This is a bizarre question, I know. But what have you noticed about various directions you play in maps?

Let me clarify.

If you're playing a relatively simple map where the progress is in one general direction, which direction would you prefer it to be? Would you rather fight your way UP a map through enemies? Or DOWN? Or to the RIGHT? Or LEFT? Or into the CENTER?

Or if you have no preference, how are they different? What effect does each have on your mind/awareness? Or on the people you play with?

Again, I know this is a bizarre question. But I have a feeling that directions in maps make more difference than we might think, especially with how complicated the human psyche is. Or maybe it's more simple, like moving "up" in a map gives the feeling of "ascending", or a more "spiritual" sensation.

I don't know. What do you think?

I find that most bounds travel right, giving a feeling of motion, probably because most of us are right handed, it feels right to be going that way.
I rarely find that the centre gets used, [since it's the shortest possible distance].

No other feelings than that, really.

You forgot fighting outwards from the center like in Crash RPG . Most maps wouldn't flow without their direction.

It could also be because the isometric terrain creates the impression that we're already looking half way "up", and we progress by continuing in the direction we have the best view of. Or something like that.

Indeed.
Then there's the whole branch of rectangular terrain, and how that fucks up your perception, since you're looking straight down, yet the structures and units are facing at a 45deg angle.
Weird.

I don't care which way I am going, so long as it changes from time to time.

Cool input. I asked with a project in mind, so it wasn't just random. Thanks.

i always feel like i have to star from bottom left but not fromthe corner places
then start going up then right. More like a diagonal ways for some reason lol

I enjoy working from a corner of the map, and eventually working just all around it, the bottom left corner is my favorite I'd say, and then you slowly work in any direction.

I like starting at top right, then going down, then random. :]

I would generally go left to right. You can see more screen going left to right (or right to left) compared to going up/down.

I like bounds to start at top left, and RPGs to start at bottom left.

It all depends on the type of map imo.

RPG's - Start at corner (shows the rest of the map unexplored and kind of a hint of how much longer it is.)
Bounds - Left - Right
Defense - Doesn't matter.

Totally agreed:

The screen works as a "window" and thus when looking trought it from the angle needed to get the isometric perspective the depth is translated into the vertical coordinate.

I tried to mirror a screenshot to prove this. I didn't get what I expected, but anyway it's quite interesting:

Yeah, in that sense starting from a bottom corner does feel better. And most people are used to right to left, so bottom left corner makes the most sense.

Whoa! Trippy! Extended terrain gone wrong!




Maybe it's just me being so used to SC, but I can't seem to get the impression of a downward angle at all looking at that. Odd. I can still only think of it going upward while looking at that.

Post has been edited 2 time(s), last time on Apr 23 2008, 10:10 pm by Tuxedo-Templar.

Ascending makes me feel like im going somewhere

It's not extended... He just flipped the picture

Check it out:

He was just joking. The great tux is never wrong!
And your picture still needs an horizontal mirror to match the original one

Ah, something didn't seem right there, even though it looks normal, which just goes to show you how directions really make the game feel different, that picture doesn't feel right, but if you flip it correctly it feels fine.