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I’ve done a whole load of world building over the years, some of it related to novels. But I also come up with just as many related to video game ideas. I’ll admit first off that I have no background in video game design, so this is purely a ‘wouldn’t it be cool if someone made this’ type post with little hope of making it to a real world product.
My idea is not a world for just one video game, but a world in which many games could take place, with different developers being allowed to add their own locations and narratives. Think of the Star Wars and Marvel Universes, where many different types of stories play out, just so long as they don’t clash in terms of world building and overall style.
To begin with, I’m imagining a full planet sized world, not far off the size of our own, with oceans, deserts, jungles, tundra and pretty much every biome that’s present on Earth, plus a few more. Of course designing all that by hand would be impossible; it’s just insanely expensive and time consuming. So what I have in mind is a game that on one level plays like the latest Flight Simulator, where you can pilot an airship over landscape and cities created through procedural generation.
That would allow for a vast game space that looks pretty from the air or road, but would probably be dull and bland when it comes to just putting your vehicle down and partaking in a story. So for each game that is designed a number of hand crafted locations could be built. For example, if the game is to take place in a city, the designers wouldn’t need to create the entire city, but could focus on just a few key areas designed to navigated by foot (historical centers, prisons, palaces etc) on which most of the story is to play out, and the player can use vehicles to navigate the wider terrain between them.
Another game might take place in a totally different area of the world, but it would still be possible to visit and interact with the locations made by past developers for past games. So with each new game, the locations and lore of the world increases.
It would also be fun to allow players to buy their own houses or apartments in and decorate them as they wish, Sims style. Or even build their own houses from the ground up in some of the games neighborhoods.
For a game world with a lot of ‘blank’ space, I thought it could work to allow gamer created content, where gamers use the basic building blocks (houses, shops, bridges, gardens, vehicles etc) provided to create a new village or district in a larger city. Once done they’d have the chance to enter it into a competition for inclusion into the online world. Once a week the games company could choose the user created neighborhood that they feel is the most interesting and creative while also staying true to the feel of the region, and then incorporate it into the online world. With the gamer credited of course.
There would be a few rules to ensure the world remains a cohesive space, without elements and stories that jar with each other.
1 – No magic. I know this would frustrate a lot of people, but it just doesn’t fit in with my vision. There will be people who believe in magic, and perhaps ancient advanced technology that is seen as magical, but no actual magic.
2 – No technology much in advance of our own (aside from said ancient relics). i.e. Nothing too far future sci-fi wise. I’m imagining a core of technologically advanced countries using technology roughly equivalent to the 21st century, with other nations a century or two behind. A handful of isolated far flung human settlements could still be at a medieval or even stone age level of technology.
3 – Avoid stock fantasy races. Other sentient races would be present, but these have largely been marginalized and pushed to the edges of human civilization. But avoid elves, dwarves, orcs, werewolves etc.
That’s it for the concept. Names are not my strong point, so rather than think up of a name for the world now, I welcome you to add your own. While my main idea is for an online gaming world, there’s no reason that novels couldn’t be part of it too. I’ve got a ton of ideas regarding the landscapes, wildlife, history, countries, cities and religions of the world, but I’ll detail those more for future entries. And I think the world will be varied enough to fit in concepts, creatures and civilizations from multiple contributors, if anyone wants to add some?!
My idea is not a world for just one video game, but a world in which many games could take place, with different developers being allowed to add their own locations and narratives. Think of the Star Wars and Marvel Universes, where many different types of stories play out, just so long as they don’t clash in terms of world building and overall style.
To begin with, I’m imagining a full planet sized world, not far off the size of our own, with oceans, deserts, jungles, tundra and pretty much every biome that’s present on Earth, plus a few more. Of course designing all that by hand would be impossible; it’s just insanely expensive and time consuming. So what I have in mind is a game that on one level plays like the latest Flight Simulator, where you can pilot an airship over landscape and cities created through procedural generation.
That would allow for a vast game space that looks pretty from the air or road, but would probably be dull and bland when it comes to just putting your vehicle down and partaking in a story. So for each game that is designed a number of hand crafted locations could be built. For example, if the game is to take place in a city, the designers wouldn’t need to create the entire city, but could focus on just a few key areas designed to navigated by foot (historical centers, prisons, palaces etc) on which most of the story is to play out, and the player can use vehicles to navigate the wider terrain between them.
Another game might take place in a totally different area of the world, but it would still be possible to visit and interact with the locations made by past developers for past games. So with each new game, the locations and lore of the world increases.
It would also be fun to allow players to buy their own houses or apartments in and decorate them as they wish, Sims style. Or even build their own houses from the ground up in some of the games neighborhoods.
For a game world with a lot of ‘blank’ space, I thought it could work to allow gamer created content, where gamers use the basic building blocks (houses, shops, bridges, gardens, vehicles etc) provided to create a new village or district in a larger city. Once done they’d have the chance to enter it into a competition for inclusion into the online world. Once a week the games company could choose the user created neighborhood that they feel is the most interesting and creative while also staying true to the feel of the region, and then incorporate it into the online world. With the gamer credited of course.
There would be a few rules to ensure the world remains a cohesive space, without elements and stories that jar with each other.
1 – No magic. I know this would frustrate a lot of people, but it just doesn’t fit in with my vision. There will be people who believe in magic, and perhaps ancient advanced technology that is seen as magical, but no actual magic.
2 – No technology much in advance of our own (aside from said ancient relics). i.e. Nothing too far future sci-fi wise. I’m imagining a core of technologically advanced countries using technology roughly equivalent to the 21st century, with other nations a century or two behind. A handful of isolated far flung human settlements could still be at a medieval or even stone age level of technology.
3 – Avoid stock fantasy races. Other sentient races would be present, but these have largely been marginalized and pushed to the edges of human civilization. But avoid elves, dwarves, orcs, werewolves etc.
That’s it for the concept. Names are not my strong point, so rather than think up of a name for the world now, I welcome you to add your own. While my main idea is for an online gaming world, there’s no reason that novels couldn’t be part of it too. I’ve got a ton of ideas regarding the landscapes, wildlife, history, countries, cities and religions of the world, but I’ll detail those more for future entries. And I think the world will be varied enough to fit in concepts, creatures and civilizations from multiple contributors, if anyone wants to add some?!
