How to Create more Diverse Environments?

• Environment often get overlooked.
• In most cases, they look underdeveloped or too similar.
• How would you depict Environments to diversify them?

Summary – How to Create Diverse Environments?

1. Define the essential Characteristics of an Environment.
2. Alter them to Create Specificities.
3. Do it 10 times.
4. Compare the 10 Worlds you’ve created.
5. For each of them ask yourself 3 Questions:
   1. Do I want to Explore this Environment?
   2. Who would I Bring with me on this Journey?
   3. Would we want to Return to this Place?

• The best way to make Environments more memorable is to treat them as Characters.
• Anthropomorphism ensures for them to be granted more Identity.
• The more Identities, the more diversity.
• Remember that you are writing for a diverse Public.
• Make use of this diversity to try multiple Options.



What makes it Unique?

• Characteristic of an Environment
• An Environment is often Static.
• Relatively Static.
• The Lifespan of a living being is not long enough to appreciate the Evolution of any Environment.
• Environments are Stable.
• Buildings are developed on earth because earth is seen as a reliable ground.
• Environments are Larger than Characters.
• Most Characters & other Creatures live in Environments.
• Not the reverse.
• Most Environments can be seen as Homes.

• How to Twist them?
• How do you Twist a Situation?
• What’s the Situation?
• Once you’ve define it, you know what is not.
• You know what’s the opposite.
• Do something Surprising.
• Imagine a little village.
• You come in.
• All things & faces look friendly.
• You get in an inn.
• The inn keeper asks you where you’re from.
• You tell her.
• She jumps on you with a shotgun.
• You have many possibilities.
• 3 of the most common are:
  • Do the Opposite.
  • Exacerbate the situation.
  • Add an Unexpected, Foreign element.

• How many Worlds do you need?
• Write a List of Themes.
• The list should be 4 to 12 words long.
• Create 1 World for each Theme.
• Interconnect these Worlds.
• Highlight the relationships.
• Create a Transition from 1 World to the Other.
• Make sure all these Worlds have a sense of Proportion relatively to each other.
• They don’t need to be all the same size.
• You only need to ensure that a Transition from 1 World to the next is possible.

If you want to know more about Quirks & Uniqueness.



Offering a Journey

• Start in the Action
• Start with an Impulse.
• Create moments of Dangers.
• And moments of Relief.
• Keep the Character in tension.
• Keep them in a relative confusion.
• They need to look for more Action.
• For more Conflicts.
• And more than anything for the way to get closer to their Goal.
• Balance the Journey between Vacation & Survival.

• Engage the Senses
• Give minimal description.
• 1 to 2 key elements to describe the Atmosphere.
• 1 to 2 points on the types of geography.
• 1 climatic peculiarity.
• 1 or 2 specific Animals.
• 1 or 2 specific Plants.
• In total you don’t need more than 10 sentences to describe an Environment.
• How to engage Senses in a diverse manner?
• Sometimes, offer the Public what they want.
• Sometimes, offer the Public what they need.
• Balance between the 2.
• And Place more Otherworldly elements when the Story becomes too predictable.
• Don’t let the Story get Tamed.

• Diverse Encounters
• More than anything else, Encounters should be Diverse.
• Sometimes, the Characters will meet a New Character.
• Sometimes, the Characters will discover a New Environment.
  • Let the Discovery happen.
  • Introduce New elements.
  • Return to Known & familiar elements.
• Sometimes the Characters will face Hostiles.
• Or they will meet Friendly people.
• They could face Large Threats.
• Or Minor Threats.
• They could come across Predictable difficulties.
  • Prepared difficulties.
  • This applies to the Main Story.
• Or come across Surprise Issues.
  • 2ndary & 3rtiaty stories.
• Create a Diversity of Trials.
• Create adventures with a Decision-wise solution rather than Violence-based.
• Remember that you are writing with a diversity of Characters.
• Make use of this diversity.

If you want to know more about creating Journeys.

Create Surprising Environments

• Spectacular Discoveries
• Your Fundamental Chapters, 1, 3, 6, 9 & 10, will take place in Special Environments.
• Impressive Environments.
• Make them Rare.
• Don’t let them linger.
• If most moment are supposed to be Spectacular, most won’t be.
• These moments are here to Punctuate the Journey.
• Leave a place for the Mundane.
• You are creating Souvenirs, Gifts.
• And Gifts are Rare.

• Add your own Peculiarities
• Have you encountered Difficulties your travels?
• Most likely.
• What were they?
• Where & when did they happen?
• Use your own Trials.
• Your Dangers.
• Display the most remarkable events.
• The Crisis.
• The moments of Contemplation.
• Share these Memories, even indirectly.
• Create places the Characters, the Public & You would want to return to.

• Living & Sentient Worlds
• Would you create a Living World?
• A World in constant Change.
• A reactive World.
• A World displaying its Synergy.
• Basically, any entertaining World.
• For this you’ll need to create a Balance between Inertia & Life.
• The World needs to feel alive.
• Not only changing.
• The World needs a Name.
• It needs a Symbol.
• Maybe an Hymn, or a Flag.
• Even an Idol in the name of the World.
• Let the Characters become a part of this World.
• Let them appropriate this World.
• Create a place which can become a Home.
• Let them develop this sense of Belonging.
• How to Depict a Changing World?

If you want to know more about creating Surprises.



The Territory

• Consistency
• The Environment makes a Story more than the Characters.
• Administrating the territory is therefore a Core feature.
• Balance, Customization, Replayability.
• Create your environment as Levels.
• Indicate the main Features of your Story/Game.
• Display Thematic Contrast.
• Show.
• Invite.
• Suggest.
• Orientation the Characters & the Public.
• All of this is done through the Layout of your World.
• Managing a World is creating a World that can manage itself.

• Limits & Landmarks
• To create a Clear Map you need 2 elements: Limits & Landmarks.
• Define your Limits 1st.
• Define Clear Limits.
• Make use of Natural Limits.
• Create Artificial Limits if necessary.
• Artificial Limits offer more flexibility as they are often easier to move.
• They are also easier to dispose of.
• Indicate Clear Points of Interest.
• Points of Interest which respond to basic needs:
  • Sustenance & Food
  • Shelter, Sleep & Sex
  • Entertainment
  • Trade
  • Gathering

• The wish to Return
• You’ll want place where people can Gather.
• Places of Merriment & Difficulty.
• Places which Create Emotions:
  • Excitement
  • Joy
  • Courage
  • Sadness
  • Pondering
  • Fear
• Mix Shapes & Colors.
• Twist them, contort them.
• Play on the Audio.
• And let the ambient noises suggest what will happen.
• Hearing is the sense you’ll want to focus the most on.
• As it is the most efficient 1 in terms of Emotions creation.
• Be clear on which places are Dangerous.
• And which places are Soothing.
• Let the latter become Rare & Precious.
• Place Sympathetic Characters to entice Characters to return therein.
• Give these Shelters an advantageous Position.
• Make them Home, even if they are Broken Homes.

If you want to know more about storytelling through the Setting.