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This is the first in a series of articles discussing gameworlds I’ve designed and worked on.

Ever since Wizardry and Bard’s Tale I’ve loved discovering and making world maps!  Mafia 3’s New Bordeaux was the biggest world I’ve ever been part of.  I must have gone through several hundred iterations and updates for the city layout and ecologies.

With the help of Petr Záveský and others we were able to create a fantastic top-down render of the city.  The next thing to do was getting 2K Games on board in creating a foldout map for the game.  Paul Pierce was the talented artist who stylized the Road Atlas.  I originally proposed it as a bonus item in the Collector’s Edition.  Then 2K Games took it to the next level and made it available in every game case!  Paul later updated it to include all DLC information too (see below).

• Aerial − a satellite view of the city!
• Stylized − a stylized version of the city!
• Game UI − an updated UI map from the game!

BONUS maps!

• CIA − Before Donovan showed up he grabbed the latest CIA photos of the region.
• Height Map − For developers and hikers, here’s a heightmap.
• Road Atlas − Visiting New Bordeaux? Pull out that map for all your tourist needs!

This 1967 street guide was something I’m real happy with getting into fan’s hands. Paul did a fantastic job making it look authentic.  He went through several styles with publishing’s Art Director Rob Clarke.  Once all DLC was known, an updated version was created for all future copies of the game.

One of the other reasons the Road Atlas is special − it allowed us to showcase a lot of the names and locations that weren’t mentioned or used heavily in the story.  Study the map and you’ll discover lots of new material such as…

Tourist Spots
All those famous landmarks and city areas you visited had names!

Handwritten Notes
Both Lincoln & Donovan scribbled notes on the map, like where all the entrances to the tunnels were. Even though Donovan choose to write his in red, I’ve no idea who’s blood is on the map… 

Special Locations
Did you find the sinking Bayou cemetery? This was made for a scene cut from the start of the game. Other trivia, the row of cabins along Bourbon Digs’ canal was made for a crossfire encounter which was never used.

A fun thing to do with these HUGE world maps… they’re the same scale as the official GTA5 maps.

Mafia Series

And for those curious, here’s all three Mafia game worlds next to one another.  While the first Mafia game looks fairly big, remember the player didn’t get to explore most of the areas outside the city.

Interactive Map

I also experimented with using these like a Google Map to find lost airplanes or secret routes.  It’d be fun to take other gameworlds and add them as layers you can flip through for comparison.

When you look at the huge 3D rendered map, you can see all the hours and talented people who made each cityblock a believable, tangible place for Mafia’s third chapter.  I hope anyone who ventured into New Bordeaux felt it captured the Louisiana heat of 1968.

This post originally appeared on my website at CuriousConstructs.com.

One of 2018’s most unique indie games so far has been Dim Bulb Studios’ Where the Water Tastes Like Wine, a game that not only stands out because it somehow got Sting to voice a key character, but also because of its nouveau storytelling mechanics and unusual team structure. Where many indie games include a group of programmers, artists, and writers, Dim Bulb Games relied on lead developer Johnnemann Nordhagen and a small army of writers to build the game’s content. 

Nordhagen himself has been expressly transparent about the process of making and selling Where the Water Tastes Like Wine, but we’re still excited to be chatting with him today at 3PM EDT over on the Gamsutra Twitch channel. If you’ve got questions about surviving as an indie, or making games about American folklore, you should swing by and ask them! 

And while you’re at it, be sure to follow the Gamasutra Twitch channel for more developer interviews, editor roundtables, and gameplay commentary. 

Local gaming communities across North America are in for a special treat with the introduction today of Blizzard’s Overwatch: Flash Ops, a new series of in-person celebrations that brings together Overwatch fans of all ages, interests and skill levels. Microsoft Store will be hosting Overwatch: Flash Ops community nights every Thursday at all stores in North America as part of our ASUS ROG Arena program.

Meet up with other players and spectators in your local community for Arcade format matches. High-powered ASUS Republic of Gamers PCs will be provided, so all you have to do is show up!

Sign up today to reserve your spot on an elite local taskforce near you starting Thursday, April 19, from 5:30 p.m. – 9 p.m. local time (we tried for high noon, but we couldn’t make it work).

You can also check out the Microsoft Store Facebook page and Mixer.com/MicrosoftStore for details on our gaming events and streams, as well as how you can join in on the action yourself at your local Microsoft Store.

Cheers, love!

Flyhigh Works has just broadcast a Flyhigh Express video in Japan, and while it is obviously aimed at that particular region, there are a few titles which will be coming to the west as well.

The first new game is Samurai Defender, which was previously released on the 3DS. This tower defence game is set in the Warring States era of Japan and is due in May.

The second new game is Lanota, a music title by Noxy Games which “blends intuitive and stylish rhythm gameplay with dynamic beats and a rotating play area”.

Flyhigh also reconfirmed the release of Fairune Collection, and revealed that Deemo is getting more free content in the form of Version 1.2; three song packs will add another 14 songs to the ever-expanding roster.

Running from the 14th to the 15th April at Bellesalle Akihabara in Tokyo, Sega Fes 2018 is an event scheduled to host a variety of Sega-related goodness which will be livestreamed for those of us living too far away. We weren’t expecting any major announcements or news to come from the event, but a tweet posted from Sega’s official Twitter accounts today suggests otherwise.

Teasing a “huge announcement” – with the word ‘huge’ in capital letters, no less – the tweet promises to reveal something that we will not want to miss.

Of course, the only question that remains is what this announcement could possibly be? Will we finally see the new Sonic Racing game? Shenmue HD? A Dreamcast Mini? Sonic & Knuckles Enjoy A Moderately Relaxing Evening On The Beach? Any of these are possible (except one).

Let us know what you’d like to see, and whether you’ll be watching the stream yourself, in the comments below.

© 2018 Valve Corporation. All rights reserved. All trademarks are property of their respective owners in the US and other countries.