Innovation of the Week: The Map System

Maze War from 1973 is seen as a precursor to 3D FPS games, but today I want to highlight another important feature that it introduced: the in-game map system! With simpler, repetitive visuals and the maze structure of this game's (and many other retro games) levels, you'd easily get lost without it. Maze War uses a separate map screen which shows the entire level layout with walkable paths and walls as well as the player's current location, which is actually quite generous and detailed for the time.

Some other notable examples:

Impossible Mission (1984): This is both an early example of a mini-map and an auto-mapper, meaning the map is revealed bit by bit as the player explores the game world. The mini-map was an important innovation in that it allowed players to chart their progress and plan their next moves without going into a menu or using an outside source. It is only shown while in elevator rooms however, forcing players to try and remember (or write down) parts of it while playing.

The Legend of Zelda (1986): The first game in this series features a mini-map. It shows the entire overworld at once while not in a dungeon, zoomed out and lacking in information besides the player's location on a tile-based, single color rectangle shape meaning one can't see the grid lines. While in dungeons, the game instead employs a system similar to the aforementioned Impossible Mission. But not right away - in the spirit of the rest of the game, this more detailed map had to be found and one could also find a compass, adding to its features by magically showing the location of the boss room on the map.

Sid Meier's Pirates! (1987): This game put in some extra effort to not break immersion, by making players use a sun sight on difficulties above apprentice/easiest difficulty to be able to tell their position in the game world. Only the latitude can be measured. To use it you'll have to do as they did during the era the game takes place in and wait until the sun is at its highest, then move the sun sight directly under the sun and move its platform up until the sun just touches the platform. Later versions added a more convenient but also more traditional map system.

Super Mario World (1990): This is a hub map rather than a map system, but it has a relevant use in that it aids in the process of finding secret level exits by coloring their icons red.

Super Metroid (1994): The Metroid series, starting with Super Metroid, features a map system based on the one in Zelda, which strikes a good balance between showing crucial info, and hiding enough to not ruin the sense of mystery and exploration. In each area of the game, one can find a map station that shows the whole layout of that area, however there will still be some parts of the area not shown, keeping players guessing if they have really explored the whole area or not, but also providing the tools to let them do it. Furthermore, the game also features a mini-map showing the nearby area, essentially a cropped version of the map screen.

The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall (1996): A significant addition to the series known for its enormous open world, it also featured three separate map systems. The world map system allows you to zoom in and out, and there is a location browser which shows a list of similar names if you remember only part of one. The dungeon map system (which is also 3D) allows for placing markers and inputting your own notes. In towns the game color codes shops, guilds and temples as well as places names at visited ones for you. If anything this game might've done too much by also showing hidden doors on dungeon maps, however it didn't show the hidden world map locations found through items dropped by enemies.

The Divide: Enemies Within (1996) - One of the first games to feature a 3D, rotatable and zoomable map showing the current area and detailed topography. It would also show the exact location of important items as long as one had entered the rooms they were in, making it easy to find them.

Are there any other classic games that employed a map feature that you remember fondly? How do you feel about the use of maps in retro games compared to nowadays?