The Scent of Mapping

The Scent of Mapping

Re: The Scent of Mapping Posted by satchmo on Fri Nov 11th 2005 at 9:19pm
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I noticed a curious phenomenon.

When I first started mapping, I just began working at an office with a fragrant lotion smell. I share the office space with a female doctor, so the room naturally smells girly.

Now, whenever I smell lotion or something close to that, I think of mapping and Hammer. I bet no one ever thought of mapping as an olfactory experience, but it is for me.

Has anyone else associated mapping with a sense other than visual?
"The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return." -- Toulouse-Lautre, Moulin Rouge
Re: The Scent of Mapping Posted by French Toast on Fri Nov 11th 2005 at 9:26pm
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I can't say that I have...
Re: The Scent of Mapping Posted by Andrei on Fri Nov 11th 2005 at 9:32pm
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The fact that you now associate mapping with that scent kinda sounds like aversion therapy to me.
Re: The Scent of Mapping Posted by satchmo on Fri Nov 11th 2005 at 9:46pm
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...except that the scent brings all sorts of pleasant memories for me. When I first started mapping, the sense of wonder and endless possibilities is so euphoric that it will remain in my consciousness as one of the most positive experience in my life.

I tend to exaggerate at times, but you're used to it by now.

However, this was true. I was floating around in my reverie this morning while driving that I drove right past my work. Fortunately, I still got there on time, but it was funny.
"The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return." -- Toulouse-Lautre, Moulin Rouge
Re: The Scent of Mapping Posted by Captain P on Fri Nov 11th 2005 at 9:58pm
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You only just associate scent with mapping?

Then you've got some way to go yet... :biggrin: :razz:
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Re: The Scent of Mapping Posted by satchmo on Fri Nov 11th 2005 at 10:05pm
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Posted 2005-11-11 10:05pm
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On a side note...

Captain P, congrat on being chosen as the map vault moderator at TWHL.
"The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return." -- Toulouse-Lautre, Moulin Rouge
Re: The Scent of Mapping Posted by gimpinthesink on Fri Nov 11th 2005 at 10:08pm
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I dont really associate it with a smell maybe gas cos our boiler died
around the time I started and you could smell gas when you walked
through the dining room but I associate it more with being so cold I
have to wear my coat and hat while I'm sat at the computer.
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Re: The Scent of Mapping Posted by Captain P on Fri Nov 11th 2005 at 10:53pm
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Thanks, Satch. :smile:

Anyway, I think the human brain is highly associative. When I walk
through certain area's of the city or even think about them, sometimes
the thoughts I had when I walked there years ago simply pop up again. I
think the same goes for what you see, smell, hear or whatever. Somehow
certain things just stick well to the brain and because some seemingly
random other event happened at that moment, the two are linked somehow.

Brains are weird and wonderfull... :smile:
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Re: The Scent of Mapping Posted by Gorbachev on Fri Nov 11th 2005 at 11:40pm
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I sort of associate certain games with weather types depending on what
time of year I played them, same with a few maps, I feel them as winter
maps because it was cold here at the time, and there are the few
sweltering hot ones from a few summers before where it was 35c and up
for over a week straight.

I always associate Donkey Kong Country and Mario RPG with the crisp smell of new snow.
Re: The Scent of Mapping Posted by wil5on on Fri Nov 11th 2005 at 11:46pm
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When mapping a real-world location, sometimes, if I've done a good job on an area, I can catch a faint whiff of the actual place while running through the map.
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Re: The Scent of Mapping Posted by Addicted to Morphine on Sat Nov 12th 2005 at 12:28am
Posted 2005-11-12 12:28am
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Has anyone else associated mapping with a sense other than visual?
I always listen to music when I map, but as far as I know, no particular songs bring back mapping memories.
Re: The Scent of Mapping Posted by asterix_vader on Sat Nov 12th 2005 at 12:30am
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when i listen to the songs i used to listen when i started mapping, i feel like mapping! but i lack imagination and motivation. :cry:
Re: The Scent of Mapping Posted by ReNo on Sat Nov 12th 2005 at 3:18am
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I get lots of memories of specific games from specific music, but
definately not smells. I haven't had any particular smells be around in
circumstances where they could really be associated with anything as
far as I'm aware.
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Re: The Scent of Mapping Posted by asterix_vader on Sat Nov 12th 2005 at 4:30am
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there's a specific smell that reminds me of my friend's house, and therefore, of age of empires 2. :leper:
Re: The Scent of Mapping Posted by Tracer Bullet on Sat Nov 12th 2005 at 5:01am
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"girly" smells trigger euphoric memories for me too... but that has nothing to do with mapping... :wink:
Some people are like slinkys...

They aren?t really good for anything, but you can't help but laugh when one tumbles down the stairs.
Re: The Scent of Mapping Posted by Nickelplate on Sat Nov 12th 2005 at 7:17am
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The body wash commercials are right, Scent really is the strongest sense tied to memory.

I associate mapping with the guy that taught me how: my ex-girlfriend's brother.

On a similar note, have you ever wondered why teenage boys always have those huge sound systems in thier car? Not only is it a "my pecker's bigger than yours" thing. Bass tones lower than a certain frequency actually cause the brain to release endorphins, which is what teenage boys bodies drive for in so many ways.
I tried sniffing coke, but the ice cubes kept getting stuck in my nose.
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Re: The Scent of Mapping Posted by omegaslayer on Sat Nov 12th 2005 at 8:33am
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"girly" smells trigger euphoric memories for me too... but that has nothing to do with mapping... :wink:
I think this sums it up for me as well.
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Re: The Scent of Mapping Posted by Madedog on Sat Nov 12th 2005 at 8:48am
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Hmm, a specific parfume brings a specific woman in my mind...
But as for mapping - yes. Music. Chicken Run soundtrack brings into my mind how I mapped the ol' Strikeback Ravenholm part of the map.
And a part of the older part of the city of my city (what a play of words, eh :biggrin: ) brings in some of my tries to remake it :smile:
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Re: The Scent of Mapping Posted by habboi on Sat Nov 12th 2005 at 11:29pm
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I suppose I associate mapping with what I see, I always look at things and want to map or I see old comments on my old maps and GO YES MAPPING TIME!

Sometimes I 'picture' myself with fans kneeling below me!
Re: The Scent of Mapping Posted by Underdog on Sat Nov 12th 2005 at 11:57pm
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Olfactory smells often trigger memories. Sounds do as well.

To this day, if I hear the theme song from Author, I think of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. There is no logic to the thought, it just arrives moments after the song begins.

If I smell pickles my mouth waters uncontrollably. I dearly love a good pickle.

If I smell PineSol, I have an uncontrolled gag reflex.

Memories are weird things. 99% I bet are unknown in origin.

Mapping? Neither sights sounds not smells trigger anything even remotely insightful for new creativity. :sad:

I do however have an idea for a new map. One never done yet, yet the theme is common. As soon as I can I would like to create it. I will not however post it yet cause of its originality qualities being lost to another. I do not fear they will steal it, I fear they will do it better than I. :razz:
There is no history until something happens, then there is.
Re: The Scent of Mapping Posted by keved on Sun Nov 13th 2005 at 12:08pm
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satchmo said:
Has anyone else associated mapping with a sense other than visual?
Yeah, with hearing certain music, namely Jane's Addiction. They must have been on my stereo when I first started with Hammer, since whenever I hear them it brings back memories of trying to setup Hammer manually and follow 'how to make a box room' tutorials. :smile:

The strongest association I can conciously remember though, bizarrely, is an association between the old Amiga game 'Cadaver' and 'The Doors' record. My mate used to always play that album while I was playing Cadaver on his Amiga. Now, whenever I hear The Doors I just instantly remember playing Cadaver, and whenever I see a cadaver in a movie or something it'll seem like The Doors is on the stereo in the background, even though they aren't. My mate probably knew this all along and did it to f$$k with my head in later years. :biggrin:
Re: The Scent of Mapping Posted by Naklajat on Sun Nov 13th 2005 at 1:59pm
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Underdog said:
If I smell pickles my mouth waters uncontrollably. I dearly love a good pickle.
Hell my mouth waters just thinking about pickles. I think thats more to
do with the fact that pickles are the food of gods and if your mouth
doesn't water when you smell them then there's something wrong with you
:smile: Or maybe its the strong sour-salty-acidic flavor that they have that
gets ingrained in your memory because its so damn good. Either way,
pickles are good.

For me:

Less Than Jake = Total Annihilation

The Impossibles (band not cartoon) = Gran Turismo 2

Jimi Hendrix - All Along the Watchtower = Magic Carpet

Cypress Hill = pwning noobs and/or mapping.

Rancid = mapping

King Crimson = mapping

Korn = mapping

Led Zeppelin = mapping

Whenever I hear certain music (quite a few different artists) I think
of mapping, unfortunately most of the time I'm either too busy or too
lazy to fire up Hammer.

I can't think of any smell associations though, for me its mostly
music. I think I'm going to go through my entire library and see what
memories different music brings back.

o

Re: The Scent of Mapping Posted by French Toast on Sun Nov 13th 2005 at 2:16pm
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I associate Zep with CS. I used to loop Immigrant Song while
playing it, now it's all I think about when I do either one :smile:
Re: The Scent of Mapping Posted by MisterBister on Sun Nov 13th 2005 at 3:10pm
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I associate the music i listen to to mapping.
Re: The Scent of Mapping Posted by ReNo on Sun Nov 13th 2005 at 3:20pm
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Woohoo, another Impossibles fan! I associate them most of all with Resident Evil 3 :smile:
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Re: The Scent of Mapping Posted by SpoolE on Sun Nov 13th 2005 at 5:21pm
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I started mapping on a VERY depressing, rainy and cold day :smile:

So when I think of mapping, I think of rain dribbling down the window and a unfinished homework.
I would love to change the world, But they would'nt give me the source code.
Re: The Scent of Mapping Posted by asterix_vader on Sun Nov 13th 2005 at 5:45pm
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SpoolE said:
I started mapping on a VERY depressing, rainy and cold day :smile:
So when I think of mapping, I think of rain dribbling down the window and a unfinished homework.
hahahah :lol:

i started mapping in my school! (i didnt have comp yet) when everyone used to play half-life, i was the only one in this country interested in editing those mysterious maps. and looking for info about editing HL i found this site! oh yeah! the old snarkpit. :cry:
Re: The Scent of Mapping Posted by Naklajat on Sun Nov 13th 2005 at 10:28pm
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ReNo said:
Woohoo, another Impossibles fan! I associate them most of all with Resident Evil 3 :smile:
The Impossibles are from Austin :smile: Unfortunately my Impossibles Anthology CD is scratched, so it skips from right around Fatboy to near
the end of the disc. I associate RE3 (and Perfect Dark) with a friend
of mine who moved to Denmark a few years ago for college (his dad was
danish so he already had citizenship, just like I'm a citizen of the
commonwealth via my Canadian dad). Wow I'm rambling a lot :razz:

o

Re: The Scent of Mapping Posted by Captain P on Sun Nov 13th 2005 at 11:30pm
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Heh, I mapped at school sometimes too. We weren't allowed to play games
in the computer rooms but after I mapped that computer room that wasn't
so much of a problem anymore... :wink:
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