Grading Fantasy World Maps

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In this video, I grade fantasy world maps based purely on how the map looks. I can be very picky.

[AlternateHistoryHub]

A globe is the ultimate fantasy map. Everyone knows the Earth is a raptor

[jaojao]

The other map of Middle-Earth you showed is actually a map of Beleriand, which was west of the lands in the Lord of the Rings but which sank into the sea

[armandom.s.]

I love how George R R Martin just put Britain upon Ireland and moved them near Turkey to create a fantasy map

[tommyvalenzuela]

The thing I didn’t like about this video is that there was no standard on what you based your likes and dislikes on. Some of the maps you talked about continents and plate tectonics and the gave the map a low score. On other maps you were like, “I like the colors and the pretty compass” and then gave it a higher score. There was no consensus.

[pmcshow]

The Falkland islands would make an awesome fantasy map, now I think about it.

[frodeo]

The second map you showed of Middle-earth was actually of the First Age when Beleriand still existed. Also the first map definitely isn't the OG one Tolkien drew, at least judging by the thickness of the contours of the map's objects.

[francomiranda]

I seriously cannot tell if youre joking about the "cut from a corner" maps. Obviously most maps are cut from a corner. Not every story has an entirely developed planet, the entire point is that the story takes place in one section of the world. Do you want them to make an entire map of the planet that shows places that are on the polar opposite of where the actual story takes place?

and why do you find it "cheap" for mountains to be at the edge of the map? obviously the mountains serve as an obstactle or barrier from the rest of the world and thus explais why the rest of the region is unexplored.

it would be nice for you to elaborate on this stuff instead of just stating it as fact

[johnbishop]

The thing about the Westeros/Essos map is that it's made by scholars from Westeros. It's actually supposed to mirror old maps by medieval scholars. The continents have near straight line edges and the further you travel east, the outlandish the cultures become (not because they are, but because that's what Westerosi believe, they don't appear in the series).

[AudieHolland]

The first Middle Earth map is from Bilbo Baggin's original account of the War of the Rings, the Red Book of Westermarch.
You can see the coastal section on the western part is quite detailed, all the way inland to the The Shire area (where Bilbo Baggin's kin, Hobbits, had lived for many generations.

Beyond the Misty Mountains in the center, the Mirkwood Forest is detailed too but everything else becomes quite sketchy.
That is because these regions were all drawn by Bilbo, based on more or lesser detailed information from people who had actually been there (Elves, Men, Dwarves).

So yeah, it's not that impressive but that is mainly because it was drawn by a Hobbit. Hobbits remained in their own little land called "The Shire" and the only known exceptions to have travelled (far) beyond its borders were literally a handful of Hobbits.

[thorjelly]

I'm also into fantasy maps and I'm going to critique this video cus I kind of find it pretty flawed I am sorry. I only hope for it to be used to improve future content like this because I find this an interesting subject.

There was very, very little attention paid to actual geographic features in this video. The only real relevant geographic feature mentioned was that continents should really kind of share contours to give the impression of continental drift.. which was promptly forgotten for all future grades. Geography tends to follow basic patterns, most impacted by latitude and mountains. Tropical areas and desert areas tend to be around the same latitude. Very wet and very dry areas tend to be buffered by mountains. Rivers tend to form river systems with many rivers feeding into a larger one. One things rivers absolutely do NOT do, ever, is completely traverse an entire continent -- river systems have a particular direction they flow in.

I hate to break it to you, but the Airbender geography is absolutely awful; it's not represented well in that particular map, but you have two big lakes that have drainage rivers literally going every which way around the entire continent, and a complete river/lake system which goes from one ocean to the next. If you look at more detained maps, you can see tons of unrealistic flaws, including a swamp literally right next to a desert with no mountain to buffer it -- wait what? Terrible. You also tend to not see smaller rivers feeding into these ones, there's no real semblance of real water systems. And sure, you could say that you're looking more at the style of the map itself and not the geography but, that airbender map has no features whatsoever that would be useful for navigation. It's just a bad map.

The Westeros map, on the other hand, is much better because it actually has river systems that makes sense with many rivers feeding into larger rivers that don't unrealistically span the entire continent with many separate mouths draining into the ocean from all sides, mountains buffering wet and dry areas, and basically geographic features that actually make sense. Most everything is actually labeled and you get to see indications of climate. If you only account for the CANON geography, it's like... this is seriously a better map. Notice how the contours between the two continent actually line up? And it's the only map in this entire list that does that? How it actually follows the one and only relevant geographical feature mentioned in this video?

I also feel like the "corner map" criticism is invalid because it makes a lot of sense for fantasy maps to only focus on a subcontinent region, for a lot of reasons. It makes sense the world isn't fully explored in fantasy settings, and these are supposed to be useful reference points for the setting, which typically does not span the entire world. I feel like you give bonus points just for something being a world map, which strikes me as kinda unfair.

Anyway I hope if you continue this series you pay more attention to geographical features rather then, I don't know, what shapes of continents and what names of regions you think are more aesthetically pleasing. Because, personally, that is far more what interests me and it's also far less of a subjective measure. Thanks.

[MarkChilcote]

The Warhammer map was meant to have ties to the real world. They liked that people could tie real geographic regions to the fantasy ones. It means people can get the favour of an area without having to actually know the lore.

[Krvsrnko]

Emperor Tigerstar: I like Nirn, the names sound natural and not made up
Dwemers: *MZINCHALEFT*

[mrflibble]

"my personal opinions on the franchise won't play into my opinion"

"Now, I love avatar the last airbender and can draw this map from memory therefore A"

Huh

[TimeturnerJ]

Funfact about Middle Earth, the normal laws of physics wouldn't really apply to its shape either way.

It was initially sung into existence as a flat plane by the gods, who then used it as their personal playground for uncounted millenia; growing forests and mountains, seeding lakes and oceans, and waging wars that obliterated whole mountain rages and tore unhealable scars into the world.
Eventually, the gods even took the continent Valinor and tore it out of the world in order to finally protect it fully from evil; the "Undying Lands" exist in some seperate plane of existence now, and only the Elves can still find the Straight Road through the sky and reach it on their boats. Once they get there however, there's no going back.

As Valinor was torn away, the plane it left behind warped and formed into a sphere - and that is how Middle Earth finally became a planet.

But still, its shape and form is willed by the gods, so I suppose it follows its own rules.
Sorry, physics.

[ilhamionur]

Warhammer is supposed to be rip off of real world map, Every faction also represent some historical nation or belief. It's everything in our world but also including magic, witchcraft and creatures.

[Titanic_]

The map for A Song of Ice and Fire is what the people in the world think their planet looks like. So Essos probably isn't a rectangle, but people think it is because of their flawed map.

[homiespaghetti]

You had Bionicles as a kid?

*Respect +*

[scartredup]

At the beginning: «Im not going to judge from what series I like»

At the end: «Im a huge fan of this show»

[Forgeable]

The bionicle "map" makes absolute sense if you know the lore towards the end the of series. I checked out before they explained it or even showed it, and I assume you did too. I went back and found out about it, and apparently it's because it's not the outline of a dead diety, but literally the body of Mata-nui who is a robot.

[beefyblom]

Now rate Earth as if it were a fantasy world. that's gonna end well