VGMaps.com's main page as of June 2008 |
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| URL | http://www.vgmaps.com |
|---|---|
| Type of site | Video game |
| Owner | Jonathan Leung |
| Launched | May 6, 2002 |
VGMaps.com: The Video Game Atlas, or simply VGMaps (as in "Video Game Maps") is a website with a collection of maps for various video games. Most of these maps are screenshot maps; maps created by taking several screenshots of a game and then assembling them into a single image with an image editing program such as Microsoft Paint. (This method works well for games with 2D graphics, but 3D games require more complex methods.) Because screenshot maps are typically created with the aid of emulators, the maps at VGMaps are primarily from older gaming systems, such as the NES, Super NES, and the Game Boy line of handhelds. However, the site accepts maps for games for any platform.
Though screenshot maps make up the vast majority of the site's content, VGMaps also includes maps that are drawn by hand (which may or may not include actual in-game graphics) or other visual diagrams that may be useful references during gameplay. (Some games - such as those in the arcade-style or fighting genres - often do not actually require maps, but the assembled screenshots of stages or arenas are still featured, like many others, for nostalgia.)
The maps are assembled by average gamers, and then submitted to the site's owner Jonathan Leung. He in turn puts the maps on the website for all to see, with new submissions put up nearly every week, typically on weekends. Those who submit the maps receive nothing in return, but they do have the chance to receive the occasional honour of having their maps recognized in the "Maps of the Month" feature. A forum is used to discuss mapmaking techniques and to make requests for maps of particular games.
Contents |
The website began on April 25, 2002, and the domain name vgmaps.com was created on April 30, 2002. The site eventually launched on May 6, 2002 as VGMaps.com: The Online Video Game Atlas by Jonathan Leung (known as "JonLeung" on the site), with a handful of screenshot maps that he assembled himself. The site grew gradually but steadily as other people contributed maps of their own. As the site's collection grew, so did the site's popularity.
The current "compass" logo first appeared in September 2005 and the current site design, along with the shortened name VGMaps.com: The Video Game Atlas, has been in use since January 1, 2006.
For every month since May 2004, exceptional compilations of maps from a single game are chosen by JonLeung to be the Maps Of The Month and are featured on the main page of the site. They are not necessarily recently-submitted maps, as some map sets are honoured years after their initial creation. Often, the maps are apparently chosen to be thematic to current events, holidays, or the season of that month, such as The 7th Saga being honoured on July (the seventh month) of 2007, or games featuring monsters like those in the Castlevania series likely to appear in October because of Halloween.
To coincide with April Fools' Day, April's Maps of the Month between 2005 and 2009 are jokes, either being a non-existent game from a real series (such as The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Hours, based on a cancelled Game Boy Color game), or an apparent remake of an existing game (such as The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening Advance). April 2006's Mega Man Solid X: Guns Of The Mavericks reimagines FOXHOUND from Metal Gear Solid as if they were Mavericks in the Mega Man X series, with its title parodying Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. There was no April Fools' joke for April 2010 or April 2011, however whether it has been completely abandoned, or if April 2012 and future years will revive the tradition is yet to be decided.
As of March 2012, there have been a total of 95 Maps of the Month.
The following table shows all of the games that have had the honour of being featured as the Maps Of The Month.
| Month | Game (year, system) | Compiler | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | |||
| May | Mega Man III (1990, NES) | Revned | |
| June | Pokémon: Ruby/Sapphire Versions (2002, GBA) | Jaromaru | |
| July | Super Mario World (1990, SNES) | Stefan Mahrla | |
| August | Kid Icarus (1986, NES) | Bergles | |
| September | Pokémon: FireRed/LeafGreen Versions (2004, GBA) | Jaromaru | |
| October | The Goonies II (1987, NES) | TerraEsperZ | |
| November | Castlevania II: Simon's Quest (1987, NES) | Wileee | |
| December | Little Nemo: The Dream Master (1990, NES) | Chiasm | |
| 2005 | |||
| January | Metroid II: Return Of Samus (1991, Game Boy) | Zeric | |
| February | Faxanadu (1987, NES) | Timothy1979 | |
| March | Prince Of Persia (1990, PC) | TerraEsperZ | |
| April (April Fools') | The Legend Of Zelda: Link's Awakening Advance (Unreleased/Fake, GBA) | JonLeung and Osrevad | |
| May | Pokémon: Emerald Version (2004, GBA) | Jaromaru | |
| June | Super Mario RPG: Legend Of The Seven Stars (1996, SNES) | Peardian | |
| July | StarTropics (1990, NES) | Chiasm | |
| August | The Legend Of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX (1998, GBC) | Osrevad | |
| September | River City Ransom (1989, NES) | Osrevad | |
| October | Castlevania (1986, NES) | Revned | |
| November | Secret Of Evermore (1995, SNES) | Grizzly | |
| December | Kid Icarus: Of Myths And Monsters (1991, Game Boy) | RyuMaster | |
| 2006 | |||
| January | The Legend Of Zelda: Oracle Of Ages (2001, GBC) | Revned | |
| February | The Legend Of Zelda: Oracle Of Seasons (2001, GBC) | TerraEsperZ | |
| March | Wizards & Warriors III: Kuros: Visions Of Power (1992, NES) | KingKuros | |
| April (April Fools') | Mega Man Solid X: Guns Of The Mavericks (2006/Fake, GBA) | JonLeung, bustin98, Osrevad, Grizzly and Revned | |
| May | King's Quest V: Absence Makes The Heart Go Yonder (1990, PC) | Dan | |
| June | Mega Man VII (1995, SNES) | Geminiman | |
| July | Super Mario Kart (1992, SNES) | Alex Foster | |
| August | The Lion King (1994, SNES) | Grizzly | |
| September | Kid Chameleon (1992, Genesis) | DarkWolf | |
| October | Monster Party (1989, NES) | Chiasm | |
| November | Super Mario Bros. 3 (1988, NES) | KingKuros, Zeric, JonLeung, Revned, J.J. Maxx and mephea | |
| December | Aunt Arctic Adventure (1988, Amiga) | Grizzly | |
| 2007 | |||
| January | Donkey Kong (1994, Game Boy) | Captain Drake | |
| February | Solomon's Key (1987, NES) | Rick Bruns | |
| March | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1989, NES) | Chiasm | |
| April (April Fools') | Super Kid Icarus (1992/Fake, SNES) | JonLeung | |
| May | Final Fantasy Legend III (1991, Game Boy) | Dammit 9x | |
| June | Castlevania: Circle Of The Moon (2001, GBA) | sprays | |
| July | The 7th Saga (1993, SNES) | KingKuros | |
| August | Krusty's Fun House (1992, Master System) | Maxim | |
| September | The Legend Of Kyrandia - Book Two: The Hand Of Fate (1993, PC) | TerraEsperZ | |
| October | Castlevania: Harmony Of Dissonance (2002, GBA) | Zeric | |
| November | Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga (2003, GBA) | Peardian | |
| December | Mega Man 8 (1996, PS) | Zeric | |
| 2008 | |||
| January | Ninja Gaiden Trilogy (1995, SNES) | Will Mallia | |
| February | Zoda's Revenge: StarTropics II (1994, NES) | Captain Drake | |
| March | Mario Vs. Donkey Kong (2004, GBA) | Peardian | |
| April (April Fools') | The Legend Of Zelda: Oracle Of Hours (2001/Fake, GBC) | JonLeung | |
| May | Wonder Boy In Monster World (1991, Genesis) | Dammit 9x | |
| June | Contra III: The Alien Wars (1992, SNES) | RT-55J | |
| July | Wolfenstein 3-D (1992, PC) | DarkWolf | |
| August | Metroid: Zero Mission (2004, GBA) | rocktyt | |
| September | WarCraft II: Tides Of Darkness (1995, PC) | LDK | |
| October | Castlevania: Bloodlines (1994, Genesis) | TerraEsperZ | |
| November | Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 (2000, PC) | LDK | |
| December | Mario Vs. Donkey Kong 2: March Of The Minis (2006, DS) | Peardian | |
| 2009 | |||
| January | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles In Time (1992, SNES) | Will Mallia | |
| February | Sonic The Hedgehog (1991, Master System) | Maxim | |
| March | The Legend Of Zelda: The Minish Cap (2004, GBA) | rocktyt | |
| April (April Fools') | Metroid Dread (2009/Fake, DS) | JonLeung | |
| May | Batman: Return Of The Joker (1991, NES) | RT-55J | |
| June | Rolando (2008, iPod) | Revned | |
| July | Beyond Oasis (1994, Genesis) | xyzbilliu | |
| August | Flashback: The Quest For Identity (1993, SNES) | Will Mallia | |
| September | Paladin's Quest (1992, SNES) | FlyingArmor | |
| October | Castlevania: Rondo of Blood (1993, TG16) | Zeric | |
| November | G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero (1985, NES) | sprays | |
| December | Paper Mario (2000, N64) | Peardian | |
| 2010 | |||
| January | Street Fighter 2010: The Final Fight (1990, NES) | Dan_ | |
| February | Virtual Boy Wario Land (1995, VB) | Trebor Almasy | |
| March | Fantastic Dizzy (1991, GEN) | Jester | |
| April | Mega Man 10 (2010, WiiWare) | Revned | |
| May | Prince of Persia 2: The Shadow and the Flame (1993, PC) | TerraEsperZ | |
| June | Crusader of Centy (1994, GEN) | xyzbilliu | |
| July | StarCraft (1998, PC) | LDK | |
| August | Dragon Warrior III (1996, SNES) | Paco | |
| September | Metroid Fusion (2002, GBA) | zerofighter and rocktyt | |
| October | Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow (2003, GBA) | TerraEsperZ | |
| November | The Magical Quest: Starring Mickey Mouse (1992, SNES) | Will Mallia | |
| December | Super Mario All-Stars (1993, SNES) | Zeric | |
| 2011 | |||
| January | Kick Master (1992, NES) | sprays | |
| February | Mega Man ZX (2006, DS) | X GOD, HIVOLT & rmexesaito | |
| March | Micro Machines 2: Turbo Tournament (1994, GEN) | Maxim | |
| April | Spear of Destiny (1992, PC) | DarkWolf | |
| May | E.V.O.: Search for Eden (1992, SNES) | Tropicon | |
| June | Super Metroid (1994, SNES) | Rick Bruns | |
| July | Duke Nukem II (1993, PC) | High Treason | |
| August | Golden Sun (2001, Game Boy Advance) | Paco & Stefan Marla | |
| September | Battletoads (1991, NES) | TerraEsperZ | |
| October | Zombies Ate My Neighbors (1993, SNES) | Piranhaplant | |
| November | Mega Man: Battle Network (2001, Game Boy Advance) | Will Mallia | |
| December | Wario Land 4 (2001, Game Boy Advance) | Peardian | |
| 2012 | |||
Although VGMaps had humble beginnings, it has grown in popularity over time. As people found the site, many would link to it in their blogs and on various message boards. Eventually the site drew the attention of major video game websites, such as Joystiq, commenting that "it's great to be able to see just what those levels looked like in all their glory."[1] Other blogs such as Boing Boing[2] began linking to it also. Popular technology news site Slashdot had an article about the site, calling it "a very worthy site that's sure to stoke the fires of nostalgia."[3]
The media coverage of VGMaps reached another high on July 15, 2005 when G4TV's Attack of the Show!'s 69th episode had a segment that showcased the site.[4] Kevin Pereira showed the screenshot map of the NES game A Boy and His Blob: Trouble on Blobolonia as a sampling of the maps on the site.
The map content on VGMaps crosses into potentially dangerous legal ground. Because the screenshot maps often contain material from copyrighted video games, some have feared that those developers might attempt to ask JonLeung to remove content from his site. On March 19, 2005, his map for the NES version of Maniac Mansion caught the attention of Ron Gilbert, one of the creators of the game. Far from condemning it, he posted a link to the site on his Grumpy Gamer blog[5]. So far, VGMaps has had no complaints from any game companies, and may even be covered by Fair use.