Project Brainstorm: World Building Basics. [Discussion Thread.]

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

Hello, Hukuna Sensai here! Welcome to the first thred of ProJect Brainstorm

Today's Topic: World Building Basics

Requirements to participate: I ask that you at least be in 1 RP here on the forums. I would highly prefer you also be hosting a RP here as well, but I am not requireing this time as these are the basics. (further World Building topics will require that you have at least hosted one here at some point.)

Topics of Discussion:

We are starting with absolute basics here today, so yes I may nto have a few things listed for today, don't worry we will cover them at a later date. There is no point now about talking about how to make a realistic culture with customs, traditions, etc, if you don't have the absolute fundamentals down pat.

Topic 1: The World.

Basic Questions:

Does your world follow rules of nature, gravity, etc like in our own world? If, so what ones and how do they differ?

Is this world Earth-like? Can it be considered an Alternate Earth? (an alternate Earth is a alt history type dealio for those that don't know.)

Are there many types of Human races, disregarding any nonhuman races? How does the Cultural and Ethnic diversity compare to the actual Earth? (this is a 2 part question.)

Are there other races? If so, which are civilized which are not? (no details yet.)

Alternate Earth Basics:

How similar or different is the culture and history to the actual history and culture of Earth? Why so similar/different?

Is there a specific point in history when it split form our own? If so, what event was it? How long ago was it? How much did it change and will it keep effecting future events? What caused this change, was it magic, a crazy discovery of new tech before it time, was it just a branch of a different timeline?

If there is no specific point of divergence, what are the differences between this world and the one we live in? Do these changes effect everyday life, or are they less pronounced and hidden from view? If Magic exists, who has it not effected the world history (assuming it is Earth's normal history)? If any of these phenomenons exist in the world but most people aren't aware of it, how was it kept a secret for so long?

If Magic is known to exist,what has historically changed, and what has remained the same? How have religions/government/everyday people reacted? What new laws are there, and what old ones have changed? Are there any new professions, or old ones that have been effected?

Earth-Like Worlds Basics:

What differs in this world's make-up from Earth's? Is it the same size (same Density, and Gravity.), does it have the same ratio of Land Mass to Water, same atmosphere make-up, etc? Does it have multiple celestial bodies? (Moons and Suns.). Does it have rings? Are there any constellations of note?

Are there any non-human inhabitants? If so, how many? How Open are they to outsiders? What areas of the world do they live in?

How much Land is there? How much is habitable? How hospitable to life is it?

Are the seasons the same as Earth? Are they the same Length, or are they longer?

What is my part, as a participant, in this?

You are here to discuss which of these issues are important, which you think deserve extra attention etc. The Questions above that I provided are some of the most basic questions that must be answered to start creating a rich, well thought out world. In the comments. I , Hukuna, will act as a mediary and a Moderator of the discussion Things to discuss include whether you thik some other questions should be added to the list, if things should be removed to mention that as well. Also offer you own insights into the how you world build or how others you know have done it. Discuss among each other what ou all think is important to World Building. And most importantly. Always question why. You may ask why this is important, but it really is. You should ask this to yourself as you post know why you believe what you do, that way if someone asks you why you think a certain way you are prepared for it. Always questions others with why as well. Don't do it to spite or to flame someone, but do it to discern what others think. If you don't understand why they think a certain way, ask them why they do.

Anyway, I hope to see you guys get a good convo going, I am looking forward to working with every single one of you guys and hope we can get something good going here

For now, Hukuna Sensai, Over and Out~

[Arkhi]

I'm slightly confused as to what we're specifically discussing, but...
A good question to ask oneself when making an RP, I'd think, is: will the land or path to be traveled be linear and public? i.e. Will there be a mapped region the players can view (like Aervana or As Gods Sleep), or will the world be known exclusively to the host?

Having a mapped region makes envisioning the land and geographical standpoint easier, but a map only shows part of the world and would be difficult to expand upon. Not having a map would be the opposite; the land will be defined only by the words of the host, but the host has more freedom to define and advance story without breaking and rules a linear path would create. Additionally, there is more to envision for the roleplayers.
Similarly, will pictures be included of the landscape (and its inhabitants once the life of the world is envisioned) or will the host be more flexible without a laid-out geography?
In short, knowing the land or not knowing the land has pros and cons to be considered when making a Roleplaying story.

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

It is stuff like that we will be discussing. Not only what other things can we add to the list of questions, but what are your own personal methods. Like is there a certain step you like to start on.

Like me personally, I like to first create the regions and the places of the world, before I actually work on the cultures and the way they fit into their geological areas. Others prefer to make the cultures then create the places they live. I prefer to start the way I do, because it defines the scope of my world from the get go, I know where all the landmasses are and how much room I have to put in societies of people and cultures etc.

I like your contribution as it isn't something I have covered yet it is a very valid concern. I typicially like old D and D style where the players don't know the exact layout of areas, or the world, it adds more of a sense of grandeur and exploration.It adds a sense of mystery as to what could come next, but I also understand the mapped out version to. I feel that metohd takes away a bit too much from the mystery of exploring a new world, which is why I personally don't like it. But any other thoughts, why do you that use it think it really brings to the table?

[Arkhi]

As for myself, I'm a rather analytical thinker. Before building anything, I want a plan and layout. So, I typically will research different biomes across the world, finding a way to blend them into a landmass or continent that fluidly changes in a logical way. This, of course, being if the world is like you earlier defined, Earth-like. Creating a whole new world is using fresh canvas, allowing one to place glaciers next to deserts, for example.

In short, I think an Earth-like world would not require a map, because we all live on this planet with access to pictures and maps of locations, but instead a non-Earth-like planet/universe should have one to elucidate the story. Unless the host describes the lore expertly with imagery, a map is a must for an unfamiliar world.

The order is up to the artist.

[Sutoratosu]

well, I personally prefer using the mapping method because I am somewhat of a analyzer, and also for a lot of the reasons Ark discussed above. personally, having a basic layout in a visual form allows me to:

A. Not have to hold so many details regarding the setting itself in my head, which in turn frees up mental space for plot details.

B. Mapping out areas makes it so that the work load in terms of post word count are lightened on me as a host, and frees me to focus my efforts on things in the story that are of a far higher priority, that is, interaction between story generated characters and Player Characters, instead of rambling on for a good two or three paragraphs in which I try (And have mixed success) trying to describe what the area looks like. those two or three paragraphs that would've probably been wasted can be used instead for character interactions and improving the overall feeling of story depth and the enhancing of the experience of my players.

for example, in project sky slayer, after the thought came to my head and I started to work on it in depth, the very first task I did was to draft out the world map. then I zoomed in on the largest land mass, the continent rojamaris, and began to devide it up along geographic regions, plotting mountain ranges, deserts, plains, wet lands, piedmonts, and arctic tundras. and after that was done, i did not allow myself to stop, I went further into the world and devidided the continent along cultural regions next, which for the most part followed the same divisions as the lines of geography did, as the various cultures of the world would've been mostly shaped by their surrounding natural environment, almost every aspect of them, what clothing they typically wear there, what type of weaponry is typically relied on for protection, the common physical features, such as darker toned skin in the Diran Dessert and Lighter toned skin in the Zrazara, what the common practices are, how people interact with their neighbors and family. all of it, determined and heavily influenced by what challenges faced them there in the environment they lived in, and how they ultimately adapted to survive and even prosper in the area.

Another example from P.S.S. being the map of the City of Cithalos, I drafted the city boundaries, or the outer walls and the gates leading out to the world beyond, then gradually began plotting buildings in a half random- half planned manner, plopping down major structure such as the Citadel and the Library. then I split it into districts depending on what function that area of the city served, such as market places or residential areas, or centers of learning and scientific study such as Alchemy of Botanism. doing all this not only gave myself as the creator of the story a good, well laid out visual platform for the setting in which I intended to start the story off in, but also gave my players the same thing, a basic idea of where they were in the story's setting. I even went a stepp further and decided to draft a map of the library upon the reqeust of one of my players whose character was going to have an extended interaction taking place inside of it.

Basically, I feel that making maps is kinder on the players. it gives them knowledge as to where they are in the story, in the world itself, gives them a definite veiw instead of merely taking the creators word for it, allows them to confirm their standing in this strange new planet with their own judgement, their own physical eye sight. I feel it helps to make things more realistic, even though it may take away from the amount of imagination needed to picture what a place is then if it were described completely with the authors words, players must still have some imagination as to the exact appearance of the buildings and people within the city, is this building old and weathered in their mind's eye? is it white and gilded with gold along the roof? is it made of bricks and shabby in appearance, like a place inhabited by seedy individuals? how do the crowds look? the only descriptor is that they are in merriment, as for what that results in the players mind is up to them.

Edited July 4, 2014 by Stratos

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

Ah, indeed. With Graterras my dividing was done pretty quickly, though I don't have a map yet (I am thinking a world map only, with major settlements.) but Graterras is a very watery world. Most of the Major places (like the Shattered Hills, Shifting Sands, etc.) are they own islands. This also explains why them seem very modular, it's that every culture for the islands is vastly different. I rather to myself as an artist rather than someone analytic, painting a story with words, rather than logically running through it the first time (I do make some logic touch-ups later on though.). I am sure this is very evident by my haphazard style, but it is me. My method is actually very ahrd to pull off success fully simply due to the fact that is is very spur of the moment, like painting or drawing. Anything can change quickly, like a brush stroke or a mark with a pencil. This is a very tough style to use as it leads the world being a bit more volatile, Graterras actually is a volatile world, on the verge of literally being destroyed, This can be seen in the conflicts in the gods, but God history and relations is a bit too specialized for me to go into in this thread.

[Notus]

An important point to remember in this matter is that having a non-linear path to the story grants a huge gain in flexibility to the host. In Under the Hill I change my planned path and the challenges faced by the RPers a lot, mostly depending on the players actions. Of course, it's Hell so things don't need a logic explanation most of times, making this easier.

On the practical side, this means I don't need to be online looking at the RP all the time, because it's easy to adapt the terrain and challenges to the players actions if something didn't work as planned.

[Flux]

Hmm. Well, when I build a world, it all comes up in a jumbled mess. I don't really have a method or order, which is sometimes helpful, but also likely one of my faults as a host. I'll use Aervana as an example. I came up for the idea after drawing a picture. It was the sketch of Lars that I used for my character in the Poke-War: Surge Story. I've always wanted to produce video games, particularly in a fantasy setting, so I wanted to think up a world and a storyline to go along with Lars. Aervana and its story were what came of it. Originally, I had only envisioned elves and humans inhabiting the world. I tried to think of a storyline next, something that these two races could fit into. I decided to go with a dying world. The mana is being depleted slowly, so not many signs are visible at first, but eventually things will get dark. To add to the trouble, I came up with the idea of elves and humans having recently finished a war, causing underlying tensions to further complicate the goal of the story. Due to it originally being a plan for a video game, I started thinking of a party of sorts, and how they would all act and fight differently enough to be unique. This brought me to Lars, the joker human swordsman; Aegis, the condescending human magic knight; Rhea, the kind and friendly human healer; Resyn, the powerful elvish mage; Lyra, Resyn's sister and archer; and an unnamed silent swordsmaster who hailed from a dying clan, who would eventually become Kho.

Now, anyone who has participated in Aervana up to now probably knows that only two of these characters made it into your party: Rhea and Kho. This was mostly due to the RP adaptation when I decided to start on here. The RP form of Aervana actually takes place as a prequel to the video game story I had envisioned, so I could make a sequel if there was interest in the RP section after finishing the first. As such, I needed to change most of the characters. I also thought I would need some other races, to create a more diverse party and interesting world for the roleplayers. This led to more brainstorming as to how I could make races that varied enough from humans and elves to actually be another "race." Granted, I sort of failed here with the Vanda. They are more like a sub-race of humans than a whole race on their own. Anyway, I decided a race with inhuman strength would be a good way to start, which was the basis of the Shantii. Having inhuman strength, I figured a berserker class would fit them very nicely. This led me to rage, which eventually gave me a look and flavor for the Shantii: Tall and muscular, they always look as if they are flushed in anger, hence red skin. Finally, I needed to decide where I wanted them to live. The desert just stuck out to me, and I figured it fit well, so the Shantii Desert was born. I wanted one other drastically different race, so I eventually came up with the Dok. They would be shorter in stature, with greyish skin and painted tattoos covering their body. This alone set them apart from the other races enough for me to confirm them as a race. I decided to make them weaker physical fighters, to differentiate drastically from the Shantii, but very skilled in magic, with a passive of sorts that further boosts their magical prowess: mana absorbtion. I wanted a little more flavor for the race, so I ended up adding "rumors" that they collect the bones of their enemies and drink their blood. The fact that they are "rumors" left it open to the player if they wanted their character to be of this sort or not. There are definitely some Dok that do, but others that don't. Finally, I decided what better place for a race so dark and mysterious as the Dok to live than a swamp? And so, their homeland was born, and attached to the world of Aervana. The elves had already been decided to live in a vast forest. The Vanda, being nomadic and few in number would have no homeland to call their own. That in itself added just a little more flavor to the "race." And the humans inhabit random places where the other races do not live.

As for characters, the new leader became Gillem, who I actually thought up on the spot when typing the opening post for Aervana. I wanted him to be friendly and well-spoken, yet serious when need be, so his leadership could be one the party could believe in. Having more members join at first than I had originally intended, I split the group into two. It would add to the story, the meeting of groups, and ended up also serving as a way to weed out less dedicated members, though that was certainly unintended. (Now Group 1 is much too small on its own.) Anyway, with the groups being split, I would need another leader. Thus, Nash was born. I needed him to feel different from Gillem, so the groups would have a unique experience. I made him older, more gruff speaking, and less of the happy-friendly-guy. He began slightly racist towards Vanda and the Dok, another sort of flavor I added, but eventually begins to see them in a better light after traveling with them. To further separate the group from Gillem, I threw Rhea in as another leader, along with Nash.

And that, I suppose, is the gist of how Aervana came to be. In general, I think I tend to think up characters that I like and then alter the story to fit them in. It has already been done to Aervana, though in places where the group hasn't arrived yet. This kind of got off-track from where I had originally intended its focus to be, but whatever. If you actually read this, props to you, and perhaps you have a better understanding of my haphazard method of worldbuilding. It is definitely not the best method, hence why I asked Hukuna to write up a thread like this in the first place. (Thanks for that by the way.) Much of my story in both of my RPs is still made up on the spot, which is sometimes necessary due to player interaction, but I do have a lot planned out for both now. There are just some in-between pieces missing.

So yeah, I'm done now.

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

Linearity is a bit better served in a more Hosting orientated kind of topic. (probably the next Brainstorm to be frank.) It has a lot more to do with what the host and players expect more so than the world-building aspect. There is a little bit of overlap but not much. I would save it for the Hosting basics as we will be able to give it the attention it needs there since it will be drowned out by more World Building related topics as of now. Mostly cause in most cases, building a linear world isn't really possible, but building a linear story is. Story stuff is more related to Hosting, but it isn't entirely inappropriate to talk about it now.

As for Flux's post, creating a world from characters that are outlined can be very tough. It forces you to make choices based on them. It is a totally valid way of doing it, but I prefer not to if I can help it. I prefer to paint the landscape, before I paint the things that adorn it.

Another thing i should note here is History, it is actually important in World building. My rule, which I will probably add somewhere to the top and will definitely be in the guide that comes out of this is If an Event has a name, or is important in anyway, it most be fleshed out and all the details of it must be known to you the host. Players will definitely ask you about such events if they hear of them, so they must be planned out. If it is named, it is important enough to take the time to write out the event and have answers for the questions that will be coming from players. In Graterras, I will never mention an event, even in passing that doesn't have something written about it. However, in game you don't have to divulge everything about said event right away, it should be just enough to hook players into wanting to find out more. This is a core tenant to World Building. Make the world compelling, make it so that your Players want to learn about it. IMO that is the mark that you ahve created a good World and succeeded in your world building.

[Sutoratosu]

all this is making me realized that I never have taken the time to actually sit down and do some proper world planning for PW;Surge Story

no real in depth history leading up to the events of the story except for a single global disaster... no time line before two or three decades prior to the plot... no thought as to the countries of the world are relating with one another, whom are allies, and whom are on bitter terms with each other... then theres the plague arc of the events before the story's opening... never really thought out in depth or accurately even explain how the army drafted new protocols to deal with the threat of Morpher virus and those infected... never expalined how most major cities had some type of barriers constructed on thier outskirts with checkpoints as the only ways in and out... never explained as to how the fighting between the military and Pokemon took place...

all in all, I've been skipping out on explaining how modern day society and the world as a whole has been drastically changed due to events... how things are currently in the world.

I'm glad this topic was made... It's opened my eyes to the fact that I need to go back and do all of this immediately in surge story. time for some serious revamping.

Edited July 4, 2014 by Stratos

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

This is one big point of this project, to help everyone improve. I will probably be pinning a list of all of them once they are completed and the guides and stuff as well. (I will most likely mark guides from Project Brainstorm with PBS {jsut realized......the acronym is PBS lol.} so people know that we all had worked on it a little.) I am glad it is showing you this though Strat, it means my goal was at least accomplished. I have helped one person, hopefully I can help more.

[anethia]

I personally prefer doing things from a pre-determined world. If you're making it up on the fly, you'll lose consistency and that can have a small impact or a HUGE impact.

Also please make lifestyles, cultures and ways of life somewhat reasonable when concerning their geographical location.

A group of people who wear thick clothes in the middle of the desert? yeah no

[Chevaleresse]

I personally prefer doing things from a pre-determined world. If you're making it up on the fly, you'll lose consistency and that can have a small impact or a HUGE impact.

Also please make lifestyles, cultures and ways of life somewhat reasonable when concerning their geographical location.

A group of people who wear thick clothes in the middle of the desert? yeah no

Thick clothing helps to protect one from the heat and sun; there are plenty of desert cultures that wear thick clothing irl.

[anethia]

my life is a lie

brb killing self

[Code: PIRULUK]

Now, I'm not too experienced with worldbuilding; most of the world that I used for Aftermath was taken completely from the original games, such as geographical relations and environmental differences. That said, I guess I'll mention what I did to create the world for that Cyberpunk idea of mine that I posted.

When creating a new world, especially one with a myriad of human or nonhuman races, I like to create and flesh out the races first. Once I have decided which races should be in the story, as well as decided upon the unique characteristics of each race, I construct a biome which fits the race's cultural profile. For example, if I want to give a race the ability to read thoughts, I would place them in a serene, tranquil location and develop a society which was founded on pacifism and tolerance. This method has both benefits and detriments: the benefit is that it's less likely for you to end up with races ill-suited for their habitats, and it's less likely that a race will have a societal structure inconsistent with their abilities. The detriment is that this somewhat restricts my world building, as I am forced to construct the world based on the characters rather than the other way round. For me, this is not a severe issue as I aim to capture the reader's interest through cultural interaction and by creating characters and situations which are unique or unexpected. However, this method is not advisable for any who prefer to focus on the realism and detail of the geographical terrain, or anyone who places the emphasis of their world building on the physical aspects of the new world.

That's all for now, will post again if I deem you worthy of my presence. Jk will post again if I have anything to add.

[Noir]

Admittedly I'm lacking in the world building department, but relatively know of how some fictional worlds are and their uniqueness in the story.

The world is the background you make in one story, and personally I'd prefer to not hold back on possibilities and let my own creation run wild -- you can literally add anything you want, and what I personally do would be to follow my instinct and ask, "would this bring about interest?" or "would placing this be too complex or inappropriate as a background? Personally, world building is like making a sketch in a picture-- without this guideline, what you continue to add next may result in something messy and unorganized.

Basic traits that need to be added into what you want to create a world are it's main characteristics, specifically how it distinguishes itself from real life and other worlds to make it unique. People there, for instance, I find more significant than most -- people can not be people but creatures/aliens or so forth, and you don't need to give special superpowers (although very cool) to make the people in a story unique. A world also doesn't necessarily need to be entirely human based as there are things like animal characters, much like Pokemon itself although humans do play a significant role in that. Once a background and sketch is established, what appears in the story, more specifically what and who makes the plot for it, should be taken into account first, although most of the time I only do it roughly and don't go so far into details.

Thereafter characters are made, events, past, present and future, come next, again, speculatively -- although most of the time when I write something, I tend to think of events and what sort of character would be more suitable, and don't precisely establish a detailed character until a solid plot comes into my head. Time of the story is also important, as it may be in the future with the story mostly explaining about past events, again a flow and backbone that leads to a solid story.

Edited July 5, 2014 by YagamiNoir4896

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

Thank you for the contributions everybody, the first Project Brainstorm is over. We are going to be putting together a guide for it now.

This will be put together by the Reborn Guide Team, will be keeping them secret as of now, I don't want you guys bothering them right away XD.

We will be seeing you again in the future, but for now we will be closing this discussion, thank you once again for your contributions.