Google Maps Fog of War

I have been playing an unhealthy amount of Zelda, Tears of the Kingdom the last few weeks. It really pulls you in, which is by design (another story for another day).

One crucial aspect of the game is that you begin your journey in a giant world with an unexplored map. To get to different parts of the world and unlock fast-traveling, you need to visit different shrines. Very nerdy, I know.

Anyways, this got me thinking… What if there was a way to design a similar feature into a product like Google Maps? For everyday use, this would be extremely frustrating, but I could see some really cool use cases for this in terms of companies incentivizing exploration or Google promoting local business.

This idea is a deviation from my typical “unhinged” pattern, but still, it could be quite fun if properly implemented.

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