Fundamentals of Worldbuilding | Philosophy, Gardeners Vs Architects, & Worldbuilder's Disease

How do you build a world from the ground up? What are the different methods people use? What is Worldbuilder's Disease and why is it bad? In this episode of the Way of Worldbuilding, we discuss these questions and others on the road to starting our own worldbuilding project. #worldbuilding #sciencefiction #fantasy #alternatehistory

🔸 Worldbuilding Project | Secondary Channel 🔸

00:00 | Introduction
4:52 | Table of Contents
5:27| My Approach
7:33 | The Worldbuilding Pyramid
10:01 | Gardeners vs Architects
11:50 | Worldbuilder’s Disease
16:41 | Other Reasons to Worldbuild
20:51| Conclusion

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🔸 Worldbuilding Project | Secondary Channel 🔸

[TheTaleFoundry]

Thanks for the shoutout! Awesome breakdown, I'm sure a lot of new writers will get great use out of this!

—Benji, showrunner

[fakjbf]

For the Brandon Sanderson clip, that's exactly the context it's in. it's also more than that, in his class he actively focuses on practical advice for making a living with your writing. The class isn't just "How to write a good story" but also covers things like how to find an editor, what to look for in a publisher, how to get people interested in your book, and other more industry specific things. So from that lens it's vitally important that people don't get so caught up in making things perfect they never get around to finishing anything at all.

[AW-wfdx]

I've had the "disease" for about 35 years. To date, I have created 6 fully fleshed out settings for fiction, and probably four times that many for TT/VTT roleplaying purposes. Safe to say the disease and I are now fully inextricable from each other. And you know what? While I haven't yet published any of my fiction, it so often leads me to collective storytelling that has brought joy and passion to my friends around the roleplaying table that I don't think I am missing anything.

[occultatumquaestio]

For me, worldbuilding is not escape from the world that is, but inspiration on applying how to create the world that could be.
Stories and parables have at times been the catalyst that have both broken and forged technologies and civilizations in real life, and very much continue to do so.
Delightfully curious to see more.

[KaiHung-wvul]

The Worldbuilder's Disease section hits me sooo hard. I spend probably a quarter of my free time worldbuilding and have only a few drafts of short stories, and a few roleplaying settings, but it never really had a purpose, or goal, as it were. But this video helped me realize that the process, the journey of creating a world, can be a fulfilling goal in and of itself, and for that I am very grateful.

[tempest]

The introduction is basically is me, wanting to leave this life and go to a new one of my making

[amateurcrastinator]

Worldbuilding and storytelling is a deeply personal journey. There are as many ways of creating worlds and stories as there are people creating them. Guides, such as those laid out by Sanderson and Martin are great and very useful. They can give you ideas and get you started. But ultimately, you have to find the method that works for you. You can follow Sandersons advice to a T. You can ignore every bit of it. You can take bits of his and Martins, combine them, and make something that comes from both. Whatever you do, make sure it's a world and story YOU are happy with.

[country_flyboy]

I am one who loves wordbuilding for the sake of worldbuilding. I am not concerned with any one person within the world. I think of myself as a speaker of the world itself. What is it, when is it, how is it, and why is it?

I love placing the dots on a page, with which the audience can then connect into stories unimaginable even to me.

[peterahl]

Even Tolkien wasn't exclusively an architect. In the original Hobbit, Bilbo's ring was just a magic ring. The idea of the One Ring came later.

[chaosfire]

Gosh, that segment on Worldbuilder's Disease was exactly what I've been trying to articulate for years. Worldbuilding should NOT have to play second fiddle to everyone because NOT everyone is trying to write a damn novel! In the comments of all those posts and videos talking about worldbuilding being second to story, you'll still have tons of people saying "Well, what if I want to worldbuild for it's own sake". And that's how they should approach it if need be!

I will craft the most intricate world in my head and my google docs and I really don't give a damn if it doesn't produce a book immediately. The creative process is fulfilling enough on it's own.

[johnkrappweis]

I think I remember seeing somewhere that Tolkien started by building the Elvish language Quenya and then asked what sort of people spoke this language? Their culture? Their history? And building out from there.

[Dark_Jaguar]

Your river metaphor reminded me of reverse-mountain from One Piece. It doesn't work like it does in our world, or even how other rivers work in their own so the characters are utterly shocked when they encounter it. I think it works just as a mystery, but it also has the outline of an explanation that will likely be complete near the end of the tale. Then we'll laugh.

[jujuplayboy]

Totally love this first video !!

9:30 Funny thing, but the opening crawl of most Star Wars movies reminds me of this pyramid.
It starts with the galactic political situation in the first paragraph, then the more precise local situation of protagonist organisations implied in the story in the second paragraphe, and then the immediate situation of characters in the third one. Organisations are rarely named in the 3rd paragraph, and characters rarely in the 1st.
I think it's what makes those movies so anchored in their Universe without seeing the rest of the Galaxy, while also starting "In Medias Res".

18:42 OH OH OH, It's Santa Claus' fleet, arriving on Earth full of gifts for the nice Earthling children, and trash compactors for the naughty ones.

[randomdude]

can’t wait to see this entire venture completed! So creative and informative

[kluevo]

Gods that INTRO! That nearly made me shed a tear at how poetic, but also comforting for me, it was. World building has always been my way of escapism from real world troubles, and it feels so nice to be seen by that intro.


Edit: now that I've finished watching the whole thing, gosh this whole video speaks to me to such an incredible level. I agree with practically everything you've discussed.

[lukeshealy]

In D&D world building I have always felt that I strike a good balance between gardener and architect, building my world in broad terms while using games to build up the more minor elements as they become important.

[thImpulse]

That intro is one of the best bits of writing in Templin's history.

[DesperadoZod]

Thank you SO MUCH for the World Builder's Disease section... I have it and it doesn't feel like a disease at all. It feels like a super power that gives me massive worlds from which to pluck a story.

[SQmaniac]

I think the biggest thing that the "World Builder's Disease" concept misses is that the world can BE the narritive, look at Dinotopia, 20000 Leagues Under the Sea, One Piece, and even Lord of the Rings itself to an extent. All these stories are about exploring worlds to some degree, which isn't possible without extensive attention to detail.