From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  (Redirected from World-building)
Jump to: navigation, search
For other uses, see World Building.
A rendered constructed world as seen from outer space

Worldbuilding is the process of constructing an imaginary world, sometimes associated with a whole fictional universe.[1] The term "world building" appeared as early as 1965 in science fiction criticism, and is used in relation to science-fiction or fantasy stories and games.[2] The resulting world may be called a constructed world. Developing an imaginary setting with coherent qualities such as a history, geography, and ecology is a key task for many science fiction or fantasy writers.[3] Worldbuilding often involves the creation of maps, a backstory, and people for the world. Constructed worlds can enrich the backstory and history of fictional works, and it is not uncommon for authors to revise their constructed worlds while completing its associated work. Constructed worlds can be created for personal amusement and mental exercise, or for specific creative endeavors such as novels, video games, or role-playing games.


The creation of literary fictional worlds was first examined by fantasy authors such as George MacDonald, J. R. R. Tolkien, Dorothy L. Sayers, and C. S. Lewis.[4] Tolkien addressed the issue in his essay On Fairy Stories, where he stated that the "Secondary World" or "Sub-Creation" (the constructed world) is substantially different from the art of play-writing: "Very little about trees as trees can be got into a play."[5] Constructed worlds shift away from storytelling, narrative, characters and figures, and may explore "trees as trees" or aspects of the world in-and-of-themselves. Later analysis of fantasy worlds in the 1960s contextualized them in the medium or the narrative of the works, offering an analysis of the stories in the world, but not the world itself. Media franchises are similar to constructed worlds but do not necessarily rely on them; for example a media franchise such as Star Wars has a constructed world, while The Beatles, as a franchise, does not. In the 2000s, world-building in film has increased in popularity. When before, writers sought to create a character that could sustain multiple stories, now they create a world that can sustain multiple characters and stories.[4]





From a game-design perspective, the goal of worldbuilding is to create the context for a story. Consistency is an important element, since the world provides a foundation for the action of a story.[7] However, J. R. R. Tolkien described the goal of worldbuilding as creating immersion, or "enchantment" as he put it, and descriptions of the world can be wholly disconnected from the story and narrative.[5]














Types of constructed worlds[edit]




See also[edit]


  2. ^ Jeff Prucher, ed. (2006). Brave New Words: The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction. p. 270. ISBN 9780199891405. 
  4. ^ a b Mark J.P. Wolf (2014). Building Imaginary Worlds: The Theory and History of Subcreation. Routledge. ISBN 9781136220814. 
  5. ^ a b J. R. R. Tolkien (1983), Christopher Tolkien, ed., "On Fairy Stories", The Monsters and the Critics and Other Essays: 109–161 