The Art of Worldbuilding

Goyanes

Worldbuilder
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TNP Nation
Goyanes
Discord
goya#6469
Hi, I'm Goy. I am proudly known in TNP's Roleplay scene for my prolific worldbuilding, and I'm here to share with you my thoughts on it. By far the most common question/response I get to my worldbulding is "LMAO Goy, why???!?!?!?" Here's why: I find worldbuilding fun. It's definitely not for everyone, but I feel that I've achieved my goal of RP when I can envision a place with so much detail and realism, that you could basically put it in our modern world and nothing would seem out of place. Some people have other goals in RP, but this is mine, and hopefully it can be yours too.

How do you decide what to worldbuild? My best answer is that you should stay away from worldbuilding checklists, per se. Yes, you schould cover the basics, like a flag, currency name, etc., but I feel worldbuilding should be treated like a conversation. Worldbuild things as they are relevant, or you could always start something, which then leads your peers to worldbuild as well. I find that the best inspiration for the most realistic worldbuilding is our everyday experiences. They can really capture what the average citizenry in your country would experience. An example: I go to the department store to shop for clothes. I come home, and I'm thinking, hmmmmmm, what would a department store be like in Goyanes? and then I dive into that. Wether it be actually worldbuilding the store, or maybe the brands that they sell, it all adds to the realism of your country, IMO.

How do I design and worldbuild for realism? I start by looking at real life counterparts. That informs how I make a design decision that makes the most sense. For example: if I'm making an airline logo, I look at existing airline logos for inspiration. It helps to choose color palettes, font choices, etc. In addition, making bad logos is part of making things realistic. Not all logos are design masterpieces. As a matter of fact, they're atrocities that fly in the face of all design rules. But to ensure realism, you should have the ugly duckling, because that ugly duckling will transform your country into a beautiful, realistic swan.

But I'm bad at graphic design, what should I do? Just try anyways. Download gimp or paint.net and watch some tutorials. If you keep using it, you WILL get better, trust me. When I first signed up for TNP RP, I could barely sketch out a map claim. But, through trial and error, I've learned how to succeed in GIMP, and how to make designs that stand out and enhance my worldbuilding.

Posting pictures. I don't like posting pictures alone. Yes, stating "this is XYZ tank that was used by the Nationlandian army in the XYZ War" is fine. You got the point across, but I always try to elaborate. Add some history or some cool facts about it. It adds to the quality of your work, and you are simultaneously worldbuilding things you might not have considered. Remember, any worldbuilding, for the most part, is good. (Unless you're like seriosly doing topics that are nonos. Like 18+ crap. Don't do that.

In conclusion, these concepts influence my worldbuilding, and I hope you can take something from it. Feel free to ask my questions during my lecture Saturday, September 28 in the evening.

~Goy
 
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