Languages of Power, Languages of Protest: Exploring the Rhetorics of Game Maps

Abstract

In his book The New Nature of Maps: Essays in the History of Cartography, J.B. Harley writes that “Maps are preeminently a language of power, not of protest.” Harley was writing about maps of the physical world, but most game maps also speak in “languages of power,” and for similar reasons; however, this is not always the case. In this paper, I discuss how and why Harley's rubric also applies to game maps. Ultimately, I highlight the unique value of the minority of video games that speak in “languages of protest,” thus allowing us to play – sometimes figuratively, and sometimes literally – with our traditional understanding of maps.