Map Telephone

LSCatilina suggested the idea of doing a game of Telephone/Cadavre Exquis/Chinese Whispers, but with maps
 
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Great results, overall, altough there's a bit too much text and informations on maps, which certainly led to less random outcome.

That said, you miswrite the link for Dan's map.
 
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Krall

Banned
Great results, overall, altough there's a bit too much text and informations on maps, which certainly led to less random outcome.

I love all of these maps too - Alex's and Upvote's especially. I'm going to have to dissent on the "too much text on maps" issue though - I prefer it when the next person is informed as to what the map they're looking at actually shows, and has some other details about the timeline. That way their map is consistent with the previous one, rather than being based on incorrect assumptions and thus possibly being in a totally different timeline.

Like, I really like the possible timeline that could be made out of the zalezsky-Krall-Alex Richards maps (Reagent's and LSCatilina's would work with them, too), whereas the Reagent-UpvoteAnthology maps (whilst they look great) are less interesting to me because they're so disconnected from one another and the subsequent maps.

Edit: Oh yeah, I'd be down for doing this again too in a few weeks. I'd be okay with some text limitations (I did go a bit overboard :eek: ), but we should still allow people to put some sort of explanation of what the map actually shows on there.
 
I'm so down for another round this was SO much fun!
I'll put more effort into it since I rushed mine and finished it within roughly 2 hours... Didn't think people would put in such beautiful detail *cough!KRALL!cough*

Message me on skype or PM me on here or dA so we can do it again :) !
Crazy how much the maps jumped around!
 
I love all of these maps too - Alex's and Upvote's especially. I'm going to have to dissent on the "too much text on maps" issue though - I prefer it when the next person is informed as to what the map they're looking at actually shows, and has some other details about the timeline. That way their map is consistent with the previous one, rather than being based on incorrect assumptions and thus possibly being in a totally different timeline.

I will comment on this as an outsider (I think all of the map are quite nice, for the record):

1.Many of the more interesting idea that emerged from this game IMO occurred because of a lack of information. Upvoteanthology probably wouldn't have made a massive Indian Empire had they not mistaken Reagant's Armenian ethnic group for Indian. If Zalezsky explained thoroughly the intentions and aftershocks of Zunbil's conquests, then you couldn't have been able to create Zunism.

2. This may be a naming issues, but this activity is being advertised as "Map Telephone". The entire fun in telephone is seeing the phrase become garbled up with each transfer, which, I think, is where the interesting ideas referenced previously come from: the miscommunication, rather than the correct communication.

All of this really depends on what the activity is intended to be; It is a group of people working together collaboratively on a story (Then why hide the intended context?) or is the intention to see how the ideas warp through the different methods of conveying them?
 

Krall

Banned
I will comment on this as an outsider (I think all of the map are quite nice, for the record):

1.Many of the more interesting idea that emerged from this game IMO occurred because of a lack of information. Upvoteanthology probably wouldn't have made a massive Indian Empire had they not mistaken Reagant's Armenian ethnic group for Indian. If Zalezsky explained thoroughly the intentions and aftershocks of Zunbil's conquests, then you couldn't have been able to create Zunism.

2. This may be a naming issues, but this activity is being advertised as "Map Telephone". The entire fun in telephone is seeing the phrase become garbled up with each transfer, which, I think, is where the interesting ideas referenced previously come from: the miscommunication, rather than the correct communication.

All of this really depends on what the activity is intended to be; It is a group of people working together collaboratively on a story (Then why hide the intended context?) or is the intention to see how the ideas warp through the different methods of conveying them?

Yeah, it seems like there could be two different approaches to Map Telephone games - either the maps are given no context and the next person in the chain has to figure out what it actually shows and extrapolate from there, or the maps are given immediate context and the next person in the chain makes a map that's consistent with the previous map.

I prefer the latter approach, as randomness doesn't lend itself to interesting maps well in my opinion. Plus the context and background is an important part of a map - without context it's just a bunch of coloured blobs with labels - so I'd prefer to transfer that information on to the next person in the chain rather than just transfer the exact map itself with no info.

I do admit that I went a bit overboard, though. I think zalezsky had the right amount of information/text, whereas mine had a bit too much, and the first two had too little. Ideally the map should have enough info to provide context and a basis for extrapolating the rest of the world, but little enough to provide a lot of room for invention.
 
I agree with Turkish, the insanity of the miscommunication is what made it interesting. I won't go all out and say "No Text," but I say try to limit the amount of text. I'd love to see a story made out of Reagant's and Upvote's while Zalezsky's already got a story behind it.

It's the intrigue and secrecy that makes it so much fun. It's also rather fun to try to find a way to piece together and figure out how all of them could happen in the same timeline

But in other news, I'd love to join in a round!
 
This is pretty cool guys, I would myself be interested on participating. My minor caveat is that you seemed to post them all at a time when I was asleep -actually LS, how do you manage to be awake at 6 am? :p - . But it was a nice thing to wake up to.

This was really original, and whether its supposed to be more or less coordinated (as you discussing above), I still think it's very interesting.
 

Thande

Donor
Great idea for a concept, I wasn't aware this game had a French name so I have learned something there.

I think it would work better with somewhat simpler maps though. Perhaps it could also be done with flags instead/as well?
 
Great idea for a concept, I wasn't aware this game had a French name so I have learned something there.

I think it would work better with somewhat simpler maps though. Perhaps it could also be done with flags instead/as well?

The upside of maps is that they allow a wider representation of this reality. But they are quite taxing to make, so it makes the contest more exclusive (not in the good sense of the word, I mean). So the idea of combining them sounds good, perhaps people can choose which one to make? But if they make a flag maybe they should provide some contextual information about it or at least the name of the polity represented by the flag?
 

Thande

Donor
The upside of maps is that they allow a wider representation of this reality. But they are quite taxing to make, so it makes the contest more exclusive (not in the good sense of the word, I mean). So the idea of combining them sounds good, perhaps people can choose which one to make? But if they make a flag maybe they should provide some contextual information about it or at least the name of the polity represented by the flag?
Yeah, you'd have to come up with a balance on how much information is conveyed. If they do a flag it could perhaps be done as a page from a flag book where the country name is underneath and you can see a bit of the surrounding ones for more hints.

You could have a choice of different media to do, like how one of the entries above had artwork of a soldier and leader, that could work as an alternative option and so on.
 
actually LS, how do you manage to be awake at 6 am? :p -
I was working on another, actually payed, project and as I'm more productive early on the morning...
It's generally that I'm awake for a good part of the day for some time, and that eventually I've to sleep more than usual to recover. It works on cycles.

Great idea for a concept, I wasn't aware this game had a French name so I have learned something there.
There's a difference between téléphone arabe (telephone, chinese) and cadavre exquis.
The first is about transmitting something that get lost in transmission, and the other is about beggining something, and letting the other deal with the following.

I think this is much closer to a cadavre exquis than telephone.

I think it would work better with somewhat simpler maps though.
And pass the opportunity to show off?

Perhaps it could also be done with flags instead/as well?
I think it exists as a variant there, as in each people adding an element to the flag. However, it often ends with overloaded flags, which is rarely pretty.

Of course, it could rather be a follow-up of flags.

So the idea of combining them sounds good, perhaps people can choose which one to make?
I'm skeptical : would it be only because we may be using different softwares, and that it wouldn't be either fair or interesting to limit contest to "users of X/Y/Z".
 
I was working on another, actually payed, project and as I'm more productive early on the morning...
It's generally that I'm awake for a good part of the day for some time, and that eventually I've to sleep more than usual to recover. It works on cycles.

Ah, right. So you're one of those mythical "morning person" creatures. I thought you were a myth, like oompa loompas or leprechauns.

Also, I'm loving the "exquisite corpse" name. Very poetic.


I'm skeptical : would it be only because we may be using different softwares, and that it wouldn't be either fair or interesting to limit contest to "users of X/Y/Z".

True. I hadn't thought of that...
 

Thande

Donor
There's a difference between téléphone arabe (telephone, chinese) and cadavre exquis.
The first is about transmitting something that get lost in transmission, and the other is about beggining something, and letting the other deal with the following.

I think this is much closer to a cadavre exquis than telephone.
Looking it up, I've been familiar with what cadavre exquis is for years - I came across it in a kids' Christmas activity book years ago - but I've never heard that French name or where it comes from. I remember playing it with my grandma in the early 90s in fact.
 
Ah, right. So you're one of those mythical "morning person" creatures. I thought you were a myth, like oompa loompas or leprechauns.
Not really : as I said, it works by cycles. I can be quite awake by early morning, or even not really sleep by night and still be largely functional by day.
But eventually, I'll recover, and have to sleep much more and almost hibernate :D

Also, I'm loving the "exquisite corpse" name. Very poetic.
Surrealists are an interesting bunch. And by interesting, I mean weird. And by weird, I mean surrealist.

Looking it up, I've been familiar with what cadavre exquis is for years - I came across it in a kids' Christmas activity book years ago - but I've never heard that French name or where it comes from. I remember playing it with my grandma in the early 90s in fact.

That said, I'm half suspecting that say to child or an old woman "Who wants to do an exquisite corpse" would receive a particularly worried attention.
 
Good work all round I think, I'd definitely be up for another round in a few weeks, and would be alright with a word limit for the map if we decided on that.
 
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