“Flags. I fucking hate flags. You fucking hate flags. Everyone fucking hates flags.”

In the wake of the data dump, there’s been an awful lot of people howling, “bin Laden was doing X,” or, “Look, bin Laden was into Y!”

There are two important things to note here:

1.) As Cecilia correctly points out, these files were pulled from a network, meaning a lot of people had access. That bin Laden likely…

Dear god, I hope you’re totally and completely wrong. I play MMO games and a minimap is absolutely essential to being able to figure out how to move in the world. Elder Scrolls Online tried to do it without a minimap and everyone created mods to add one back into the game. Minimaps are a QoL thing that I guarantee you…

I... Actually hate this. I’m one of the few people who actually pretty much need a minimap to get my bearings, especially in modern open world games where a lot of the areas are just nondescript mountains and stuff. I mean, yeah, there’s the actual map function which I’m sure isn’t going away any time soon, but I hate…

do you take pride in being the contrarian at kotaku? you have so many weird and contentious opinions

I never got this glee people get when options they don’t like are taken away from everyone. If you don’t like minimaps Kirk, great, but some of us do. Some of us actually find them helpful. If anything you should be pushing for the OPTION to turn them off for your own personal enjoyment. Not pushing to have them taken…

Why is getting rid of the map such a good thing to you? Wouldn’t it be better to give people the option to turn it on or off, instead of getting rid of it altogether? The map was super helpful when I was playing Witcher 3 or GTAV and would not want to get rid of it.

NO NO NO NO NO

I disagree that mini maps are all bad. they’ve been fairly useful in many games from Super Metroid to World of Warcraft (or most MMOs or MOBAs where minimaps are essential). Even in single player games, I see mini maps as a good way to keep yourself aware of where you are at any time in the gaming world and nice way…

Sorry, but as a person with very poor direction sense (in real life and in games), lack of a mini-map sucks major ass. I love the Fallout games to death, but their lack of mini-map is a killer for me when trying to explore.

I get that you like playing games a specific way, but your crusade against HUD UI elements is frankly getting old. The lack of a minimap in AC: Origins is one of the few major strikes I have against the game. I’ll agree to the ability to toggle them on and off, but I feel like you’re just being vindictive at this…

Alternative take: You are Wrong, sir, and I love the minimap because I have no goddamn sense of direction and the attention span of a house fly!

100% agree. There’s literally 0 reason to just not have it be its own toggle. BotW might be the only game where I’m OK without a minimap since you really can get anywhere you see since you have climbing, but other games where you might have to navigate around certain spots since you can’t climb? Mini-map is so useful…

Yes, I hate compass systems and I love mini-maps. I don’t spend the whole game looking at them. I just glance over every now and then if I’m a bit lost. So much better than opening a whole map.

+1 for good UX recommendation. Why take away user control when you can provide user CHOICE instead. A toggle to display or hide the map provides the best experience possible to the individual user.

Removing them entirely is a horrible idea.

I like mini-maps.

In case you don’t want to watch a video, I break it down in slideshows below.

I really hope you’re joking, even in in poor taste, but unfortunately it’s the internet and there are people who actually think that’s a legit thought process and it’s very possible you’re not joking.

I was lucky; I’m too old for those guys. we had to use Hunter Thompson.