Belonging to this World
- Stories are Anthropocentric & Self-Centric.
- The World will only be understood by your characters through the comprehension of their surroundings.
- Therefore, Integrating your Characters into the World is essential to telling Stories through Settings.
- Actions, consequences & Specificity.
- Why is your character in a specific space?
- What are they searching there?
- A person?
- An object?
- Do they possess a place to stay in this setting?
- In a neighboring setting?
- In the same Country or Continent?
- What can we do here?
- What will happen if the Characters do [forbidden action]?
- What will happen if the Characters do [benevolent action]?
- What will happen if the Characters do [unusual action, but authorized]?
- Where are we?
- We enter a place.
- We know nothing of this place.
- How do you learn anything about this place?
- Observe & Experiment.
- Will we interact with this specific element of the Environment?
- Will we stay away from this other element?
- How will it react to our behavior?
Design your Environments as Characters.
- What are the Origins of the Environment?
- What is the Name of the Environment today?
- Did this name change?
- Who changed it?
- What is the Goal of the Environment today?
- What was the Goal of the Environment?
- What are the Strengths of the Environment today?
- What were the Strengths of the Environment?
- What are the Weaknesses of the Environment today?
- What were the Weaknesses of the Environment?
- How are the different populations of this World relating to this environment?
- Is it a place of rejoice?
- Are there Festivals Organized there?
- Are there any Art pieces exposed here?
- Is it a place of conflict?
- Did a war occur therein?
- Is it a place of rest?
- Are there any Shrine, Altar or Inn?
A Blank Sheet.
Take a sheet of paper & Draw this Environment.
- Colors are the 1st indicator of Personality.
- What kind of environment is Green & Blue?
- Which part is Green?
- Which part is Blue?
- How does this environment evolve if you add Red & Orange?
- Does it become Red & Orange when Day comes?
- Is it Brown & Green in the middle of the night?
- What is Purple?
- What can be Purple in your World?
- Do people know the Purple color?
- How unusual is it?
- How much Blue is there in Nature?
- Is everything Red?
- Are you in a City?
- Are you in copper Mines?
- Is it mainly Green?
- Are you in a forest?
- Are you underground?
- Shapes are the 2nd indicator of Personality.
- Is the Environment Round?
- Are the shapes flowing?
- Is it Sharp?
- Is it Broken?
- Are there traces of rupture?
- Is there a clear rhythm to the Setting?
- Diversity tells a story.
- A story of choices.
- Choices reveal the Environment/Characters nature.
- Atmosphere indicates the behavior of the Environment.
- What’s the Climate like?
- What’s the Weather like?
- How does Temperature, Light & Color interact with other?
- With the rest of the Environment?
- Does 1 follow the others?
- What are the paradoxes?
- Engage as many senses as possible.
- Are there any Sounds?
- Why is this Setting Quiet?
- Quietness isn’t natural.
- Earth, Gravity & The Soil.
- What is the soil’s Composition?
- The Soil will determine the behavior of all things, inert & natural.
- What type of Landscapes will you use?
- Over-earth level & Underground landscapes makes for the most memorable settings.
- How are the Landscapes behaving?
- Are they fixed?
- Are they moving?
- What causes their movements?
- Vegetals & Animals live in synergy.
- Which ones live in symbiosis?
- How hostile to your Characters are they?
- Did they ever interact with Humans?
Adapting space to needs
- Settings are Build to Suit Species Needs.
- Are there Buildings?
- Were the Landscapes used as living places?
- What is the shape of the Habitations?
- Are they adapted to their use?
- Are they still used?
- As much as they used to?
- What’s inside?
- What Objects are there?
- Are they tools?
- Are they Furniture?
- Is there use adapted to their form?
- Who are the People?
- What clothes do they wear?
- What other accessories?
- Hairstyles?
- Language spoken, if any?
- What aggravate your Characters about them?
- What attracts your Characters about them?
- What frightens your Characters about them?
- Who lived here?
- Who lives here?
- Are there any Ruins?
- Are these Ruins used for another activity today?
- Are they preserved?
Place Elements that attract the Characters’ attention
- What Attracts?
- Surprise.
- If an item looks different to the rest of the room it will be noticed.
- Pleasing shapes.
- If an item looks pleasing it will be approached by the characters.
- Awe.
- Fear, Gorgeousness, Crisis are manifestations of Awe.
- All that causes these 3 will stay with the Characters, with the Public & with You.
- Objects are memento of distant Ages, renounced Pasts & forsaken Futures.
- Most of the time they will be small objects, transportable ones, durable ones.
- Perhaps rings.
- Curiosities will drive Curiosity.
- Objects lead to Stories.
- Why is the object here?
- Who left it here?
- Was it left willingly?
- Create Patterns.
- Create Symbols, Icons, simple, easily recognizable shapes.
- But also highly specific to a certain place, person or organization.
- If an object bears the pattern, are there any others in the vicinity that shows the same form?
- Where should your characters look next to find another of these patterns?
- Place as many Items that pleases you.
- Assuredly, if you’re starting you may want to go for the essentials only.
- Then go for the best of essentials.
- If these items were crafted to be memorable, they will be.
- Put the most attractive designs into the environments.
- At the place where they should be.
- Or exactly at a place they should never have been found.
- Both of these options create opposite versions of a same story.
- Give a Name to these Items.
- Their name indicates their Origin.
- And possibly their function.
- Give them a description.
- Pinpoint to related elements.
