A mini-map or minimap is a miniature

map A map is a symbolic depiction emphasizing relationships between elements of some space, such as objects, regions, or themes. Many maps are static, fixed to paper or some other durable medium, while others are dynamic or interactive. Although ...

that is often placed at a screen corner in

video games Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This feedbac ...

to aid players in orienting themselves within the game world. They are often only a small portion of the screen and must be selective in what details they display. Elements usually included on mini-maps vary by video game genre. However, commonly included features are the position of the player character, allied units or structures, enemies, objectives, and surrounding terrain. Mini-maps have become very common in

real-time strategy Real-time strategy (RTS) is a subgenre of strategy video games that do not progress incrementally in turns, but allow all players to play simultaneously, in "real time". By contrast, in turn-based strategy (TBS) games, players take turns to p ...

and MMORPG video games because they serve as an indication of where the current screen lies within the scope of the game world. Most

first-person shooter First-person shooter (FPS) is a sub-genre of shooter video games centered on gun and other weapon-based combat in a first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action through the eyes of the protagonist and controlling the p ...

games also have some version or variant of the mini-map, with the odd exception of '' Call of Duty: Modern Warfare'', often showing enemy and teammates locations in real-time.

Features

Many mini-maps make use of similar features. Common features are:

Fog of war

In many games using a mini-map, the mini-map begins completely blank, while the map is automatically drawn as the player discovers new areas of the game world. After players discover new areas, the terrain of the discovered area often remains visible on the mini-map. If the player's characters or units cease to see the area, the area might be covered by a

fog of war The fog of war (german: links=no, Nebel des Krieges) is the uncertainty in situational awareness experienced by participants in military operations. The term seeks to capture the uncertainty regarding one's own capability, adversary capability, ...

, so that unit or structure movements in that area will not be shown. Things in a fog of war portion of a mini-map may not be updated until they are rediscovered.

Layers

Similar to custom layers in Google Earth, some team-oriented multiplayer games, such as '' Age of Empires II'' or ''

Empire Earth ''Empire Earth'' is a series of real-time strategy video games developed by Stainless Steel Studios and Mad Doc Software, and published by Sierra Entertainment. The games in the series are historical RTS games that are similar to '' Age of Emp ...

'', allow players to draw temporary lines, signals or markings on the mini-map for others to see. This allows for quick communication over large distances in games.

Rotation and zoom

In some 3D video games, the mini-map rotates when the player character or game camera faces different directions to keep the top of the map always corresponding to forward from the camera's point of view. This is common for games in the Grand Theft Auto series, and many racing games that show the track in a mini-map. In other games such as many in The Legend of Zelda series, the map does not rotate but features an arrow that moves about and rotates to show the player character's position and the direction they're facing. In some games, mini-maps that only show the close surrounding area often have icons on the edge to show the direction of locations or characters outside the area shown on the map. Some games also have a feature where the mini-map zooms out when the player character is travelling at high speed and zooms back in when they slow down.

Automap

An Automap is similar to a mini-map but traces its origin back to early role-playing games. In early dungeon crawl video games, players were expected to draw maps by hand as they played the game to solve complex mazes and explore large dungeons. Game boxes such as those for early 1980s ''

Wizardry ''Wizardry'' is a series of role-playing video games, developed by Sir-Tech, that were highly influential in the evolution of modern role-playing video games. The original ''Wizardry'' was a significant influence on early console role-playing ...

'' games included graph paper for this purpose. Games featuring automapping simulate the creation of a map, typically showing an abstract top-down view of nearby areas of the game world that is automatically updated as the player character gains knowledge of the environment. Automaps typically display doors, terrain types, and important locations or items. When discussing '' The Bard's Tale III''s role as one of the first

CRPG A role-playing video game (commonly referred to as simply a role-playing game or RPG, as well as a computer role-playing game or CRPG) is a video game genre where the player controls the actions of a character (or several party members) immers ...

s with automapping, '' Computer Gaming World'' in 1994 wondered "How did we ever play without it?". Early automaps typically found in role-playing video games were pause screens that stopped gameplay when opened. Early examples of video games to feature a real-time automap include

Namco was a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company, headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo. It held several international branches, including Namco America in Santa Clara, California, Namco Europe in London, Namco Taiwan in Kaohsiung, ...

's ''

Rally-X is a maze chase arcade video game developed Namco and released in 1980. Players drive a blue Formula One race car through a multidirectional scrolling maze to collect yellow flags. Boulders block some paths and must be avoided. Red enemy cars ...

'' in 1980, Gebelli Software's '' Horizon V'' in 1982, and Arsys Software's '' WiBArm'' in 1986.
Translation
When the feature became popular with action-oriented games such as ''

Doom Doom is another name for damnation. Doom may also refer to: People * Doom (professional wrestling), the tag team of Ron Simmons and Butch Reed * Daniel Doom (born 1934), Belgian cyclist * Debbie Doom (born 1963), American softball pitcher * ...

'' and '' Diablo'', the automap feature in these games did not pause the game and allowed the player to continue gameplay while the map was on screen. MUDs, which were popular multiplayer virtual worlds in the mid-1990s, rarely provided an automap. This resulted in

MUD client A MUD (; originally multi-user dungeon, with later variants multi-user dimension and multi-user domain) is a multiplayer real-time virtual world, usually text-based or storyboarded. MUDs combine elements of role-playing games, hack and slash ...

s adding automapping as a feature, notably

zMUD A MUD (; originally multi-user dungeon, with later variants multi-user dimension and multi-user domain) is a Multiplayer video game, multiplayer Time-keeping systems in games#Real-time, real-time virtual world, usually Text-based game, text-bas ...

in September 1996.

Code minimap in text editors and IDEs

A code minimap in a

Text editor A text editor is a type of computer program that edits plain text. Such programs are sometimes known as "notepad" software (e.g. Windows Notepad). Text editors are provided with operating systems and software development packages, and can be ...

or Integrated development environment (IDE) is a reduced overview of the entire file in its own view pane, typically next to the main editor pane. The portion of the file visible in the main editor pane is highlighted, and clicking or dragging in this view scrolls the editor through the file.

References

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