Google Maps Quest

In case you missed it, Google Maps had a lovely April Fools Day feature called Quest, which gave their maps quite a makeover. Here's Michigan:

As someone with a healthy dose of nostalgia for early RPGs, I absolutely loved the new art, as well as the 'commercial' that Google made.

Here's Ann Arbor:

Those two figures in the rainbow beanies watching beatifically over the city are the symbol that Google put to represent their Ann Arbor office.

The StreetView feature also got quite a bit more pixellated, as can be seen in this screenshot of the Michigan Theater on Liberty:

The StreetView character was decked out in armor, as every good adventurer should be (safety first!):

There are also plenty of Easter eggs hidden around the world, like this one of Area 51:

Check out more cool Easter Eggs here, and explore the 8-bit glory of the map for yourself here (it's no longer available on the Google Maps main page).

Rorschmap

Looking for a map-related, kaleidoscope-related, or map-and-kaleidoscope-related website to help you while away the hours? Look no further than Rorschmap!

James Bridle created Rorschmap to explore what happens to maps once they leave the static medium of paper and become digital entities. It's really disorienting at first, but quite hypnotic and entertaining.

Here's a screencap of our very own Ann Arbor, Rorschmapified!

Beautiful, isn't it?

Read more about Rorschmap here.

Art from maps

We all know and love art on maps, from monsters lounging in the sea to vignettes showing Roman gods and goddesses. But most of that art seems to exist on older maps, saved from a different time. Where is the art in maps today?

Matthew Cusick thought that maps today had their own kind of beauty, though they are often not illustrated like older maps are, and decided to turn the maps themselves into collages.

Here's a close-up of one of his collages:

Part of me admires his handiwork and the beauty of his final product; part of me mourns the cutting up of maps to make the art. Since maps started being mass-produced, I suppose it's not as much of a deal... And I guess you can't make a map omelet without breaking a few map eggs, right?

See more of Mr. Cusick's map art here.