What is your world building process?

[Fugama]

I've always enjoyed a well developed world, when I look at things like "Volo's Guide to Monsters" that came out last November I get really excited because I know it's gonna be full of various info such as how these creatures multiply and adapt their environments. It goes in depth about things such as allies and enemies, how and what they eat, etc. Some friends and I have spent over two years creating a world together with timelines, history, various races and orders and calamities and it's just a lot of fun to me. So I'm thinking and I'm curious about the methods other people use. What's your method of worldbuilding?

 

[Pierman Walter]

Put as much detail as possible into seemingly pointless things in order to give your world more depth. If you are trying to create a fantastical or alien world, but you design a lot of things similarly to our world because you don't want to put in creative effort, such as references to Mickey Mouse and school locker rooms in a medieval fantasy story, then it doesn't make any sense. For example, a lot of stuff in my game is based on how the earth has been blown apart into little planets. There are a lot of balconies on buildings for people to jump off of because the gravity is so low that this is a valid way to exit a building.

 

[Soul Tech]

I casually just wrote a medieval novel with a friend. Now I'm adapting that novel to the rpg maker. We did not create a whole planet but a continent full of strange races and creatures ... was a fun creative process, I and my partner were creating the continent's content individually and then joined the parts connecting them with a hilarious story.
I think the point is put a lot of energy on design that little things that make your world unique, like the example of pierman.

 

[Andar]

Thinking it through is usually the best way, and start from things that you want inside it and then think how the civilizations in it might react to those facts. I've been working on my world (off and on, unfortunately more off than on) for about 25 years, and it shows.

Example:
I always found it ridicilous if the heroes and villains (especially broke ones) throw around magic to the max, but not even wealthy town people handle it. But what happens when magic is more accessible?
For example how to handle travel?
Being able to travel where you want by magic creates problems that go far beyond anything most people think of - For examply why should a Wizard bother stumbling through treasure caves if he can teleport into the bank vault and then teleport ten countries away?

Or the famous "flying wizard duels" - the second air bombing became a real problem, castles were doomed and had to be replaced by dug-in bunkers.


Finding solutions for those less than obvious problems (they only become obvious if you start looking at non-adventurers using the same options as adventurers) was a lot of fun however.

 

[Jef299]

I day dream about it all day, let my imagination run.

 

[Ms Littlefish]

Our real world often has extensive historical and cultural history that explains many of our customs, traditions, etc. I try to think about the people and places of my games in these terms. Why do they eat certain things, why do they dress certain ways, how was their technology developed, and cities built? That kind of stuff. I always explain and examine my world instead of simply dubbing it as so. A description can go a long way, too. Describe flavors, fabrics, materials, etc. Evoking the senses really helps the player experience the place you're trying to make for them.

 

[Niten Ichi Ryu]

It's also a matter of scope.

The trap in world building is to create a world bigger than the actual scope of your game, then be stuck in trying to fit the lore.

In my project, I decided to narrow the scope to a small area, an independent grand duchy going trough a succession war.

So I wrote a bit about the world's genesis, but not too in depths. Then roughly designed two or three neighboring countries that may have influence or interest in the Duchy's politics.

Wrote a bit then on the religious powers, and how they would influence the Duchy (Classic Christian like religion and old druidic faith). Then focus on the Duchy itself, the nobility, the opposing parties.

Then write the story and events itself, trimming down all elements that would weigh down on the story. Whatever isn't relevant to the story itself goes on a back burner, and will be hinted at trough bits of lore in books or scholarly NPC.

After all if exotic wizards exists at the far side of the world, channeling spells from the elemental dragons that aren't worshipped in the Duchy, a basi medieval village commoner might have no clue about it, so no point in developing that. If said Wizard becomes a companion, then maybe the unique academy in the land might have a book about it, and further lore would be obtained via optional dialogue with companion.

 

[L.W. Flouisa]

Tentacles here, if anyone remembers me. Actually I go by Sarah.

Any who, well my world building process has changed considerably from when I was wanting to develop Advent Innocuous (which was later completed in the short story O Raphael, with considerably more science fiction elements.)

Generally these days I don't create a new world, but rather like in "Magic Realism" I tend to go with our own world that allows for a considerable amount of variance from what we traditionally think of as "consensus reality." For example, in Magnet Girl Wireless, compared to earlier work, it's loosely based on my adventure building Zero Liability and Remote Viewing Site.

Soft Scifi; Hard Programming. Generally the plot focuses on social elements of the present day, but has more accurate representation in Scripting languages and programming.

Transrealism and Slipstream is a little hard to explain, and goes a little bit into literary theory.

 

[TheOriginalFive]

The main thread behind Mekageddon's world building is post-steampunk, Chinese-majority, and superhumans appearing in the general population.

It was originally going to use the same setting as Herosmash, but after really considering copyright issues, I changed things. Unlike our world, robotics have advanced to the point where humanlike robots are common in 2010-2012.

The "classical pantheon" of the current world is based on China's, where any sufficiently respected hero could become a god, Nuwa made man and closed the sky, and plenty more. New Luoyang is populated by members of the Chinese diaspora, mostly descendants of political exiles and economic pioneers.

Edit: How did I think about it? Basic idea by reading on the main elements I wanted, then brainstorming with a friend of mine.

 

[Kes]

@L.W. Flouisa and @TheOriginalFive You've both posted an interesting snapshot of your world, but I wonder if you would speak about the method/process of world building you used (the OP's question) as I, for one, would be interested in how you went about arriving at these worlds.

 

[Fugama]

I've been developing a fairy tale esque world for my screenwriter friend. I decided to use our world as a bit of a framework in terms of developing a world from its creation. I knew I'd need to incorporate magic and such which led me to question how magic would work as well as its origins.

Being that it's a fairy tale world I decided to write a creation story involving a being who lived alone in a white void, forced into a state of self reflection. After some sort of revelation they willed a crown into being which tore the fabric of the white void and caused them to become a planet, then I decided to write the layers of the planet as layers of a human body as well with their heart becoming the core, the mantle being bones that can be moved as the world pleased (plate tectonics). And I decided that magical energy would actually be a layer between the mantle and the crust that represented the persons mind. This would infer a direct relation to the form of the planet so it had two continents, one in the shape of a crown, the other his skull. This would help me to create more info on how magic worked with different weight and density. Since magic represented the mind "heavier thoughts" would be negative and sink more towards the south pole leaving the lighter more positive thinking to raise to the north pole in a sorta oil and vinegar relationship. This would also mean along the equator there would be traces of both types to create a neutral energy.

Since creation and life are all branched from the existence of the being (and because a fair amount of fairy tales involve magic users intruding on the lives of royalty) I decided that evil magic users would live in caves in the forest because caves are closer to the arcane energy and therefore more accessible while being harder to find because of the trees. Humans being the crafty being they are would find ways to harvest and manipulate these energies into storage and such for use away from the sources, allowing for some magic on the go. This would also mean it's safest to hunt a witch who has left their lair since they have less magic to work with. I decided that the planet's mental growth would be shown by islands forming along the neutral energy or rather, separating them from the crown. From there I intend to develop the kingdom in the north in terms of its political landscape, and their views on things such as foreign policy and what differences of views would be seen by what villages. Once that and the land to the South is developed I'd be deciding on artifacts of power. Afterwards I would intend to develop the zoology with things like dangerous beasts, mysterious creatures (after all, with natural magical energies, creatures and nature would create some interesting variations) and even domesticated animals for things such as transportation, food, and pets. Basically I split my development of a world into it's first planet as such

1. The World Itself

2. The People of the World (Including culture, religion, and politics)

3. Zoology

4. Magic Stuff

5. Artifacts of Power

 

[L.W. Flouisa]

@L.W. Flouisa and @TheOriginalFive You've both posted an interesting snapshot of your world, but I wonder if you would speak about the method/process of world building you used (the OP's question) as I, for one, would be interested in how you went about arriving at these worlds.

It's hard to explain exactly, it's kind of spontaneous. I don't really plan big books just about the world. Often my worlds start from the world as it exists today, simply extended and exaggerated even further. For example, I had known about Military Style and Controlled Style Remote Viewing for some time, but later when I programmed Remote Viewer's Assistant, I was able to put it all together into a program, that allowed me to remote view locations based on a coordinate.

I also knew a bit about, and even considering, getting so magnetic implants. I was simply curious what it would be in a world where those who modify their body and engage in remote viewing experience discrimination as an invisible minority group.

Invasion Ware was a little different, but that be the least likely one I'd turn into a game.

But like when I wrote The Incarnations Of Hemato Tomato And Anna-Marie, I wanted a world where reincarnation was not only possible, but taken for granted. And someone from the 19th century were reincarnated into the present. This was before current developments in recent events, but I wanted to project a world where Alsace, France and Germany allied and took over the US.

It was another "If this goes on" kind of stories, so it was more just taking bits and pieces of what exists today and simply making it "bloodier and gorier." And in a bizarre way, more romantic.

 

[C-Unit Studios]

I usually like to take a look at all my assets and choose the ones that really inspire me.
Like my favorite and most detailed ones and I like to think, how can I make a map that really makes these resources
the center of attention and shine.
Sometimes I'll end up deciding to make a whole new level/world that would be an appropriate setting for new sprite outfits,
or a room that could take advantage of a great new autotile I found

 

[C-Unit Studios]

Im also a big history buff and will sometimes challenge myself to make historically accurate cities using the technologies, dress, and weapons
that a certain empire and period of time was known for

 

[Kes]

[dpost]C-Unit Studios[/dpost]

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