8-Bit New York City Map

Computational media designer Brett Camper has put together this awe-inspiring zoomable 8-bit map of New York City, in the style of a 1980s RPG, using a custom rendering engine and open source map data. 

From the “why” page:

8-Bit NYC is an attempt to make the city feel foreign yet familiar, smashing together two culturally common models of space: the lo-fi overhead world maps of 1980s role-playing and adventure games, and the geographically accurate data that drives today’s web maps and GPS navigation. I hope to evoke the same urge for exploration, abstract sense of scale, and perhaps most importantly unbounded excitement that many of us remember experiencing on the Nintendo Entertainment System, the Commodore 64, or any other number of 8-bit microcomputers.

But this isn’t the only level: if he gets enough funding, Camper plans to make 8-bit maps of 15 other cities, including San Francisco, L.A., and Paris.

Also by Camper: Trees Near You, a free iPhone app that uses geodata to let you learn more about the 500,000 trees in New York City.

(Kottke via Waxy)