Now it's one thing to take pleasure in the consumption of other peoples creations, but it is something entirely different, and perhaps even more rewarding, to create something yourself, from the depths of your own mind.
Since about mid 2010 I've gotten into the idea of world building quite seriously, and now I have a shedload of maps and sketches and diagrams, and thousands upon thousands of words, which I keep organised in a nifty desktop wiki type program called Keynote NF. Most importantly I feel I've formulated the plot for what could be, if written properly, a really good epic fantasy story (unfortunately my prose-writing skills are badly under-developed).
The things that have influenced me the most have been tolkien (yeah yeah, I grew up reading the stuff), the elder scrolls, and then what perhaps might be considered 'weirder' sources, such as Eastern philosophy, and Buddhism in particular, as well as ideas of transhumanism and even liberal eugenics (look that up before calling me a nazi : P).

So who else has got the world building bug?


p.s - This is a recreation of an old thread that I could'nt find (presume it's been culled)

I've never gotten anything down in writing but whenever I'm doing some boring, tedious task I often churn out world concepts in my head.

yeah it is a nice thing to fall back on if you're ever bored. Never thought I'd be considering the metaphysics of a sentience-created superverse while waiting for that doctors appointment

Thats what I do.

I have created a couple of cities and local town layouts while at break during work.

Ooh, ooh, I do! Currently working on a pre-civilization jungle setting/society alongside a theopunk (thechnology through God) setting inspired by eastern Orthodox Christianity and Hinduism.

In general, I'm not one for maps or diagrams. I prefer to focus on the big ideas and the general feeling of the world and its inhabitants and then go into the specifics when I need them. I'm a big believer in faking depth rather than showing it.

I like writing, though I'm well aware it's not good enough to be published - it's just for fun. I'm really missing Uni at the mo and I find myself planning essays in my head when I read something interesting too.
I used to like drawing and painting, but I haven't done that in years. I don't think I could keep my cats from rolling in the charcoal or drinking the watercolours anyway. Stupid cats.

I'm still trying to write my book and get myself a job at the moment, but i'm having fun just making stuff. Right now i'm making a spud gun for a bit of recreational sport *Need to check the combustion chamber to see how much gas it'll hold*. Made a nice little device for myself and my relative that prevents me from having to climb a ladder in the rain to sweep off the flat roof.

I had a sneaking suspicion you were into this stuff :biggrin:, and I wholeheartedly agree that implied depth is alot more feasible than actual depth, in most cases (as I have painstakingly learnt).

Yeah by the sounds of it I think I probably work in a similar fashion to you - the original reason I started the whole thing was based around a big crazy idea I had about a race of humanoids that managed to control their own evolutionary destiny. So i'ts safe to say I too start with big 'out-there' concepts, and sort of zoom in as and when needed.

Also, for me it really is a labour of love, although I don't rule out the idea that others might one day appreciate my stories, if I ever manage to get them into a near readable state that is.


p.s - Theopunk sounds cool as [censored].

I like world building too, particularly the cartography, which I actually prefer over the culture building, I just need to gt around to writing a story in one of my worlds <_<