Artist Kat Masback creates some exceptional imaginary maps (among other things). Seen above is watery map redux – which is not where the title of this post comes from. For that, check her hungry river (seen at the end of this post), which quotes an 1845 report on the Mississippi River from the Army Corps of [...]
I loved topographic maps as a kid, and still do. Fortunately, the Skyrim Geological Survey, after quite an effort, has provided a topographic map of Skyrim and surrounding provinces (first spotted on r/MapPorn). For those who have ventured into Tamriel before, the map should be a delight. For those who haven’t, it should at least [...]
…at least, so far as this excellent hand-drawn map of the early text-based computer dungeon-crawl Zork is concerned. In fact, the map appears to capture Zork during the brief period in which it was known as Dungeon, before a cease-and-desist letter forced it back to its original name. Drawn by one Steven Roy (about whom [...]
Board games are more intriguing now than they’ve been in decades, but it’s still rare to see a boardgame map as beautiful and enticing as that of Magic Realm, pictured above. Originally released in 1979, and designed by Richard Hamblen (designer of the original Merchant of Venus, the updated version of which I reviewed recently), [...]
Fifty years ago, Jerry Gretzinger began to draw a map. He’s still drawing it, having let it grow in the intervening decades to an astounding 2,600 panels covering 2,000 square feet. Each panel is drawn and redrawn in an aleatoric fashion reminiscent of composers like John Cage — every morning, Gretzinger draws from a deck of [...]
We’re not much given to endorsing commercial products here at the Atlas, but we love us a good fantasy city map, and the Iconic Town from Jonathan Roberts (who runs the Fantastic Maps blog) is a fine example. Better yet (at least, for those wanting to create their own similar maps for use in RPG [...]
Being representative of places, many maps have a kind of natural power to make one want to visit the places represented, to enter the world depicted flatly before you. But few have the power to make one want to read about the locations that inspired the cartographer’s pen. The Scarred World shown above, produced by [...]
For gamers of a certain age, the letters E1M1 spell Doom — the early first-person shooter that popularized the genre and arguably kicked off the mainstreaming of PC gaming. Pictured above is Hangar, the first map (M1) of the first episode (E1), as found on the Classic Doom site devoted to the game. (I was [...]
The Mapping Ararat project uses Layar augmented reality technology to bring to life an 1825 scheme to create a Jewish homeland on the 30 square miles of New York State’s Grand Island, which lies between Niagara Falls and the city of Buffalo (see map at end of post). The plan was the brainchild of one [...]
It’s damn hard locating an imaginary map that has much to do with Mother’s Day — we failed at it. However, a MySpace profile called mom is still watching u has led us, through some intensive research (as MySpace profiles do), to one of the best imaginary maps we’ve come across in some time. Pictured above [...]
