Sense of Place in a Virtual World

The people who created The Tribe were very careful about not letting us know exactly where the action was happening. We could guess, but we weren't given much in the way of clues or landmarks. There were hills. There was what looked to be a sea coast. No one ever referred to a country or a real place. The Tribe was "out of time" so it could be part of any time or any place.

We did things a bit differently in Keep The Dream Alive rpg. Because our action moved beyond our primary city, we needed reference points. We needed to know the lay of the land, to be sure everyone was gaming with the same rules & boundaries. Our virtual playground needed at least some points that didn't move on us.

OK, now, none of us are map makers. We weren't going for scientific specifics, just general ideas. For example, we needed to know where Fort River was relative to Bay View, where a LOT of action happened. Or relative to Darrow or Dark Cove, where very dramatic scenes pivotal to some of our characters occurred. So we created a regional map that showed aspects of the peninsula where we're located. Here is the 2008 version of the regional map:

When it came to the city of Fort River, we needed something a bit more specific. Like, for example, where is Tango Lake in relation to The Mirage? or the Misfits Warehouse? It was a huge help to at least have an idea of what our city looked like, how it was laid out, so that we could portray action more accurately. How many blocks from Home to the river front, where is the train station, how do you get across StormRiver ... knowing the answers to those questions and more really makes a difference when you're gaming.

I believe it was one of the game creators (from Israel) who created the first map of Fort River. As actions occurred and our plots changed features of the city, that map continued to evolve so we'd have reference points along the way. Below (and I hope you can see it all right!) is what our map looked like in the summer of 2005:

As game seasons have developed & years have passed, we've been glad to have even these crude general maps. They keep us together, and they're a great resource for new players just joining the game.

These help us make KTDA a bit more real, a bit more special. Huge thanks to everyone who's had a hand in keeping the maps up through all the changes in our virtual world.

-Chyna

Art source: property of "Keep The Dream Alive" role-playing game