#random worldbuilding questions

[squidknees]

Random Worldbuilding Questions

Are there any foods with symbolic meanings that are eaten on special occasions (e.g. katsudon for victory, or new years oranges for luck)? How did the tradition get started?

We all know about weddings and marriage, but are there any ceremonies that symbolically / legally / magically officialize a different type of relationship in your world's culture? (Adoption, apprenticeship, friendship, etc.)

What's a rule or social norm that is widely followed in theory, but in practice everyone knows it's not a big deal and breaks it all the time?

Are there any trades or hobbies whose practitioners are stereotyped as weird or extraordinary? (E.g. the "mad hatter" trope.) Why? How true is this perception?

What are some cliches, tropes, and/or plots that commonly appear in stories written by your world's inhabitants? What were they inspired by? Why are they popular?

What is a common way to subtly insult someone in your world, without crossing into overt rudeness? Gifting an item with negative connotations? Addressing them more familiarly or formally than normal? Backhanded compliments?

If you pulled a random average Joe off the streets of your world and asked them to draw a house, what would they draw? (Shape, roof style, position and number of windows, etc.)

Is there a place in your world that nobody has ever been to - the bottom of a cave, the moon, another dimension, etc.? How do people know it exists? Why haven't they gone there? What do they believe it's like, and how right/wrong are they?

What aesthetics are considered "advanced" or "futuristic" in your world - canvas wings, shiny chrome, smooth plastic? How has this changed over time?

What's a fun fact about your world that you as the worldbuilder are dying to share, but nobody ever thinks to ask? 

[olivescales3]

Happy WBW! What are the coffee shops like in your world? Or what are the coffee shop equivalents? Are they bustling? Overpriced? Are they decrept or college-kid only territory? If you wanna get into it, feel free to add on your characters' interactions, feelings, or orders!

Thank you for the ask!

Unfortunately, there aren't any coffee shops (nor any kind of complex structures like that) in Chima.

Chima has the Chi Market, which is a weekly event where animals from all tribes visit the Lion Temple to sell stuff. It gives an opportunity for tribes to interact and help each other, so the cultural exchange is quite intense. This event makes the Lion Temple full and lively, granting the tribe's royal family a bunch of money to maintain their tribe.

Prices vary a lot, depending on the individual's species, life condition, product, and other socially complex factors. The Raven Tribe for example has a problem with social inequality, and a majority of its animals live in bad conditions, so their products can be a bit overpriced, as the Raven Village is situated in a biome that's borderline a desert (mixture of canyon and desert) and doesn't have much access to anything besides gems and metal they mine. They don't gain much and most things are expensive there.

The Chi Market is going to appear a lot on TFLOC, so if you're interested in it, please stick around to see more :D

[theboxfort]

Asked twitter what would happen if you were to put your hand through an object with a floating face/hollow head

[serpentface]

how do you come up with the ways cultures in your setting stylize people/animals/the world in general in their artwork, i.e. jewlery, rock carvings, statues, etc? Each culture in your world seems to have a very unique "art style" and I love it a lot - makes them seem that much more 'real'. This is something I struggle with a lot in my own worldbuilding and I'd love to pick your brain if possible 😁

I think a starting point is to have a research process based in the material realities of the culture you're designing for. Ask yourself questions like:

Where do they live? What's the climate/ecosystem(s) they are based in? What geographic features are present/absent?

What is their main subsistence method? (hunter gatherer, seasonal pastoralist, nomadic pastoralist, settled agriculturalist, a mix, etc)

What access to broader trade networks do they have and to whom? Are there foreign materials that will be easily accessible in trade and common in use, or valuable trade materials used sparingly in limited capacities?

Etc

And then do some research based on the answers, in order to get a sense of what materials they would have routine access to (ie dyes, metal, textiles, etc) and other possible variables that would shape how the art is made and what it's used for. This is just a foundational step and won't likely play much into designing a Style.

If you narrow these questions down very specifically, (ie in the context of the Korya post- grassland based mounted nomads, pastoralist and hunter-gatherer subsistence, access to wider trade networks and metals), you can direct your research to specific real world instances that fit this general idea. This is not to lift culturally specific concepts from the real world and slap them into your own setting, but to notice commonalities this lifestyle enforces - (ie in the previous example- mounted nomadic peoples are highly mobile and need to easily carry their wealth (often on clothing and tack) therefore small, elaborate decorative artwork that can easily be carried from place to place is a very likely feature)

For the details of the art itself, I come up with loose 'style guides' (usually just in my head) and go from there.

Here's some example questions for forming a style (some are more baseline than others)

Are geometric patterns favored? Organic patterns? Representative patterns (flowers, animals, stars, etc)? Abstract patterns?

Is there favored material(s)? Beads, bone, clay, metals, stones, etc.

When depicting people/animals, is realism favored? Heavy stylization? The emotional impression of an animal? Are key features accentuated?

How perspective typically executed? Does art attempt to capture 3d depth? Does it favor showing the whole body in 2 dimensions (ie much of Ancient Egyptian art, with the body shown in a mix of profile and forward facing perspective so all key attributes are shown)? Will limbs overlap? Are bodies shown static? In motion?

Does artwork of people attempt to beautify them? Does it favor the culture's conception of the ideal body?

Are there common visual motifs? Important symbols? Key subject matters?

What is the art used for? Are its functions aesthetic, tutelary, spiritual, magical? (Will often exist in combination, or have different examples for each purpose)

Who is represented? Is there interest in everyday people? Does art focus on glorifying warriors, heroes, kings?

Are there conventions for representing important figures? (IE gods/kings/etc being depicted larger than culturally lesser subjects)

Is there visual shorthand to depict objects/concepts that are difficult to execute with clarity (the sun, moon, water), or are invisible (wind, the soul), or have no physical component (speech)?

Etc

Deciding on answers to any of these questions will at least give you a unique baseline, and you can fill in the rest of the gaps and specify a style further until it is distinct. Many of these questions are not mutually exclusive, both in the sense of elements being combined (patterns with both geometric and organic elements) or a culture having multiple visual styles (3d art objects having unique features, religious artwork having its own conventions, etc).

Also when you're getting in depth, you should have cultural syncretism in mind. Cultures that routinely interact (whether this interaction is exchange or exploitation) inevitably exchange ideas, which can be especially visible in art. Doing research on how this synthesizing of ideas works in practice is very helpful- what is adopted or left out from an external influence, what is retained from an internal influence, what is unique to this synthesis, AND WHY. (I find Greco-Buddhist art really interesting, that's one of many such examples)

Looking at real world examples that fit your parameters can be helpful (ie if I've decided on geometric patterns in my 'style guide', I'll look at actual geometric patterns). And I strongly encourage trying to actually LEARN about what you're seeing. All art exists in a context, and having an understanding of how the context shapes art, how art does and doesn't relate to broader aspects of a society, etc, can help you when synthesizing your own.

[sonknuxadow]

originally had a super long multi paragraph ramble about this written out but then realized i did not have to say all that . anyway . i think that the reason some little animal guy sonic characters have last names while most others just go by (name) the (species) has to do with cultural differences... the fact that the characters with last names are also the same characters who have more human sounding first names makes me think that they were born in an area that had a large human population, or that their parents or grandparents were, so their family was influenced by human naming practices

[lets-make-a-thing]

impromptu poll!

[krinsbez]

A Poll, about a Project, involving BattleTech and Pulp Heroes

Trying something a bit different here, for starters, posting first the poll, and THEN the rambling explanation. Also a slightly different format than I usually do with the choices, being a bit more limited, let me know what you think.

(admission of ulterior motive, hoping to gets some fandom cross-pollination happening)

Somewhat rambling explanation below.

So even though I have two BattleTech Crossover projects ongoing on this platform that are are basically completely stalled, I have decided to start a third, while also doing it on Spacebattles.com, because I'm ridiculous. Although, this one is kinda different, being as much a game as a proper Worldbuilding/Storybuilding project. Anyways, because I like making polls, would prefer to have some sort of evidence that I am not merely howling into the void, and also because I have somehow convinced myself, despite no evidence whatsoever, that this is a good way of drumming up interest,

Anyways, those of you who are familiar with my blog have probably picked up that I am a big fan of Pulp Heroes (although my definition is eccentric and a bit broader than some). Those of you who are not familiar with my blog, welcome, I hope this sparks joy. (are we still saying that?) Anyways, I have decided to see if a long-time hyperfixation and a newer interest can be smushed together.

So. The idea is that I will periodically throw out the name or names, and some descriptive text/wiki links/etc. of a Pulp Hero or group of Pulp Heroes or a Pulp hero and their supporting cast, or several unrelated Pulp Heroes, whatever. And y'all will (hopefully) Reblog or Reply with your thoughts on how best to (to quote SBer Starfox5) "catch the "spirit/essence" of the characters, translated into a Battletech Mercenary context." Ideally, we'd fully BattleTech-ifiy 'em but I will settle for "what 'Mech would they use?"

(I am not ruling out the possibility, if this project goes well and bears fruit, of expanding this into a proper Worldbuilding/Storybuilding thingummy. But let's not get carried away)

[somereaderinblue]

Do you guys think solar energy is used on No Man's Land? I mean, they're on a desert planet with two suns. We already know Dependant Plants aren't an unlimited resource, so who would say no to an alternative energy source? Surely, at least the more advanced cities/settlements with the materials to spare would give it a shot? In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Ship 3 already uses this to keep the ship running.

In Tristamp, we were introduced to Windmill Village & yeah, it failed since winds are hella unpredictable, making it a hit-or-miss alternative.

But again, getting sunlight on a desert planet is as easy as finding sand. It might even be the solution to their reliance on Plants.

DISCLAIMER: I'm no scientist so if radiation or something else is involved to joss this theory of mine, pls feel free to explain it in the comments/tags, I'm genuinely curious to know more.

[piedoesnotequalpi]

I keep getting ads for "clean Christian romance" series featuring "cowboy billionaires" and I am absolutely fascinated by the unexplored effects on the local economy in these fictional towns

[h-worksrambles]

Is it just me or is it weird how in Xenoblade Chronicles 2, the people of Mor Ardain and Tantal don’t any physical adaptations to their environment?

Like, most of the humans in Alrest are very clearly distinguished in terms of which Titan’s nationality they belong to, right down to having signature accents in the English dub. But the game also experiments with them being different physically.

The Urayans have rock-like scales across their skin, and like, that tracks. They live inside the Urayan Titan and the geography is extremely rocky and covered in cliffs and fjords. Their adaptation makes sense. The Gotmotti’s cat ears make…less sense. But I guess you can make some argument that they live in plains/jungles among beasts, so it figures they’d become more ‘animal-like’ to adapt (though I suspect this mostly for the meta reason of ‘gotta gave catgirls’). Meanwhile I’m not sure what about Indol specifically makes the Indoline have blue skin, elf ears and unnaturally long lives. But it is at least distinct.

But what about the Ardanians and the Tantalese? They live in the harshest climates of all. One a scorching desert with dust winds, and the other amidst bitterly cold, snow capped mountains. And yet, they are pretty much just normal humans. You’d think the Ardanians would have like…cold blooded reptilian features to protect them from the heat. While the Tantalese could have fur to shield them from the cold.

Am I implying Morag should have been a scaly and Zeke should have been a furry? Well…I’m not not saying that…but I do legitimately think it’s weird that Xenoblade 2 only kinda goes halfway with distinguishing the types of humans on each Titan.

There’s also the Leftherians, but I’m not sure what you’d do to reflect their environment, and they probably didn’t want Rex’s design to be overly out there given his ‘Everyman’ position as the protagonist. So I kind of get that one.

[squidknees]

@tsuwabuki replied:

how would u answer #10?

moving this to a separate post for easier answering !! (question list)

What’s a fun fact about your world that you as the worldbuilder are dying to share, but nobody ever thinks to ask?

this is actually a tough one for me because I feel like I immediately shout everything I come up with into the void lol. it’s not something I’m dying to share, but have a random fact I haven’t figured out how to put on the lore site yet:

since there’s no laws in the wilderness, it’s popular for young hot-headed nobles to fight duels just outside city walls, the idea being if they accidentally kill their opponent they won’t face any legal repercussions. as much as they like to play this up, though, these duels are usually pretty harmless; they’re just messing around and trying to seem tough in front of their friends.

[olivescales3]

Happy STS! Seasons are changing. Tell me how one or more of your characters would react. Are they dressing cozy? Obsessed with everything pumpkin? Have they been prepping for Halloween since last year?

In october, the air and land begin to dry, and the Crocodile Hideout becomes more manageable to live there, while places situated in the Great Divide become harsher areas. Because of the season, rains happen less frequently, and flat terrain gets less flooded, so it's a great time for harvesting food in Chima.

Definitely not what you expect, but Chima is a hot land, so the slightest cold during this season is a big refresher for animals.

Halloween isn't that predominant in Chima, as the tribes live far from each other, but the Wolf Tribe always manages to bring their good harvests to everyone, and maybe play a little too.

[legitimatesatanspawn]

Things I can't stop overthinking when it comes to fictional characters (my own OCs and those from existing media) include:

What books they probably read as kids or are currently reading.

The food characters eat. Not their favorites but what they can afford to eat or are likely to have in their pantry/fridge. Basically what do they eat on a normal day. (Related: if the food is something unique to the setting, how does it taste?)

That one tiny little backstory element that never gets touched on again.

Do the characters feel cold/hot? Like, are their feet freezing? Do they get colder when the wind shifts ever so slightly? Do they sweat when its too hot or do they only sweat a little? Either way, then do they get more tired from being out in the sun/heat?

Do the characters sneeze loudly/quietly/softly/forcefully? Do specific smells make them sneeze more? Do they sneeze when stepping from a dark enclosed space into a bright outside place?

How do they react to a toothache or a small cut? Like if they're cooking and they get lemon juice on an unknown cut, do they hiss or yelp or silently twitch?

If they're known to not laugh much, what does it take to get them laughing? How do they sound when they do laugh? If they do laugh a lot, what would make them suddenly stop laughing?

Then there's family. What physical traits come from which sides and people? Similarly what about taste preferences or things like eyesight?

What family story does Character know of a relative that either calls forward to their own life or can serve as a reason for something the character chooses to do? Like, was Great-Great Whatever betrayed by a friend and that's why Character doesn't trust similar in a situation? Was Great Whatever known for (enter ability/skill here) and used it in a funny way that some of the relatives might disprove of but is objectively brilliant/cunning and gives Character inspiration to solve X Problem with? Where the stories even true or were they blown out of proportion?

You know. Stuff.

[glowstone23b]

OKAY SORRY I KNOW I SAID I’D STICK TO TAGS ON THE NAMING CONVENTION POST BUT YOU’RE TELLING ME YOU ALSO HAVE A PIGLIN OC WITH KNOWLEDGE OF POTIONS WHO IS TRYING TO FIND A CURE FOR ZOMBIFICATION ??

Flintbairn and Icarus should pool their knowledge pronto..,.,, they would be unstoppable

Also I promise I’m not completely. Unhinged I’m just excited about this!! That is so so cool?? Hello?????

Okay LITERALLY holding your hand and skipping through some grass really gleefully right now I'm not kidding when I say this excites me to no end. Oh my god? Like, I'm getting cute aggression like if you see a very little and wonderful cat you just want to squeeze it? Doing that with you

Anyways. Drawing Flint and Icarus together right now we're going crazy (I'm kidding, but for real if you have a design in mind for Icarus, I'd be happy to help you get a visual on em ;))

I promise I'm also a very regular person with very regular interests that I am normal about and I'm not unhinged either! Unless it's piglins, then maybe. But only then!

And it's alright if you're a little nervous to reblog with text or send an ask but I'm glad you did!!! Like!!! You're a person who my blog was made for!!!! Let's GOOOOO!!!!! That makes me so unbelievably excited!!!! I'm generally pretty chill and I try my best to be kind to everybody (remember to eat and drink today please), so I like to think I don't come off as intimidating? Though my long paragraphs of rambling may scare some people off, lol. Thank you for saying hello!!!! Hi!!!!! Can we talk about naming systems and your oc please *kicking my feet, twirling my hair*

That's all, I'm just excited about it and I have no idea to express it other than using phrases like "rotating in my head", "microwaving him", et cetera. Complete nonsense because regular words don't have the capabilities to hold the emotions I feel. I promise I can type better and more eloquently than this, but sometimes I get a little too excited for my own good ^^;;

ALSO GET SOME SLEEP! I hope you are resting. Or have rested, I forget when you reblogged my post, but I'm someone who'd also stay up til 3 reading about piglin naming systems so I'm one to talk I guess, lol

[aroaessidhe]

2022 reads // twitter thread      

The Life Giver

YA stand-alone high fantasy in a dystopian underground city

a scribe who records prophecies from his dreamer, who talks to the sun (their god) each night

the dreamers are being picked off one by one by something dangerous and unexplained in the dreams

no romance

[lost-locket-antiques]

Thinking about making more characters for the actual store of the Lost Locket:

Emerald for answering more general Nijezdi cultural stuff

Nightshade for mechanical stuff

And a Nezchelit, Pseudo-Centaur, Rezmal, and Jiralf for learning about each planet. That way it’s more of a general hub of antiquity all over the galaxy rather than “why the hell does this single Nijezdi know so much about other planets”.

Makes the Lost Locket feel more like a place rather than a… idk a gimmick.

Would that be fun? I’m thinking it’d be a lot more interesting to ask actual characters about the worlds (and cultures) they were born into rather than getting answers from the obvious author of the world…

Give me a couple of days, and I’ll probably come up with something