History Main / CartographySidequest

** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'', activating the Sheikah Towers gives Link a map of the surrounding region. Only the very first Tower found on the Great Plateau is required to beat the game.

* ''VideoGame/{{Fallout'':
** ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 2}}'' has a couple small-scale cartography quests in Vault City: one is exploring the eight map squares surrounding Gecko; the other one is finding a route to the capital of the NCR.
** ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'': Reilly, a mercenary leader, will ask you to map out the Capital Wasteland in exchange for 30 caps for each spot after you save her squad. The unmarked quest, ''Geomapping with Reilly'', can be made easier by using the "Explorer" perk, which reveals every location but doesn't ''discover'' them, or by using the Fallout Wiki and major landmarks to find your way without wasting a perk slot.

* ''VideoGame/EtrianOdyssey'': The entire stated plot purpose is to map the dungeons. There are also sidequests that involve reporting places to look for resources, and in later games you're rewarded by reporting a floor's map as long as most of it is accurately drawn.

* In ''VideoGame/HorizonZeroDawn'', Aloy is required to find and override six 'Tallneck' machines, which scan the surrounding area and reveal it on your map.

* The DS game ''VideoGame/{{Nostalgia}}'' had a sidequest in which you look for landmarks on the world map based on clues from [=NPCs=]. Every ten landmarks you found earned you a reward.

* ''Videogame/YsMemoriesOfCelceta'': Actually the main quest is initially to complete the map, although it takes a backseat after certain plot events.
** This continues in ''Videogame/YsVIIILacrimosaOfDana'', where Adol is tasked with mapping out the island that the characters are stranded on.

* The entire stated plot purpose of ''VideoGame/EtrianOdyssey'' is to map the dungeons. There are also sidequests that involve reporting places to look for resources.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'', Reilly, a mercenary leader, will ask you to map out the Capital Wasteland in exchange for 30 caps for each spot after you save her squad. The unmarked quest, ''Geomapping with Reilly'', can be made easier by using the "Explorer" perk, which reveals every location but doesn't ''discover'' them, or by using the Fallout Wiki and major landmarks to find your way without wasting a perk slot.

** And all the 3-D Fallout games award a small amount of experience per visited landmark. ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'' has an achievement for finding 75 landmarks, which gives you even more experience upon completion.

* ''VideoGame/AvalonCode'' rewarded you for exploring rooms completely with Book of Prophecy points.

A type of objective within a game that involves completing a map of some kind. Typically, the game will have one or multiple minimaps with [[FogOfWar invisible, unexplored areas]] that will fill in as the player explores them. Once the map is [[HundredPercentCompletion 100% complete]], the player might receive some sort of reward, although it may only count towards their overall mapping or game completion percentage.

Even with no reward, maps that fill themselves in may show areas the player hasn't explored yet or missed for some reason, making them useful for finding or keeping track of items and treasure.

Even with no reward, maps that fill themselves in may show areas the player hasn't explored yet or missed for some reason, making them useful for finding or keeping track of items and treasure, plus routes and locations of interest.

Even with no reward, maps that fill themselves in may show areas the player hasn't explored yet or missed for some reason, making them useful for finding or keeping track of items and treasure.

A type of objective within a game that involves completing a map of some kind. Typically, the game will have a minimap with [[FogOfWar invisible, unexplored areas]] that will fill in as the player explores them. Once the map is [[HundredPercentCompletion 100% complete]], the player might receive some sort of reward, although it may only count towards their overall mapping or game completion percentage.

Even with no reward, maps that fill themselves in may show areas the player hasn't explored yet or missed for some reason, which is still useful for finding needed items and treasure.

Even with no reward, maps that fill themselves in will show the player areas they haven't explored, which is still useful for finding needed items, treasure, etc.

A type of objective within a game that involves completing a map of some kind. Typically, the game will have a minimap with invisible, unexplored areas that will [[FogOfWar fill in as the player explores them]]. Once the map is [[HundredPercentCompletion 100% complete]], the player might receive some sort of reward, although it may only count towards their overall mapping or game completion percentage.

A type of objective within a game that involves completing a map of some kind. Typically, the game will have a minimap that will [[FogOfWar fill in as the player explores them]]. Once the map is [[HundredPercentCompletion 100% complete]], the player might receive some sort of reward, although it may only count towards their overall mapping or game completion percentage.

[[quoteright:350:[[VideoGame/XenobladeChroniclesX https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/xenoblade_x_survey.png]]]]

On larger maps or games where the map only fills in small areas surrounding the player, this can quickly turn into LastLousyPoint for each and every map, especially if the visual representation for the explored area is none too precise.

[[quoteright:349:[[VideoGame/XenobladeChroniclesX https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/xenoblade_x_survey.png]]]]

[[quoteright:349:[[VideoGame/XenobladeChroniclesX https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/xenoblade_x_survey_7.png]]]]

[[quoteright:350:[[VideoGame/XenobladeChroniclesX https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/xenoblade_x_survey_7.png]]]]

[[quoteright:350:[[VideoGame/XenobladeChroniclesX https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/xenoblade_survey_rate.png]]]]

A type of objective within a game that involves completing a map of some kind. Typically, the game will have a minimap that will [[FogOfWar fill in as the player explores them]]. Once the map is [[HundredPercentCompletion 100% complete]], the player will typically receive some sort of reward, although it may only count towards their overall mapping or game completion.

A type of minigame within a game where you are rewarded for completing each map. Typically, the game will have a minimap that will [[FogOfWar fill in as the player explores them]]. Once the map is [[HundredPercentCompletion 100% complete]], the player will typically receive some sort of reward, although it may only count towards their overall mapping or game completion.

* ''VideoGame/{{Xenoblade}}'' rewards the player with bonus EXP, SP (skill points), and Ability points every time you discover a landmark and hidden locations on the world map, which also serve a waypoints that you can [[WarpWhistle warp back to]].

* You get experience for each part of the map visited in an area in ''VideoGame/WaxWorks''. This is the ''only'' way to level up in the London area. The same applies to ''[[VideoGame/{{Elvira}} Elvira 2: Jaws of Cerberus]]''.

* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' series' backstory has an in-universe example in Topal the Pilot. Topal was an [[OurElvesAreBetter Aldmeri]] BoldExplorer and [[WarriorPoet poet]], and the first to discover and explore Tamriel during the Merethic Era, encountering primitive versions of the [[CatFolk Khajiit]] and [[LizardFolk Argonians]], as well as a now extinct race of [[BirdPeople bird people]]. Aldmeri leadership tasked Topal, a skilled cartographer, to explore and document Tamriel's inland regions, which were [[HereThereBeDragons very mysterious]] to them at the time. The details of his trip were compiled in the epic ''Father of the Niben'', but [[TheGreatestStoryNeverTold many of the details were lost]] over time.

* The DS game ''{{Nostalgia}}'' had a sidequest in which you look for landmarks on the world map based on clues from [=NPCs=]. Every ten landmarks you found earned you a reward.