As I have stated in my other article that tile maps or grid based games have been around since the 1970s. However I still see that some developers do not really understand how to use them efficiently.

So what is a tile map? There are many websites that explain the basics of tile maps but for this article I will run through some basics. A tile map is nothing more just an array of data, which are normally used as indexes the graphic data for that area of the map. Say you have a simple tile set, like these Gauntlet style ones containing just 14 tiles. 

With those you could create a level made of many rooms much like Gauntlet, obviously we would need exit tiles and door tiles, but these are enough for me to show my points.  So simple room 4 tiles by 4 tiles would be made like this

So your array or game map may look something similar to this depending on your choice of programming languages.