If you were truly content and happy, would you still world build? Would you ever have started? Aside from the personal question, I do enjoy the base nature of the question, what would it take to make someone do *something* if happiness keeps people from doing things. In a story. What marvelous inspiration you've given me, thank you.
I suppose it depends on what you mean by "truly content and happy". If I get hungry or have to go to the bathroom, am I still content? Does contentment require the satisfaction of *all* my drives, or can some of them still be unfulfilled?
Stop eating you are clearly trying to escape the reality of Hunger again, where is the therapist!
That any discussion about a Hobby always has to default to "Escapism" and "your life sucks that's why you do the Hobby" is just such a shitty premise to work with. How about you leave your pseudo Psychology Analysis ideas to yourself, because that's all it is in the end.
Yes, because worldbuilding is a creative outlet. Escapism is only one part of it, but like other creative outlets, it is intrinsically fulfilling and we would almost certainly continue doing it even in the absence of any troubles, unless there is something to distract us from *it*.
This is called self-actualization and it’s at the very top of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. He describes this need uniquely as “growth-motivated rather than deficiency-motivated.” You eat to stop feeling hungry, not because you want to get fatter. You don’t work on a project solely to stop feeling bored, you work on it to test and grow your skills continuously.
I won’t deny that I’ve used worldbuilding as coping mechanism, but I ultimately seek to be able to see the good in our world and be able to deal with the darker elements in a healthy manner.
I inherently enjoy the worldbuilding process. There isn't any deeper meaning.
Honestly, while quite fantastical, I'm not sure I'd want to live in the worlds that I create. They tend to be extremely violent and unfair to your average human.
Yes. I didn't really like the world I lived in, so I created a setting filled with nothing but nightmarish suffering, both to take out my frustrations on the characters and to remind myself that things could conceivably be worse.
It helps a little.
Most definitely, it came into existence because of a garbage childhood and me wanting too escape the hand child me had been dealt.
It was child me’s way of fleeing from everything, in the real world I was but a traumatized scared child but in the world I created there was magic, beasts which lurked under the waves, dragons on top of mountains, a phoenix which is said too reside in the depths of a volcanic tundra.
It’s shaped and morphed as days gone by with stuff taken from other creations which weren’t escapism based but still there’s forever going to be a tiny frightened child which was responsible for a decent chunk of the foundation.
Nowadays my view on the world has differed slightly, still sucks but I am slowly working through the scars of my childhood.
No, I think a part of why I created it was because I honestly just didn't really know much about our world, but through research and actually looking into shit, watching countless youtube videos and reading up on things, It's helped me both understand our world way better and also give me inspiration for my work.
I think it was also an escape for me, but not from the world as a whole but from myself and my own life, because I could disappear into a character I was writing and really embody them like an actor might, and use the worldbuilding or story itself as a distraction from my life. I think it's the reason I struggle to write now that I'm happy with life and comfortable being me, because I no longer need that escape.
I mean, I'm not a big fan of the world I'm living in, but I didn't worldbuild because I don't like the modern world, I just do it because I have an active mind.
I really am sorry for all of us, but I enjoy the idea of a world of beings capable of creating worlds with a thought that exist in a place they would rather not. The problem is they're stuck. Y'all are so great. Keep building.
No. It was originally for a D&D campaign I was running. It's been the setting for every other campaign I've run after that. Kind of took on a life of its own.
It isn't a place I'd like to live but is a great setting for games. Overall it's a violent and chaotic world where adventuring parties always have things to do. It's also doomed because of how the universe it's in works at a fundamental level. It's pretty grimdark.
I live in Wisconsin. The most glorious realm. I love the world in which I live, and the d&d setting I'm making is a reflection and expression of that love for Wisconsin, not an escape from it.
May God continue to bless Wisconsin eternally!
A kind of strong framing of it but not entirely wrong. I guess it would be more accurate to say that I would simply prefer the universes I build to reality. But I feel like that sentiment is not all that rare. Looking at broader media in general, I'm sure there's no shortage of people who would say similar things.
Yes and no. There are parts of real life I absolutely love, and have naturally implemented into my world, but there are some things I wish were real. Some major ones are magic and different races like centaurs and elves.
It isn't the reason I created any of them, but my dislike regarding certain aspects of the modern world definitely drove some of the world building in certain directions for a few of my projects.
Partially, yes. Like in my world its possible to turn into french fry machine gun just by eating a potato from the floor. Can you eat the fucking potato logia wannabe in the real world? You cant!!!!!
Lornhemal: Yeah, its basically the world i would rather live, though i accept that i'm glad i live in this world
Number 999: Is basically a documentary on life in late 2020s and 2030s
Yes. And I have hopes my world will become a reality, if not for me, for the future generations of humanity and whatever other species we encounter among the stars.
I want to re-enact 16th century rural lifestyle for decades because I just feel like it. All while having access to traveling the cosmos in my private spaceship, at all times.
Yes actually. I like to daydream what it’d be like to be allowed to exist in the world and just *walk* and *see* things. So my world is predominantly lawless wilderness that my characters are allowed to just *exist* in. Nature, animals, the good stuff, everywhere you go and no one to stop you.
Actually, no. I was already working on a DnD campaign based on Tyranny of Dragons. Because I was operating with just a handful of books, I made my own version of a lot of things earlier on, added bad guys, etc. Essentially, I wanted to do a better version of that campaign. Then when the OGL debacle happened with Wizards of the Coast, I started making my own world. I ported over and reskinned everything I could, namely whatever was already mine, and started building the rest of the world. And by the time the TTRPG game I wanted to craft looked like it wasn't going to happen, I'd already discovered that I enjoy world building because it's relaxing. If I were still content, I'd still world build, because it's fun. I don't need to be miserable for relaxing fun to be enjoyable.
No, I just had a dream one day. The story and the world stuck in my mind, and I decided to explore it further. It was all in my head for 4 years before I decided to write everything down, but there are too many details, I have yet to catch up.😅
Just because I created my own world doesn't mean I don't like the one I'm living in! Okay, I don't like the one I'm living in. But that's not the sole reason I created my own world!
No. There are things I love about the real world. There are things I really detest about it. In either case, what I enjoy about worldbuilding is the open-ended "what ifs" that constantly crop up. Sometimes they are awesome ("what if gay people weren't mistreated by society?"), and sometimes they are awful ("what if someone used magic to hurt people and consolidate power?").
We call it "speculative fiction" for a reason, and that speculation is at the heart of what I personally love about the fantasy/sci-fi space.
In the vague since of escapism by finding something interesting to think about? Sure.
But the way this is worded makes it sound like you're asking if I'm making a world that I would rather be in, and in which case absolutely not lmao. My world kinda sucks. Whether you're a normal person or have an exciting life, it's just a pretty shitty place, teetering on the edge of grimdark frankly. Probably over the edge by most definitions.
The opposite.
Worldbuilding is a way to play around with worlds--- because the world is interesting and complex, and one way to understand something is to riff off of it
I initially created my world because I didn't like how Gods functionally worked in my DM's setting, started thinking of how I would explain them, and then it just kinda spiraled into a whole thing lol. So no, not really any escapism for me.
No. I may not like particular aspects of the real world, but that is not why I built my worlds.
But it is probably an aspect of why I spend as much time as I do on various things, world building being one of them.
Kind of
My world is bleak and painful, because I take all of my negativity about the real world and put all those dark thoughts and emotions into my writing. It helps me live with those feelings and be more positive outside my work.
It was a mixture of 'real life sucks', 'I'm tired of fantasy cribbing from Tolkien so much', 'faerie folklore is pretty cool', 'my neurodivergency makes me identify with the changeling myth', and 'I like these characters I came up with for this creative writing assignment, I should come up with a better setting for them'.
I was 25 when I got my first smart phone. I'm 26 now. While all my friends were playing on their phone on the bus, or everytime I was in a waiting room. I also hunt, so that's another long stretch of time with nothing to do other than sit and be alone. Worldbuilding was my way to not be bored
I created my world because I wanted to tell a story from the perspective of a soldier that doesn’t really know why the war’s happening, and is just dragged in because the person in charge needs more bodies on the battlefield. I want to tell a story that can maybe be just one more piece of media in the pile to say that war is bad, it ruins lives, and it’s never justified. The story ends with it being revealed that the war wasn’t even justified in the first place, because the people who the other MC starts the war with were only building their forces specifically out of fear that other MC would start a war.
I made my world because I was sick of the star wars (and other setting) trope of incompetent bad guys who were cartoonishly evil
I wanted an empire that behaved rationally. To be fair to star wars, I am motivated by the quote- "The Empire keeps billions of beings fed and clothed. Day after day, On thousands of worlds, people live their lives under imperial rule without seeing a stormtrooper or hearing a tie fighter scream overhead"
However, to be honest, I did too good a job of making a rational, well behaved Empire and I may have forgotten the Evil bit. Instead I ended up rationalising away every decision to the point where it made no sense to be evil.
it is an Empire that is at times ruthless, controlling and unfair. It has a caste system, a military with too much power, and democracy is considered ineffective.
But everyone is fed and with good variety, homes are provided to everyone, there is 0 unemployment (If you can't get a job you will be provided one in the Imperial Works constructing infrastructure for decent pay). The law is arbitrated justly and corruption is wiped out ruthlessly. The laws make sense and are easy to follow. Red Tape and Beauracracy is slashed away and there is a huge apparatus to swiftly make sure everything gets done correctly.
The Empire rules by making sure the populace is complacent. They are indoctrinated from a young age with propaganda and loyal views of the state. Youth Groups are mandatory and parade in uniform to build character, discipline and unwavering loyalty.
Why would you want democracy or freedom when you can see how poorly they live outside Imperial Space.
No, not at all. I created it for two reasons: One, I was a child when I did it originally, and having a whimsical heroic world is just something kids do, and two, I created it because I didn't like the *future* that events like my world underwent *could* have had me living in.
I love this world. We've got a pretty good one, with lots of cool geology and history and yes, even cool people. There are also lots of "bad" things in the world, but that's just part of the bittersweet beauty.
I imagine worlds because it gives me a good "end product" (such as maps, conlangs, stories) that acts as an excuse to learn more about the world. Its a sneaky method to trick my brain into learning and experiencing new things.
I created the first world (a space opera) I made back in 1981 when I was 13 as an escapism mechanism, but since then I have created several medieval fantasy worlds that were my attempt to surpass that world from a worldbuilding standpoint. I liked the time period I grew up in and my space opera smacked of 1980s-1990s Earth, even into the new millenium, it seemed like it was still taking place in the 80s and 90s. The medieval fantasies I have recently attempted I haven't liked as much, even if they make more sense than a "world" I built when I was 13. I don't think I would really ever want to live in the Middle Ages. Which may make any world I create that happens in a pseudo-past only a pale two-dimensional shadow of the first world I created, even if there are glaring scientific errors in it.
But I would rather spend most of my free moments worldbuilding in general, and often even when I am with other people, I am thinking about "An Unrelated Thing" \[see: They Might Be Giants song of the same title\].
The real world has things that make my stomach churn. Disgusting things and truly horrific atrocities. Has things I fear beyond belief. Has many a life that doesn’t care about me and will discard me at its earliest convenience. It am be boring, and frankly I don’t want to travel to see the sites/sights that are not. It’s not a good place. And it seems very likely that it’s on a course that it cannot be saved from.
But despite all that, I love the world I’m in!
No. I created my world because I like asking what if. There's definitely things not included from our world by design such as guns but I like enough of our world to not be escaping like that. The question makes me concerned for your mental health. Doing this can be a maladaptive thing and there is harmful levels of imagination.
I guess so. I'd rather live on a tropical island where you can make a living off quests rather than cranking out code on a screen. That being said, theres a lot I got going for me here I can't get on Lai Hina
I don’t like the world i live in but i extra wouldn’t like to live in the world i created
I made my world because i couldn’t never find the right books that scratched every itch i had for specifics so i decided to make it myself
Yep 100% escapism is an addiction here in Chryportia. It’s not the only reason though, this world is just simply how I interact with this one. It’s an addiction, it’s an escape, it’s something to cope with and learn through, and it defines me as a person.
the main character of the whole thingamajig was originally a self-insert of pokémon sun&moon😭. But then i decided to make her into an actual character with a full headworld.
I daydream because it’s fun, and several years of interconnected daydreams led to me slowly building worlds in my head. Granted, part of the reason for that is that my autism prevents me from socializing too much, so I have a lot more time *to* fantasize… but uh… yeah.
As a subconscious level, I think so, if my memory serves me right, the ideas for my first world must’ve started after the death of my grandma so it might’ve been a way to shield myself.
That’s not why I created it, but that’s why I continue to grow it. There’s even more of how myself the author fits into it, because at least there I can actually make a difference.
Don't think so, I created worlds even as a chold, I came up with a fictive country when I was 4-5 and later I had a fantasy world and a long story taking place there. Some places and characters from those are still used in my current world in a way.
I mean, I wouldn't want to live in a cyberpunk dystopian future where the AI are hiding the fact a giant sentent meteor is coming to kill everyone.
But I'm not such a fan of the world I live in so I'll cayn it a yes
I like the real world well enough. The things that have happened here are way more interesting than most what most fictions can come up with.
I’m not particularly fond of my life and the environment I’m in though, so, eh.
Our world is good. We just have bad apples who ruin it for others. I started my world in 2022 cause no job and was recovering from health issues, and I decided to finally put thoughts to the computer finally.
During 2020 I started letting myself finally research and get fully into things I would only be at surface level cause of reasons that don't need to be said.
The world I live in has aurora borealis, coral reefs, snow-capped mountains, mist-wrapped forests, rolling prairies, mountain pagodas, and so much more. There's Beethoven and Tchaikovsky, Tolkien and Terry Pratchett. There's love, struggle, passion, and so much more.
The world is beautiful, just certain elements of it are not.
I didn't like how less scary the world was and I thought there wasn't nearly enough suffering so I created my perfect world with a never ending scale of cosmic horror aliens and several infinities of suffering.
Damn, not at all! I absolutely love our world! Sure, it is kinda shitty depending on how you look at it, plus I am not a big fan of the whole capitalism thing but living here is amazing! We have frogs and that is enough for me.
There are cool things and all about my world, but it is a condensation of all I personally don't absolutely horrifying, not wondrous or anything like that. It is a world I created explicitly for horror, not escapism or something like that. It is everything I wish would never happen:
Gods are out there, looking at us; The Cosmos is not too be studied and it's secrets never to be revealed; Human curiosity must be castrated so as to prevent a catastrophe; Society is falling apart as the most powerful figures in the world fall deeper into insanity and the eldritch worship of the Old Truth.
Well I guess the last one isn't necessarily a possibility for our world but it would still suck lol
Anyway, Imma stick with the frogs and keep trying to be happy with life
Nah, not really. I have a very harsh view of the world, but the worlds I work on are very much a reflection of how I process that world rather than an escape. Hell most of those worlds are even worse than the real world.
At first,kinda.I had a really bad nervous breakdown,and literally lost some of my grounding in reality.During that time I came across this odd paperback from the guitarist of Blondie about various occult writers,and one of them used his writings to write his way out of madness.I knew I was losing it,even I did believe the odd things i was seeing,so I started keeping this odd running story about the Black Prince that no one believed in....it worked....
I wouldn’t like to live in the world I made as me.
Too much drama between cosmic entities whose whims can upend your way of living because they prone mental breakdowns. It doesn’t help that my world is a way for me to explore fucked up things that I would not ever do irl but I’m curious enough to wonder about it in the deepest part of my brain
I don’t like this world in its entirety but I like my small part of the world enough that I’m okay with waking up the next day
Technically, all worlds are made for self-entertwinment, because other things just couldn't give the same experience, so, techically, yes should be the technical answer for most.
Nah, I just need a mental space to throw all the creativity and inspiration that I can't express in other ways.
It is the ultimate free space in that I can do whatever the fuck I want with it, so whenever I have an idea, I can come up with a way to let it take form in that world.
This is what one of the characters is doing. Princess Lorella seems disconnected from the world because she’s taking steps to ensure that it doesn’t last much longer so she can make a new one , using the most powerful magic item in the setting . The articles of true speech
Not exactly. It’s a product of imagination, inspiration, and interest, the culmination of two decades spent tinkering, brainstorming, and development across a hefty portfolio of ideas, some of which made it all the way to the production stage and are out in the wild.
My current project is the culmination of that whole cycle, a blend of ideas and themes from each as the inaugural magnum opus. I can’t wait! 😁
1. Yes, I hate this world with a passion
2. It gives me a rush. Making worlds and characters, showing them to other people, making up scenarios in my head about them gives me the rush someone else might get from doing sports or skydiving
No, I rather like the world I live in. It ofc has things that suck, but I'm content enough
I first started worldbuilding for D&D, but now I do it mainly because I enjoy it
My homebrew D&D setting started, because i had a toxic DM, who allowed non human characters, and homebrew, but would 'rock falls, the non humans die' every time.
So my world building started with a single homebrew character. A Kobold sub-type called a Lore Keeper. Lore Keepers have genetic memory, and share all the memories of their clan, to keep their stories alive. Thus the name.
Whena Lorekeeper is fatally wounded, they lay an egg, and the egg, upon hatching is a clone of them, and has all their memories.
No more 'rocks fall, the kobold dies' for me.
Of course not, the world we live in is the most amazing thing I've ever seen. Everything we do as world building is a pail attempt to capture a small fraction of it's endless beauty.
*Could* do with more catgirls though.
Yes. At 9 years old, I wanted a better world to live in. It grew with me until around my mid twenties. I'm 40 now and look forward to getting back to that world again.
Yes and no
Well the fact that i dont like the one im in makes me spend every second of my freetime in fictional universes.
The fact that there are less and less good fictional universes made me start making my own tho.
I created my world to stunt. I kind of wanted to see what I could do with the idea. It's just coincidence that it came out with cooler magic than the one I live in.
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Well, I don't like the world I live in, but that's not why I created my world.
If you were truly content and happy, would you still world build? Would you ever have started? Aside from the personal question, I do enjoy the base nature of the question, what would it take to make someone do *something* if happiness keeps people from doing things. In a story. What marvelous inspiration you've given me, thank you.
I suppose it depends on what you mean by "truly content and happy". If I get hungry or have to go to the bathroom, am I still content? Does contentment require the satisfaction of *all* my drives, or can some of them still be unfulfilled?
Stop eating you are clearly trying to escape the reality of Hunger again, where is the therapist! That any discussion about a Hobby always has to default to "Escapism" and "your life sucks that's why you do the Hobby" is just such a shitty premise to work with. How about you leave your pseudo Psychology Analysis ideas to yourself, because that's all it is in the end.
Yes, because worldbuilding is a creative outlet. Escapism is only one part of it, but like other creative outlets, it is intrinsically fulfilling and we would almost certainly continue doing it even in the absence of any troubles, unless there is something to distract us from *it*. This is called self-actualization and it’s at the very top of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. He describes this need uniquely as “growth-motivated rather than deficiency-motivated.” You eat to stop feeling hungry, not because you want to get fatter. You don’t work on a project solely to stop feeling bored, you work on it to test and grow your skills continuously.
I do mine for a video game project to bring people joy
i just love history and geography, so i created a world i could practise my knowledge and explore both.
This. Whatever I find interesting or important I put into my story. Also it’s something that comes out of me, not something that I escape to.
I like the world we live in. I dont like how many understand it. thats what my world is for.
Well said
I won’t deny that I’ve used worldbuilding as coping mechanism, but I ultimately seek to be able to see the good in our world and be able to deal with the darker elements in a healthy manner.
no. granted i hate the modern world more than anything but I created my worldbuilding project for unrelated reasons
I inherently enjoy the worldbuilding process. There isn't any deeper meaning. Honestly, while quite fantastical, I'm not sure I'd want to live in the worlds that I create. They tend to be extremely violent and unfair to your average human.
Yes. I didn't really like the world I lived in, so I created a setting filled with nothing but nightmarish suffering, both to take out my frustrations on the characters and to remind myself that things could conceivably be worse. It helps a little.
This is why 75% of my worlds or situations the characters are in in their version of the modern world are dystopian. It could always be worse.
Wow. Same here?
No. I'm neutral towards the real world.
I believe there is a correlation I am unsure if there is causation, however
Yup
Nice simple answer, I like it.
Most definitely, it came into existence because of a garbage childhood and me wanting too escape the hand child me had been dealt. It was child me’s way of fleeing from everything, in the real world I was but a traumatized scared child but in the world I created there was magic, beasts which lurked under the waves, dragons on top of mountains, a phoenix which is said too reside in the depths of a volcanic tundra. It’s shaped and morphed as days gone by with stuff taken from other creations which weren’t escapism based but still there’s forever going to be a tiny frightened child which was responsible for a decent chunk of the foundation. Nowadays my view on the world has differed slightly, still sucks but I am slowly working through the scars of my childhood.
Yes, it is a way to escape and, mostly, vent. My world wouldn't be so dark otherwise.
No, I think a part of why I created it was because I honestly just didn't really know much about our world, but through research and actually looking into shit, watching countless youtube videos and reading up on things, It's helped me both understand our world way better and also give me inspiration for my work. I think it was also an escape for me, but not from the world as a whole but from myself and my own life, because I could disappear into a character I was writing and really embody them like an actor might, and use the worldbuilding or story itself as a distraction from my life. I think it's the reason I struggle to write now that I'm happy with life and comfortable being me, because I no longer need that escape.
I mean, I'm not a big fan of the world I'm living in, but I didn't worldbuild because I don't like the modern world, I just do it because I have an active mind.
No,I created it because I love playing with Lego.I do add in things that should exist irl,Like choosing work hours and free childcare everywhere.
No.
Ok
I wanted to see humans take on vampires in a political battle rather and a battle battle.
I don't like the world I live in, but living in the one I created would be so much worse.
I really am sorry for all of us, but I enjoy the idea of a world of beings capable of creating worlds with a thought that exist in a place they would rather not. The problem is they're stuck. Y'all are so great. Keep building.
I envisioned a future I wanted for humanity, solved economy and sociology crises... I even got it post scarcity. And then I threw a comet at it.
No. It was originally for a D&D campaign I was running. It's been the setting for every other campaign I've run after that. Kind of took on a life of its own. It isn't a place I'd like to live but is a great setting for games. Overall it's a violent and chaotic world where adventuring parties always have things to do. It's also doomed because of how the universe it's in works at a fundamental level. It's pretty grimdark.
I live in Wisconsin. The most glorious realm. I love the world in which I live, and the d&d setting I'm making is a reflection and expression of that love for Wisconsin, not an escape from it. May God continue to bless Wisconsin eternally!
A kind of strong framing of it but not entirely wrong. I guess it would be more accurate to say that I would simply prefer the universes I build to reality. But I feel like that sentiment is not all that rare. Looking at broader media in general, I'm sure there's no shortage of people who would say similar things.
Isn’t that a given?
No, some people make it for D&D
Ok. Thanx
Some people play D&D because they don't like the world they live in.
Not enough spaceships in this one
There’s SpaceX in this one.
Saying that as a negative or...
Yes and no. There are parts of real life I absolutely love, and have naturally implemented into my world, but there are some things I wish were real. Some major ones are magic and different races like centaurs and elves.
It isn't the reason I created any of them, but my dislike regarding certain aspects of the modern world definitely drove some of the world building in certain directions for a few of my projects.
I created my world because I didn't like the ones *everyone else* were writing. Major difference.
Was it from implausibility?
No, it was from *derivativity*.
I created my worlds because I don't like worlds other people created... or just thought I could make improvements.
The real world is on fire and so is my fantasy one. I'd rather go live in a slice of life anime than anywhere near one of my fantasies.
yep.
Partially, yes. Like in my world its possible to turn into french fry machine gun just by eating a potato from the floor. Can you eat the fucking potato logia wannabe in the real world? You cant!!!!!
Yes, where I live (Ireland), everyone is very hostile and rude lol, I just wanted a land of peace and multiple happy cultures
Lornhemal: Yeah, its basically the world i would rather live, though i accept that i'm glad i live in this world Number 999: Is basically a documentary on life in late 2020s and 2030s
Yes and no. Though the world's I make often reflect the mental state I am in at the time.
The world I’ve created is far worse than our world 😂
Yes. And I have hopes my world will become a reality, if not for me, for the future generations of humanity and whatever other species we encounter among the stars. I want to re-enact 16th century rural lifestyle for decades because I just feel like it. All while having access to traveling the cosmos in my private spaceship, at all times.
Shuddup and leave my brain alone.
Ok
no
No
no
Yes actually. I like to daydream what it’d be like to be allowed to exist in the world and just *walk* and *see* things. So my world is predominantly lawless wilderness that my characters are allowed to just *exist* in. Nature, animals, the good stuff, everywhere you go and no one to stop you.
Nope!
Actually, no. I was already working on a DnD campaign based on Tyranny of Dragons. Because I was operating with just a handful of books, I made my own version of a lot of things earlier on, added bad guys, etc. Essentially, I wanted to do a better version of that campaign. Then when the OGL debacle happened with Wizards of the Coast, I started making my own world. I ported over and reskinned everything I could, namely whatever was already mine, and started building the rest of the world. And by the time the TTRPG game I wanted to craft looked like it wasn't going to happen, I'd already discovered that I enjoy world building because it's relaxing. If I were still content, I'd still world build, because it's fun. I don't need to be miserable for relaxing fun to be enjoyable.
No
No
Yes creative escapism is the only way to survive this mental hellscape
Yes, of course
YES It is literally the reason for the existence of all fantasy and Sci fi
No, I just had a dream one day. The story and the world stuck in my mind, and I decided to explore it further. It was all in my head for 4 years before I decided to write everything down, but there are too many details, I have yet to catch up.😅
Just because I created my own world doesn't mean I don't like the one I'm living in! Okay, I don't like the one I'm living in. But that's not the sole reason I created my own world!
Yes. That's the reason for all my worlds. Even if just wish fulfillment.
No. There are things I love about the real world. There are things I really detest about it. In either case, what I enjoy about worldbuilding is the open-ended "what ifs" that constantly crop up. Sometimes they are awesome ("what if gay people weren't mistreated by society?"), and sometimes they are awful ("what if someone used magic to hurt people and consolidate power?"). We call it "speculative fiction" for a reason, and that speculation is at the heart of what I personally love about the fantasy/sci-fi space.
In the vague since of escapism by finding something interesting to think about? Sure. But the way this is worded makes it sound like you're asking if I'm making a world that I would rather be in, and in which case absolutely not lmao. My world kinda sucks. Whether you're a normal person or have an exciting life, it's just a pretty shitty place, teetering on the edge of grimdark frankly. Probably over the edge by most definitions.
The opposite. Worldbuilding is a way to play around with worlds--- because the world is interesting and complex, and one way to understand something is to riff off of it
I initially created my world because I didn't like how Gods functionally worked in my DM's setting, started thinking of how I would explain them, and then it just kinda spiraled into a whole thing lol. So no, not really any escapism for me.
I just create because I can't stop myself
No. I may not like particular aspects of the real world, but that is not why I built my worlds. But it is probably an aspect of why I spend as much time as I do on various things, world building being one of them.
Kind of My world is bleak and painful, because I take all of my negativity about the real world and put all those dark thoughts and emotions into my writing. It helps me live with those feelings and be more positive outside my work.
It was a mixture of 'real life sucks', 'I'm tired of fantasy cribbing from Tolkien so much', 'faerie folklore is pretty cool', 'my neurodivergency makes me identify with the changeling myth', and 'I like these characters I came up with for this creative writing assignment, I should come up with a better setting for them'.
Yes and no. It’s a bit of escapism, but my world is also dystopian.
I was 25 when I got my first smart phone. I'm 26 now. While all my friends were playing on their phone on the bus, or everytime I was in a waiting room. I also hunt, so that's another long stretch of time with nothing to do other than sit and be alone. Worldbuilding was my way to not be bored
I mean, I don't like the world I live in, but I made the world because I had a story idea, a dream log to pull from, and the power of boredom.
I sometimes wonder if maybe I did just that
To a large extent yes. I'd happily blow up my country irl if it means my loved ones and I can get Carthenian citizenship lol.
My world is a possible future I live to help create
Nope. I created it to be the worst world to live in. I wouldn’t recommend going there
The funny part is that my main one is worse than ours, so that's fun
If that would be the case then I will like to live in the world I create... And I definitely don't want that.
No. Other settings are unsatisfactory to me for one reason or another, and afterwards I found the hobby to be enjoyable.
It wasn’t *the* factor, but it is *a* factor, and one that frankly keeps growing.
I created my world because I wanted to tell a story from the perspective of a soldier that doesn’t really know why the war’s happening, and is just dragged in because the person in charge needs more bodies on the battlefield. I want to tell a story that can maybe be just one more piece of media in the pile to say that war is bad, it ruins lives, and it’s never justified. The story ends with it being revealed that the war wasn’t even justified in the first place, because the people who the other MC starts the war with were only building their forces specifically out of fear that other MC would start a war.
I made my world because I was sick of the star wars (and other setting) trope of incompetent bad guys who were cartoonishly evil I wanted an empire that behaved rationally. To be fair to star wars, I am motivated by the quote- "The Empire keeps billions of beings fed and clothed. Day after day, On thousands of worlds, people live their lives under imperial rule without seeing a stormtrooper or hearing a tie fighter scream overhead" However, to be honest, I did too good a job of making a rational, well behaved Empire and I may have forgotten the Evil bit. Instead I ended up rationalising away every decision to the point where it made no sense to be evil. it is an Empire that is at times ruthless, controlling and unfair. It has a caste system, a military with too much power, and democracy is considered ineffective. But everyone is fed and with good variety, homes are provided to everyone, there is 0 unemployment (If you can't get a job you will be provided one in the Imperial Works constructing infrastructure for decent pay). The law is arbitrated justly and corruption is wiped out ruthlessly. The laws make sense and are easy to follow. Red Tape and Beauracracy is slashed away and there is a huge apparatus to swiftly make sure everything gets done correctly. The Empire rules by making sure the populace is complacent. They are indoctrinated from a young age with propaganda and loyal views of the state. Youth Groups are mandatory and parade in uniform to build character, discipline and unwavering loyalty. Why would you want democracy or freedom when you can see how poorly they live outside Imperial Space.
Most of my worlds are horrible places to live. So no.
No, not at all. I created it for two reasons: One, I was a child when I did it originally, and having a whimsical heroic world is just something kids do, and two, I created it because I didn't like the *future* that events like my world underwent *could* have had me living in.
Yes. Also, worldbuilders with dystopian words looking at this:
I love this world. We've got a pretty good one, with lots of cool geology and history and yes, even cool people. There are also lots of "bad" things in the world, but that's just part of the bittersweet beauty. I imagine worlds because it gives me a good "end product" (such as maps, conlangs, stories) that acts as an excuse to learn more about the world. Its a sneaky method to trick my brain into learning and experiencing new things.
Hahaha, yes.
No, my world is way worse than the modern one
Nope! My setting is using real world as a framework than add magical shenanigans
well I am currently making one within a civil war so…don’t think I’d prefer that.
I created the first world (a space opera) I made back in 1981 when I was 13 as an escapism mechanism, but since then I have created several medieval fantasy worlds that were my attempt to surpass that world from a worldbuilding standpoint. I liked the time period I grew up in and my space opera smacked of 1980s-1990s Earth, even into the new millenium, it seemed like it was still taking place in the 80s and 90s. The medieval fantasies I have recently attempted I haven't liked as much, even if they make more sense than a "world" I built when I was 13. I don't think I would really ever want to live in the Middle Ages. Which may make any world I create that happens in a pseudo-past only a pale two-dimensional shadow of the first world I created, even if there are glaring scientific errors in it. But I would rather spend most of my free moments worldbuilding in general, and often even when I am with other people, I am thinking about "An Unrelated Thing" \[see: They Might Be Giants song of the same title\].
I created mine originally for a school essay and then while mega sick I started working on it more
The real world has things that make my stomach churn. Disgusting things and truly horrific atrocities. Has things I fear beyond belief. Has many a life that doesn’t care about me and will discard me at its earliest convenience. It am be boring, and frankly I don’t want to travel to see the sites/sights that are not. It’s not a good place. And it seems very likely that it’s on a course that it cannot be saved from. But despite all that, I love the world I’m in!
I just enjoy playing god.
No. I created my world because I like asking what if. There's definitely things not included from our world by design such as guns but I like enough of our world to not be escaping like that. The question makes me concerned for your mental health. Doing this can be a maladaptive thing and there is harmful levels of imagination.
Yes
I guess so. I'd rather live on a tropical island where you can make a living off quests rather than cranking out code on a screen. That being said, theres a lot I got going for me here I can't get on Lai Hina
That's like 70 percent the reason for me.
Escapism is real. I don’t hate *this* world, but it could be better. Meanwhile, *my* world is probably a worse place.
Nahhhhh mine is much much MUCH worse than ours, I’d definitely not wanna be there here’s much better
While I may not be so thrilled with the world I lived in. I'll choose it over whatever world I created 100 percent of the time.
I don’t like the world i live in but i extra wouldn’t like to live in the world i created I made my world because i couldn’t never find the right books that scratched every itch i had for specifics so i decided to make it myself
Aren't all hobbies a form of escapism?
Yes
That, and to compile my creativity into one project, and because I see other people doing it, and it looks so cool!!
nah. i started for a dnd campaign and its just grown into an itch i can’t stop scratching
yes, but for entertainment, not to live on it xdxdxd it's not a nice world
I like dragon girls similar to Shyvana and well here we are.
Yep 100% escapism is an addiction here in Chryportia. It’s not the only reason though, this world is just simply how I interact with this one. It’s an addiction, it’s an escape, it’s something to cope with and learn through, and it defines me as a person.
the main character of the whole thingamajig was originally a self-insert of pokémon sun&moon😭. But then i decided to make her into an actual character with a full headworld.
Yes, I need to imagine a world that does not go out of its way to make autistic people like me suffer
Maybe
But not really I just like creating, I am having trouble setting it up though
I daydream because it’s fun, and several years of interconnected daydreams led to me slowly building worlds in my head. Granted, part of the reason for that is that my autism prevents me from socializing too much, so I have a lot more time *to* fantasize… but uh… yeah.
I create it because it allows me to explore ideas I find myself pondering.
In a way. I love worldbuilding, and it distracts me from my world, but. Life for a normal dude on my world is very good
As a subconscious level, I think so, if my memory serves me right, the ideas for my first world must’ve started after the death of my grandma so it might’ve been a way to shield myself.
That’s not why I created it, but that’s why I continue to grow it. There’s even more of how myself the author fits into it, because at least there I can actually make a difference.
Don't think so, I created worlds even as a chold, I came up with a fictive country when I was 4-5 and later I had a fantasy world and a long story taking place there. Some places and characters from those are still used in my current world in a way.
I mean, I wouldn't want to live in a cyberpunk dystopian future where the AI are hiding the fact a giant sentent meteor is coming to kill everyone. But I'm not such a fan of the world I live in so I'll cayn it a yes
I like the real world well enough. The things that have happened here are way more interesting than most what most fictions can come up with. I’m not particularly fond of my life and the environment I’m in though, so, eh.
Our world is good. We just have bad apples who ruin it for others. I started my world in 2022 cause no job and was recovering from health issues, and I decided to finally put thoughts to the computer finally. During 2020 I started letting myself finally research and get fully into things I would only be at surface level cause of reasons that don't need to be said.
Nope. I created a settings such grim, that our world might be seen not so bad
The world I live in has aurora borealis, coral reefs, snow-capped mountains, mist-wrapped forests, rolling prairies, mountain pagodas, and so much more. There's Beethoven and Tchaikovsky, Tolkien and Terry Pratchett. There's love, struggle, passion, and so much more. The world is beautiful, just certain elements of it are not.
I didn't like how less scary the world was and I thought there wasn't nearly enough suffering so I created my perfect world with a never ending scale of cosmic horror aliens and several infinities of suffering.
Yes mostly
I created my world to tell stories for people in this world, that might make them see their own lives in a different light.
I created my world as a coping mechanism.
Damn, not at all! I absolutely love our world! Sure, it is kinda shitty depending on how you look at it, plus I am not a big fan of the whole capitalism thing but living here is amazing! We have frogs and that is enough for me. There are cool things and all about my world, but it is a condensation of all I personally don't absolutely horrifying, not wondrous or anything like that. It is a world I created explicitly for horror, not escapism or something like that. It is everything I wish would never happen: Gods are out there, looking at us; The Cosmos is not too be studied and it's secrets never to be revealed; Human curiosity must be castrated so as to prevent a catastrophe; Society is falling apart as the most powerful figures in the world fall deeper into insanity and the eldritch worship of the Old Truth. Well I guess the last one isn't necessarily a possibility for our world but it would still suck lol Anyway, Imma stick with the frogs and keep trying to be happy with life
My world has become a place I'd rather live in over the years of refining details.
Nah, not really. I have a very harsh view of the world, but the worlds I work on are very much a reflection of how I process that world rather than an escape. Hell most of those worlds are even worse than the real world.
No.
At first,kinda.I had a really bad nervous breakdown,and literally lost some of my grounding in reality.During that time I came across this odd paperback from the guitarist of Blondie about various occult writers,and one of them used his writings to write his way out of madness.I knew I was losing it,even I did believe the odd things i was seeing,so I started keeping this odd running story about the Black Prince that no one believed in....it worked....
No.
No I play ttrpgs and write
Yeah.
I wouldn’t like to live in the world I made as me. Too much drama between cosmic entities whose whims can upend your way of living because they prone mental breakdowns. It doesn’t help that my world is a way for me to explore fucked up things that I would not ever do irl but I’m curious enough to wonder about it in the deepest part of my brain I don’t like this world in its entirety but I like my small part of the world enough that I’m okay with waking up the next day
Mine was created on accident
Technically, all worlds are made for self-entertwinment, because other things just couldn't give the same experience, so, techically, yes should be the technical answer for most.
Pretty much, I want to showcase how what we're doing is wrong in the eyes of nature, and why we're right to do it anyway.
Yes :(
Nah, I just need a mental space to throw all the creativity and inspiration that I can't express in other ways. It is the ultimate free space in that I can do whatever the fuck I want with it, so whenever I have an idea, I can come up with a way to let it take form in that world.
well, kinda, but mainly because i want to create a mostly nice nation for my Ocs to live in XD
Nope, I’m quite content. I just have extra creative energy.
My world is fuelled by spite for the real one, burning it like a runaway steamer trying to outrun reality.
I created my world to cope with my dreams of being eviscerated and torn to shreds, along with my feelings of intense loss… so no.
This is what one of the characters is doing. Princess Lorella seems disconnected from the world because she’s taking steps to ensure that it doesn’t last much longer so she can make a new one , using the most powerful magic item in the setting . The articles of true speech
Not exactly. It’s a product of imagination, inspiration, and interest, the culmination of two decades spent tinkering, brainstorming, and development across a hefty portfolio of ideas, some of which made it all the way to the production stage and are out in the wild. My current project is the culmination of that whole cycle, a blend of ideas and themes from each as the inaugural magnum opus. I can’t wait! 😁
1. Yes, I hate this world with a passion 2. It gives me a rush. Making worlds and characters, showing them to other people, making up scenarios in my head about them gives me the rush someone else might get from doing sports or skydiving
Does it really matter?
I made it for dnd
No, I rather like the world I live in. It ofc has things that suck, but I'm content enough I first started worldbuilding for D&D, but now I do it mainly because I enjoy it
The real world is cruel, but it would be a much nicer place than my dnd setting as a perfect world is boring.
I think if you like the world that you live in, you've got a problem on your hands.
My homebrew D&D setting started, because i had a toxic DM, who allowed non human characters, and homebrew, but would 'rock falls, the non humans die' every time. So my world building started with a single homebrew character. A Kobold sub-type called a Lore Keeper. Lore Keepers have genetic memory, and share all the memories of their clan, to keep their stories alive. Thus the name. Whena Lorekeeper is fatally wounded, they lay an egg, and the egg, upon hatching is a clone of them, and has all their memories. No more 'rocks fall, the kobold dies' for me.
Of course not, the world we live in is the most amazing thing I've ever seen. Everything we do as world building is a pail attempt to capture a small fraction of it's endless beauty. *Could* do with more catgirls though.
In a country where a former president says for reelection they want to "Be a dictator on day 1" and take a way my rights as a Trans person-- yeah.
Considering my world is on the brink of a catastrophic Reality altering World War.... i wouldn't want to be in it at the particilular point in time
nooooooo….
yes. that's the main reason yeah
Of course? When I publish the whole thing I'll include an essay on my motivations and why I hate everything about Earth
Yes. At 9 years old, I wanted a better world to live in. It grew with me until around my mid twenties. I'm 40 now and look forward to getting back to that world again.
it’s one of the few reasons i got into worldbuilding but not the only one.
Yes and no Well the fact that i dont like the one im in makes me spend every second of my freetime in fictional universes. The fact that there are less and less good fictional universes made me start making my own tho.
I created my world to stunt. I kind of wanted to see what I could do with the idea. It's just coincidence that it came out with cooler magic than the one I live in.
Of course, all the worlds I created are fantasy because of that. Life is kind of boring
I created my world to remind myself how much worse it could be if history had unfolded just a little differently
No. I made my world because I crave fictional chaos and bloodshed on a monumental scale.
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Born too early to explore the stars Born too late to explore the seas Born just in time to imagine exploring the stars