Atlases
Virtual cities : an atlas of exploration of video game cities
The AGS Library added a new atlas to the collection. Virtual Cities: An Atlas & Exploration of Video Game Cities by Konstantinos Dimopoulos. 224 pages, ISBN 1682686094 by Countryman Press, 2020.
“Spanning decades of digital history, this is the ultimate travel guide and atlas of the gamer imagination. Dimopoulos invites readers to share his vision of dozens of different gaming franchises like never before: discover Dimopoulos’s Half-Life 2’s City 17, Yakuza 0’s Kamurocho, Fallout’s New Vegas, Super Mario Odyssey’s New Donk City, and many more. Each chapter of this virtual travel guide consists of deep dives into the history and lore of these cities from an in-universe perspective. Illustrated with original color ink drawings and―of course―gorgeous and detailed maps, readers can explore the nostalgic games of their youth as well as modern hits. Sidebars based on the author’s research tell behind-the-scenes anecdotes and reveal the real-world stories that inspired these iconic virtual settings. With a combination of stylish original maps, illustrations, and insightful commentary and analysis, this is a must-have for video game devotees, world-building fans, and game design experts. 100 color illustrations.” — amazon.com
Konstantinos Dimopoulos studied urban planning and city geography for 10 years and holds a PhD. He has worked on the cities, settlements, and maps of several games including MMO Seed, The Sinking City, and more. He lives in Athens, Greece.
Mapping Fantasy Land: Karen Wynn Fonstad
By Lauren Maddox
J.R.R. Tolkien’s stories pushed fantasy into the mainstream and have passed through the hands of generations of eager fantasy readers. The genre was forever different after The Lord of the Rings— and people still love Tolkein’s works!
Part of the allure of fantasy for many readers is the chance to escape to another, fully-formed world. This is one of the reasons that speculative fiction has become such a thriving genre and why games like Dungeons and Dragons are now more popular than ever– not just because of Stranger Things.
But when you construct an immersive world that people want to become a part of, you have to answer a lot of practical questions about the layout of your world. You are tasked with mapping a place that doesn’t physically exist.
Worry not, fantasy fan! It’s not an impossible job to map fantasy land– and it was job beautifully done by one of the University of Wisconsin’s own: Karen Wynn Fonstad.
Fonstad received her MA in Geography with a specialization in Cartography from the University of Oklahoma. She went on to become the Director of Cartographic Services at UW-Oshkosh and was heavily involved with Oshkosh’s city planning. In 1970, she stepped down from her position as Director in order to raise her two children. But during this time she worked on several exciting fantasy atlases: The Atlas of Middle Earth, The Atlas of Pern, The Atlas of the Land, The Atlas of the Forgotten Realms, and The Atlas of the Dragonlance World. Fans might recognize some of those names from Tolkien, D&D, Anne McCaffrey’s science fiction and others. Fonstad’s work meant a lot to fans of those worlds, who felt like the atlases were a way to connect to the worlds they loved so much.
Fonstad passed away in 2005, but her work continues on in the hearts of those who were touched by her dedication to mapping fantasy lands. In the AGSL there are multiple atlases by Fonstad including her revised Atlas of Middle Earth, from which selections throughout this post were taken.
American Geographical Society Library 