Do you want to be the master of worlds? Have you been dreaming of creating a fictional world, but don't know where to start? The Beginner's Guide to World-Building covers everything you need to know about the basics of world-building - from designing the setting of your story to the characters, plot, magic systems and so much more. If you've ever wondered how your favorite authors, producers, or game developers create immersive worlds that feel as real as ours, the answer is world-building. World-building is everywhere - in your favorite books and TV shows, your favorite video games, and even your favorite art pieces. The process of creating a fictional world is intertwined with every storytelling medium and nearly every fictional genre, not just science fiction and fantasy. This guide aims to make the world-building process easy to understand for anyone interested in telling a tale and help storytellers bring their work to life!

From wondrous fairy-lands to nightmarish hellscapes, the elements that make fantasy worlds come alive also invite their exploration. This first book-length study of critically acclaimed novelist Patricia A. McKillip's lyrical other-worlds analyzes her characters, environments and legends and their interplay with genre expectations. The author gives long overdue critical attention to McKillip's work and demonstrates how a broader understanding of world-building enables a deeper appreciation of her fantasies.

The digital technologies of the 21st century are reshaping how we experience storytelling. More than ever before, storylines from the world's most popular narratives cross from the pages of books to the movie theatre, to our television screens and in comic books series. Plots intersect and intertwine, allowing audiences many different entry points to the narratives. In this sometimes bewildering array of stories across media, one thing binds them together: their large-scale fictional world. Collaborative Worldbuilding for Writers and Gamers describes how writers can co-create vast worlds for use as common settings for their own stories. Using the worlds of Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, A Game of Thrones, and Dungeons & Dragons as models, this book guides readers through a step-by-step process of building sprawling fictional worlds complete with competing social forces that have complex histories and yet are always evolving. It also shows readers how to populate a catalog with hundreds of unique people, places, and things that grow organically from their world, which become a rich repository of story making potential. The companion website collaborativeworldbuilding.com features links to online resources, past worldbuilding projects, and an innovative card system designed to work with this book.

Game worlds differ from traditional fictional worlds. While literary and cinematic worlds are written to host character arcs and plots, game worlds need to be designed to host game mechanics. While Princess Leia, Mad Max and Daenerys Targaryen may leave their marks on their fictional worlds, it is YOU, the player, who will carve your personal experience into the digital firmament of every game world you inhabit. In this accessible book full of practical tips and examples, games industry veteran Edwin McRae will guide you through the evergreen principles of player-centric game world design. How do you create game-based environments and cultures that resonate with reality? This senior narrative designer will share a range of field-tested techniques that will help you design instead of derive. How do you organise all that lore? This is a common pain point for world builders and Edwin will offer tools and tactics that keep game bibles scoped, searchable and sensible. How do you make your game world fun? Through the player-centric perspective, you’ll see how storytelling can be used to support and enrich game play and achieve that Shangri-La of gaming experience... ludo-narrative harmony! Play is what we do. Story is why we do it. And the game world is where it all happens.

Originally designed for a seminar conducted by author and game designer Julie Ann Dawson at Suny College, World Building 101 provides both writers and RPG designers with an easy-to-follow process through which to create a functional and believable setting. Whether you are creating a small town for your cozy murder mystery or an entire galaxy for your science fiction epic, you'll find the methodology outlined in this book essential to keeping your world building on the right track. Instead of offering a step-by-step blueprint, this booklet provides writers with a new way of thinking in order to make sure that your setting is realistic and consistent. With this product, you will: *Learn how to avoid the "kewl" factor that can cripple the functionality of your setting. *Develop a clearly defined logic that will help shape your setting in a natural manner. *Define the important aspects of your setting that will shape everything from your setting's environment to your characters' belief systems. This booklet is divided into five sections. Each section includes short writing exercises to help you put the concepts in this booklet into practice. You'll also be able to follow The Process in Practice as the author summarizes how the original workshop attendees applied the process to their collective world building exercise.

Overwhelmed by creating fantasy worlds? Lost in your world? Unsure where to go next? 30 Days of Worldbuilding breaks the task into manageable chunks. By following 30 creative prompts, this book will guide you from idea, to full world. This workbook will help you to: - Break the epic task of worldbuilding into easy steps - Build a full and complete world with prompts you may not have thought of - Tie your worldbuilding into your story to increase tension and conflict - Bring your worldbuilding back to your characters to get your readers hooked By completing just one prompt each day, you can have a fully created fantasy world in a month. You will also have an invaluable book of worldbuilding notes to keep beside you as you write. Get 30 Days of Worldbuilding today, and stop getting lost in your world.

Ultima and World-Building in the Computer Role-Playing Game is the first scholarly book to focus exclusively on the long-running Ultima series of computer role-playing games (RPG) and to assess its lasting impact on the RPG genre and video game industry. Through archival and popular media sources, examinations of fan communities, and the game itself, this book historicizes the games and their authors. By attending to the salient moments and sites of game creation throughout the series’ storied past, authors Carly A. Kocurek and Matthew Thomas Payne detail the creative choices and structural forces that brought Ultima’s celebrated brand of role-playing to fruition. This book first considers the contributions of series founder and lead designer, Richard Garriott, examining how his fame and notoriety as a pioneering computer game auteur shaped Ultima’s reception and paved the way for the evolution of the series. Next, the authors retrace the steps that Garriott took in fusing analog, tabletop role-playing with his self-taught lessons in computer programming. Close textual analyses of Ultima I outline how its gameplay elements offered a foundational framework for subsequent innovations in design and storytelling. Moving beyond the game itself, the authors assess how marketing materials and physical collectibles amplified its immersive hold and how the series’ legions of fans have preserved the series. Game designers, long-time gamers, and fans will enjoy digging into the games’ production history and mechanics while media studies and game scholars will find Ultima and World-Building in the Computer Role-Playing Game a useful extension of inquiry into authorship, media history, and the role of fantasy in computer game design.