Interview Massive Interview with Swen Vincke at Rock Paper Shotgun

[The Dude]

I love how outspoken he is, really too rare in a business so full of PR-speak, though it might help that the publishers he's commenting on are dead and buried.

As I am slogging through the final parts of Dragon Commander at the moment I must say that I totally forgot how much I enjoy Larian's brand of writing, though the RTS part really is so-so.

 

[Xenich]

Except for games where mapping and mapmaking-misdirection are gameplay components (eg early Wizardries), I have no problem with map markers being used as an automap function. They should only appear once the player has been given the relevant information within the gameworld. Basically, the game itself should operate as though it expects you to mark coordinates for yourself - but I have no problem with it then saving me the trouble of doing so manually. The problem with things like quest arrows is the arbitrariness and disconnection from the gameworld, as well as the elimination of exploration. Being able to ask a NPC for directions to a known landmark, like a town hall or hotel (i.e. something where you would expect 'exploration' to be a matter of asking for directions, as opposed to the supposedly mysterious hidden cave of demons being magically marked out for me), and then having the option to ask the NPC to point out where it is on the town map, causing a map marker to appear, is fine. I only have a problem with it when it applies to things that shouldn't be common knowledge, or where you shouldn't really have a 'map' of; or where it becomes a 'quest compass' situation that eliminates exploration as a gameplay component.

Agreed. Nothing wrong with an auto-entry of the name of the town/village you just entered or very general markers for common knowledge or obvious locations, but what needs to be avoided is the ability for the player to "stumble" through someplace and have a marker pop on the map of a secret or important progression aspect to a quest while the player had no idea it was there. It is along the lines of some of the older games that had maps which showed the secret doors/paths/rooms on the map which you couldn't see in the game. It is a form of cheat or... handout which is counter to the purpose of this style of game.

 

[Xenich]

Divine Divinity had those mapmarkers, and you could get your own. I believed it appeared only after you discover the place. If it is like that, i see no problem at all.

Yes, but if I remember right, those map markers were general knowledge ones and very basic.