What is Worldbuilding: Definition and 13 Discussions

Worldbuilding is the process of constructing an imaginary world, sometimes associated with a whole fictional universe. 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. Worldbuilding often involves the creation of maps, a backstory, and races (if one is writing speculative fiction), including social customs and, in some cases, an invented language for the world.World building exists in novels, role-playing games, and visual media such as films, video games and comics. Some authors of fiction set multiple works in the same world. This is known as a fictional universe. For example, science fiction writer Jack Vance set a number of his novels in the Gaean Reach, a fictional region of space. A fictional universe with works by multiple authors is known as a shared world. One example of such is the Star Wars Expanded Universe.

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  1. H

    Surf 4D: Ride the Wave, Make a 360°

    In four spatial dimensions it is possible to have a breaking ocean wave that is horizontally circular. Maybe you could get all the way around it. It is possible to get the board to do a 360 whilst facing forward the whole time. That is, the board planes as it normally does while this is going...
  2. O

    Worldbuilding: Is it possible to have a world without sulfur and charcoal?

    Hi All, First post here. I'll get straight to the point. Thinking about ideas for a novel. Would it be theoretically possible to have a world without sulfur and charcoal? The idea would be a planet targeted for colonization that doesn't have elements needed for gunpowder. What are the...
  3. Kiwimaster76

    Plausibility of this meteor habitat?

    So in a story I'm writing humanity has found itself on another planet, its larger than Earth but less dense so that the gravity is roughly the same. There is a higher concentration of oxygen on this planet and most of it is pretty habitable. However for reasons that are too long to include say...
  4. AidenFlamel

    Writing: Input Wanted World destroying solar storm/binary orbit

    Soooo, hi PF, it's been a long time since I needed your help, but here I am again. I've been doing some worldbulding lately and I came up with this idea of a world in which civilisation and life are much, much older than in ours. Yet it isn't as developed due to some kind of natural disaster...
  5. J

    Writing: Input Wanted What Makes Great Lakes Earth So Geographically Unique?

    https://orig00.deviantart.net/1603/f/2018/163/d/8/great_lakes_earth_map_by_jdailey1991-dce7cbj.jpg Dark brown=mountains. Light brown=uplifts. Black=Igneous provinces still visible today at their original extent with no consideration of erosion. Let us say that, in the future, some scientists...
  6. W

    Writing: Input Wanted Alternative energy sources? How about photons?

    I'm looking to get into the realm of science fiction writing and am currently working out how the main "SciFi energy source" works in this world I'm trying to make. Fusion reactors are the obvious go-to, but I wanted to get creative, that said: how plausible/effective would it be to directly...
  7. Kiwimaster76

    Calculations for a theoretical planet + a little biology

    So I'm attempting to write a scientifically accurate story and i need some help with the planets characteristics. I have a few things set up already and need some educated guesses and ideas for how the rest will work. So to start with what i have: Planet name: Remvale Radius:~8370 miles Gravity...
  8. Y

    How would you design your art planet?

    You've finished with your garden planet and vacation planet, now you want to do something creative.
  9. J

    Writing: Input Wanted An Alternate to the Siberian Traps

    Back home, the catalyst for the worst biotic catastrophe in the world, the Siberian Traps, don't have much left. 252 million years of erosion have reduced the igneous province to a pale shadow of its former self. From 60 to 43 million years ago (not 252), a series of flood basalt eruptions...
  10. J

    A Series of Exoplanets in Our Solar System

    In this alternate universe, Earth is the same as back home--8,000 miles wide, 25,000 around, six sextillion tons, orbiting a G-type main-sequence star from a distance of 93 million miles. But here, the similarities end. MOON DIAMETER--3,273 miles MASS--0.025x that of Earth DISTANCE FROM...
  11. J

    How Does Great Lakes Earth's Geography Differ from Our Own?

    The geography of Great Lakes Earth, and the questions that come with it. Pangaea From 250 to 200 million years ago, all the continents had joined together to form a singular landmass called Pangaea. The brown lines presented in the map are mountain ranges varying in height above sea level...
  12. P

    Creating Habitable World Like Keplar 47: Tips & Advice

    I'm working on a project building a world from the top down. What I started with was the idea of a binary system like Keplar 47. With a habitual planet with two moons. Atmosphere similar to Earth. I'm going with an idea of a 40 hour day and 40 degree axis tilt. Is such a world possible or what...
  13. M

    Worldbuilding idea - the edge of survivability

    I'm here to test an idea and if anyone wants to help make it better, they are welcome to add their own. I have a story planned that will be happening on a pretty savage world. The characters were sent there as prisoners and as their punishment they have to mine the exotic materials that came to...
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