/birds flying.

[simulacra]

Or why not have labels in the map? I have noticed that this is a common strategy in real world maps. 

[RickJ]

To pickup on Scumm's suggestion, I notice that nearly all the lights are off.  You could turn on the lights, animate the doors, or the other stuff ScummyB suggests.

[Evil]

I agree that the Discworld idea looks the best, but I think making the unvisitable areas grey instead would work better with your style.

[edmundito]

What if you made it kind of like an actual paper map of the city, where everything is one paper-like hue and to those sections you can go to are highlighted with color. The character can still walk around the map and stuff....

[sergiocornaga]

I agree with the Discworld Noir idea. It's exactly what I was thinking as I read the first post.

[Hobbes]

How does this Discworld Noir idea work exactly?

When the places become available, they're highlighted permanently?

[Rui 'Trovatore' Pires]

Sorta, yes. What happens is, whenever a new location becomes available, a little icon appeard in the corner of the screen and a sound played. Then when you went to the map screen, what you had was essencially the background... and the locations you wanted to visit highlit. They essencially seemed a bit brighter than the rest of the locations.

Kinda like this:

[aussie]

Perhaps just put little icon (as an object) on the locations you can visit.

Say it's a carpenter. Just make a little green circle with a hammer inside.

Otherwise the lights on/off idea sounds good to me.