I'm currently a bit furstrated. I'm fighting a bug which is hard to pinpoint. I'm not sure if it's related to how Unity resolves collisions, or if we have a couple of scripts which fight for control of flybots in very, very specific situations. I'm more inclined to believe it is the first case, but then I can't determine why it only bites us some times.
Anyway, I've just read
an article on Eurogamer about how the minimap is a little too present in today's games. It has reminded me that we have a long overdue task which is "Consider alternatives to minimap".
I'm not too fond of minimaps and Heart&Slash's has proved a little hard to read. It is true that, since maps are randomly generated and rooms are not as different as we'd like, some kind of guide is needed. I'll make some small changes to improve the readability issue, but the best map you can get is the one you don't need to look at.
There are a few alternatives, in my opinion
RemarkabilityMake each room unique, or have some unique way to identify them. Or at least make sure there is a unique room every so ofthen. Players would have an easier time pin-pointing their relative location by association of hallmarks. Might pose a problem after repeated playthroughs. Any of the options would be a considerable job of art, testing and iteration, which I'm afraid we don't have either the time or the budget to tackle.
OSD markersUse in-game markers to indicate places the player has still to visit, or lead to special sections. I see these as icons over doors, visible through obstacles. For the current room doors only. They could indicate "this door leads to unvisited places, a different area and equipment. There are enemies coming, too." Initially, we would only reveal information about visited rooms and their adjacents, but new equipment or abilities could expand this range.
The game is already a little too busy in visual terms, so this could obscure things even further. We still need to tone down the amount and size of particles, so we could make room for this.
Actual mapsEvery so often we could place a map of a limited area
in the rooms. We could reveal info or give hints on these. Players in need of directions would find one, memorize the route they want to go and start running. This would also require some level of remarkability, but we are closer to achieving this.
A friend of mine (maybe someone he knew?) made a game about a ship you had to leave by looking at escape route maps. You had very little time to reach the escape pods before everything exploded. The idea was great fun (although I forgot where to find it).
Of course, the minimap, since it's done and I like it, would stay in the game. Maybe as part of the "Explorer's Hat", which is half-way in the game. Its abilities let you get minimap markers, uncover the whole minimap and things like that, so this is a great fit.
And that's it. We'll keep trying to find a good solution for this.