This sort of landscape memory has happened extensively with entirely unrealistic, fabricated worlds too, though (cf. MMORPGs (World of Warcraft) and even games such as DOOM).
Surely the fact that there are people out in the real world conversing with one another about places in your fabricated one is a selling point rather than something to be discouraged?
Oh agreed. Perhaps though because Liberty City wasn't a true fantasy land but a large scale imagining of, essentially, a city made to look like New York, it got me thinking about playing a game in a location I already knew in real life.
I could talk about how I love the land of Hyrule, but I'd also like to play a game based in the city streets and countryside of my own country too.
Mm I see what you mean. The Assassin's Creed series might be a step in that direction (they carefully mimicked very old cities rather than modern ones). :)
Forgive me if I repeat your blog post - I've only yet skimmed it (due to time).
Surely the fact that there are people out in the real world conversing with one another about places in your fabricated one is a selling point rather than something to be discouraged?