Detailed environment maps can bring a game to life.
Whether you are the dungeon master of a tabletop game or developing the newest first-person shooter, the structure of the levels you play are all determined by maps. Small environment concepts eventually evolve into larger topographies used as a gaming aid or developed even further into 3D environments and entire game worlds.
You don't need to be a big-name game developer to create maps. No matter what game you are creating, the system for creating maps remains the same. With little cost and a bit of imagination, you can draw your own game maps at home.
Instructions
1. Write down everything you want to include in your map. If you are creating a map for an outside environment, decide if it will be an entire continent or just a part of one. If you are creating an interior map, decide how complex the structure will be. Jot down notes about what sort of mood you want to achieve, what sort of climate the area will have and what sort of creatures will roam your landscape.
2. Sketch out a rough draft of your map. Draw a coastline if it is a continent or if the land borders large bodies of water. Make notes on where you want mountain ranges, caves, valleys and forests. Mark out the locations of major cities, towns and villages. If you are drawing a map for a dungeon or the inside of a building, make sure to sketch out any hidden passageways, treasure rooms and rooms with major enemies.
3. Take your ruler and measure out the scale of your map. Say you want your island to be 1,000 meters long and you decide every 1 centimeter on the graph paper represents 40 meters. Your island will then need to be 25 centimeters long. You can then break the measurement down further to make distances on your map easily understood from different points of view (for example: 1 centimeter equals 40 meters or 131 feet). Write down the measurements in the corner of your map.
4. Draw your map on a piece of graph paper, making sure to follow your initial sketch and scale measurements. Use your ruler to draw straight edges, your drafting compass to draw circles and your protractor to measure angles. Add anything to the map that you forgot to place on your rough draft. Landmarks, monuments and dangerous areas are some of the things you may have missed. Find out which way is north on your map and draw an arrow indicating north.
5. Place topographical and environmental elements on your map. Sketch leafy or bushy areas to represent forests, rocky and bumpy areas to represent mountains and short, repeating horizontal lines to represent desert. Add jutted and jagged edges to your coastlines. When creating a dungeon, a dark bubbling pool could be sludge while a dark zigzag could represent a huge fissure. Make sure to add doors, traps, monsters and treasure. Draw furniture and other decor if you are designing a building interior.
6. Create a symbol legend. People use this chart to reference what the environmental drawings on your map mean. Use a separate piece of paper for this. Since you want people to know that a leafy area on the map is a forest, sketch a portion of leafy area and label it "Forest". Do the same with mountains, deserts, wastelands and any other marking on the map that may confuse players. You can also create symbol legends for creatures, traps, items and anything else.
7. Label the names of landmarks, cities and points of interest. Put names on continents, bodies of water and important pieces of land. In dungeons and interior spaces, label rooms and different parts of the structure. This will make it easier for players to figure out where they are geographically. Sign, date and label your map. Write down what game or campaign it is from, what landmass it belongs to and the name of the area, or structure itself. If your map is part of a multiple-level building, make sure to indicate what floor of the building it is.
8. Trace over your map with your fine-tip pen to make it permanent. Omit this section if you want to erase parts of your map and recreate things as the game moves on. You can also color your map with colored pencils and markers, which will help make the different terrains and interior features more recognizable.
