For centuries, humans have used maps to help guide them around the world. A simple, scaled picture of your location and its environs, maps are an invaluable resource as we seek to conquer the unknown. Their significance has continued into the world of videogames, virtual worlds that usually require just as much navigation as the real one.
The concept of physical game maps also began with the need to add value to videogame releases. Do you need something cheapish to put in the box that’s relevant to the game? A map of the game, annotated either accurately or inaccurately, would provide a moment of thrill upon opening. Even better, make the map artistic, and it could become collectable, or even displayable, a bespoke wall-mounted talking point that would surely form the highlight of any home.
The earliest arcade games were generally too straightforward to require maps, but as the computer-game market grew in the Eighties, more complex games required assistance. Branded as ‘feelies’ – a catch-all term for any extraneous physical item included with a videogame – maps suddenly became an important facet, helping to guide players around convoluted fantasy worlds in particular. “I’d argue that humans tend to enjoy all maps and have been and a physical game map aficionado. “They are an important tool for our imagination, as they spur it on to visualise places to go along with the names and lines.” Fellow journalist and author of the feature,
