Long-Form Games That Don't Require Mapping - an IFDB Poll
by Sdn
RSS FeedPlaying Losing Your Grip has reminded me of just how tedious I find manual mapping in lengthy games, no matter how much I enjoy everything else. So, I'm looking for some long, engrossing games that don't require the player to draw maps.
A game qualifies if it has one of the following features:
1) Can be played without the player drawing a map
2) Includes a built-in map
3) Includes a comprehensive feelie map
| The King of Shreds and Patches, by Jimmy Maher 6 votes "A built-in map is..." [+]"A built-in map is displayed in the top half of the screen." --Sdn... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Ghalev... "Even without the..." [+]"Even without the benefit of the built-in map, I never felt confused about the layout of the game -- and that's despite its huge size." ( ) --Felix Pleșoianu... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --amciek... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sobol... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --tekket...  Vote for this game | |
| Counterfeit Monkey, by Emily Short 5 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) ( ) --Sam Kabo Ashwell... "Has a fabulous..." [+]"Has a fabulous built-in interactive map that also tracks your movements." () --Sdn... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sobol... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --IFforL2... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --tekket... Vote for this game | |
| City of Secrets, by Emily Short 5 votes "The inclusion of..." [+]"The inclusion of a compass rose and a vague, but nevertheless useful, map made mapping unnecessary." ( ) --Sdn... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Ghalev... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --verityvirtue... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sobol... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --IFforL2... Vote for this game | |
| Superluminal Vagrant Twin, by C.E.J. Pacian 3 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) ( - Full review) --Sobol... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Denk... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Edo... Vote for this game | |
| Mentula Macanus: Apocolocyntosis, by One of the Bruces and Drunken Bastard 3 votes "No map required" [+]"No map required: The game provides one, and I enjoyed looking at it, but the game makes navigation super-easy to visualize at all times without cartographic assistance." ( ) --Ghalev... "There is a pdf..." [+]"There is a pdf map included, but the fact that the game only uses the four main cardinal directions meant that I rarely had to refer to it anyway." () --Sdn... "The game world is..." [+]"The game world is huge, but it's organized into distinct areas and is easy to navigate. It also helps that there are no NW, SW, NE or SE exits anywhere; an interesting design decision, very appropriate for this game." () --Sobol... Vote for this game | |
| Beyond Zork, by Brian Moriarty 2 votes "Excellent in-game map" [+]"Excellent in-game map: Not all interpreters play well with it, but it's a fine long-form game that completely strips away any mapping needs." ( ) --Ghalev... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Sdn... Vote for this game | |
| Spider and Web, by Andrew Plotkin 1 vote "The linearity of..." [+]"The linearity of the game meant that mapping was never necessary. " ( ) --Sdn... Vote for this game | |
| The Dreamhold, by Andrew Plotkin 1 vote "If you play the..." [+]"If you play the iOS version, there is built-in map." ( ) --Sdn... Vote for this game | |
| Cragne Manor, by Ryan Veeder, Jenni Polodna, Adam Whybray, Adri, Andrew Plotkin, Andy Holloway, Austin Auclair, Baldur Brückner, Ben Collins-Sussman, Bill Maya, Brian Rushton, Buster Hudson, Caleb Wilson, Carl Muckenhoupt, Chandler Groover, Chris Jones, Christopher Conley, Damon L. Wakes, Daniel Ravipinto, Daniel Stelzer, David Jose, David Petrocco, David Sturgis, Drew Mochak, Edward B, Emily Short, Erica Newman, Feneric, Finn Rosenløv, Gary Butterfield, Gavin Inglis, Greg Frost, Hanon Ondricek, Harkness Munt, Harrison Gerard, Ian Holmes, Ivan Roth, Jack Welch, Jacqueline Ashwell, James Eagle, Jason Dyer, Jason Lautzenheiser, Jason Love, Jeremy Freese, Joey Jones, Joshua Porch, Justin de Vesine, Justin Melvin, Katherine Morayati, Kenneth Pedersen, Lane Puetz, Llew Mason, Lucian Smith, Marco Innocenti, Marius Müller, Mark Britton, Mark Sample, Marshal Tenner Winter, Matt Schneider, Matt Weiner, Matthew Korson, Michael Fessler, Michael Gentry, Michael Hilborn, Michael Lin, Mike Spivey, Molly Ying, Monique Padelis, Naomi Hinchen, Nate Edwards, Petter Sjölund, Q Pheevr, Rachel Spitler, Reed Lockwood, Reina Adair, Riff Conner, Roberto Colnaghi, Rowan Lipkovits, Sam Kabo Ashwell, Scott Hammack, Sean M. Shore, Shin, Wade Clarke, Zach Hodgens, Zack Johnson 1 vote "84 rooms and huge, but never had to map." [+]"84 rooms and huge, but never had to map." ( - Full review) --MathBrush... Vote for this game | |
| Goldilocks is a FOX!, by J. J. Guest 1 vote "Mark Tilford's..." [+]"Mark Tilford's Inform port of this long, fairytale spoof includes a automated map." --J. J. Guest... Vote for this game | |
| Cryptozookeeper, by Robb Sherwin 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) --Sdn... Vote for this game | |
| Bronze, by Emily Short 1 vote "It's huge, but a..." [+]"It's huge, but a number of commands, including GO TO <room name> and being able to call up a list of rooms visited makes it much less painful and much easier to play." ( ) --verityvirtue... Vote for this game | |
| Blighted Isle, by Eric Eve 1 vote "You can tell the parser/narrator where you want to go, and she'll take you one step at a time. This allows you to change your mind and detour if you want." [+]"You can tell the parser/narrator where you want to go, and she'll take you one step at a time. This allows you to change your mind and detour if you want." ( ) --IFforL2... Vote for this game | |
| Blue Lacuna, by Aaron A. Reed 1 vote "Easy to navigate..." [+]"Easy to navigate thanks to features like landmarks and keyword-based travel; however, the world map is expansive. So, in the end I switched to compass directions and mapped out quite a bit of it, but I think it can still be managed without a map, thanks to the aforementioned features." ( ) --Sdn... Vote for this game | |
| Magnetic Moon [2019 ADRIFT version], by Larry Horsfield 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( ) --Denk... Vote for this game | |
| Make It Good, by Jon Ingold 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( ) --Sdn... Vote for this game | |
| Scroll Thief, by Daniel M. Stelzer 1 vote "Being made..." [+]"Being made primarily of a combination of centralized hubs and two-exit only rooms, navigation is easy. But there are plenty of puzzles to tinker with." ( ) --Floating Info... Vote for this game | |
| So Far, by Andrew Plotkin 1 vote "Long, difficult,..." [+]"Long, difficult, easy to navigate. (It helps that it's split up in many "worlds" of more manageable size.)" --Christina Nordlander... Vote for this game | |
| Varicella, by Adam Cadre 1 vote "The symmetrical..." [+]"The symmetrical design makes navigation tolerable without drawing a map." ( ) --Sdn... Vote for this game | |