Suddenly, and completely without warning, with a pile of things that I probably should be doing, like working on other projects or filling in more local job applications, I got an inexplicable urge to write, or at least worldbuild, so world-build I shall.
This tactic is loosely based on a talk given at my college several years ago by Jordan Weisman, creator of Shadowrun, Crimson Skies, and a bunch of other games in a variety of formats, adapted from a world-building technique used for our Game Design Club's World Jams.
Basically, it's a bunch of cards, divided by categories, such as fantasy roles, technology and politics of a world, and major events. These are intended to get yourself thinking within some constraints. I admit I haven't had nearly as much success as I'd like with these decks in the past. I'm not sure if I should be drawing more or less cards, if my cards are too specific or not specific enough, or if it's just some side effect of trying to world-build solo rather than part of a group of three or four sleep-deprived college-age nerds as it usually is at the club. Maybe I've just been getting frustrated and calling it quits too soon, but whatever the cause of my worldbuilding issues, I'm nonetheless going to document the process and try to do something with whatever I come up with.
First, the draws:
Spy (role)
Mad Scientist (role)
Medieval (technology)
Theocracy (politics)
Wonder Construction (Event)
Epic War (Event)
Next is a bit of unpacking. What are the appealing things about the fantasies? Were people smarter or stupider than we tend to give them credit for in that time period? What's life like under that sort of government? What can I find out about the real life events on which those generic event cards are based?
Thanks to influences like the James Bond movies, we generally associate spies as dashing figures, masters of disguise with access to all manner of gadgets. They're generally not afraid to kill and willing (or trained) to put their morals behind them for the sake of the mission. Stealth is of the utmost importance. If they're found out, results can be catastrophic, not just for them, but for their whole country. They've got a wide variety of skills they can pull from: speaking a variety of languages, countless ways to kill or incapacitate from any range, ability to get into a secure location with relative ease.
Mad Scientists don't fit in. Whether they're unsettling like your Frankensteins, or loveable weirdos like your Emmett Browns, they're pretty far removed from society. Maybe this is their decision, but it's more likely society's. They draw the line somewhere other than where 'normal' people do. You don't tend to get called a mad scientist without some really cool but offputting invention or experiment.
One thing that's been rolling about in my mind since I drew these cards is the dynamic of James Bond and Q, the one going on the missions, the other building his gadgets. The gadgets were always my favorite part of the Bond movies, something I was sad to see go when Daniel Craig took over (though they had certainly gotten pretty ridiculous by Die Another Day, so it was probably for the best). I could very easily see a dynamic between a medieval spy/assassin and his eccentric alchemist buddy building smoke bombs and warning him not to let the fire potion leak into his cloak. It's just as well, since I'd like to try and get a two-character dynamic going so I can force myself to work on dialogue, and I don't know how well a spy would do with the eccentricities of a mad scientist rolling around in his head.
Well, now that we've got the basic ideas for a couple characters, they need a world to live in and explore.
The technology level that I drew was Medieval. That's not to say that it couldn't be fantasy with magic, or some sort of Clockpunk (like Steampunk, but Renaissance era based on Da Vinci's more crazy ideas). In fact, between Game of Thrones and finally reading Lord of the Rings (after seeing the movies countless times and failing to get into the books countless times), I'm really in the mood for something where the castles have impossibly high walls and towers. Perhaps something with elves or magic, but I'd be ashamed of myself if I didn't push for something a little different, especially since this is a world-building exercise first.
Since I drew Theocracy, I'm kinda forced to make some decisions about religion, and, going fantasy, religion will no doubt have a bearing on the rules of magic I come up with. So, one thing that I keep coming back to, in large part because it meshes with the Wonder-Building card I drew, is the idea of Places of Power, that is, tying the magic into the location. Certain spots where the magical properties are different. It's an idea that goes back to some of my high school ideas for fantasy worlds. I know there's still one sketchbook somewhere with a crappy painting based on this idea.
And that gets me running off on the tangent of "crazy ideas from high school." My ideas for fantasy worlds were even more crazy back then. My biggest inspirations at the time were Clive Barker and Neil Gaiman, while now I'm looking to the relatively sane Tolkein and Martin for inspiration. Back then I envisioned cities with their foundations sunk into the flesh of Titans and heretic prophets whose gods won't let them die as martyrs, no matter how many times the authorities execute them.
That still leaves the epic war in need of unpacking. When I wrote that on the card, I was referring specifically to something on the scope of the World Wars. Roughly equal factions clashing in a war that will scar the whole world for years to come. I have different cards for more mismatched conflicts. "Epic war" isn't scrappy rebels fighting for the independence of a few acres, or a massive invasion crushing the resistance of a much smaller country. The epic war is an inexorable battle between ideologies: Good versus Evil, freedom versus tyranny. Whatever the causes, the whole world is going to feel it.
So, we have two giant armies marching to a war in which everyone will lose no matter who wins. One side, or perhaps both is seeking to build some sort of spectacular monument that will awe the whole world. With rules of magic based upon controlling places of power, this monument could potentially change the very fabric of reality. And in the middle of it all, a spy and his alchemist/inventor/wizard companion trying to accomplish something. The details aren't there yet, but ideas about those details are starting to form. And having reached this point just as Pandora timed out, I think that's where I'll take a break to let these ideas gel a little bit more and hopefully become more concrete.
