Map Design and Inspiration

Following the idea of Atlantis being an island, previously sunken, and now raised out of the sea, the sandy terrain of the map mimics the bottom of the ocean - barren and covered in coral. This concept links to the sandy island map design, inspired directly by the stereotypical idea of a 'deserted island'. As such, we took inspiration from images of deserted islands to aid in the design process:

What we noticed from this research - which opposed our previous design for the map - was that the design would heavily improve with a less 'square' shape. As such, we decided that the map would be more circular in shape, while still maintaining the pixel/tile like aesthetic of the game:

Upon gathering feedback regarding the map design, it was concluded that users would rather see jagged edges on the island upon expansion, rather than a smooth/perfectly circular island. As such, the design for expansion shifted:

Smooth Map Generation	Jagged Map Generation