The Weight of World Building

The greatest stories ever told are built on deep world-building. That can range from The Silmarillion to Obi-Wan casually mentioning the Old Republic and the Clone Wars. Both matter. World-building isn’t just a writer nerding out or answering self-indulgent questions, even if that’s how it often begins. At its core, world-building is about creating a backstory for the universe and characters that allow them to feel real and the world to feel lived in.

Many of those great stories would not be the same without the depth of the world built around them. Would you care about Harry Potter’s plight if they just showed magic and never mentioned Muggles or the different houses? Would anyone care about Game of Thrones if it were just dragons melting things and people dying at random? The answer is no

Giving life to the throne with the Targaryen history and the Mad King’s descent doesn’t just give flavor to the story, it gives context and reason. Ned Stark would not have had as much impact on many of us if we hadn’t had the lead-up to his journey to King’s Landing. Harry’s story resonated with a whole generation because magic isn’t random. It exists alongside loss, neglect, and a family history that shaped who he became.

While working on Wonders of the First, I had the opportunity to help build a deep world bible, one that stretches from the daily lives of elves to ancient wars fought by the Solferan people, to the tragic existence of Duskliters under vampire rule. Much of that work will never be seen directly. Most players will never read those histories or know how much thought went into those cultures. And that’s the point.

World-building doesn’t exist to be shown off. It exists to hold everything together. Even when the audience never sees the bones, they feel the weight they carry. And if I’m lucky, I’ll get the chance to tell a few stories in that world someday and let a little more of it surface.