Maps in Games

Finding our way in the diaspora of game worlds

Guaranteeing Guidance in Times of Need

Returning once more to diegetic game maps, and also to the ruined game world of Fallout 3, we find the Pip-Boy 3000. This wrist-borne device is used as a general HUD, which also serves as a readout for the player’s ongoing statistics and inventory. Here we see it in map mode, giving a wireframe readout of the surrounding area.

The map will displays road, areas of scrub and labelled points of interest, as well as the in-game date and time. Use of the Pip-Boy 3000 will freeze gameplay, unlike the examples we’ve seen in Far Cry 2 and Minecraft, which gives the player more time to read quest logs and otherwise orient themselves. As for its scale, there are clear settings for a world map mode (pictured above) and a local mode, but I do not have any examples of this to hand.

Screenshot from an article at Three Parts Theory, from a game I’ve not played myself.

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