Category Archives: Articles

Mapping Old World– Map-It

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TL;DR – We continue our project of mapping historical video games with a look at Mohawk Games’ Old World

Rome.

Mapping Old World –

One of the joys I have discovered working on this site has been our mission to map historical video games. We started with Civilization, followed up with Humankind, and our next mission is Old World. I had played a bunch of Old World when it was back in beta, and now that its next expansion, Pharaohs of the Nile, has arrived, I knew it was time to jump into this map.

Before we dive in, a couple of quick notes: while all attempts have been made to ensure that everything is accurately placed, putting this together meant working from multiple sources, map projections, and sometimes not firm locations. As such, no matter how much you try, there might be slight discrepancies. This is increased in places with many locations grouped into a small area [cough Greece cough]. So take this as indicative of the place, not a pinpoint location. Also, some entries could be one of several different locations; in that case, I had to make a call about which one it was.

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Mapping Jet Lag– Map-It

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TL;DR – We chart all of Jet Lag as they galivant across the globe.

Jet Lag Map of New England

Mapping Jet Leg –

As we continue our project to Map Pop Culture, I thought I would step away from the video games and movies of the past and into new territory. One area of Pop Culture that we have yet to explore is the world of Internet Culture. However, what would be the first step into this new space? Well, it needed to be something that respected maps, and I knew 100% who that would be.

If you have never watched Jet Lag, can I tell you that you are missing out on some joy as Ben, Sam, Adam, and often a guest run across the world playing games like tag across Europe. There is a frantic, joyous energy to everything when someone looks dead into the camera and states, “Of course I brought a disguise!” It is that joy that we present our maps today.

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Humankind: Cultures of Oceania – Map-It

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TL;DR – We map all of the eras of Humankind all in one map … okay many maps

Indian Subcontinent.

Humankind Map

One of the joys I get is mapping out universes, while I have charted out movie universes like the MCU and Grand Designs. However, one of my favourite things has been charting how 4X video games explore the world and its history. Today, I get to update one of the most complicated maps I have ever made for this channel, charting all of Humankind up to the Cultures of Oceania DLC from Amplitude Studios and Sega.

We started this mapping process last year, and it took many different attempts before we found a mapping system that worked. Chaos mode is fun, but it is not always revealing. The First Map covered everything from the base game and up to the Cultures of Latin America DLC. This update includes everything since then, including the Para Bellum Wonders Pack, the Together We Rule Expansion Pack, and the titular Cultures of Oceania DLC.

As a reminder, we have split all the content into eras, and if you want to look at the chaos of what we get when all of them are together, then wait until the end. As always, a big thanks to the Humankind Wiki for collating all the cities for me so I did not have to dive into the code. Also, if you want to find out more about all the locations indicated on the map, check out our Humankind Cartographic Educational Database.

While all attempts have been made to ensure that everything is accurately placed, putting this together meant working from multiple sources, map projections, and sometimes not firm locations. As such, no matter how much you try, there might be slight discrepancies. With that in mind, let us dive into the maps. Also, please note that the map files are pretty big, so there may be loading issues if you are looking on Mobile.  

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Mapping the Uncharted Games – Map-It

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TL;DR – We map the route Nathan Drake, and the gang took on their adventures in the quadrilogy of games.  

Mapping Uncharted –

Whenever I upload one of my maps, I ask if there is anything else people would like to map? Often, I get some excellent suggestions, and today’s is just such a case. A little birdy asked me if I could map the Uncharted video game series? Well, yes, of course, I could, and after much thought, I decided to do it in the same style as my Indiana Jones Trilogy map. You will instantly get the comparison if you have played/watched the two.

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Mapping Star Trek Series – Map-It

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TL;DR – We map every location on Earth used as a ship name in the Star Trek universe.

The fleet comes together.

Mapping Star Trek –

At the end of last season of Star Trek: Lower Decks, we were introduced to nineteen new members of the California Class. Which made me wonder where they fit on a map of California and lo our Lower Decks Map was created. However, since then, I have wondered what would happen if we expanded it globally. We have had 849 episodes of Star Trek at the time of writing, so we have charted every ship, shuttle, class and transport named after an Earth location.  

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Halo Infinite – Or How I Found the Love of a Game Without Playing the Main Game

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TL;DR – I discovered why so many people love the Halo series by exploring the custom content with friends.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Game Pass that obtained this game.

Halo Infinite title card.

Halo Infinite Review –

When I was growing up, my family had a PC, so I did not grow up with the console classics that so many of my friends had. I had heard of Halo. You can’t live in the video game space without knowing who Master Chief is. I listened to the musical score at performances and understood why people worldwide break into that hum on command. I had watched the previous games streamed on Twitch, and I even watched the Halo TV series. However, no matter what I  did, I only felt like an observer, like an academic who never does fieldwork. But all of that changed one day.

I had dipped in when Halo Infinite first came out of PC. It was on Game Pass, so there was not a significant financial barrier for me to drop into. A lot of it did feel like the shooters that I was familiar with. Come capture that flag, kill as many enemies as possible, find that sniper, or keep on the point. I was running around mantling up ledges, jumping over crevices that could lead to your death, and finding the gun set-up that works for you. While there were some of these more familiar elements to grab onto. However, my head or the keyboard/mouse controller did not click with the grenade, gun, and melee combo. Add some jump crouches and odd slides, and I fell away until earlier this year.

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Mapping Enya’s Orinoco Flow – Map-It

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TL;DR – We map all the references made in Enya’s Orinoco Flow from Bali to Cali, far beneath the Coral Sea

Ocean and Clouds

Mapping Orinoco Flow –

Some songs are so iconic that you can recognise them by a single chord or word. For me [and I assume many others], one of those songs is Enya’s Orinoco Flow. The song has a rare power to rip me back to the early 1990s in a way I don’t think any other work of media can.

Orinoco Flow is a cultural touchstone, so of course, it has been used in films and TV, both full of irony or used with sincerity. Recently, it was used to strong effect in Gran Turismo, and as I was listening to it, the song came alive. For maybe the first time, I didn’t just vibe with it. I listened to the lyrics.

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The Flight of the Milkmen in Twisted Metal Season 1 – Map-It

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TL;DR – We chart the route of John Doe the Milkman through post-apocalyptic America in Twisted Metal.

A vulture on the roof.

Mapping Twisted Metal –

We have just finished Twisted Metal, and at the time of writing, our full review will be out soon. I did want to take a moment to look at the route that they took across the post-apocalyptic landscape of America.

In some respects, I got feelings of The Last of Us, but with a loop rather than a march across the continent. Also, vultures other than zombies. Oh, and a markedly increased vehicular murder count.

In the map, we have, of course, the main route that they take from New San Francisco to New Chicago and back again. But also every location mentioned in the show or seen on different maps. The red line is the apparent barricade stretching across the continent, a significant effort. I would have liked to see more walled-up cities, but this was a good start.

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Mapping Mission: Impossible 2023 Update – Map-It

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TL;DR – We map all the locations Ethan Hunt and his team have visited.  

Ethan Hunt/Tom Cruise running.

Mapping the Impossible –

All the way back in the before times of 2018, one of the first maps we constructed for our Map-It series was of the Mission: Impossible franchise. It was an old-style map, and parts of it have not aged all that well. But with Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One jumping back onto our screens galivanting across the planet, now felt like the perfect time for an update.

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How a World Map Got the Barbie Movie Banned in Vietnam – Map-It

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TL;DR – We explore the context behind why the Barbie movie got banned in Vietnam.

Barbie Land.

Barbie World Map Time –

When you dive into the world of media classification, many odd things can get a movie/show/game banned in a particular country. Pepper Pig could have an episode on Spiders are Friends, which you understandably don’t want to air in Australia. Or Zoolander being banned in Malaysia, which is fair given the country’s depiction. But can a film be banned for a map? Well, yes, as the Barbie Movie has found out today.

This leads us to have a bit of a different Map-It than usual as I combine my twin loves of Pop-Culture and International Relations to explain what has happened. To start with, what happened? Yesterday it was announced by Vi Kiến Thành, head of the Department of Cinema under the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, that National Council for Film Appraisal and Classification had banned the Barbie film after a review of the movie [1]. But why could a map get a film banned? Well, can I introduce you to the Nine-Dash Line and Exclusive Economic Zones.

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