Worldbuilding

[Apollonian]

Is anyone in here interested in worldbuilding, specifically in the Science Fiction & Fantasy genre?

It would be nice to get a group of a few people together to build a custom project. Building a robust world is far easier in collaboration than isolation. Often, my best ideas come from reacting to the creative ideas of others.

I've tried at times to join major groups like online gaming worlds and looked at things like the Christian RPG on this page. The sheer momentum and size of their creation makes it difficult to reconcile my ideas with what's already there.

Any takers?

-Apollonian
20/M INTJ

 

[oncewaslost]

hmm... like what are you looking for exactly? what kind of world?

 

[Blessed-one]

or you can just throw out whatever ideas you have and we can go over them and add more stuff.

 

[Apollonian]

Well, first of all, there is the decision between science fiction and fantasy (or a mix). I have been thinking about doing a fantasy world, but with all the hype surrounding LotR these days, it's hard not to cling to cliché. Sci-Fi usually includes a greater complexity as you are dealing with many worlds at once, but can be just as involving if handled correctly.

I have been working on some sci-fi pieces, but haven't gotten very far with them. I think that a fantasy setting would be a nice venue but there is one major problem beyond cliché: magic?

Is it possible to worldbuild a fantasy realm which includes 'magic' which does not devalue the Deuteronomy verse against it? Perhaps something to do with intrinsic worth or spiritual gifts? I was thinking something along the lines of: each person is created differently, with different magical talents that they need to recognize and develop.

 

[Lady Jaina]

I agree with the "hard not to cling to cliche" part. I am a fantasy writer and I ABSOLUTELY love world-building!

 

[Lee Fey]

Hello.
I would say that my cup of tea would be science fiction, though I like fantasy too. I prefer to have a more modern fantasy world though. I like the idea of immortals, having them be a kind of living history book, and be kind of vouchers for the faith in God Christians have. Also, I've always loved the idea of a more human level of war between good and evil, like vampires verses werewolves or something to that degree.
Besides that, I do like science fiction, and would write about where Earth will logically be in anywhere from fifty to five hundred years from now. It's always fun to pretend

 

[One Son of Many]

complex forms of physics would seem to have almost "magical" properties. Compare it in a way such as to modern knowledge compared to two-hundred years ago. Things nowadays would seem magical to people from that era or earlier. (think teleporters on Star Trek) would seem magical to someone from a time when not very many laws of physics were discovered.

Take electricity for example, it can seem magical at times with the physics involved in it, a force you can't see but is very real and present (and very lethal) One example of a 'magical property' of electricity is magnetism. Even at our present time you can use electricity to levitate heavy objects, even trains!

Physics may not be the best way to achieve your goal, but there are some possibilities. The fun part to writing in magic into your story is making it believable, make people sit back scratching their heads thinking "Ya know, just maybe...."