For the game I am making in this course, I decided to go with a simple stylized visual map system. The ordinary top-down view of the map (only around the player) will be shown when interacting with a map item in the game that will look like this:
As the core idea of my game is different perceptions of the same location by the players, on the map it will be shown as well – the player can only open their own map and see in which rooms they have been and how this room is saved in their memories (and on the map). Here, it is seen that the labels and colors depict how different rooms are saved differently – the cooking room is yellow, for example.
However, as the whole level of the game is generated randomly and has different levels, you can have a side view as well for the rooms that are on the edge of the building:
This view gives a better perception of the locations for the players since some of the rooms will be elevated and tilted which will result in a seamless movement from one floor to another. Here, again, different rooms the player has visited already will show differently – the love room is pink, the cold room is blue, the innovation room is greenish, etc.
Such a visual map system will not only help players to locate themselves and each other but also have a clue in where they are located since the building is very dense and it is going to be very easy to actually get lost.
These images were made with MidJourney AI (except for hints saying “top-down view” and “side view”) and will be polished for a final Previz package with better labels and UI.