I notice that we have a map of Tamriel from Elder Scrolls on here. That immediately made me think of other video games that could be easily converted into Risk scenarios. For example...
World of Warcraft and Guild Wars both have in-game maps that could be easily converted into Risk maps. There are potential copyright issues, but I'm certain we could get those cleared with an email to Blizzard and ArenaNet (respectively). The maps are already freely available online, and sticking a logo for the game/company on it would provide them with free advertising. I'm pretty sure the only way copyright would prove to be a hurdle is if they just didn't get back to us at all.
Middle-Earth is probably an idea that's been had before, and given how stingy the Tolkien Estate tends to be over Tolkien's intellectual property, this one might see more copyright issues. Same goes for Narnia. But it's probably worth sending a letter their way.
Also, what about Forgotten Realms, Dark Sun, and other pen and paper based mapped worlds? Again, worth a shot, and they're less likely to think it an affront to the respectability of the works in question, like with the Tolkien and Lewis Estates.
Going into history, I notice we've got plenty of Ancient Egypt and Greece-based maps, things for the Celts and the native nations of America which I was pleasantly surprised by, and a few modeled on Ancient Rome, but the Roman ones don't really satisfy me and there's nothing at all for India and China BC that I can tell. Particularly, there's no map based off of the Three Kingdoms period of China, and that needs to happen. I wonder if you could work the other three classics of Chinese literature into their own maps?
Also, although the theme of the middle ages has been done a lot and done pretty well, actual maps based on real events seem kind of slim. Maybe I've missed some, but I don't really see any past the Third Crusade, which is a pretty complicated example. How about something about the Hundred Years War, the War of the Roses, Charlemagne, or King Arthur? The historical authenticity of that last one is debatable, but you get the point.
We have everything from the Caribbean to the Cold War pretty much covered, I think. What about maps based off of Final Fantasy? Again, copyright issues, but if the free advertising bit works, there's a ton of potential maps there, as well as some potentially interesting mechanics. I'm pretty sure just about every Final Fantasy has some kind of national conflict in it, except for the first, which still had plenty of diverse nations even if they never actually went to war with one another.
What about Star Trek or Star Wars? Neither of them should be too attached to maps of their respective galaxies. In terms of general themes without specific pre-existing settings attached, what about something themed around being the Dark Lord of a fantasy kingdom?
'Kay. Think I'm done. Question, though: Is it possible to make jumbo-size maps with a very large number of players? For the Three Kingdoms map in particular, the actual Three Kingdoms era began with over a dozen major warlords, and it'd be cool to be able to make a map big enough to simulate that without players starting with 2-3 territories.
Don't spam the Drafting Room AoN!
