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14153: [MUD-Dev] Maps and children's lit. (fwd)
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From: J C Lawrence <claw@kanga.nu>
Newsgroups: nu.kanga.list.mud-dev
Date: Thu, 29 Jun 2000 22:09:53 -0700
Organization: Kanga.Nu
Given the prevalence of maps in MUDs, this seems curiously relevant:
------- Forwarded Message
Date: Fri, 30 Jun 2000 07:36:47 +0300
From: kseigneurie <kseigneurie@lau.edu.lb>
Subject: Maps and children's lit.
To: NARRATIVE@ctrvax.Vanderbilt.Edu
Maybe it's a coincidence but within the past couple of months I've read
with my children _Treasure Island_, _The Phantom Toll-Booth_, and _Harry
Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban_, all of which prominently feature
maps as plot elements. My panel of experts also informs me that maps are
included at the beginning of many more children's books such as: _The
Narnia Chronicles_, _Tucker's Countryside_, _The Wind in the Willows_ --
not to mention the sheer number of maps/mazes in children's activity
magazines.
Ken Seigneurie
kseigneurie@lau.edu.lb
------- End of Forwarded Message
Asides from the strict utilitarian functions of "Where am I in the
world?", "What is the basic geography of this world?", and "Where am
I in coarse relation to that geography?", what is the
player-realised function of maps in MUDs? I have the feeling that
they serve more interesting uses in the creation a sense of
story/adventure for the players, and in helping to set inital goals
("I want to get to/see XYZ!"). Yet in my own play I always ignore
the maps, and in fact usually toss them aside and never even glance
at them.
--
J C Lawrence Home: claw@kanga.nu
----------(*) Other: coder@kanga.nu
--=| A man is as sane as he is dangerous to his environment |=--
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