When you start Mapfan Quest!, the opening screen will give you instant flashbacks to your childhood if you are in your 30s or order.

Let’s press the START button.

Hmm… I see. It says there’s a dragon lurking at the meeting spot.

First, I select “Yes” and keep going. All of the sudden, a classic RPG screen pops up. In the middle of the map, an adorable character icon is walking around. This really takes you back.

Next, I place the meeting place with my friends on the middle of the map, and then select “Text” from the “Magic” menu to tell them the location. The typeface of the letters for “Magic” and “Text” is just like in the classic RPGs.

Then, as I go to the shared link, a dragon appears in the middle of a map.

All right, then. Bring it on! I keep tapping, but I can’t fight it!

I got closer to it, and now I can fight it. After an intense battle, I defeated the dragon. Then, suddenly, a treasure chest appears.

The route to the meeting spot looks like I’m going through a kind of dungeon stage, giving it a fun, adventurous feel. However, it may not quite be what you would call a mobile game. It’s a bit like a “tool to enjoy meeting up”.

In this article, we talked with Mr. Takahashi and Mr. Kitaya of Increment P about MapFan Quest (https://labs.mapfan.com/etc/mfq/#/).

Asking the origin of Mapfan Quest to Mr. Takahashi and Mr. Kitaya who produced this service.

— The game was really fun. What was the motivation behind creating it?

Takahashi: There’s a company called What3words based in the UK that offers a geocoding service by the same name. Increment P uses this service in Japan to provide map data. It allows you to combine three simple keywords to share location information. For example, you can use the words “fureru” (touch), “honnori” (slight, faint), and “maniau” (make it in time) to share a meeting spot. During the planning meeting, the three words of the What3words service reminded us of the “revival spells” in old RPG games.

Kitaya: I doubt that today’s young people know what “revival spells” are. Back in the day, you couldn’t save your progress data with those old game cassettes before internal batteries were added. We used what was called a “revival spell,” which was like a password that was generated each time you saved that allowed you to continue where you left off. Whenever we saved, we would take a pen and paper, and write down the revival spells.

— Did you two also grow up on those classic RPGs?

Takahashi: Yeah, I did. I played the major titles. Most people in their 30s and 40s have played them, I think. I’m no exception. I’m in my 40s, so I experienced the dawn of RPGs.

Kitaya: Me and all my friends used to play them at the time, too. Game screens back then were sometimes hard to see, and we couldn’t read the revival spells at times. The difference between similarly shaped characters was hard to distinguish. We’d often write down the wrong spells, so we couldn’t continue from where we saved. I’d end up having to go back to the previous progress data that I’d written somewhere else (laughs).

— I never experienced the revival spells. What happened after that?

Kitaya: Eventually, the saving system was introduced. You could only save a few sessions, which I assume is because of the limited data capacity back then. Sometimes, you’d lend a game to a friend, and they’d return it with the progress data deleted (laughs).

— Oh, I remember that (laughs). It’s really impressive, though, how accurately you reproduced the old classic RPG feel—from the dotted pixels to the texture of the forests.

Kitaya: The classic RPG-style map in the background uses MapFan API, but this was actually created for an earlier project. We developed this in 2014 when we wanted to make some fun map-related products. The base map data is the same as the consumer version of MapFan. Map apps of other companies are generally the same, but the map you’re looking at is a combination of many layers of data. For example, there’s a layer of road information, a layer of building information, and a layer of background information. For each layer or target category, we changed the colors, and added textures reminiscent of classic RPGs. We created it with the aim of allowing freedom in customizing the design.

— Who’s your target audience, and how do you want them to use it?

Takahashi: Of course, we want everyone—men and women, young and old—to use it. The point is to make meeting someone at a meeting spot more fun, so if you’re ever in that situation, this is a tool for you. Also, we would like people to use it repeatedly. If you use it more than ten times, your character gets a special new look, and the dragon’s message changes. In old RPGs, there were secret dungeons you could access after you beat the game. We wanted to give it some fun features like that. There’s a lot more to the game, so give it a try next time you go meet someone.

— How does MapFan Quest work?

Takahashi: I mentioned this earlier, but we use a geolocation service called What3words. The whole world is divided on a 3-meter by 3-meter grid, on which words are assigned. You can share location information with three-word combinations.

— There are times when I plan to meet someone at a certain exit of a certain train station, but sometimes that’s not enough information. Can What3words solve these problems?

Takahashi: That’s right. You can specify the location using What3words in a more granular manner than with a street address. For example, when meeting at a parking lot or in a park for a cherry blossom viewing party, just specifying the parking lot or the name of the park isn’t enough. It’s also difficult to find good landmarks. In situations like this, you can use What3words to share accurate location information.

— What is the MapFan Lab Site, where MapFan Quest can be played?

Kitaya: The MapFan Lab Site (https://labs.mapfan.com/) is where we at Increment P post our development tools and map data usage scenarios.

It was first launched when our sales representatives were trying to find ways to show prospective clients our products and data, and decided we need a place where we can visually showcase our data. We also work on collaborative projects with other companies. This is to show our clients the potential applications of combining our data with theirs. While these were some of the reasons behind, this was also a way of raising our company’s profile by making something fun.

— Do you plan on working on more fun projects like this in the future?

Takahashi: We do. We can’t say anything yet, but we have a few plans in the works. If MapFan Quest catches on, we’re thinking of releasing some expansion packs.

— Is there something you’d like to tell the readers about your maps or apps before we end the interview?

Kitaya: I don’t think people usually have the chance to see map data. I want more people to know about the various sets of data that comprise the maps we’re so familiar with. I hope that MapFan Quest and the Lab Site will help spread that knowledge in a fun way.

MapFan Quest : https://labs.mapfan.com/etc/mfq/#/ *Just after transit, you are in this world!

MapFan Lab Site : https://labs.mapfan.com/

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