Darlene map: Difference between revisions
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Revision as of 08:24, 28 November 2022
| Darlene map | |
| Type: | Cartography |
|---|---|
| Edition: | 1e |
| Interior Artist(s): | Darlene |
| Publisher: | TSR |
| Class: | Officially published content |
The Darlene map is the popular name given to the map of the Flanaess illustrated by illuminated by Darlene.
Description
The Darlene map consists of two 33" x 22" posters, covering the eastern and western portions of the Flanaess. Both the original artwork and original calligraphy were created by Darlene. She created it from a small sketched map by Gary Gygax with additional input as the project progressed.
Illustrated in what a style which has become known as a "hex map", a grid-layout was used to facilitate the map's use in gameplay by using symbols which covered a one hex each, denoting which type of terrain can be found in each region. Each hex approximates 10 leagues, and the entire map covers
Publication History
In 1980, she was given the opportunity to create the piece of art for which she is best known, the full-colour map of the Flanaess that accompanied Gary Gygax’s folio edition of the World of Greyhawk Fantasy Game Setting.[1] Gygax was busy transforming his home D&D campaign called ”Greyhawk” into a publishable form. His long-range plan was to create an entire fantasy world; however, when he asked TSR's printing house about the maximum size of paper they could handle, the answer was just 34" x 22" (86cm x 56cm). He found that, using the scale he desired, he could only fit the northeast corner of one continent on two of those sheets.[2][3] He placed the city and castle of Greyhawk roughly in the centre of the map, in an area that would have about the same temperate climate as his home in Lake Geneva, and made a rough sketch of the rest of the map, an area he called “the Flanaess”. DARLENE was given the assignment of developing a full color map on a hex grid from Gygax's prototype map.[4]
The maps had varying editions over the years, throughout multiple print runs. In the folio edition, there were different product codes or trademark information on the lower corner borders.
When it became part of the WoG boxed set, it was folded slightly smaller to fit into the box, thus it is apparent which version the map was from.
A modified version of the original Darlene map (still crediting Darlene as the artist) was included in the From the Ashes boxed set, with slightly different colorations and borders including more clear hex numbers. It included national borders and nations which had changed since the Greyhawk Wars.
Reception
The Darlene map was the first of its kind - there had never been a large-scale, full-color, fantasy map published before, let alone one so large it filled two posters. It set the standard for every gaming product that followed, and though many had variations like grids instead of hexes or had transparency overlays for scale and distance - or were in a more cartographic style rather than a more game-centric one - others still were influenced by the original.
Even other genre games like World of Warcraft would later publish poster maps, even though the game was an online game and had no need of one.
The Darlene map is still revered by many gamers and is beloved by Greyhawk fans. So much so, in some circles, Darlene became known as "Our Lady of Gaming".
Gallery
External Links
References
Citations
- ↑ Garfield, Simon. On The Map: Why the world looks the way it does. Profile Books, 2012.
- ↑ Gygax: "When I was asked to create a campaign setting for TSR to market, I did a new and compact "world"—that only in part, of course, as that was all I could fit onto the two maps allowed. So that became the World of Greyhawk." Gary Gygax: Q & A (Part I, Page 8). EN World , 2002-09-06. Retrieved on 2009-03-15.
- ↑ Gygax: "I found out the maximum map size TSR could produce, got the go-ahead for two maps of that size, then sat down for a couple of weeks and hand-drew the whole thing. After the maps were done and the features shown were named, I wrote up brief information of the features and states. Much of the information was drawn from my own personal world, but altered to fit the new one depicted on the maps."Gary Gygax: Q & A (Part IV, Page 11). EN World , 2003-11-05. Retrieved on 2009-03-15.
- ↑ Interview: Darlene. Grognardia. Retrieved on 2009-06-23.
Bibliography
| This page uses Creative Commons Licensed content from Wikipedia (view authors). |
Encyclopedia Greyhawkania Index
The Encyclopedia Greyhawkania Index (EGI) is based on previous work of Jason Zavoda through '08, continued by numerous other fans. The EGI article has a list of sources, product names, abbreviations, and a link to the full, downloadable index.
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