I am making a post-apocalypse map for my friend. Critical elements?
August 30, 2013 9:32 AM Subscribe
So I am making a map of the United States after climate and disaster induced apocalypse, what are the critical elements of such a map? What is crucial to illustrate for the post-apocalyptic viewer?
I have been reading apocalypse literature and looking at maps but most focus on the "zombie" apocalypse. I don't have an interest in this though, I am more interested in what elements to show as the world faces real problems. Think more Children of Men, The Stand, or The Road. I would be grateful for some suggestions. If you want to see it eventually send me a PM and I will post it in the project section later and let you know. Thanks for the help!
I have been reading apocalypse literature and looking at maps but most focus on the "zombie" apocalypse. I don't have an interest in this though, I am more interested in what elements to show as the world faces real problems. Think more Children of Men, The Stand, or The Road. I would be grateful for some suggestions. If you want to see it eventually send me a PM and I will post it in the project section later and let you know. Thanks for the help!
Access to potable water would be something primary that you could highlight. Arable land would be important, so maybe that could be sorted out by your favorite biome classification scheme. If there were zombies, you'd need places to hide, so terrain roughness might be good to know. You could ascertain that last one by checking out contour maps?
posted by oceanjesse at 9:45 AM on August 30, 2013
posted by oceanjesse at 9:45 AM on August 30, 2013
The World Without Us takes a pretty comprehensiv" look at what would happen to our infrastructure if humans disappeared.
posted by ShootTheMoon at 9:47 AM on August 30, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by ShootTheMoon at 9:47 AM on August 30, 2013 [2 favorites]
Depending on where you are, climate change-induced problems can take on radically different natures. Rolling Stone did an article a little while ago on the problem Miami faces if the seas do much more in the way of rising, and it opens with a nightmare scenario set in the not-too-distant future.
posted by jquinby at 9:54 AM on August 30, 2013
posted by jquinby at 9:54 AM on August 30, 2013
Nuclear danger zones? I'm assuming that any significant enough apocalypse is going to have implications for our nuclear stations, with perhaps a range of problems from slow leakage to catastrophic blow out.
posted by marginaliana at 9:55 AM on August 30, 2013
posted by marginaliana at 9:55 AM on August 30, 2013
Vast stretches of radioactive wasteland, pockets of successful preppers sprinkled around hilly areas, walled communities with moats of flame to keep the zombies out, deep underground bunkers (a few with extra bling for the 1% of the 1%), port of Denver, vineyards north of Saskatchewan. Really, it's a wild guess, make it scary.
posted by sammyo at 9:58 AM on August 30, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by sammyo at 9:58 AM on August 30, 2013 [2 favorites]
The map should include sections labeled: "Subject to drought," "Subject to flooding," "Subject to tornados," and "Subject to blizzards." These would show the areas where increasing weather instability has made living rougher for people. I have no doubt that in the future we will be look for safe places to live that will be harder to find.
posted by Midnight Skulker at 9:58 AM on August 30, 2013
posted by Midnight Skulker at 9:58 AM on August 30, 2013
Best answer: * pulls up chair, ready to brainstorm *
Trufax - one of my favorite I-have-insomnia things is to do some thought experiments for "what would happen if The Stand were real, and I lived there and had to deal with things" and I realized pretty soon that food would be An Issue. Yeah, King dealt with people learning how to grow vegetables and stuff again, but there are things that would soon run out, like flour, sugar, and coffee. Also, yeah, some people may know how to butcher cows and chickens, but where are all the cows and chickens you're butchering?
So - as a result, two of the big things I would put down on there are:
1. major livestock farms, or agricultural schools. That's where your cows and chickens are going to be. Whether you leave them there or herd them elsewhere is an exercise I leave to the map reader.
2. Locations of major warehouse distribution centers. Everyone's gonna be raiding the Wal-Mart store itself - you want to find the warehouse where Wal-Mart gets ITS stuff from, because it's gonna be stocked with a lot more basic stuff, and people won't always think to look there first. So it'll be easy to find the bulk bags of flour or coffee or whatever, which you can then either stock up on for trade or take over a personal lifetime stash of. Such warehouses would probably also have a big supply of basic medical supplies (otc drugs, bandages, etc.) Finally, warehouses may also have a lot of canning supplies, which will help with food preservation when you do start growing fruit and vegetables.
Other things for other reasons:
Hospitals would also be a good option, for the "has medical supplies" option. But also, Red Cross Truck parking lots. The trucks may have their own med kits, so that's another source of medical equipment. Also, if there's a truck that's gassed up, then hey, you've got transport.
Major food production plants. They may also have a lot of raw ingredients for things - so even if the electricity's out and you can't get the Twinkie machines back up and running, the Twinkie factory would still have flour and sugar around, and that'd be good to have, right? ...And if you can get the electricity back on, finding the King Arthur Flour plant can help you grind wheat into flour, and they'd probably have a store of wheat. If you can get a flour mill back up and running so you are actually producing a food staple, that would do you VERY well in any kind of future economy.
Museums that have arms-and-armor collections. A friend of mine insists that he is going to report to one such museum if civilization collapses and stay put, "because it is defensible and I will have an armory". He's not thinking guns, he's thinking broadswords, longbows, and shields, which the museum has in ample supply. And the armor.
Similarly, botanic gardens may have fruit trees or herbs on exhibit, so that's a good resource. They'd also already have been pretty well tended prior to the apocalypse event, so the plants would be pretty healthy. However, this is a bit of a crapshoot, because such a garden wouldn't plant an orchard of fruit trees, but more likely would only do a few - and they may have gone for a more ornamental variety than a fruit-bearing one. But they'd be well-identified when it comes to what variety it is so you wouldn't have to guess. (But they may have a greenhouse that would let you cultivate more things on your own, so that's still a good thing to know about.)
Relatedly: major garden supply houses and nurseries. More likely to have greenhouses you could use, and food-bearing plants available. May have been raided by others before you, though.
National Landmark sites that were historic forts. If they were a fort in the Revolutionary War and they're still standing, they're probably pretty sturdy, and they were planned/laid out in such a way that defensibility was taken into account.
Rivers and streams are obvious, but make careful note of where boat launching access ON those rivers would be. Fortunately most places have some kind of map noting recreational boat launches - this is the kind you'll probably want to know about, because most likely canoes or kayaks would be the kinds of boats people are using (rather than speedboats or jetskis or yachts), and the public boat launches would have easiest access to the water.
I'll probably think of more.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:00 AM on August 30, 2013 [7 favorites]
Trufax - one of my favorite I-have-insomnia things is to do some thought experiments for "what would happen if The Stand were real, and I lived there and had to deal with things" and I realized pretty soon that food would be An Issue. Yeah, King dealt with people learning how to grow vegetables and stuff again, but there are things that would soon run out, like flour, sugar, and coffee. Also, yeah, some people may know how to butcher cows and chickens, but where are all the cows and chickens you're butchering?
So - as a result, two of the big things I would put down on there are:
1. major livestock farms, or agricultural schools. That's where your cows and chickens are going to be. Whether you leave them there or herd them elsewhere is an exercise I leave to the map reader.
2. Locations of major warehouse distribution centers. Everyone's gonna be raiding the Wal-Mart store itself - you want to find the warehouse where Wal-Mart gets ITS stuff from, because it's gonna be stocked with a lot more basic stuff, and people won't always think to look there first. So it'll be easy to find the bulk bags of flour or coffee or whatever, which you can then either stock up on for trade or take over a personal lifetime stash of. Such warehouses would probably also have a big supply of basic medical supplies (otc drugs, bandages, etc.) Finally, warehouses may also have a lot of canning supplies, which will help with food preservation when you do start growing fruit and vegetables.
Other things for other reasons:
Hospitals would also be a good option, for the "has medical supplies" option. But also, Red Cross Truck parking lots. The trucks may have their own med kits, so that's another source of medical equipment. Also, if there's a truck that's gassed up, then hey, you've got transport.
Major food production plants. They may also have a lot of raw ingredients for things - so even if the electricity's out and you can't get the Twinkie machines back up and running, the Twinkie factory would still have flour and sugar around, and that'd be good to have, right? ...And if you can get the electricity back on, finding the King Arthur Flour plant can help you grind wheat into flour, and they'd probably have a store of wheat. If you can get a flour mill back up and running so you are actually producing a food staple, that would do you VERY well in any kind of future economy.
Museums that have arms-and-armor collections. A friend of mine insists that he is going to report to one such museum if civilization collapses and stay put, "because it is defensible and I will have an armory". He's not thinking guns, he's thinking broadswords, longbows, and shields, which the museum has in ample supply. And the armor.
Similarly, botanic gardens may have fruit trees or herbs on exhibit, so that's a good resource. They'd also already have been pretty well tended prior to the apocalypse event, so the plants would be pretty healthy. However, this is a bit of a crapshoot, because such a garden wouldn't plant an orchard of fruit trees, but more likely would only do a few - and they may have gone for a more ornamental variety than a fruit-bearing one. But they'd be well-identified when it comes to what variety it is so you wouldn't have to guess. (But they may have a greenhouse that would let you cultivate more things on your own, so that's still a good thing to know about.)
Relatedly: major garden supply houses and nurseries. More likely to have greenhouses you could use, and food-bearing plants available. May have been raided by others before you, though.
National Landmark sites that were historic forts. If they were a fort in the Revolutionary War and they're still standing, they're probably pretty sturdy, and they were planned/laid out in such a way that defensibility was taken into account.
Rivers and streams are obvious, but make careful note of where boat launching access ON those rivers would be. Fortunately most places have some kind of map noting recreational boat launches - this is the kind you'll probably want to know about, because most likely canoes or kayaks would be the kinds of boats people are using (rather than speedboats or jetskis or yachts), and the public boat launches would have easiest access to the water.
I'll probably think of more.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:00 AM on August 30, 2013 [7 favorites]
You don't mention what type of environmental disaster. I second clarifying what you are going after. I live in the Pacific Northwest, so when I think of an environmental disaster I think of the "big quake", Mt. Rainier lahars, and a tsunami along the coast (there used to be a model video for that showing a wave completely inundating the Long Beach peninsula, but I'm not finding it right now).
I'd look at the Yellowstone caldera, too.
Basically, I don't think you can really put together this map until you've determined what is going on to make the apocalypse. Seattle is a center for medicine, but it wouldn't be following a 9.0 surface earthquake. On the flip side, in The Road the west coast was considered a safe-haven--but I doubt it would be following a Plinian eruption of Mt. Rainier. The Pacific Northwest could be considered a safe haven--it could also be considered a nuclear wasteland.
(Sorry for all the PNW references--just using them for examples.)
posted by obviousresistance at 10:09 AM on August 30, 2013 [2 favorites]
I'd look at the Yellowstone caldera, too.
Basically, I don't think you can really put together this map until you've determined what is going on to make the apocalypse. Seattle is a center for medicine, but it wouldn't be following a 9.0 surface earthquake. On the flip side, in The Road the west coast was considered a safe-haven--but I doubt it would be following a Plinian eruption of Mt. Rainier. The Pacific Northwest could be considered a safe haven--it could also be considered a nuclear wasteland.
(Sorry for all the PNW references--just using them for examples.)
posted by obviousresistance at 10:09 AM on August 30, 2013 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: Admiral Haddock, I would like to focus on a futuristic, fictional map. I do plan on incorporating some sea-level rise maps though. Great suggestions so far!
To clarify, I am leaning toward the breakdown of civilization, compounding disaster (volcanoes or floods after an earthquake), etc. I am at the beginning stage of research so I really enjoy reading different ideas.
posted by occidental at 10:09 AM on August 30, 2013
To clarify, I am leaning toward the breakdown of civilization, compounding disaster (volcanoes or floods after an earthquake), etc. I am at the beginning stage of research so I really enjoy reading different ideas.
posted by occidental at 10:09 AM on August 30, 2013
Only the mountains are left, arable land is created by terrassing, and Denver is the capital out west. The Great Plains are gone. Asheville is the eastern capital.Hawaii is an independent country and people have to prove through DNA analysis that they descend from the original inhabitants. Alaska is a looneytunes freeforall and an elderly Bristol Palin rules as queen.
posted by mareli at 10:11 AM on August 30, 2013
posted by mareli at 10:11 AM on August 30, 2013
Best answer: Dangerous places: Nuclear power plants, Nuclear weapons stored at military bases, Chemical weapons stored at military bases, Conventional weapons stored at military bases, National Guard bases, police armories, etc., toxic and nuclear waste dumps, dams, Research facilities, military or otherwise, that have biologic agents, and the means to make bad things, missile silos.
Useful: libraries, oil tank farms, granaries and other food storage places. If it's a local map, hardware, grocery stores, and gas stations. Hospitals, medical supply warehouses.
Cheyenne Mountain, The Greenbrier, and any similar places.
I hope you'll post it when done and link to here.
posted by theora55 at 10:11 AM on August 30, 2013 [2 favorites]
Useful: libraries, oil tank farms, granaries and other food storage places. If it's a local map, hardware, grocery stores, and gas stations. Hospitals, medical supply warehouses.
Cheyenne Mountain, The Greenbrier, and any similar places.
I hope you'll post it when done and link to here.
posted by theora55 at 10:11 AM on August 30, 2013 [2 favorites]
The National Atlas website has a map making feature that looks pretty nifty. You can put in wildland/urban fire interfaces, volcanoes, all sorts of hazardous weather, hazardous waste etc... Might be some good ideas there.
posted by vespabelle at 10:12 AM on August 30, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by vespabelle at 10:12 AM on August 30, 2013 [2 favorites]
One of the most interesting points of The World Without Us (mentioned above) is how very much modern buildings rely on weatherproofing and climate control, the latter of which is going to be basically gone once the power grid goes away. Houses and buildings without central HVAC working are going to hit moisture-related issues very quickly, and once water starts freezing and thawing in large structures, they start becoming unstable much faster than you'd think.
Ditto for large parts of the built landscape that require constant human maintenance: bridges, damns, subway tunnels, etc. A lot of the urban landscape would be pretty rundown in just a few short years.
Bonus: if central heat goes away overnight, most (if not all) of the roaches in NYC go away very quickly. They're tropical insects and need heat to survive. No heat, no roaches. The rats would probably go pretty quick too.
In my area - the mid-South of the US - I imagine the large farms would hang on for as long as there's diesel fuel, decent weather and water. After that, the landscape would start reverting: invasive weeds and other opportunistic plants would take over the cultivated areas quick. The cedars might come stage a comeback as would brushfires.
ORNL is a fair distance away, and I'm not sure how nuclear incident there would affect us here - they're way off to the east. There's a USAF training/testing base nearby but there are no aircraft stationed there permanently AFAIK.
Not sure how'd you show any of this on a map, though. It's a fun Friday thought experiment, though.
posted by jquinby at 10:14 AM on August 30, 2013 [1 favorite]
Ditto for large parts of the built landscape that require constant human maintenance: bridges, damns, subway tunnels, etc. A lot of the urban landscape would be pretty rundown in just a few short years.
Bonus: if central heat goes away overnight, most (if not all) of the roaches in NYC go away very quickly. They're tropical insects and need heat to survive. No heat, no roaches. The rats would probably go pretty quick too.
In my area - the mid-South of the US - I imagine the large farms would hang on for as long as there's diesel fuel, decent weather and water. After that, the landscape would start reverting: invasive weeds and other opportunistic plants would take over the cultivated areas quick. The cedars might come stage a comeback as would brushfires.
ORNL is a fair distance away, and I'm not sure how nuclear incident there would affect us here - they're way off to the east. There's a USAF training/testing base nearby but there are no aircraft stationed there permanently AFAIK.
Not sure how'd you show any of this on a map, though. It's a fun Friday thought experiment, though.
posted by jquinby at 10:14 AM on August 30, 2013 [1 favorite]
Refugees from a rapidly-sinking-underwater Florida are scarier to me than any zombie could be.
posted by sexyrobot at 10:18 AM on August 30, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by sexyrobot at 10:18 AM on August 30, 2013 [2 favorites]
Okay, this is more of a practical-advice tip than a map tip - if you figure out how to re-hack a diesel engine so it can take cooking oil as fuel, then you don't need to fight for petroleum-based oil or gas with everyone and can instead raid old McDonalds' franchises or supermarkets for fuel. A couple five-gallon bottles of Wesson and you're good to go.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:24 AM on August 30, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:24 AM on August 30, 2013 [1 favorite]
Gamma World was a post-apocalyptic role playing game from back in the day that included a map like you are creating. Maybe looking at that could give you some ideas. But please include locations of nuclear detonations and radioactive wastelands.
posted by Rob Rockets at 11:05 AM on August 30, 2013
posted by Rob Rockets at 11:05 AM on August 30, 2013
Best answer: As mentioned above, in any good apocalypse scenario, someone has to panic and start randomly shooting off atomic weapons, right? So, you really need to know what fall-out patterns should look like.
Here's a decent atomic bomb simulator, which can even do 3d. For example, type Chicago in the target box, select a B61 as a typical US nuke, and bam! . Remember to tick the "fall-out" box to see the radiation sock.
Also, it could be useful to know the locations and fallout shadows of the nuclear generating stations in the US, in case one melts down like a big ol' glowing gopher.
posted by bonehead at 11:08 AM on August 30, 2013 [3 favorites]
Here's a decent atomic bomb simulator, which can even do 3d. For example, type Chicago in the target box, select a B61 as a typical US nuke, and bam! . Remember to tick the "fall-out" box to see the radiation sock.
Also, it could be useful to know the locations and fallout shadows of the nuclear generating stations in the US, in case one melts down like a big ol' glowing gopher.
posted by bonehead at 11:08 AM on August 30, 2013 [3 favorites]
If you are going in a similar line as almost every movie out there, Canada always seems to be ignored by every horrible world crisis. Honestly, we never seem to be attacked or blown up or even mentioned as existing in the world.
So make Canada a safe haven.
Except Toronto.
Toronto can be invaded by zombies and nuked and razed by alien laser beams.
And maybe PEI. Not because PEI is in any way unpleasant or deserving of being destroyed. Because it IS so lovely and peacefull and nice, so people would be all "Okay, I get why the zombies attacked Toronto, but Prince Edward island? Seriously? That's just uncalled for.". And also, you have a pretty effective way to quarantine PEI (ie. blow up the Confederation Bridge)
posted by PuppetMcSockerson at 11:19 AM on August 30, 2013 [1 favorite]
So make Canada a safe haven.
Except Toronto.
Toronto can be invaded by zombies and nuked and razed by alien laser beams.
And maybe PEI. Not because PEI is in any way unpleasant or deserving of being destroyed. Because it IS so lovely and peacefull and nice, so people would be all "Okay, I get why the zombies attacked Toronto, but Prince Edward island? Seriously? That's just uncalled for.". And also, you have a pretty effective way to quarantine PEI (ie. blow up the Confederation Bridge)
posted by PuppetMcSockerson at 11:19 AM on August 30, 2013 [1 favorite]
The storm surge inundation maps are fun to play with too. The historical events section is probably what would be most useful for your purposes. Unfortunately, these aren't possible to run dynamically, so the calculated maps on that page are the best you'll find, I think.
posted by bonehead at 11:23 AM on August 30, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by bonehead at 11:23 AM on August 30, 2013 [1 favorite]
Play with different map technologies - the map could be a hodge-podge of what information is known and available and what isn't, with some areas sporting recent Google-style aerial photography, other areas being pre-apocalypse maps with annotations and corrections made, other areas hand-drawn, other areas almost blank with only the broadest details. Some notes and place names could raise more questions than they answer; "Hogan's downfall", "the Dead Pools", "Dan's Sanctuary" :-)
posted by anonymisc at 11:29 AM on August 30, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by anonymisc at 11:29 AM on August 30, 2013 [2 favorites]
Best answer: As a huge fan of post-apocalyptic world scenarios, some things that have struck me in reading other people's takes on this are:
1.Large Cities would go first, and be magnets for death and unrest. It is absolutely mind boggling how much cities rely on imported goods, specifically food. And without manned water filtration and pumping, combined with natural pollution, there would quickly be little potable water left.
There would be a mass exodus once transportation chains and food manufacturing/harvesting begin to fail, likely with a concurrent explosion of crime and violence for remaining resources.
After time, if/when the catastrophe has subsided, cities would again be magnets for scavengers, desperate people, and the like.
2. Areas surrounding relatively low maintenance power sources (wind farms, solar farms, some dams, etc.) would likely be destination points for millions. These places would fail the last, and likely begin to be supported by displaced technicians, engineers, and DIYers. The grid would fail inwards from the farthest reaches as substations failed, but areas around immediate sources of power would continue to be viable as long as the machinery continued to work or be repaired/maintained.
posted by Debaser626 at 12:54 PM on August 30, 2013 [2 favorites]
1.Large Cities would go first, and be magnets for death and unrest. It is absolutely mind boggling how much cities rely on imported goods, specifically food. And without manned water filtration and pumping, combined with natural pollution, there would quickly be little potable water left.
There would be a mass exodus once transportation chains and food manufacturing/harvesting begin to fail, likely with a concurrent explosion of crime and violence for remaining resources.
After time, if/when the catastrophe has subsided, cities would again be magnets for scavengers, desperate people, and the like.
2. Areas surrounding relatively low maintenance power sources (wind farms, solar farms, some dams, etc.) would likely be destination points for millions. These places would fail the last, and likely begin to be supported by displaced technicians, engineers, and DIYers. The grid would fail inwards from the farthest reaches as substations failed, but areas around immediate sources of power would continue to be viable as long as the machinery continued to work or be repaired/maintained.
posted by Debaser626 at 12:54 PM on August 30, 2013 [2 favorites]
Oh you've got to put nuclear silos and the global seed vault
http://jeffrubinjeffrubinshow.com/episode/95-does-monopoly-suck/
posted by gregoryg at 9:14 PM on August 30, 2013
http://jeffrubinjeffrubinshow.com/episode/95-does-monopoly-suck/
posted by gregoryg at 9:14 PM on August 30, 2013
Er, whoops, bad paste: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svalbard_Global_Seed_Vault
posted by gregoryg at 9:20 PM on August 30, 2013
posted by gregoryg at 9:20 PM on August 30, 2013
Best answer: Depending on how far in the future you're setting your post-apocalyptic scenario (and exactly what has happened), you'll want to dial up sea-level rise. Hey What's That? offers some really useful contour-based projections that you can play with.
Assuming you're setting the work in North America, you'll want to figure in the location of nuclear reactors, many of which would likely go critical if left unmaintained. The NRDC's map would be useful in plotting "no go" areas, extended in the direction of prevailing wind directions. Nuclear waste sites and weapon locations would receive similar treatment.
Keep in mind that dams would silt up relatively quickly, changing the course and breadth of major river systems. The Mississippi's wildly divergent natural path is kept in check only through massive expense: left to its own devices, the river system would eventually wipe out most structures within miles of its current course.
Global warming forces more extreme weather events: you could have large swaths of middle America experiencing severe drought, while the north was inundated with rain.
I hope this helps!
posted by Bora Horza Gobuchul at 12:49 PM on September 1, 2013
Assuming you're setting the work in North America, you'll want to figure in the location of nuclear reactors, many of which would likely go critical if left unmaintained. The NRDC's map would be useful in plotting "no go" areas, extended in the direction of prevailing wind directions. Nuclear waste sites and weapon locations would receive similar treatment.
Keep in mind that dams would silt up relatively quickly, changing the course and breadth of major river systems. The Mississippi's wildly divergent natural path is kept in check only through massive expense: left to its own devices, the river system would eventually wipe out most structures within miles of its current course.
Global warming forces more extreme weather events: you could have large swaths of middle America experiencing severe drought, while the north was inundated with rain.
I hope this helps!
posted by Bora Horza Gobuchul at 12:49 PM on September 1, 2013
Best answer: The first thing to decide is what story your map is going to tell. Say the world has been taken down by a variety of factors:
-Climate change
-Natural disaster
-Weaponized human viruses
-Weaponized computer viruses
-Economic collapse
-Collapse of regional and national power grids
-Governmental collapse
A map tells you who, if anyone, is in control of a certain place and what sort of environment will be encountered in that place. Let's talk examples.
Take the USA: Post apocalypse the government has collapsed and new regional governments have arisen. The former California, Portland, and Washington have formed an alliance based around their ability to create a fleet that controls a large swath of the Pacific. Further inland is a lawless territory being fought over by militias and bandit gangs. Texas is a wasteland, where temperatures across the state rival those of Death Valley. The few denizens that remain have become troglodytes, living in primitive underground villages. Further east, a Northern alliance fights a civil war with a Southern Alliance --over nothing more than who gets to claim the mantle of the "United States of America". The east coast has been devastated by a weaponized ebola virus where the few that survive can only resist the disease they're born into by eating human flesh or drinking human blood. The survivors live in heavily fortified enclaves, and live by preying on refugees from the civil war, or by raiding other enclaves. Some few of the new cannibals even join the civil war, where they can feast on the carnage of battle...
Now, none of that is particularly probable and is likely to be more fantastic than you would prefer, but it does reflect a story that could be somewhat hinted at by a map. The point of the example is that the story of what has happened to this region comes first. Extrapolate from that where people are still living, in what numbers, under what conditions, and how those new areas relate to one another, if at all. That is what gives you the guidelines for your map. You're rebuilding a new world on the bones of the old. What that new creature looks like is up to you.
posted by zueod at 5:07 PM on September 1, 2013
-Climate change
-Natural disaster
-Weaponized human viruses
-Weaponized computer viruses
-Economic collapse
-Collapse of regional and national power grids
-Governmental collapse
A map tells you who, if anyone, is in control of a certain place and what sort of environment will be encountered in that place. Let's talk examples.
Take the USA: Post apocalypse the government has collapsed and new regional governments have arisen. The former California, Portland, and Washington have formed an alliance based around their ability to create a fleet that controls a large swath of the Pacific. Further inland is a lawless territory being fought over by militias and bandit gangs. Texas is a wasteland, where temperatures across the state rival those of Death Valley. The few denizens that remain have become troglodytes, living in primitive underground villages. Further east, a Northern alliance fights a civil war with a Southern Alliance --over nothing more than who gets to claim the mantle of the "United States of America". The east coast has been devastated by a weaponized ebola virus where the few that survive can only resist the disease they're born into by eating human flesh or drinking human blood. The survivors live in heavily fortified enclaves, and live by preying on refugees from the civil war, or by raiding other enclaves. Some few of the new cannibals even join the civil war, where they can feast on the carnage of battle...
Now, none of that is particularly probable and is likely to be more fantastic than you would prefer, but it does reflect a story that could be somewhat hinted at by a map. The point of the example is that the story of what has happened to this region comes first. Extrapolate from that where people are still living, in what numbers, under what conditions, and how those new areas relate to one another, if at all. That is what gives you the guidelines for your map. You're rebuilding a new world on the bones of the old. What that new creature looks like is up to you.
posted by zueod at 5:07 PM on September 1, 2013
This thread is closed to new comments.
I can't help you with the latter, but if you're looking for real-life information about a worst-case US, play with this map of rising sea levels and see these maps of potential future temperatures.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 9:44 AM on August 30, 2013 [1 favorite]