HOW TO WORLD BUILD

Is that even possible? Of course it is. This article is mainly aimed at those making a traditional JRPG.

So, how many of you have opened up the editor and just started grabbing a few tiles and splashing them down with no real thought? Actually, the term 'world-building' may not even cross your mind, since you're so focused on making a pretty map for your troop of heroes to wander through on their epic quest that the little details may ( or may not ) slip from your mind. Little things that make the world around you feel more alive, in other words. Remember, you are creating a world where your characters live, love, fight and die in.

In my honest opinion, an average-looking map with a rich history or lore behind it is far more interesting than a gorgeous parallaxed map that only serves as eye-candy and nothing else. Maybe some of your plan everything on paper before hand, or goodness, plan a full GDD ( game design document ) before even touching MV/Ace/XP/2K3 ( or VX like me ).

I don't do that. While my usual way of mapping involved 'visualising' an area after selecting my tileset ( which I need to plan carefully in VX ), the first attempt is never perfect, and while I'm redoing it, I try to add some little details to it.

Forgive me for using examples from my own games. ><


Outdated screen, circa late 2012. Piquing the interest of your players helps too.

For example, one of the maps in Enelysion was a rather lush-looking temple map called the Temple of Fonteini, dedicated to one of the four Founders in the game and at first, it was just a regular map that served as 'eye-candy' but as I started adding in simple events ( like the default blue-coloured torch in VX ) became the 'Belenus Flame', a flame said to burn for evermore, it started to feel like it was part of the game's history. Then I added in a choir of singing nuns, chanting in 'tongues' and generally praising the Founder. And after I did this I added in a group of NPCs who were observing on the history of the temple.

So even adding 'default' objects within the game's database can serve as a base for several more interesting events, which will make your game world feel more 'alive'.



And of course, you can go crazy when it comes to your magical forests. It's really up to the player's imagination. Maybe those default blue crystals serve a higher purpose... like preserving food. XD Since they could have the properties of ice, why not? Maybe even water. Then a little sidequest could be opened where your heroes have to transport a group of water crystals to a drought-ridden village.

Or maybe the crystals are fragments of destroyed soul-sucking creatures that can be crafted into purchasable loot. Don't just look at those default crystals and think 'generic FF-plot coming up'.

Even your simpler areas, like your towns, can provide points of interest. Maybe a valuable mineral was discovered close to some riverbank, and it formed the backbone of your country's economy and doubling as the capital, making the patrons corrupt but wealthy? Maybe the church isn't corrupt for once? You could even have related NPCs living in different towns, with their own personal agendas behind their move. Maybe the wife hated the stepmother, or the two brothers couldn't see eye to eye. Even incorporating real-life world issues ( like immigration and terrorism ) can make your world feel more rooted.


Or it could just be a grand structure that has stood the test of time.

Or shanty town sprang up because of some crisis ( immigration, famine, war etc. ) and now the people are discontent with their way of life? If it is a hastily constructed town, you won't have neat, paved roads or separate districts even. It will be crowded, smelly and probably full of shady characters. Or the popular ruined forest, overcrowded with creepers, critters and lots of loot. Don't just think of it as another 'dungeon'. Think of them as... interactive history lessons about the lore of your game world. And by lore I don't mean you have to create an entire pantheon of deities or long, complex timelines stretching back 1000s of years. Sometimes researching into some of the less common real-life mytholygies can give that creative spark as well.


Even those end-game dungeons could have a story or two to tell, no matter how simple.

So, as you can now tell, world-building and level-design do indeed go hand-in-hand. There are hundreds of other examples out there ( I've barely scratched the surface ) but I just wanted to provide some common examples found in most RPGs.

As one of the RMN-taglines state: It's your world! Go and build it!

Until my next article, this is Luchi signing out. ^^