The Mapping of the Ring

One of the big trends in interactive maps over the last twelve months has been the growing use of story maps. This year digital maps have been used to tell stories in long-form news reports and in impressive data visualizations. While story maps have been popular in these non-fiction narratives they have not been used as much yet in the world of fiction.

One really impressive exception to this trend is The Fellowship of the Ring map. This Leaflet.js created map animates through a re-telling of The Lords of the Ring. Just press play and you can sit back and watch an interactive visualization of the adventures of Frodo Baggins and his colleagues on a map of Middle-Earth.

As the narrative unfolds you can view the movements of all the main characters on the map. At the same time a very shortened version of the story is revealed in text at the top of the map. During the tale you can click on any of the characters' markers to learn a little more about the main protagonists in Tolkein's epic story.

The Fellowship of the Ring map can also be synchronized with the movie. If you select this option and start the map at the same time as the film you can keep track of all the characters on the map as you watch Peter Jackson's film.