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Worldbuilding
Worldbuilding is literally about building a world on a macro and micro scale, in rich detail. The technique comes from (sci-fi and fantasy) storytelling and role-playing games, where the authors create whole fictional universes in which many stories can happen. In futuring, and specifically incasting, worldbuilding can add new dimensions to a scenario, as adding colour to a black-and-white movie. Worldbuilding is about fleshing out the scenario into a fully-fledged “world”, populated with cultures and events, maps of places and landscapes. This exercise can take from 15 minutes to months or years, depending on the world-building purpose.
Process
A skeletal scenario or another type of sketch that came out of a visioning exercise should exist before beginning this exercise. Worldbuilding can be done in a workshop, or it can be a writing and visualising exercise that can continue online after the workshop. It can also be outsourced to writers or game designers outside of the group, or people who are a part of the facilitation team. The complexity and richness of the worlds will depend on the needs of the group, as well as the time and resources available. The process described here is for a minimal worldbuilding that can be done in a workshop with the participants. The exercise can take from 30 minutes to several days.
- Step 1: Frame the worldbuilding as an exercise that should make the scenarios come to life and add rich details on local and global scales.
- Step 1a (optional): If you have multiple scenarios, invite the participants to choose one to work on (or select groups randomly). Break into groups of no more than five people.
- Step 2: Have a discussion about what this world might be like on the surface:
- What are the visible characteristics of this world on the global scale (geography, climate, urbanisation…)?
- What is the local setting like (landscape, weather, architecture, infrastructure…)?
- What are the inhabitants like? What do they eat, wear, where do they live?
- Who are the main 'protagonists' in this world (locally and/or globally)?
- What might be considered big news?
- What might be important events?
- Which behaviours are dominant?
- What are the known issues/problems?
- Does this world have a name?
- Step 3: Discuss the driving forces that shape this world
- What are the are the driving forces in this world? If applicable, who are 'the powers-that-be', the 'movers-and-shakers' in this world?
- Who (if anyone) exists at the fringes of the society? What is their relationship with the driving forces?
- What is the history of this world? Any important events that effected its present form?
- Step 4: Look at the (hidden) dimensions of cultures and stories:
- What are the cultures or civilisations like?
- What are the basic concepts and values in this world?
- What is overly visible in this future? What is invisible?
- What do people believe in?
- Are there any grand (unverifiable) statements emerging in this world?
- What deeply held perspectives might we come across?
References
- How to Build a Universe That Doesn't Fall Apart Two Days Later by Philip K. Dick
- A masterful worldbuilding of The Culture by Iain Banks
- Worldbuilding on Wikipedia
- Kate Messner on How to build a fictional world
- Worldbuilding in futures: Agoras Workshop with Pantopicon
maja