Worldbuilding: Difference between revisions

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The result may sometimes be called a [[Constructed World]], conworld or sub-creation. The term world-building was popularized at science fiction writer's workshops during the 1970s. It connotes a focus on detail and consistency. Many post-''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' fantasy and post-''[[Dune]]'' [[Science Fiction]] writers use world-building in an attempt to give their stories weight and meaning that they would not have without a well-defined setting.

Constructed worlds frequently have their own aesthetics, above and beyond the aesthetics of the stories taking place in those worlds. Some artists and hobbyists build fictional worlds with no intention of writing any stories in ~~them--at~~ least, none more detailed than historical documents.

Constructed worlds frequently have their own aesthetics, above and beyond the aesthetics of the stories taking place in those worlds. Some artists and hobbyists build fictional worlds with no intention of writing any stories in them—at least, none more detailed than historical documents.

'''Worldbuilding has two separate meanings:'''

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== [[Tabletop Games]] ==

* Worldbooks, a type of [[Sourcebook]], are tabletop RPG supplements that exist entirely to give [[Game Master~~|Game Masters~~]] detailed settings to run their games in. While it's possible to buy worldbooks based on the real ~~world--essentially~~, history books targeted at ~~roleplayers--most~~ worldbooks are about fictional worlds, and so the process of writing the book consisted entirely of worldbuilding.

* Worldbooks, a type of [[Sourcebook]], are tabletop RPG supplements that exist entirely to give [[Game Master]]s detailed settings to run their games in. While it's possible to buy worldbooks based on the real world—essentially, history books targeted at roleplayers—most worldbooks are about fictional worlds, and so the process of writing the book consisted entirely of worldbuilding.

* Many [[Dungeons and Dragons|Dungeon Masters]] create their own fantasy worlds for their campaigns. Some of the more famous examples of these worlds are ''[[Eberron]]'' by Keith Baker and ''[[Forgotten Realms]]'' by Ed Greenwood.

* There's an offshoot of roleplaying games developing that might be called "world-building games", in which the players collaborate to tell the history of a world that develops in-play.

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* Blizzard's other big settings, [[Diablo|Sanctuary]] and [[Starcraft|the Koprulu Sector]], which are both getting pretty extensive supplements.

* ''[[Metal Gear Solid]]''

* ''[[Mitsumete Knight]]'' thrives on this, having a rich world and mythos described in-game and in [[Word of God]] notes, and this is one of the main aspects (along with the [[Anyone Can Die]] factor) that makes it stand out in the crowd of [[Dating Sim~~|Dating Sims~~]]. Yep, you read that right, a ''[[Dating Sim]]'' which has rich and deep [[World Building]].

* ''[[Mitsumete Knight]]'' thrives on this, having a rich world and mythos described in-game and in [[Word of God]] notes, and this is one of the main aspects (along with the [[Anyone Can Die]] factor) that makes it stand out in the crowd of [[Dating Sim]]s. Yep, you read that right, a ''[[Dating Sim]]'' which has rich and deep [[World Building]].

* ''[[Dwarf Fortress]]'' is something of a meta-example, as it does this the first time you play, and can be done as many times as desired. While the set of creatures, plants, and [[Five Races|sentient races]] are well-defined in the game files, the [[Mythopoeia|mythology]], history between the races, geography, and geology are [[Randomly Generated Levels|procedurally generated]], according to modifiable parameters. This is a huge part of the game's charm.

* [[BioWare]]'s original properties (well, as original as [[Troperiffic|a BioWare property]] gets) tend to be quite extensively worldbuilt. ''[[Jade Empire]]'' is a minor example, while in ''[[Mass Effect]]'' they went into greater detail. ''Much'' greater detail. And even ''ME'' is eclipsed by the ''[[Dragon Age]]'' franchise.

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* ''[[Halo (series)|Halo]]'' started doing this with its extensive [[Expanded Universe]], building an entire mythology around the series. The Anniversary re-release of the original game also has Terminals that give information expanding on the story to be told in the books, while those books to be written will be giving clues to the plot of ''Halo 4''. Basically, it's like a plot cycle.

* ''[[The Elder Scrolls]]'' has the Aurbis, the totality of existence, which encompasses [[Order Versus Chaos|Aetherius and Oblivion]], and the Mundus (which contains Nirn, the world of mortals, and the continent of central focus, Tamriel), and a few other lesser planes of existence.

* ''[[Solatorobo]]'' purportedly spent seven of its ten-year development cycle on world building, creating the [[Loads and Loads of Characters]] and the various looks and cultures of the [[Floating Continent~~|Floating Continents~~]].

* ''[[Solatorobo]]'' purportedly spent seven of its ten-year development cycle on world building, creating the [[Loads and Loads of Characters]] and the various looks and cultures of the [[Floating Continent]]s.

* ''[[Touhou]]'' owes its gargantuan fanbase to this trope. ZUN includes a surprising amount of information surrounding the characters, events and setting of the games, enough to fill several [[Universe Compendium~~|Universe Compendiums~~]], but it is almost always bare-bones details, prompting the fans to create their ''own'' world building in any way they can, filling whatever gaps they see.

* ''[[Touhou]]'' owes its gargantuan fanbase to this trope. ZUN includes a surprising amount of information surrounding the characters, events and setting of the games, enough to fill several [[Universe Compendium]]s, but it is almost always bare-bones details, prompting the fans to create their ''own'' world building in any way they can, filling whatever gaps they see.

== [[Web Comics]] ==