Worldbuilding and What Makes it Wonderful.

Photo by Julian Vera Film: https://www.pexels.com/photo/desk-globe-3828833/

Good worldbuilding can make the difference between a world that makes sense within the story and that can pull the audience into it and one that is disjointed and that pulls the audience out of the film. Good worldbuilding can help a film feel more immersive and in some cases, it can help improve the plot and its characters. Worldbuilding can be just as important as character building, especially in genres like fantasy and sci-fi. Depending on the genre would depend on how much worldbuilding would need to be done. Sci-fi and Fantasy are two genres where the most worldbuilding is needed. On the other end of things, drama and crime would be genres that would need less worldbuilding since most stories in those genres would be based more on reality. Genres like horror, action, and adventure would depend on the subgenre or what type of plot is used.

The hardest part can be the starting and planning stages. Everyone has their own way of doing their worldbuilding but it's a good idea to have either a character or a basic plot ready before you build the world since this can help give you a guideline for building your world. Sometimes starting off with a mood board or a playlist that reminds you of this world can help you build the type of world you want. Finding inspiration can be found in many places. Like the previous examples finding images in places like Pinterest and making playlists through places like Spotify and youtube are some ways to find this inspiration. Linking back to either character bios or plot plans can also help you build on what you had previously made.

(Image Credit - https://wp.nyu.edu/nyushanghai-chenyuan_wu/design-for-communication-06-world-building-mindmap-moodboard/ )

(Screenshot Credit - https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4xjh6pYTIYdhLz2YSw5OvQ )

I start by working off either plot points or character bios. Having these two documents gives me something to work from. From there I will build the basics of my world. At this point, I begin to question how my world works more in-depth. This can involve research that helps to make my world feel more realistic. This can be important for areas like the economics of your world or the creatures in your world. I start with having a worldbuilding document to make sure that when it comes to writing the script I have documented showing how the plot and characters would work within the world. Having a world-building document can help make your world feel more dynamic and in-depth.

To deepen my world I would always make sure to do some research to make my world feel more realistic. Even if the genre is fantasy or sci-fi I still want to make sure the elements of my world make sense. Research is very important when it comes to historical-based stories and historical-based elements within a story because not adding those elements right can make a story feel more jarring and in the worst cases, it can bring an audience out of the immersion. I like to at least have one part of the world-building process involve some sort of research because not only does it make my worlds feel a lot more realistic also it helps me have more inspiration for the scenes and the characters that I introduce into the story. Researching doesn’t have to just be about the entire setting of your world it can also incorporate things like the fashion of the world, the way the architecture looks and what type of people inhabit this world, and how they interact with it.

It is important to make sure that the themes of the story are reflected in the world that is created. Having this can both impact the story but also the characters in that story since the way they interact with the world can help bring out the themes of the story. However, a theme can’t just be shoved into the world without consideration of how it plays into both the journey of the characters, the genre, the audience, and the plot. Having the theme thrown in there can make it feel out of place and sometimes as if the world and story fit with another theme. It's good to do research into both how each part of the worldbuilding can fit together with the theme of the story. Each element of the story should move around the theme and this includes even the smaller parts of the worldbuilding since how even the side characters interact with the story should help bring out those themes.

As an example within the game Mass Effect, the world-building is suited around this theme of “Organics vs Synthetics” but there is another overarching theme in the games of how war can affect people and society. These are reflected especially in the backstories of the Genophage which is where the race of Krogan in the game was not able to breed because of how the Salarians put a biological weapon that would stop that. Within the game Krogan talk about how this affects their population and how curing them could help them thrive again. You hear later from a Salarian that the Krogan are saved then more wars could start. This plays perfectly into the few vs many themes that play into the themes of war but also how war has impacted Krogan. The way the Salarians react to this can play into the aspect of how war can corrupt people's moral sense for the “better good”.

Another example of a more in-depth Worldingbuilding is the Final Fantasy 7 Remake where which is reflected in the design of the environment. From the environment around the characters, the audience can immediately tell that the people living in that area are struggling to show that even a small part of the worldbuilding can give so much information that plays into the story. Having the worldbuilding incorporated into the location can make the audience feel part of the world whether that be if they are interacting with it or not. This can help emphasize the story and how the location plays into the story later on. In this example, the slums play a big part in the story since it's one thing the characters have a connection with so it's important that the audience has a connection with the location as well.

(Image Credit - https://gamewith.net/ff7/article/show/17703 )

Worldbuilding is important because it can really make your story feel more immersive. Worldbuilding is a big part of a story and without it, it can make a story feel hollow and that something big is missing within the story. Worldbuilding is something that should be a priority along with character-building when it comes to planning your story. It helps impact the smaller things like the way the characters interact with the world to how the side characters and environment interact with the main story. Even if the plot involves a smaller world there is still an importance to involving worldbuilding. An example of this is that if the plot is set in a college there should be research into the history of the college, what type of people teach/ go to the college, and maybe what goes on around the college.

Well-building can help make an audience feel captivated by the story and get them lost within the world that has been created. An example of this is the Narnia series. Within this series, there is not just a focus on the main ensemble characters but there is also a focus on the world of Narnia. Sometimes within the film, it makes it feel like the world is a character itself in how it interacts with the characters. The world of Narnia feels so alive in the films because there’s so much attention to detail in every part of it and how everything is connected together. An important part of world-building is making sure the story that you make is connected to the world because if the plot feels separate from the world around it then what’s the point of setting the story in that specific world when it could have been placed anywhere else without any impact to the story.

In conclusion, worldbuilding is so important for a story and can make the difference between a well-developed story and an underdeveloped one. This can make the story feel enticing to the audience and can make the audience want to learn more about the world your story is set in. It can be very good to do research and have inspiration for your world since it makes it easier to develop it in a rich and more real way. Worldbuilding can be very enjoyable to do especially if you have some enjoyment in planning your idea. Worldbuilding can be important for big and small worlds even though some genres may need more depth in their worldbuilding than others.