Playing the world : computer games, cartography and spatial stories

This article is about Real Time Strategy ( rts ) games, such as Age of Empires iii (2005) and Civilization iv (2005), that invite the player on a journey during which environments have to be explored, claimed and mastered. Throughout this expedition, which is set against an historical and colonial background, the player is expected to delineate, appropriate and colonise environments. What is particularly interesting about such games is that maps and mapmaking are essential activities for the player to be able to master ‘the world’. In other words, moving through the game-space in a successful way is very much bound up with the understanding and altering of maps. Through the use of digital maps that can be filled in and transformed, the gamer is encouraged to manage its spatial advancements. So, the player creates a story of mastery or defeat in which interactive cartography is essential. In this article I will discuss how cartography in such games can be understood. I will particularly focus on the non-fixed qualites of digital maps that are used by the player. I will show that the distinction between tour and map as has been theorised by De Certeau needs to be revised in order to comprehend such games.