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What purpose do maps serve when it comes to worldbuilding? Besides the obvious, that is showing how places in the world are linked to each other, they provide useful information both to the characters and the audience viewing them. You could even go so far as to say that designing great fantasy maps is beneficial in terms of constructing an imaginary world.
Maps are chock full of information that enable those viewing them to see just how large the world they call home is. There are a variety of maps, each one showing a different aspect of said world, which help people make sense of the world around them. Some are regional, national, worldwide, and local.
Great fantasy maps don’t remain the same throughout history. Rather, they evolve with the times. Earlier versions are made obsolete with the discovery of new lands, changes in names of places like towns or countries, and advancements in technology that make mapmaking simpler and more precise than ever.
Besides serving as a vehicle for people to make sense of the world around them, fantasy maps help people, notably those from distant lands, form connections with each other. This allows them to develop relationships that benefit the world which range from business to personal. In some cases, they even lead to revolutions that take the world by storm.
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Even though they might be fictional and live in an imaginary world, people still need to understand the world around them. They need to see what it looks like even though they may not necessarily desire to explore its every nook and cranny. That’s where maps come in.
Great fantasy maps show people what the world looks like, at least on paper. They see names of places they may never visit but are curious about, after hearing stories about them from travelers and explorers. Names of places filled with beauty like cities, geographical features such as mountains, and even areas to avoid like hostile nations reach their ears, making them wonder just where all these places are.
While every town and city might have just the local map showing all the important points of interest, they also feature one of the country they reside in. Residents usually look at them before setting out on a journey, whether it be to the capital on business, or going to the forest to do some hunting. This helps them plan it out so that they can stock up on all the necessary supplies before heading out.
There are a variety of great fantasy maps. Some are continent-wide, showing all the shapes and sizes of the various nations on the landmass and their location, some are worldwide, whereas others are more narrow in terms of scope. The former is usually seen in the largest cities of the world, typically the capital, where the rulers of the countries spend countless hours poring over where they take up entire walls or are enormous in size.
In times of war, maps become an important asset. The rulers and military leaders study various maps, searching to find potential vectors to attack and places that require more fortifications to guard against an impending assault. Thus, having an in-depth knowledge of them is vital to victory.
Just as in those in the real world, maps in imaginary realms don’t remain the same, changing throughout history. This makes them useful for historians and archivists who work tirelessly to preserve all historical elements for posterity since they can look at them to see how their ancestors saw the world as it stood then. In other words, maps offer a glimpse of the world at a particular point in time.
Many of the first great fantasy maps were drawn by hand. As such, the size of landmasses are typically exaggerated or mythical elements such as dragons were marked. Cartographers had to painlessly work to produce at least semi-accurate maps since they were still learning about the world they call home. This trend of hand-drawing maps persisted for thousands of years, depending on the rate in which the world advanced technologically.
Advancements in various technologies over the centuries made the process of creating maps easier than before. Objects such as the compass enabled cartographers to come up with maps that showed the cardinal directions, making navigation easier and more seamless. This led to people being able to figure out how to get to one place from another using using the correct directions by merely reading them.
Crucial step in the historical development of great fantasy maps occurred with the discovery of new lands previously unknown, changes in names of cities and countries, and so on. The first revealed a world larger than what people knew at the time and the maps reflected the overall size. In the second, it indicated changes in the power structure of the world such as a change in the regime or the rise/fall of a civilization, or the creation of a new power.
Seminal events in history that transformed the world such as the Industrial Revolution spearheaded the rise of new industries that made mapmaking more precise than ever. People were able to create more detailed maps that were as accurate as could be without resorting to making things more exaggerated.
Besides showing what the world looks like on paper, maps are important when it comes to interpersonal relationships. This makes them a great asset in terms of worldbuilding, since people rely on them to reach places that they’ve never been before where they can meet other kinds of people than the ones they know.
Great fantasy maps connect communities separated from each other whether by land or ocean. People use them to scout out new places or explore remote locations like tombs that are off the beaten path. In these places they learn new information that just might change their lives.
A superb example of this in action is when someone sails the ocean to an exotic location such as an island resort or another continent. This person could very well wind up meeting the person he is fated to be with for the rest of his life or find someone willing to invest in his business idea that has the potential to take the world by storm.
People use great fantasy maps to help them move around the world. This especially comes in handy when they’re in new locales like cities where they need time to familiarize themselves in surroundings unknown to them. They rely on them to find their way to places they want to check out.
In these end, fantasy maps are so much more than just images on paper. They show the world as it stands with its landmasses and bodies of water, both of which make civilization possible. You’d be hard-pressed not to feature one in your own fictional world!
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