What is an isometric map?
Short answer: a map drawn from a fixed diagonal angle with no perspective — the look of SimCity 2000. Below: what “isometric” means, how it differs from a 3D view, and how today’s isometric city maps are made.
What is an isometric map?
An isometric map shows a place from a fixed diagonal angle with no perspective: the three axes (width, depth and height) are drawn at equal angles, so objects keep the same size no matter how far “back” they are. Buildings, streets and terrain are all visible at once, which makes isometric maps both readable and decorative.
In true isometric projection the horizontal axes run at 30° from the horizontal and meet at 120°. The camera looks down diagonally, at roughly 35° above the ground, so you see the roof and two sides of every building.
What does “isometric” mean?
“Isometric” comes from Greek for “equal measure”. In an isometric drawing, a length along any of the three axes is drawn at the same scale — unlike a perspective drawing, where things shrink as they get further away.
What is the difference between isometric and perspective (3D) views?
A perspective view mimics a camera or the human eye: parallel lines converge towards a vanishing point and distant objects look smaller. An isometric view has no vanishing point — parallel lines stay parallel and every building is drawn at the same scale. That makes isometric maps easy to tile, extend and measure, which is why games and technical drawings use them.
Why do pixel-art isometric maps use a 2:1 angle?
Most isometric pixel art is technically “dimetric”: lines step two pixels across for every one pixel up, an angle of about 26.6° instead of exactly 30°. The 2:1 ratio produces clean, regular stair-step edges on a pixel grid, so it became the standard in games — and people still call it isometric.
Which games made the isometric look famous?
Arcade games such as Zaxxon (1982) and Q*bert (1982) were early examples. The style became iconic through city and management games like SimCity 2000 (1993), Transport Tycoon (1994) and RollerCoaster Tycoon (1999). The current wave of isometric city maps deliberately imitates that look.
What is an isometric city map?
An isometric city map renders a real city — its actual streets, buildings and landmarks — in the isometric style, usually as one giant zoomable image. Since Isometric NYC launched in January 2026, makers have built them for 70 cities so far, from London and Istanbul to Seoul and Buenos Aires.
How are isometric city maps made?
There are three main techniques: AI-drawn maps, where an image model turns aerial imagery into pixel-art tiles; maps rendered from open data such as OpenStreetMap building footprints; and real-time 3D dioramas viewed through an isometric-style camera.
Our step-by-step guide explains each technique and how to publish the result as a zoomable website.
Which cities have an isometric map?
As of November 2026, 92 isometric maps cover 70 cities in 32 countries, including Abidjan, Adelaide, Albuquerque, Amsterdam, Ankara, Athens, Atlanta, Barcelona and more. The full, up-to-date list is in the Isometric Cities directory.
Are isometric city maps free to explore?
Yes — every map listed in the Isometric Cities directory is a public website you can open in a browser for free. The maps are made and owned by independent creators; we link to the originals.