How to create a World? – The Easy Way

Diversity, Consequences & Stories

• Diversity holds the World together.
• Your World will have Adorable parts.
  • Where does the little Cloudian Shrubbery live?
• Your World will have Horrendous parts.
  • Where does the Crimson Mandrake live?
• Parts of the World are the domain of Serenity.
  • Where is the Grand Sanctuary?
• Parts of the World are the Loci of Dissension.
  • They are the Core Locations of your World.
  • Where is the Gallery of Treaties?

• Display Consequences.
• Display fundamental elements early.
• What are the main Dangers of your World?
  • What is perceived as a Threat?
  • What is the Pain Scale of your World?
  • What are the main Crisis in the World’s history?
• What is Common Knowledge in your World?
  • Does everyone knows what a Plane is?
  • Is everyone afraid of Planes?

• Diverse Outcomes is the clearest way to display consequences.
• Branched narration is essential if your story grows over a certain scale.
  • 2-3 different outcomes for each Crisis (chapters 3, 6 & 9) is enough
  • 1 good outcome, 1 bad outcome & 1 surprising outcome
• Multiple endings is also a clear way to show consequences.
  • How desirable the outcome is
  • Where did the character failed/succeed
  • What should they have done instead

• Changing the core of Nature makes your World Different.
• How is Gravity in your world?
  • What is the effect of other Forces?
  • How does it affect settlements?
  • How does it affect species?
  • How does it affect Evolution?
  • How does it affect settlements?
• What are the effects of Radioactivity?
  • How does it affect settlements?
  • How does it affect Genetics?
• What are the effects of Electromagnetism?
  • Think about the light’s dynamics.
  • How is Electricity used?
  • Do animals use magnetoception?
• How does Temperature & Weather articulate?
  • At the surface.
  • Underground.

Cities

• Diverse Origins makes a city Organic to the World.
• Every city should have at least 1 specialty if you plan to use real-world trade & commercial dynamics.
• If you aren’t, then any city can be a self-sufficient yet integrated settlement up to a fully developed autarky.

• What are the City’s Resources?
• Food & Crops?
• Land & Real Estate?
• Information & Intelligence?
• Entertainment?
• Where do the resources come from?
• Does the city have anything or does she have to capitalize on trade?

• What are the Innovations this City/People brought?
• What did the modern day inhabitants keep?
• What’s the legacy of this extinct people?
• Are they extinct?

• Inhabitants are the City.
• Diverse People will allow you to create Conflicts.
• Are there different Species?
• Are there different Ethnicities?
• Are there different Cultures?
• What are they?
• What is their definition of Aesthetics?
• What is their definition of Moral?
• What is their definition of Truth?
• What are the traditions & untold rules of these people?

• Establishing diverse Languages & Cosmopolitan Cities is essential if you follow real-world travel dynamics.
• If not, you can make single-type people cities.
• Most stories will use a transversal language (English), to facilitate the interactions.

• Organizations Rulers define its identity.
• A Single head will make the decision process faster but less consensual.
• An Assembly will make the decision process slower but more consensual.
• It is also the way to represent the different species of your world.

• Diverse Symbols reveal the Oppositions between the different Organizations.
• What is the Organization’s Name?
  • What does it mean?
  • What’s its origin?
• What is their Mission?
• What is their Slogan?
• What shape & color is their banner?
• Who are the organization’s friends & allies?
• Who are the organization’s foes & opponents?
• Is there a Vertical/Horizontal Hierarchy?
• Is there a Yearly/Monthly Calendar or Agenda for the ceremonies & Meetings?
• Are there Holidays?
• Does it operate as an Corporation?
• Does it operate as an Association?
• Does it operate as an Foundation?
• Does it operate as an Family?

• Are there Privileges if you are an associate/ally?
• Are there Privileges if you are a member?
• Are there Privileges if you are an officer?
• Are there Privileges if you are a leader?

Landmarks

• Diverse Symbols will make your World Alive.
• Diverse Landmarks have Diverse Origins.
• Are they ornemental?
• Are they habitable?
• Were they design as buildings to defend?
  • To shelter?
  • To seal?
• Are they situated inside Cities?
• Are they situated outside Cities?

• If they are situated in the Wilds they should be less Frequent.
• As it would have been difficult to defend & upkeep them.
• Unless they are particularly sturdy.
• In which case, the Landmark would be particularly imposant.
• Or it could be hidden from threats.

• Start with an Image.
• Draw it.
• What’s its shape?
  • Is it Sharp?
  • Is it Round?
• What are the material used to build it?
• How is it decorated?
• How is the light inside/outside it?
• What are the dominant colors?
• How many rooms are there?
• Who lives here?
• Why do they live here?

• What feeling does the landmark convey?
• Bliss?
• Uncertainty?
• Familiarity?
• Awe?

• What is the Landmarks Value?
• Does it hold a precious item?
• Is it used to organize meetings?
• Are there visits organized?
• Are there guides?
• Are people proud of this Landmark?
• Are they ashamed?

• Odd & Alien
• How is the building Unique?
• How does it integrate into the rest of the World?
• Is it avoided by inhabitants of the World?
  

Landscapes

• Diverse Environments make your World Real.
• Effective stories are Anthropocentric.
• Inhabitants will travel your World.
• They will populate and adapt the landscapes to their needs.
• We are going somewhere because there are Characters.

• Geography & Topography are fundamental storytelling elements often overlooked or over-developed.
• When you are describing a piece of landscape make it related to the action.
• Link it to a character’s goal &/or Origin.
• Link it to your Team’s future quest.
• Link it to a Rare Resource.
• Make it the theater of a battle of a celebration.
• Describe to create more consistency.
• Use Landscapes to seed the next stages of your story.

• Start with an Image.
• Wherever it is a Crystalline Valley or an Underground river, picture it.
• Draw it.
• How does the water flow?
• How does the wind flow?
• Are there strong currents?
• How is the light intensity?
• What are the dominant colors?
• The Public only needs information relevant to the story.
• But you should dispose of them all.

• What is the shape of the landscapes?
• Are there any particular shapes that reminds you of human environments?
• Are there any parts that looks like a person or an animal?
• Is there a rocky island covered with trees that has the form of a giant chicken?

• Draw a map.
• Are there Simple landscapes?
• Mountains
  • Do they need to be on the edges of the map?
  • Are they only borders?
  • How mundane are they?
  • Are they inhabited?
• Plains
  • Is there any vegetation?
  • Are there often battles thereby?
  • Are they inhabited?
• Seas & Islands
  • Is this Sea made of Water?
  • Is it regular Water?
  • Are there sky-floating Island?
  • Are they inhabited?
• Forests
  • Are they exploited?
  • Are they inhabited?
• Deserts
  • Are they used to hide buildings & other objects?
  • Are they inhabited?

• Are there Hybrid landscapes?
  • Marshlands?
  • Tropical Forests?
  • Taiga?
  • Thundra?

Wildlife

• Diverse Species make Evolution true.
• How do animals mutate?
• What’s the population input on Genetics?

• What is the shape of the animals & vegetals?
• Are there any animal that reminds you of human environments?
• Are there any animal that reminds you of human body parts?
• What’s their color?
• What’s their form?
• How did they adapt to their environment?

• What is the value of this species to your story?
• How integral to your story is it?
• Have you created this species because of a theme you wanted to display?
• Does this species display unfairness & unbalance?
• Does this species display weakness & mortality?
• Does this species display calm & peace?
• Do you have any traces of this species today?
• Is it extinct or hidden?

• The Synergy between the Species of your World, describes the Rhythm of your World.
• When it comes to living things there are crucial 3 areas : Food, Sleep & Reproduction.
• What are the Predation dynamics?
• What’s the proportion of carnivorous to herbivorous?
• Are Herbivorous dangerous?
• What’s their Sleep pattern?
• What’s their Reproduction cycle?

• Draw them.
• How anthropomorphized are there?
• Do they have a spine?
• Do they have limbs?
• Do they have a head & a face?
• Do they have a language?
• Do they use tools?

• Plants are another overlooked element.
• Vegetals are the basis of every living system.
  • They root your Ecosystem.
• Vegetals will enhance your descriptions.
  • Are they homes for the surrounding species?
  • Are they only food?
  • What dangers do they represent?
• The Name of a vegetal offers specific information on the setting to the Public.
  • Do they shelter a specific animal/fungus/other?
  • Are they specific of this location?
  • How do they affect Climates & Atmosphere?
  • How are they used by Chemists & Alchemists?
  • How do Botanists establish taxonomies?
  • Do you have a character creating a plant journal?