![Dark Souls, Anor Londo, by Ario Barzan.
This is an overhead map of a section of Anor Londo, an area from Dark Souls. Whereas most of the game’s architecture is circuitously asymmetrical and suggestive of a deteriorating world, Anor Londo represents a bygone ideal in its preserved austerity and expansive symmetry (which has implications for the narrative, too). Were the whole game made up of its type of level design, it wouldn’t be nearly the success that it is; as a contrasting, distinguishing exception, Anor Londo works. Dark Souls is particularly involving for me because it is so intent on indulging the pleasure of seeing how a world, that never spatially contradicts itself, interconnects without the assistance of a map. A future project of mine might involve drawing a total map of the game to see how it would look all laid out.
[Josh says: really nice work, Ario, and thanks for the thoughtful analysis of Anor Londo in context.]](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lzcvnlkHw71rn1cvho1_1280.jpg)
Dark Souls, Anor Londo, by Ario Barzan.
This is an overhead map of a section of Anor Londo, an area from Dark Souls. Whereas most of the game’s architecture is circuitously asymmetrical and suggestive of a deteriorating world, Anor Londo represents a bygone ideal in its preserved austerity and expansive symmetry (which has implications for the narrative, too). Were the whole game made up of its type of level design, it wouldn’t be nearly the success that it is; as a contrasting, distinguishing exception, Anor Londo works. Dark Souls is particularly involving for me because it is so intent on indulging the pleasure of seeing how a world, that never spatially contradicts itself, interconnects without the assistance of a map. A future project of mine might involve drawing a total map of the game to see how it would look all laid out.
[Josh says: really nice work, Ario, and thanks for the thoughtful analysis of Anor Londo in context.]
Dark Souls, excerpts, by JackShandy.
A good old-fashioned megadungeon, drawn from memory of the hours I spent playing it over at a friends house. I definitely missed out a whole bunch of areas here. The biggest bit is the trip down through blight town, because what I remember most is making the horrifying descent down through to Ash Lake, then realizing that I had to go back up again. Then you get there and the bastards steal your save point!
Bonus: A squashed bug that got scanned in with the picture.
Dark Souls, Lordran, by papasmurf1038.
This is a map of the labyrinthine kingdom of Lordran, the land in which Dark Souls is set. The map covers all but two of the areas accessible in the game (I forgot to add them), with areas having been split up by relative elevation for ease of organization. Quite a bit of detail had to be sacrificed in order to fit everything on one page, but I think the overall world structure still comes through!
Dark Souls, hub, by TaxMan101.
Dark Souls is the type of game where you remember every nook and cranny because forgetting one of them will lead to a long fall, a sword in the back, being flattened by a boulder, burning to death, drowning to death, death death death death. When you make mere feet of progress in some parts, you damn better remember where you are.
