How do you do weenies in non-3D games?
"Weenies" is a term coined by Walt Disney, it's something (usually visually striking in the distance) that attracts the user's attention, invites them to get there, helps them stay oriented etc. Examples include the big landmarks at Disneylands, like the castles, the Epcot ball. It's named after dog handlers using a wiener to get the dog to look in a certain direction.
It's also used a lot in 3D games, especially via large landmarks, such as the White-Gold Tower in Oblivion, City 17 Citadel in Half Life 2. Even E1M1 in Doom kind of has this; the level has a horseshoe layout that lets the player see the end of the level from the start. There's heaps of examples if you start looking for it.
But these really only work in 3D games, where you can see (and go to) distant objects. They don't really work in games with a 2D world, or non-visual games. What are some other ways to do weenies here?
I suppose there are two approaches; one is to have a compass/quest marker, but that seems very awkward. Another is to place signs everywhere which point to all the important locations, but that also seems too on-the-nose, plus you have to go up close to the sign/NPC and actually read them. Does anyone know of some good ideas here?