🌫🌫🌫
many ways to make an island
an (ongoing) thread of physical map generation games
🌫🌫🌫
many ways to make an island
an (ongoing) thread of physical map generation games
🌫🌫🌫
1: memory palace (for one):
> get a piece of paper
> remember all the places you have lived: try to visualize their layouts
> draw a top-down floorplan of the first bedroom you can remember, especially marking the doors
> get a piece of paper
> remember all the places you have lived: try to visualize their layouts
> draw a top-down floorplan of the first bedroom you can remember, especially marking the doors
> connect it to a room in a more recent house, drawing that floorplan
> repeat until your paper is full or you run out of doors to connect to
> fill rooms with furniture, labels, and other detail as needed
> repeat until your paper is full or you run out of doors to connect to
> fill rooms with furniture, labels, and other detail as needed
2: dominoes:
>play a game of dominoes, by yourself or with a friend.
>(attempt to keep the dominoes in a tighter shape, unless you want long islands!)
>play a game of dominoes, by yourself or with a friend.
>(attempt to keep the dominoes in a tighter shape, unless you want long islands!)
> once you are done, make a key, assigning numbers to different terrain types
> here is a key i used:
empty- water
0- city
1- meadow
2- forest
3- desert
4- plain
5- scrub
6- mountain
> fill the details of your map, adding markings to differentiate terrain
> name your place
> here is a key i used:
empty- water
0- city
1- meadow
2- forest
3- desert
4- plain
5- scrub
6- mountain
> fill the details of your map, adding markings to differentiate terrain
> name your place
3: iphone:
> go to settings > privacy > location services > system services > significant locations
> select a place in which you live or spend time
> trace the shape that appears
> use the densest locations as the highest elevations
> where you have no location data is water
> go to settings > privacy > location services > system services > significant locations
> select a place in which you live or spend time
> trace the shape that appears
> use the densest locations as the highest elevations
> where you have no location data is water
4: memory palace (for two):
> get a piece of paper
> remember the places you have lived: visualize their layouts
> draw the floorplan of a room you remember, marking the doors
> pass the paper to your friend. have them name the room and add details (furniture, windows, etc)
> get a piece of paper
> remember the places you have lived: visualize their layouts
> draw the floorplan of a room you remember, marking the doors
> pass the paper to your friend. have them name the room and add details (furniture, windows, etc)
> have your friend draw a connecting room from their own past & pass it back
> name the room and add details
> pick a door off that room and draw a connecting room from your past, and pass it back
> repeat until one of you runs out of rooms, doors, or the paper is full
> name the room and add details
> pick a door off that room and draw a connecting room from your past, and pass it back
> repeat until one of you runs out of rooms, doors, or the paper is full
5: keyboard:
> visualize your keyboard as a map
> type your name, or the name of something important to you
> connect the keys that touch into bigger landmasses- let the individual ones be isolated islands
> let the number of presses determine scale
> draw your island chain
> visualize your keyboard as a map
> type your name, or the name of something important to you
> connect the keys that touch into bigger landmasses- let the individual ones be isolated islands
> let the number of presses determine scale
> draw your island chain
6: stars
> play at night (in an area with light pollution)
> go outside
> mark down the stars that you can see on a piece of paper
> these are your cities
> the brighter the star the bigger the city
> draw landmasses shaped around them
> name them
> play at night (in an area with light pollution)
> go outside
> mark down the stars that you can see on a piece of paper
> these are your cities
> the brighter the star the bigger the city
> draw landmasses shaped around them
> name them
7: google maps
> open a maps application
> turn on terrain view
> zoom all the way out
> swipe a few times, moving the map around randomly
> zoom in very close
> screenshot what you find
> find the borders that will form the coastline
> trace them
> (repeat if needed)
> open a maps application
> turn on terrain view
> zoom all the way out
> swipe a few times, moving the map around randomly
> zoom in very close
> screenshot what you find
> find the borders that will form the coastline
> trace them
> (repeat if needed)
8: chess (for two):
> play a normal game of chess
> once done, get a piece of paper
> trace the final layout as your coastline
> play a normal game of chess
> once done, get a piece of paper
> trace the final layout as your coastline
chess (cont):
> taking turns, ‘spend’ the pieces you took during the game to place features on the map
> pawns : plains
> rooks : forests
> knights : deserts
> bishops : mountains
> queens & kings : cities
> when all the pieces have been spent, collaboratively name the features
> taking turns, ‘spend’ the pieces you took during the game to place features on the map
> pawns : plains
> rooks : forests
> knights : deserts
> bishops : mountains
> queens & kings : cities
> when all the pieces have been spent, collaboratively name the features
9: directions
> pick a (nearby) place
> draw directions from where you are to there (just the streets you’d take, no labels or instructions)
> pick another place
> draw directions to there from the first place
> repeat until you have a streetgrid
> label it with new names
> pick a (nearby) place
> draw directions from where you are to there (just the streets you’d take, no labels or instructions)
> pick another place
> draw directions to there from the first place
> repeat until you have a streetgrid
> label it with new names
10: flowers
> in the winter, scatter wildflower seeds in a place you can return to
> wait until spring
> when they are blooming, note how they have come up
> take a picture
> trace around their edges
> (you may choose to use the petal color as a type-of-terrain key)
> in the winter, scatter wildflower seeds in a place you can return to
> wait until spring
> when they are blooming, note how they have come up
> take a picture
> trace around their edges
> (you may choose to use the petal color as a type-of-terrain key)
11: mousetracker
this one is easy:
> install a cursor tracker (iographica.com is a good one)
> let it run as you use your computer normally
> trace around the resultant image
> places your mouse paused will form dots (cities)
> places your mouse avoided are water
this one is easy:
> install a cursor tracker (iographica.com is a good one)
> let it run as you use your computer normally
> trace around the resultant image
> places your mouse paused will form dots (cities)
> places your mouse avoided are water
12: tree shadow
> position a piece of paper under a plant on a sunny day
> trace around the shadows
> move the paper until you have islands, adding filigree or detail as needed
from:
(further reading: katiemwestmoreland.com/works-on-paper… & mnn.com/your-home/orga…)
> position a piece of paper under a plant on a sunny day
> trace around the shadows
> move the paper until you have islands, adding filigree or detail as needed
from:
(further reading: katiemwestmoreland.com/works-on-paper… & mnn.com/your-home/orga…)
