The following is a humorous essay on map creation written by editor Selva. It contains a broad survey of various cartographic practices and issues found on the Yume Wiki, categorized by issue type, with analysis and recommended alternative practices.
To avoid this piece becoming a list of actual editors' crimes and creating a permanent wall of shame, all images of problematic map practices included have been created specifically for this essay's purpose, and do not represent any maps used currently or formerly on the wiki. Most images are going to represent the most extreme examples of the practices outlined below, so forgive us if we get a little silly.
The Ideal Map
[...]
There is no one ideal method that can be used for every world in a Yume Nikki fangame. Every map will require its own special considerations to ensure maximum clarity and utility, and even then, they are subjective.
We cannot tell you exactly what will work for your specific map concerns. However, we can tell you what probably won't.
Issues with Labels and Text Boxes
The International Map of Mystery
Wherein no labels are used.
[Funny title involving badges being outlined]
Wherein Yume Nikki Online makes an appearance.
Riddle Me This
Wherein important information is omitted.
The Total Eclipse
Wherein labels obscure the things they're supposed to be pointing out.
[Size Joke]
Wherein labels are sized disproportionately to their usefulness.
Claustrophobia
Wherein text is packed too tightly.
Naked and Afraid
Wherein bare text is written directly on an unsuitable background.
[Color Coding Problems]
Rainbow Connection
Wherein the cartographer cannot control their urges to use the hex editor.
[Bad font choice]
Wherein the cartographer cannot resist the siren call of DaFont.
Sometimes map creators feel like their labels lack pizzazz or flair. Yume Nikki fangames are generally collections of creatively themed areas, so why not make your maps collections of creatively themed labels? The next world is one of those scary bloody eyeball worlds, so why not use a decorative typeface straight out of a direct-to-video slasher VHS cover? Perhaps another connection links to a kitschy 90s mallcore fever dream, and of course, you have to acknowledge ｔｈｅ ａｅｓｔｈｅｔｉｃ. This connecting map is set in the Rampjaar of the faltering Dutch Republic of 1672, so perhaps the most unreadable calligraphic quill-and-ink typeface you can find on your computer would be fitting?
This results in labels set using the most flamboyant of flourishes, fonts only found lurking in the darkness of uncharted file folders, typefaces from the depths of DaFont, unable to survive in any natural environment. Out of over-enthusiasm to match the map's annotations to the map's themes (either of the map currently being annotated, or its adjoining maps), the cartographer unintentionally makes their labels barely legible by the unimpaired and illegible to anyone with dyslexia or poor eyesight.
We appreciate that everyone has creative urges, and there is a certain impulse to match the annotation we're adding to this snapshot of visual art to its theme, or simply to make our maps "pretty". Beige labels with Arial font all over this beautifully crafted pixel art installation? That sounds pretty boring. However, the design work of navigation tools is very different than the work of other kinds of graphic design. Fancy typefaces are usually used for titles, in large print, as decoration.
For conveying information, it is best to use a clean, unadorned, and frankly boring typeface. This is why the wiki is written in one and not entirely in Papyrus or Blackadder MT. Decorative typefaces tend to use extremes in their design or idiosyncratic letter-forms for effect, but at the expense of readability.
Good, legible typefaces include:
- Arial
- Calibri
- Century Schoolbook
- Comic Sans (yes, really)
- Courier
- Droid
- Futura
- Georgia
- Montserrat
- Open Sans
- Roboto
- San Francisco
- Segoe UI
- Tahoma
- Times New Roman
- Verdana
Particularly poor typefaces for labels include:
- Chiller
- Copperplate Gothic
- Curlz
- Impact
- Jokerman
- Lobster
- Papyrus
- Ransom
- Trajan
- Pretty much any kind of typeface designed to look like handwriting, such as Mistral, Blackadder, Zapfino, etc.
- Anything in a Fraktur/blackletter style
And don't even think about using Wingdings.
The John Hancock
Wherein labels are written by hand.
Problems with Connections
I Cooka da Spaghetti
Wherein innumerable connecting lines destroy a map's visual clarity.
Ayy, I'm cahtographin' ovuh heah!
In an effort to avoid succumbing to the colored dots smeared across handfuls of the wiki's maps like a medieval pox (see The Pestilence, below), some cartographers have resorted to extreme measures. Instead of having to compare these tiny, hard-to-differentiate, noxious rashes of color, and needing to scour the map to locate every connection's mate, why not skip the middle man and simply draw the intended line-of-sight for the viewer? For each and every connection.
The end result looks like someone sketched their leftover noodles they had for lunch on top of the world, turning the map into a morass of crisscrossing lines that, in particularly extreme cases, effectively creates a second maze on top of the map. In addition to being visually unpleasant, the excessive linework tends to break up the overall visual structure of the map; the eye is drawn to the mess piled atop it. It also has a much higher than usual chance than usual of accidentally covering up something important.
When maps have lots of internal connections all over the place, it's usually best to use letter or number pairs instead. Otherwise your map is merely yesterday's dinner.
The Ball of Yarn
Wherein innumerable connecting lines are color-coded to no purpose.
[Not mentioning one-way connections]
Wherein the cartographer unintentionally creates a booby trap.
The Invisible Bridge
Wherein connecting lines do not contrast sufficiently with their backgrounds.
The Graffito
Wherein connecting lines cover important things.
Around the Map in 800 Pixels
Wherein connecting lines set long-distance navigation records.
The Pestilence
Wherein there are colored dots.
[Color Coded Symbols that are red/green]
You're on Your Own, Buddy
Wherein only some connections are labeled.
The Kids' Menu
Wherein mazes become an exercise for the viewer.
[Color Coding issues]
[Color choice issues]
Issues with Editing (or Failing to Edit) Maps
Seeing Double
Wherein cluttered parallax backgrounds are left unaltered.
My Eyes!!
Wherein a map's color palette constitutes an occupational hazard.
[Dimming useless paths too much]
Where's Waldo
Wherein the viewer needs to call a search party to locate content.
Some Assembly Required
Wherein a map must be mentally rearranged.
Other Issues
I, Cartographer
Wherein the cartographer signs their work.
The World According to Herodotus
Wherein outdated maps are tagged with LocationMap.